Not long to go now.......

I think we've finished gallivanting about for now. We have roughly six weeks before we set off back across Europe and to the sunshine of Corfu. As usual as soon as we hit May, time will just fly and we will be rushing around for last minute stuff.

It will be our first trip in the new car so that itself will be an experience. There's the roof bars and box to fit, a whole host of cabinets, cupboards and motorbike spares to go in as well as all the usual supplies.

We haven't decided which way we are heading across Europe but we have a couple of stops on the way down the country to see friends in Trowbridge and then onto our favourite hotel in Winchelsea in East Sussex before the ferry to Dunkirk.

A few things happening between then and now so more on the trek across Europe later.

Barony Castle

It was our anniversary earlier this month and we had a few days in a Scottish castle to celebrate (another Travelzoo deal.) We stayed at Barony Castle which is just north of Peebles in the Scottish borders. Lovely castle with pool, sauna and extensive grounds.


I always think the drive north west from here is a very pleasant one. Up towards Kendal then up through the lakes and Howgills and on into the borders. Never a busy or stressful drive. Our journey up went well with good weather. We arrived early so we had a wander round the grounds before we checked in. We were given a wee dram of whiskey on our arrival and our complimentary tickets to visit the Royal Yacht Britannia in Leith docks outside Edinburgh.

The afternoon was a local stroll then back for a swim and sauna then a couple of Guinness (again) before dinner. Dinner was very nice, very arty and a very long time coming. However there was enough and as I say it was very tasty.

Following day after breakfast (which was a buffet style and a lot quicker) we headed off for Leith. The tour round Britannia was excellent, the history, the stories and the people who have been on it as guests was quite fascinating. To say the yacht is over fifty years old it is in very good condition and the obvious lack of computers on the bridge and elsewhere remind you of what life was like before technology.

From Leith we headed down to look at Rosslyn Chapel a cracking wee chapel which featured in the Davinci Code. I have never seen so many carvings in such a small chapel. You could spend days looking at and trying to understand them all, super place and well worth a visit.

After the chapel it was back to the castle for another swim, sauna and Guinness session before another long awaited dinner. The following and final day we headed back home stopping off at Peebles and Moffatt with another stop at a view point where we had a breezy stroll.

The drive back down was stunning as the sun shone and the lakeland hills were all clearly visible, arriving back home early evening.

Guinness, sorry I mean Dublin

Well what else is there about Dublin?? Oh yes, the writers museum, Wilde's birthplace, Wilde's statue, the river Liffey, Croke Park, the Dublin Spire, George Bernard Shaw, the Wicklow Mountains, Yeats and James Joyce to name but a few. Let's not forget the splendid night life too.

Our little break to Dublin (another Travelzoo special) got off well from Leeds Bradford with Ryan Air - be warned as they do enforce their 1 piece of cabin baggage rules!! The flight had barely got to altitude when we were going back down again, fifty minutes only to get there. With bag reclaimed we headed outside for the bus into town and our digs at the Croke Park Hotel. The hotel was very nice and the room very spacious and warm.

We were about 20 minutes out of the centre so as it was evening we wandered into town and had a stroll up and down, ending up in a bar in the Temple Bar area with some Guinness. Now at this point Mrs D was not a Guinness drinker so she had some Irish Ale. There was live music in the bar and a good evening was had along with some splendid Guinness.

The following day was a Mrs D day (almost.) After breakfast we headed into town and the first stop was the writers museum. An Irish writers overdose was enjoyed here by Mrs D whilst I wandered around the museum looking at some of the older stuff in their which I have to say was quite good. After the obligatory photo outside we headed off in search of Mrs Ds hero - Oscar Wilde's house. With a plaque outside to mark the address another photo shoot was undertaken before we headed off to find the statue in the park which was unveiled by Wilde's grandson a few years ago. Another photo call here (even though Mrs D was not too impressed with the statue) before we went off to find a bench in the park for some well earned butties.

