Day 104 Tuesday 31^st August:

Market day at Wigton! Checked this out before heading further into Cumbria – Cockermouth (where the floods were last year), Keswick, Ambleside, Town Head (very pretty), Windermere, Kendall and Sczergh Castle.

This castle was the home of the Strickland family for over 400 years ( one of them was the governor in Tasmania in the early 1900s). Stayed the night near the castle.

Day 103 Monday 30^th August:

Left Biggars before 9.00 am – Scottish schools started this morning – even though there was a bank holiday! Drove through the beautiful upper Clyde Valley and then made our way to the University town of Dumfries. Visited the national Costume Museum at New Abbey.

Then drove on around the Solway Firth to Ecclefeehan and visited Thomas Carlisle house, on to to Carlisle and Wigton in the Lakes District for the night.

Day 102 Sunday 29^th August:

Breakfast and then to find some wifi, a supermarket – been a few days since taking food on board! A very cold wind was blowing as we followed “Elizabeth Yates” footsteps from Fox Street, South Leith, to Edinburgh and to the Union Canal at Hermiston. Traffic in Edinburgh was horrendous – with road closures etc.

Had lunch by Bridge 12 at Hermiston – 100m from where EY changed the course of her life and then found herself in Oz! A very sad story – to be found elsewhere.

The day brightened as we took a guided tour of the House of Binns, overlooking the Firth of Forth.

Then drove south to Biggars for the night. Sun still shining.

Day 101 Saturday 28^th August:

Off to Edinburgh again – National gallery of Scotland, The Fringe – all great and a very full day. Back to the van by 5.00 pm – very tired.

Day 100 Friday 27^th August:

Some housekeeping early and then off to Edinburgh by 11.00 am. Took in more of the Fringe, checked out the original High Court of Scotland where Elizabeth Yates stood trial. It had previously been the Scottish parliament until the new one was built, visited and Georgian House in the “new city”.

We went to an outstanding performance by a German comedian before heading back to the van.

Day 99 Thursday 26^th August:

To Edinburgh on the No 48 bus. Met Chris and Jill at the Scot Memorial at 10.00 am. C & J took us exploring the Castle, Princess St, and the Golden Mile.

Took in three shows of the Fringe Festival.

Great day – back to 

the van by 8.00 pm.

Day 98 Wednesday 25^th August:

Awoke and away early – by 7.00 am. Drove north to Hadrians Wall – through Durham Dales, Teeside – beautiful vistas over the dales. Visited the wall and then moved on to Wallingham – a beautiful house and garden. Lunch.

Drove on to Rothbury and Craigside House – an awesome setting for a home! An industrialist and shipping magnate from Newcastle built this house in a remote location in Northumberland.

Then on to Edinburgh for the night at the Sheffield Hall Park and Ride.

Day 97 Tuesday 24^th August:

Woke to a beautiful chilly sunny morning. The central heating used for the first time in months – still very effective. On to Lincoln to meet Radek for lunch. Great to catch up again over a lovely lunch.

Later in the day we left on our northward travels, pass Scotch Corner to Summerhouse for the evening. Parked near the community hall.

Day 90 Tuesday 17^th August:

Still raining a little. Did a final shop to rid us of some Euros. Read a little and then caught the evening ferry to Dover. Parked on the Esplanade for the evening. The French allowed us onto the earlier ferry because they had a space – this suited us rather than getting into Dover at midnight.

So ends our European part of our adventure. Feeling a little tired, but looking forward to having a final few great weeks in the UK.

Day 89 Monday 6^th August:

Rained all night .. and and has poured all morning. Finally been able to talk with Maddie .. she’s fine!

Went to view Dunkirk beaches etc but was far too wet and windy to get very close at all ... really bucketing down. Drove to our Aire but it has been reclaimed so we moved onto Calais where we knew we could get a camping spot.

“Cite Europe” proved to be a beaut place to stay, along with other vans.

Day 88 Sunday 15^th August:

Overcast again this morning. Headed for Oostende – the Belgium Surfers! But such a miserable day, we felt sorry for the holidayers. Washing day too. Found a laundrette and then onto Veurne for the evening – lovely spot near the canal, but still raining and windy.

Day 87 Saturday 14^th August:

Left a little late for Bruges, parked near the railway station and caught the bus into the centre – crowds everywhere – a very popular destination and I can see why! Had a very good look around, took the important boat cruise of the canals – one of the best cruises you can take anywhere , climbed the Belfor, and had lunch just off the Market Square. We returned to the van just when the heavens opened up again.

