Hi everybody!

We left london on the 2nd of August and picked up our VW Golf hire car ready for our 19 day road trip. After spending a week in the city of London we were ready to get out, get some fresh air, and relax in the countryside.

Over 19 days we travelled 2,245 miles as we explored England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

We drove north and the first stop was two nights in Wetherby. We stayed at a lovely little B&B called the Swan Guest House and spent our days walking through the town by the river, chatting to the locals and enjoying tea & scones. The air was cooler and as we drove we saw lots of cows, sheep and lush paddocks. All the little towns we drove through had beautifully manicured public gardens bursting with flowers.
The main reason for stopping in Wetherby was so Aaron could visit the nearby town of Tadcaster, home to Samuel Smith's brewery, who have an amazing selection of ales, some of which have made their way to Australia. We visited the brewery's pub next door, The Angel and White Horse, where we had lunch and after talking with the bartender he presented us with a Samuel Smith's bar runner to take home with us. Good food and really nice people indeed!

Our little VW Golf

Wetherby Church 

Samuel Smith's Brewery, Tadcaster

Behind the bar at The Angel & White Horse

Next stop was Edinburgh! However, somehow we had not cottoned onto the fact that it was Edinburgh Festival time and we were surprised at the difficulty we had in finding accommodation. Luckily lastminute.com came to the rescue and we got a great deal on a 4-star hotel, luxury!
Driving into Edinburgh we were blown away by just how much of a grand city it is. The city was a hive of activity owing to the festival with every street corner packed with performers and their support crews enticing you to one of the 1200-odd shows taking place during the festival.
We bought tickets to three of the shows; ///Denise Scott, Jon Bennett and Jimeoin. Deciding to support some of the Aussie talent////.
We walked up Carlton Hill, saw the breathtaking views of Edinburgh and then checked out Edinburgh Castle.

On the way to Edinburgh we stopped at the remains of a Roman Fort along Hadrian's Wall and one of the more aptly named towns we have come across.

Welcome to Scotland!!!

Entry to The Edinburgh University Assembly Hall where Denise Scott was performing.

The view up The Royal Mile to Edinburgh Castle

Street Performers and the crowd.

Edinburgh Military Tattoo location.

Bagpipers were on a large amount of street corners.

Edinburgh was filled with amazing, lush parks like this one.

Back side of the castle and Military Tattoo stadium.

The view of Edinburgh from the top of Carlton Hill

Us on Carlton Hill.

NE from the top of the Nelson Monument

The view of Arthur's Seat from the top of the Nelson Monument

The view of Edinburgh Castle from the top of the Nelson Monument

Next we had a brief overnight stopover in Glasgow catching up with a couple of guys we'd met in Salzburg before continuing on and driving to Cairnryan. The day began with a little detour via Loch Lomond, a pretty lake north of Glasgow.
Driving along the East coast of Scotland we soon arrived in Cairnryan and to our accommodation for the night, Balyett B&B. This was one of the nicest B&B's we had stayed in so far, run by a sweet grandma it really felt like home

Balmaha on Loch Lomond feeding the ducks.

The view from Balmaha across to Inchcailloch

The view across to Pier Cottage on Inchfad

Scottish Highland Cow

Castle, Church and other ruins were all over the place as we drove through the UK.

The view across the Firth of Clyde (Ailsa Craig is the island's name) 

The animals really do have the best view on the farm.

The view of Sunset from the front door of Balyett B&B 

We were up early for a lovely Scottish breakfast complete with Haggis before we drove to the ferry terminal. We boarded the ferry and within a couple of hours we arrived in Larne in Northern Ireland.
Along the way to Londonderry we made two stops at the Carrick-a-rede rope bridge and the Giant's Causeway.
The Carrick-a-Rede bridge is a rope suspension bridge hanging high above the ocean strung between the mainland and a small island used for salmon fishing. A short walk along the coastal cliffs and we arrived at the bridge. We were both surprised at how much it swayed as we crossed but we made it safely in one piece!
The giant's causeway was not far down the road and is a natural formation where an ancient volcanic eruptoon resulted in the cooling basalt forming hundreds of interlocking hexagonal pylons. We'll let the pictures do the talking.

Coming out of the Ferry at Larne, Ireland.

Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge

The view South along the cliffs.

Floss on the bridge.

The view North along the cliffs.

The grass looked comfortable so Aaron just had to try it out.

Aaron on the rope bridge.

The Giant's Causeway

 

Next stop was Doolin where we stayed for two nights. Doolin is a beautiful town on the western coast of Ireland. While here we visited the Cliffs of Moher which aside from being fascinating are also one of the largest Puffin breeding colonies. We spent time walking along the cliffs and enjoying the spectacular views.
Doolin is known for it's Irish folk music and We went out to the local pub for dinner and some live entertainment. Whilst in Doolin we stayed at a fantastic B&B called Doolin View run by a young family who we really clicked with.