Part of the deal with the hotel was that we got complimentary tickets to tour either Croke Park stadium or the Guinness Storehouse. As we were staying directly across from the stadium and frankly not too bothered about a trek round a shed load of empty stands there was no contest, Guinness won it hands down!

After refuelling ourselves we got out our trusty Dublin map and planned our way across to the other side of town to the storehouse. On the way across the city we saw some of Dublins other landmarks on a lovely sunny day.

We arrived at the storehouse, which isn't really a storehouse at all, it is the original site of Arthur Guinness' brewing testament and is now a tourist attraction and a very good one too. All the brewing is now done in todays high tech fashion so the tour takes you round the old brewing site where there are vessels, videos, loads of info, shops. history and did I mention the free pint of Guinness at the end in the Gravity bar which is on top of the factory with superb views right across and over Dublin.

The tour was superb, very informative and very interesting. It works on floors with the story progressing as you get higher up ending up in the bar on top. There is a whole floor dedicated to Guinness advertising through the years and you could spend hours in there as some of their adverts are superb. There is also an area where you can pull your own pint of the black stuff but if your going to get some at the factory let someone do it who knows what they are doing, don't spoil it!!

So we arrive at the gravity bar on top of the site and there I was thinking I was in for two pints of Guinness when Mrs D announced, after a taste, how good it was!!! I was very surprised, 'tis good of course but can't keep her off the stuff now!!

We made our way back up to the hotel and had dinner which was very nice before heading back into town for some nightlife. Now, the Temple Bar area is a sea of bars and clubs with all genres of music emanating from within. There is something for everyone here. After wandering up and down taking in the atmosphere (bearing in  mind this is Wednesday night, would love to see it on a Friday) we sat in another bar with more live music. It is simply wild down there, everyone joins in the singing, the Guinness is flowing (even to Mrs D now) it was great.

We headed back up to the hotel around midnight again and crashed out as we'd walked miles!!

Next and last day, breakfast and out down town again. Today was more leisurely and we had a river stroll, taking in the buildings and many statues that are dotted all over the place. We then wandered back into the centre where we went to a Phil Lynott exhibition. Another of Dublins sons, he may well have been brought up there but he was actually born in Birmingham!! You learn something everyday......it was an excellent exhibition and his mum Philomena was there signing books and doing pictures, lovely lady.

After the Phil Lynott experience we went and found his statue and it was my turn for a photo call before heading back up to the digs to collect our bags and check out. Bus back to the airport which is massive by the way, didn't know what to expect but didn't expect it to be that big!

The pilot announced before we took off that there were cross winds in Leeds Bradford so expect a choppy landing.......sobering thought. The flight back was done in 40 minutes, the landing as promised was bouncy but we were soon on our way home after a splendid few days in Dublin. We did have to make a slight detour on the way home to call and pick up some Guinness for my new found Guinness drinking buddy!!

The land of fire and ice - Iceland



Geyser & hot pool



Some weird statues outside the museum



The rift valley looking across to the European side



















Thermally illuminated green houses




















Reykjavik Cathedral




















Extinct volcanic ash pit





















Gulfoss Waterfall




















Site of first church with new church



Path through ripped North American plate side



Blue Lagoon




















Cathedral from our hotel


























We had a short break in Iceland in February and it was super. We stayed in Reykjavik in a hotel across from the landmark cathedral. We only had two full days so we booked on a couple of trips and it all worked out fine.

Education time chaps, please pay attention - Iceland is a country the size of England with a population of only 300,000 and most of these live in the capital Reykjavik. It is the most volcanically active country in the world, it was the home of the first parliament in the world, the site of the first and birthplace of the word geyser. The language dates back to the vikings and most can still read the original scriptures from the time. All the inhabitants can trace their family lines back to the Vikings and it is the only country in the world to get all its electricity from green sources!!! Quite an amazing place really.