Drove on to Gisten for the evening – lovely spot , but Bruges was great.

Day 86 Friday 13^th August:

Up early (6.10 am) and away to vote – it better be worth it Julia! Into Brussels and parked outside the Australian Embassy by 7.10 am. Had breakfast etc and ready to vote at 9 am. A little disappointed in the Aust Embassy in Brussels – security one sided – handbag placed in a locker outside the office without a key, kept waiting for over 30 minutes, no explanation as to how to access the building, and no up to date info on Aust – just a silly doco on how good the Aussie passport is! Not a welcoming place at all.

Later moved on to Ghent for lunch – still raining – and then to Beernem for the evening. Stayed by the canal and had “Cote de los” at the local “t’boothuis” for dinner, plus a beautiful Belgium beer. Very delightful way to end Friday 13^th!

Day 85 Tuesday 12^th August:

Rained overnight! Very quiet camp area- Stellplatze. Away by 9.30 and off to Aachen. Toured the magnificent Town Hall and St Mary’s Church – all connected to Charlemagne and other German kings. Over thirty of them were crowned here. Very historic and exquisite. The cathedral and Town Hall date back to the 700s. Charlemagne was buried here in 814 AD.

And .. only 10kms from Belgium and their chocolates. We left for Belgium and stopped at Eugin.

Checked the Aust Gov Embassy site in Brussels and found that they were closed on Monday as it is a public holiday in Belgium – needing to vote we decided to change plans and headed for Brussels to vote tomorrow (Friday) reaching there at about 6 pm. Got involved in another traffic snarl, still the rain was pouring down, before arriving at Grimbergen for our overnight stop. Grimbergen was about 14 kms from Brussels .. and they have the most delicious chips!

Day 84 Wednesday 11th August:

Rained over night but the sun is peeking through this morning. The Rhine was still very busy as I guess it has been for the past thousands of years!

Spent the morning in Bacharach -

trying to pay bills, reading email etc. Had lunch ... and still fascinated with the river traffic.

Left for Koblenz and beyond .. ended up in a lovely place, Poffendorf, for the night.

Day 96 Monday 23^rd August:

Rained heavily for about five hours overnight – wondering whether we could be washed away! Spoke with Maddie for a long time and James shortly after. Still raining at Woolsthorpe Manor – where Isaac Newton grew-up - while we had lunch.

Moved on to Beltan House – beautiful village and gardens.

Later passed through two beautiful villages, Wellingore and Coleby, where we stayed for the night.

Day 95 Sunday 22^nd August:

Set off on the trail to find the “Sayer” English origins. Stopped first at Wrentham, the home of the gggrands. Then to the village of Rumburgh – birth place of Benjamin Sayer – g.grand father. Very rural with cereal crops as far as the eye can see – can understand why Benjamin Sayer was a miller! Then to Norwich, spent time around the city and the cathedral. Very interesting old town.

Passed through Kings Lynn on the way to Holbeach for the night. Had a surprise call from Daisy and Chris – they passed us on their way from Holbeach.

Day 94 Saturday 21^st August:

Slow morning, did a little tidying up and then off to Stowmarket to meet Chris and Daisy. Lovely people ... and they decided to buy.

Had lunch late and then drove through some great countryside in Sussex and stopped the night just before Wrentham at Frostenden.

Day 93 Friday 20^th August:

Up and away by 7.00 am – to beat the build-up on the M25. Stopped near Standon for breakfast . Headed towards Saffron Walden – time to explore and shop – then to Melford Hall – another delightful country house. Did a tour and shared the beautiful day with many others at the Hall’s Teddy Bears Picnic!

Off to Sudbury to check email, the first time in many days, and to the “UK Motorhome Parking” recommended sight – another good choice! Received a number of responses to our add for the van on Gumtree.com – replied to these and shortly afterwards received a call from the very pleasant Chris and Daisy. We agreed to meet at Stowmarket tomorrow.

Day 92 Thursday 19^th August:

Awake early - left by 8.30 am to meet Chris and Jill at Redhill. Lovely to see them and hear of their doings. Helene had planned a day for us all, so off to Polsden Lacey, a NT property, for the first part of the day. Delightful setting and an interesting house. After this we decided to go to Standen Park and house, where we had a lovely lunch, and explored the house where William Morris designs dominated.

We decide that we still had time on our side so we did a dash to Chartwell, Churchill’s home, but ion arrival was told that the quota for the day had been reach an hour earlier! Nevertheless we were able to look around the outside, the studio and the gardens. Much improved on 30 years ago!