Traditional Irish Folk Bank in McDermott's Pub, Doolin

The Cliffs of Moher

The grassy outcrop in the bottom left is where the Puffin's come to breed.

We made friends with some cows. Some were more friendly than others.

Doolin View B&B and below at sunset.

 

On the 12th of August we left Doolin making our way towards the ring of Kerry, a 179km road that follows the coast of the Iveragh Peninsula through some pretty spectacular countryside. The part of this we found most fascinating was Killarney National Park and we've included some pictures below.
Once around the ring we headed for Cork where we were staying at Killarney Guest House for two nights.
While in Cork we visited Blarney Castle and of course kissed the Blarney stone.

Apparently they have a Castlemaine in Ireland too... 

One of the views on the road along the ring of Kerry.

Blarney Castle

Rather narrow and steep staircases in Blarney Castle.

Floss kissing the Blarney Stone.

Not that Aaron really needs the ability to talk blarney but hey, when in Rome...

After a very Prague-like driving experience and a long walk in the wrong direction we finally made it to Trinity College in Dublin. We stayed in the dorms on campus which are rented out in Summer. In Dublin we went on a hop-on-hop off bus tour of the city, we went on a tour of the Guinness Brewery and explored Trinity's Old Library which included the Book of Kells, a 1200 year old coloured manuscript of the four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. We had dinner one night at an incredible old Bank that had been converted into a really nice bar and restaurant called The Bank on College Green.

Our dorm room! Willy is asleep already, lazy bugger.

The dorm building where we were staying.

Panorama of the Trinity Square. Our dorm is the building diagonal left and the old library is diagonal right.

The Bank on College Green's ceiling.

The view from on top of the Guinness Brewery. Somewhere in the distance is Trinity College.

Trinity College Library

We headed back to the UK with Stena Line ferries and docked in Holyhead before disembarking and driving to Chester. Chester is a lovely little town near Liverpool and we found a nice Inn where we had dinner and stayed overnight called The Coach House Inn. If anyone ever gets a chance to go there the chicken pie is delicious.

The Coach House Inn

On the 17th of August we spent a night in the Cotswolds in a quiet town called Lower Slaughter. Both it and it's next-door neighbour Upper Slaughter are filled with stunning mansions, high hedges and winding roads. Floss was enchanted by all the local dogs who liked to swim in the creek that we took a walk along.

Our room at Washbourne Court

Washbourne Court

Lower Slaughter

One of the aforementioned dogs.

Best. Gate. Ever.

The Old Mill, Lower Slaughter

Washbourne Court was an old Cram School for pupils wanting to go to Eton.

The next stop on our list was Dittisham. This village is where Floss' paternal great grandfather grew up. We visited Lychgate Cottage where he and his parents lived next to the church. We also visited his parents (Floss' great-great grandparents) grave in the church yard. We had dinner down by the water in The Ferry Boat Inn and met the colourful locals. We actually ended up staying in the same B&B as Floss' parents 4 odd years ago!

Narrow Roads were certainly an interesting challenge. The speed limit on these is actually 60mph although unless the roads have been cleared (for some rally driving fun times) there is no way you can even get to half that.

 Lychgate Cottage

Floss' Great-Great Grandparents

Floss' dad took a similar photo when he was travelling through here at our age. 

The Ferry Boat Inn.

We loved the patchwork quilt fields on the English countryside.

Next stop on our whirlwind adventure was Bath and we arrived here and headed to the old Roman bath house in the middle of town. It was incredible to see where the Romans bathed and socialised 2000 years ago and it is still in such great condition today. Afterwards we had afternoon tea in The Pump House attached to the Roman Baths and got to listed to a group playing violin, cello and a grand piano. We stayed in a cool old estate house called Bailbrook Lodge which had a rather eccentric host.

Floss with Bath Abbey in background

Hot springs water.

Aaron in front of the main bath.

The main bath.

The Pump House

The final stop on our road trip was in Salisbury. After leaving Bath we headed to Avebury, a UNESCO heritage site which is a much larger version of stonehenge and was built approximately 500 years before it. The entire town is circled by a massive stone circle and the surrounding countryside has a number of ancient sites such as Barrows and Silbury Hill, a large man made hill to the south east of Avebury centre.
We then visited Stonehenge and were fascinated by just how, 5000 years ago, ancient humans managed to transport the stones from Wales around 130km away.
Overnight we stayed at Scotland Lodge Farm and in the morning headed to Heathrow Airport and flew to Barcelona.

I finally got to ride the tractor. Granted I had to remove it from a 3 year old but I got it.

Big Stones.

Panorama from the SW corner of the Avebury stone circle.

Silbury Hill - Is a chalk mound and is the largest prehistoric man-made mound in Europe.

The Sanctuary - another smaller stone circle now no longer standing in the Avebury area.

Stonehenge Panorama (Click it for a beter view)

We have spent the last 5 nights staying on Las Ramblas in Barcelona and tomorrow will fly to Nice, France.

Stay tuned for further updates!

Love Aaron & Floss
Travel Day 87
Days Remaining 25