On arrival we transferred to our hotel in Reykjavik then had a wander 'downtown' and had a beer (like you do.) The evening was short as we had an early start with cabs then trains planes and buses. The following day we were on a Golden Circle tour which took in quite a big chunk of the local region.

We were picked up at 8 along with a few others in a mini coach. Off we went and the landscape was so different, there was something missing and it wasn't 'til our driver mentioned that there were no trees that we realised what it was. Along the roads in addition to the usual distance signs were road temperatures, obviously you need this info when you are driving almost on the arctic circle!! The roads were covered in ice and snow, the paths and trails everywhere treacherous but life goes on as normal with gentle warnings from the driver about the conditions. Quite a contrast to the few specks of snow we get here and all is cancelled due to health & safety reasons!! All the vehicles here have steel studded tyres, you hear them going past, it sounds like they are driving on gravel but there's no gravel, weird!

We passed by one of the islands geothermal power stations and got a potted 'how it works' from our driver, very interesting. Our first stop along the way was at a village where they grow lots of flowers in green houses heated via the thermal energy. As Iceland has such an abundance of 'free energy' they heat up these green houses all over the island and are pretty much self sufficient in veg up 'til the last part of winter when they have to import it 'til the new crops start. Here was a fine example of the green houses and a coffee stop. After this we headed to an extinct volcanic crater for a wander and slip around, quite deep and large. We then moved on to a smallish waterfall where the Icelanders had built a salmon ladder up the side to the help the fishy guys get upstream to breed!!

After a brief photo shoot here we headed for the site of the first church which was built when they converted to Christianity. Obviously not the original church but a lovely building all the same, views at he back looked out over the volcano which caused so much air traffic misery last year (still smoking too!!) We then went on to the site of the first geyser, which is called geyser and is where the name came from. There was steaming vent shafts, bubbling hot pools and of course a geyser spouting off every ten minutes or so. The original geyser stopped spouting a good few years ago but there is another 'filling in' and giving a bit of a show. This was also the lunch stop for the day. We were very lucky and blessed with glorious sunshine beating down across the icy white landscape.

After some splendid Mrs D type butties we were all set for the the off to see the famed Gullfoss Waterfall. What a sight it was too, two sets of falls at different angles to each other both dropping many meters. It was thick ice and very slippy here but well worth the struggle to stay upright!! The falls are fed from a glacier a few miles further up stream and some parts of the falls were also frozen over which give it an eerie look. All in all quite a spectacular waterfall made more so by the arctic landscape.

From here we were heading up to the rift valley where the 'tectonics' come in, more education now. On this part of the island the two tectonic plates come together, the North American plate and the European plate. So far so good. Tectonic plates push together or move sideways causing quakes and land movement. At this point here they are actually moving apart causing the rift valley between the two plates. The effects of this are clearly visible as you can see across to the other plate and the valley between is approx 5 kilometres wide and has formed the biggest lake on the Island where the land between the two plates has sunk.

If that wasn't enough, also here (on the North American plate side) is where the first parliament was held at a point they call the Law rock or Logberg as it is known locally. Historically it is where a law man would stand and preach to the masses with elected regional representatives. This was the first parliament and to this day the Icelanders still go to this spot to pass many new acts of government.

From here after a good hours walking and slipping around we headed back into town and back to our hotels. We dashed out for a quick pint and we tried some local fayre for dinner. Mrs D indulged in some lobster soup followed by a whale steak, I opted for a puffin salad starter followed by breast of puffin in some wonderful sauce.

The reason for the dash was that we were being picked up at 8 o'clock for another trip, a northern lights tour this time. This was a case of driving 25kms out of town away from the light pollution and standing around in the freezing cold & dark, gazing up into the sky for two hours. Well it's good if you get a result but on this occasion we saw nothing but the full moon. (which incidentally would be a problem if we did see the lights!!) Disappointed and cold we headed back to the hotel around midnight. The deal with the trip was that if we saw none we could go again tomorrow for free to try again!!

