Tue, 24 Sep 2002

author Tim	location Preston, Scotland
posted 18:40 BST	section Europe2002/Europe/UK/Scotland/Scotland 1 ( all photos )

Border Country ( No photos )
After rising to a great breakfast this morning (though Meaghan was a little slow after last night), we set off to finally make it over the elusive Scottish border.
We took the path through the Northumberland National Park, which meant that the actual border crossing was upon the top of the hill with great views for miles across Scotland. Here, there were huge stones with "England" and "Scotland" on the appropriate sides, and a bag-piper busking infront of the sign. Not touristy at all! Much to the girls disgust, I organised someone to take a photo of the three of us.
We took some nice little back-road trips around the place, including a snacky lunch at Etal, sea-side stops at St. Abbs (looking to stay at a Youth Hostel there, but the owners appeared to have been taken away for Police questioning) and a wonderful drive along the Eastern Scottish coast (we're still below Edinburgh - plan to get there tomorrow).
All in all, not much has changed coming across the border. I've been told "you're not allowed here with an accent like that!" (jokingly) by a local, the shops sell Haggis now, and a "Full Scottish Breakfast" now appears amongst our breakfast options, along with porridge and haddock.
This afternoon we went for a quiet stroll around the village, where Liz made friends with a bull (whilst both her and I were wearing red tops - I kept away!).
There some updates on the Itinerary page - Meaghan is now getting a train back to Bletchley on the 10th of October, whilst Liz and I travel to the more remote areas of Scotland. Up until then, we'll see the standard tourist places. This probably means Edinburgh, Glasgow, Loch Ness, etc. That's more than enough planning for now!

author Tim	location Preston, Scotland
posted 18:40 BST	section Europe2002/Europe/UK/Scotland/Scotland 1 ( all photos )

Border Country ( No photos )
(Continued from North and Central England)
After rising to a great breakfast this morning (though Meaghan was a little slow after last night), we set off to finally make it over the elusive Scottish border.
We took the path through the Northumberland National Park, which meant that the actual border crossing was upon the top of the hill with great views for miles across Scotland. Here, there were huge stones with "England" and "Scotland" on the appropriate sides, and a bag-piper busking infront of the sign. Not touristy at all! Much to the girls disgust, I organised someone to take a photo of the three of us.
We took some nice little back-road trips around the place, including a snacky lunch at Etal, sea-side stops at St. Abbs (looking to stay at a Youth Hostel there, but the owners appeared to have been taken away for Police questioning) and a wonderful drive along the Eastern Scottish coast (we're still below Edinburgh - plan to get there tomorrow).
All in all, not much has changed coming across the border. I've been told "you're not allowed here with an accent like that!" (jokingly) by a local, the shops sell Haggis now, and a "Full Scottish Breakfast" now appears amongst our breakfast options, along with porridge and haddock.
This afternoon we went for a quiet stroll around the village, where Liz made friends with a bull (whilst both her and I were wearing red tops - I kept away!).
There some updates on the Itinerary page - Meaghan is now getting a train back to Bletchley on the 10th of October, whilst Liz and I travel to the more remote areas of Scotland. Up until then, we'll see the standard tourist places. This probably means Edinburgh, Glasgow, Loch Ness, etc. That's more than enough planning for now!

author Liz	location Thropton, Northumberland, England
posted 08:16 BST	section Europe2002/Europe/UK/England/North and Central England ( all photos )

A long drive north ( No photos )
After finally managing to check our emails yesterday (and paying credit card bills - grr), we caught the bus back to Bletchley, had some lunch and then headed North on the M1/A1/A1(M). We left at about 1:30pm, so we spent the rest of the day driving. There was a nine mile traffic jam along the way, where it looked like police and forensics had found a body or something.
We arrived at our B&B - The Chirnells - at 7:30pm. It is just out of a small village called Thropton, and is right in the middle of farms - cows were mooing in the middle of the night.
Dinner was at a nice (but expensive) pub/restaurant up the road, accompanied by a few drinks. Even though it was pricey, the food was a bit fancier than we would normally eat, and quite nice!

(customised)