We then drove to Westerham, had a wander, a coffee (but not iced, as the troops were requiring!) drove on and had tea, before dropping Chris and Jill back at the station in Redhill by 8.00pm. Then proceeded to the “UK MOtorhome Parking” POI in Redhill – a great spot for the night!

A very enjoyable day.

Day 91 Wednesday 18^th August:

Woke to a sunny England!

Stopped at Hythe on the south coast – lovely English village – gathered supplies, changed our excess Euros etc.

Set course for Wych Cross but only got as far as Lingfield. Stayed the night.

Day 83 Tuesday 12^th August:

Sun is shining and its 18oC. Called in a Bingen this morning before driving up the Rhine to Bacharach

for morning tea – by the Rhine, opposite castles and just watching the busy river traffic pass us by! Decided to stay!

We strolled through the beautiful old town with its half timbered houses and old forts and ramparts. Took a cruise on the Rhine in the afternonn – to St Goar and return. The cruise took us past old town and the famous Loreli Rock.

The town of Bacharach is a great example of a German medieval town with the difference here being the atmosphere in the village.

Back to the Stellplatze (metres from the Rhine!) for the evening and sleep.

Day 82 Monday 11^th August:

The rain has stopped – for the moment! Catching up morning – shopping, water, dump etc.

Lunch at Zwengenberg, the oldest city in Hesse, and then on to the Rhine. Stayed the night near Bingen at Waldalgesheim in the heart of the Rhine vineyards.

Day 81 Sunday 10^th August:

Rained over night and still raining this morning. Arrived in Heidelberg and it started again. Had a coffee and then headed for the sights of this old university town; the castle and gardens, where there were magnificent views over the city and down the river. Interesting old church, that use to have a dividing wall across the middle so the Lutherans and the Catholics and could both use it – this wall was in place for over 400 years came down in 1936(?).

Arrived back at the van just as the heavens opened up again. We had a lovely spot by the river and spent the rest of the afternoon having lunch and reading.

We later drove to Lorsch for the evening. Lorsch is listed under the UNESCO heritage listing as a place of significance. The old Abbey ruins (Klostermauer) use to be a major centre of learning in Europe during the middle ages. The Spanish destroyed the Abbey during the Thirty Years Wars.

Also, the opera “Der Vogelhandler” was being performed just opposite the Stellplatze – about half an hour into the performance it pour with rains – but the stoic Germans remained to the end.

Bed late and it is still raining.

Day 80 Saturday 7^th August:

“I bet there’s a market here this morning!” were the words that greeted me on waking! Sure enough, back into town and there it was! Sun shining this morning too! The market was one of the best we had come across. Helene bought some beautiful bread, which we had for lunch. The market was situated in the centre of the old town, surrounded by timber framed Franconian 16^th century houses.

Then off along the beautiful Neckar valley. Drove on

through Binan, Neckargerach and Zwingenberg before having lunch. Very scenic and peaceful. Had lunch by the river, watched the river barges passing, and picked a bucket of blackberries.

After lunch we drove a little further to Hirschhorn for the afternoon and the evening. Hirschhorn is a quaint walled town with ramparts, castle and fantastic views over the town and the river. We spent the afternoon watching the traffic on the river, watching the big barges move through the lock, reading, and chatting to a couple of NZers who have been on the road in Europe for two and half years. Just idealic.

Walked the old town in the evening and then had dinner.

Day 79 Friday 6^th August:

It rained hard all night and the Tauber was noticeably swifter and higher this morning. It is still overcast and bleak – not looking good for the day!

Followed the “Romantische Strauss” – but much of the sparkle had disappeared from it because of the rain. From Rottingen to Tauberrettershien to Tauberbishofhsm for coffee – still wet.

The water pump has been playing-up since last night so we decided to headed to Wertheim, believe it or not Maddie, to where there was a motorhome expo and factory outlet. The sales guy there was fantastic, he had a look at it, did a fiddle, and presto, it’s working again!

On the way again and south of Wertheim we came across an old monastery in the middle of the forest at Bronnbach and it was absolutely stunning. The Klosters Bronnbach were established in the 12th century. Stopped for the compulsory photoshoot, had a walk around, and then on our “bike” again.

Drove down to Mosbach for the evening. Wandered the town in the evening and then to bed.

Day 78 Thursday 5^th August:

Away a little later this morning 9.40am – it was overcast and trying to rain! Our first stop was Feuchtwangen – an old German town, formly Prussian and now in Bavaria – old square, church etc – then to Schillengfurst followed by Rottenberg o.d.t. for lunch.