The following day was another trip to the famed blue lagoon. An outdoor swimming pool built on a thermal resort that uses the water from a nearby electricity generating station which has come straight out of the ground. Doesn't sound too good? Well it is great, the water is at a constant 39degrees c and there are saunas and all other pool related amenities. You can stay as long as you want but it's best to keep your body in the water as when you stand it is very cold!! After a few hours here and looking like a couple of prunes we headed back into town to go to a local museum which showed the link to the viking history. Splendid exhibition it was too.

The evening was early doors, another meal then back on the bus for a second attempt at the northern lights. This time we were successful but sadly the full moon hampered the clarity of the show. (There's always a full moon when you don't want one!!) We did see them albeit a little faint but it was good. Returning to the hotel at 1am it was a few hours kip before another early start for the flight back to the UK.

A cracking place, well worth a visit especially in the wintertime as it would look so different again in the summer.

Hardly a travel event but certainly worth a mention

Our pilgrimage to Butlins Rock and Blues music weekend in Skegness can hardly be said to fit into the D & L adventure travel log but inspite of Butlins being the most unglamorous of destinations and Skegness being a cold, un-inspiring, flat resort awash with caravans, fish & chip shops, bargain basements and amusement arcades – we love it and have already booked for next year! We join the throng of – well lets be honest here – ageing rockers and hippies all dressed accordingly in denims and old leather jackets; long hair and beards are still plentiful but so are ‘wide partings’ and grey ‘highlights’ (no that’s not just the women). From Friday night through to Sunday night with barely time to eat, we rush between venues, watching band after band – some decidedly better than others – until the last band finishes and we are able to collapse exhausted into our basic, but very warm & cosy chalets to grab a few hours sleep. Over breakfast – and you have never lived if you have never eaten a Butlins breakfast - we evaluate the various bands’ performances with pals then we may have time for a brisk walk by the sea (which is always grey for some reason) before the day’s action begins. Believe me we are shattered when we get home on the Monday afternoon but its all been worth it. Mind you my ears are humming and my back is aching a bit ……

London

Our London trip went very well, it is something we have both done but never together so off we went. We went down by train and stayed at a travelodge in East Croyden. We had bought some travel cards to get us around, tickets for the Tower of London and some theatre tickets for Monday and Tuesday evening.

We had a plan of what we wanted to see and do so we tried to follow it. On the Monday we went to the Tower of London first which was excellent. We were there around three hours but could have easily spent all day there. Obviously due to time we couldn't so after our tour with one of the Yeoman Guards and a wander we left and headed down the Thames towards Shakespeare's Globe. After a look at the Globe we walked up to St Pauls Cathedral which is a wonderful building.

After a well earned coffee outside St Pauls it was a tube to the Tate Britain where the was a good pre-Raphaelite art display for Mrs D. There was also a good display of some Constables and a load that "pile of stones" type modern stuff which I'm afraid leaves me cold, what is that all about???

It was now mid afternoon and we went in search of Tite Street, where good old Oscar Wilde once resided. It was not supposed to be far from the Tate Britain but we couldn't find it. We abondoned it for today and walked on the south side of the Thames towards Westminster Bridge. After the mandatory photos of Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament we walked up the Mall where we found a pub for some food and a sit down.

We had an hour or so here before the walk up to the theatre in Tottenham Court Road. We were going to see We Will Rock You. It was in the Dominion Theatre and was an excellent show. Well it would be for me wouldn't it!! Mrs D actually said she enjoyed it too, most impressive for a non Queen fan! The music was excellent as was the dancing and show. The theatre itself was quite big and another of Londons many super old buildings. After the show we headed for the tube and the train back to East Croyden absolutely shattered after our first days trolling round London.

Long overdue scribbles.......

