D13 Scotland to England

Today we knew was going to be a hard one because:
A) We were leaving Scotland- which meant saying goodbye to loved ones.
B) Driving 220ish miles (354km) while trying to stop and admire many the beautiful view.

For the last two mornings, my Auntie Bella and have so kindly laid out brekkie for us and today was no exception! With our bags packed and our bellies full, many hugs were given and compulsory photos were taken. We are so thankful for Bella and Billy- we will miss the late night chats with copious cups of tea...

We had a great morning as I introduced Ant to a couple more relatives of mine, who took us out for brunch. Apparently Scottish cafes don’t cut the mustard, so to really impress a guest, brunch is to be consumed in a glass house near a castle. Go figure.
I think I may have sent the poor waiter into a head spin when I asked about non-dairy milk options....I clearly need to learn my target audience better. To add insult to injury, the coconut/soy/monkey beard milk he was using wasn’t frothing for my cappuccino so I said I was happy to slum it flat white style. Breakfast was beautiful- pancakes, salmon and eggs and the largest vat of porridge you’ve ever seen. Thank you again Aunt Moira and Uncle George- you spoiled us rotten.

On our way down the coast we stopped off at Dumfries House and Gardens in Cumnock, which was just amazing. We were pressed for time for the agreement was to see as much as possible of the garden in as little time as possible. Yeah right- over an hour later we reluctantly ran back to the car totally blown away by what we’d seen. I’m not a huge fan of gardens as I wouldn’t know where to start, but Ant is totally in his happy place. And in saying that- if I come across a veggie garden, which I did, I can also lose track of time. 10/10.

From the moment we left Prestwick, the heavens had opened and it was either lightly raining or right pissing it down. That, with wanting to reach our destination by dinner time, made the journey a bit more challenging. We reached the Lake District after 5pm and had fun zooming down the tiny roads at 100km/hr (sorry Mums!)! It was such a vast expanse of mountainous highs and lows- it was probably a good thing we couldn’t pull over for photos every 5 minutes! Ambleside was our only pit stop and was so cute -very busy- but was full of character and we’d definitely go back as there looked like plenty of walks nearby.

Once we reached our accomodation in Manchester, we spent the night relaxing and catching up with old, and new, friends. Can’t ask for a better way to finish a day!Read more