It's been a long time since I've done this so here we go!

Journey back from Corfu to UK was interesting to say the least. The car heater plugs must have packed up over the summer. Not a problem in Corfu as it is warm and will start. All OK 'til we leave the warm climes.... as a result as soon as we hit the winter wonderland of Germany and the road home the car took ages to start every morning! It was a shock (first time) then a damn nuisance after that. Getting another car was on the list as first job when we got home but there was ne need for it to remind us all the way home. It was if it was giving up on us. Heater plugs first, then the heater wouldn't blow down to the feet so we had cold feet, then the radio packed up. This in addition to the drivers door window not closing fully, the passenger door not opening easily and one or two knocks and bangs from the front it was an entertaining journey.

We were only off the ferry in Venice 20 minutes when we hit traffic, ice and snow in Italy. We managed to do 54 miles in three hours and twenty minutes! Once this cleared it was foot down over the Brenner pass to Innsbruck to try and beat the snow across the Alps. We hit Innsbruck as the snow started and were worried about the second pass - the Fern - over into southern Germany. This proved slippy and very snowy, we just got to the summit of the pass as we started to slip about on the snow. We were very steady down the other side to Reutte in the Tyrol before hitting the snow covered motorway into Germany and Altenstadt our first stop. Never been so pleases to see a hotel!

Next day car wouldn't start and I had just spotted a guy on a fork truck at the end of the road to assist when the old tub fired up. Off again, no snow today just -8, lovely on the feet. We had a good run across Germany but had an unexpected run around Karlsrhue trying to find the way out! We eventually got to Leige in Belgium for stay number 2 where there was no hill to run the car off the following day!!

Next day another marathon car starting episode then off to Dunkirk and the 2 o'clock ferry to Dover. A good drive and ferry crossing got us back to Dover and a short run to a good friends in East Sussex. The car had two nights rest as did we then we headed north the day London was gridlocked through snow and ice. It was a very long day and we finally got home around 9pm.

So really it goes without saying, the first job was another car!! We did our homework and found exactly what we wanted but it was in Edinburgh. At this point Edinburgh had just had the worst snow for years and all roads were blocked. Now I made the announcement to Mrs D about the car and where it was and I will not publish the response here!! After a calming whiskey, we began a dialogue with the garage and watched the weather. An ideal opportunity arose and for the last time we fired up the old tub and drove it to Scotland. It was a lovely drive and the car as usual went very well. We got to the garage and drove onto the forecourt through a two-foot high wall of snow. A deal was done and the old tub was put out to graze in Scotland!! We drove home with warm feet, doors, windows and radios that all worked. It was quite a sad moment leaving the old VW as it has been a super car and served us well back and forth across Europe. I really shouldn’t have asked but I did “so what will you do with the VW then?” The reply was quite sad “she will go where all good cars go at this age,” (the scrap yard, I was gutted!)

The new car seems to be going well, not that we went far in it over Christmas because of the weather. We had a quiet Christmas at home with Reg and Buffalo over, around Christmas time. We did manage a few socials with friends here and there. All in all the year end festivities came and went successfully.

So into 2011 - HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

The New Year and time to start thinking about where we want to be and to go. We anticipate going back to Corfu during May, we already have folks lined up to come out and we haven’t got there yet. Always good to see them though’, we are not complaining.

We have a few trips lined up between now and then, places we’ve always wanted to see and we can do in short breaks. In January we are off to London for three days, at the end of January we have our annual pilgrimage to Butlins at Skegness for the rock and blues weekend. In February we are off to Iceland for three days, then March we head to Windermere and the Lakes for a weekend away with friends. Lastly we have just booked a few days in Dublin so Mrs D can do the Oscar Wilde stuff and I can get lost in the Guinness brewery! More on these as they happen.

Well that pretty much brings us up to date so y’all keep well and I will rattle off some more rubbish soon.

Picture is our old car - what a hero!!!