Explored Rottenberg, along with hundreds of others, but still a gem of a medieval town. We arrived back at the van just as it started to bucket-down. It rained solidly for hours – but we were as snug as a bug in the van. What a great little wagon!

Moved on to Rottingen for the night – by the river Tauber – still raining heavily.

Day 77 Wednesday 4^th August:

Surprise – it is not raining this morning! We criss-crossed the German countryside south of Nuremburg and made our way to Dinkelbuhl for lunch. Explored the city in the afternoon and in the evening. Stopped here overnight. Another beautiful old medieval town with walled town and ramparts – ha, that’s why we came here!!

Day 76 Tuesday 3^rd August:

Rained all Night and still raining in this morning! We visited the Schloss and Art Galley at Vohenstrauss. Spoke with the tourist info lady who had spent time in Aust. Then we headed-off to Wielden and then Amberg. Still no wifi!!

Amberg is a delightful walled town and all you would expect of a Bavarian medieval village. It is well kept and retored, and at the same time accommodating for the 21^st century needs. Stayed the night at another fine German Stellplatze.

Day 75 Monday 2^nd August:

We nearly got ourselves into a spot of bother last night. We stopped at a service centre on the motorway leaving Prague which was very busy with truckies, buses and cars etc and started to prepare our spag bol when we noticed a girl in a skimpy skirt and very high heels climbing down from one of the big semis. Then Bern spotted a group of 4 ‘similar ’looking girls strategically standing in a spot highly visible by entering vehicles. There was much activity around us with dubious, slick looking men on mobiles pacing up and down in front of us looking up and down the parked semis etc and waving to the girls and pointing. They started to glare at us because we must have been impairing their vision of the area. We suddenly realized we were in the middle of a motorway brothel!!! Yet another occasion when we hastily packed up and moved on!!!

Slow morning. Tried to catch up with emails etc. Had lunch and left to spend our last Czech Crowns. We later crossed into Germany and headed for the Stellplatze at Vollenstrass for the evening. It is good to back in a country that supports motorhomers!

Day 74 Sunday 1^st August:

We both forgot “a pinch and a punch”! remembering it later in the evening.

We woke to find a much more pleasant day ahead – the rained had stopped. We had an early start drove in to Prague and took some time to find a place to park for the day. We walked to the castle ( supposedly the largest castle complex in Europe) , cathedral, watched the changing of the guard with hundreds of others, and then caught the “Hop On-and- Off Bus” to the old town and the new town (17^th Century) and the Jewish quarter. We watched, again with hundreds of other, the Astronomical Clock do its thing on the hour, then had a beer with lunch.

Prague had thousands of tourist – not our scene – but Prague would be a place to visit for a longer stay.

Again, the comparison between the communist era and the modern era is evident for all to see ie the big sports stadium, which holds 200 000 spectators, and the TV Tower – both ugly. Headed off towards Plzen – the home of Pilsner Beer!

Day 73 Saturday 31^st July:

Still raining this morning. Had a slowish start and then drove to the Czech border – through Klodzke and Kudow-Zdroj – all very alpine-ish and a real effort to being made to upgrade and provide for the ski-tourist.

Crossed the border into Czech Republic – absolute pig-sty - like most border crossings – changed Euros for Czech Kroner and headed for Hradec-Kralove – a very industrial town – and then to Kutna Hora - a UNESCO listed town. Interesting history – a medieval silver mine, Royal residence, cathedral and abbey. The Czechs are firther advanced in upgrading from the old communist era – but much evidence of this still lurking in the background.

Headed towards Prague and camped about 50 kms from the city.

Day 72 Friday 30^th July

Woke and had breakfast with Helena, Radek and Zuzanna. Again a superb Polish breakfast – sausage, meats, breads etc.

It had rained all night and the van wheels had sunk – a little difficult getting out of the driveway. It backed out well with a little help from Radek and Mirek.

Sad farewells – a very warm connection with the family.

Off to Czestochowa. Rained all the way.

Stopped at the very famous Jasna Gora ( Black Madonna) – well worth the stop.

Had lunch here and then moved on towards Opele for the night.

Day 71 Thursday 29^th July:

Arrived a Sedziszow Poland by 10 am.

TT got us close but we had to have assistance to locate the exact house. Radek was waiting - a fantastic welcome from Helena, Radek and Zuzanna. Helena, Helene’s aunt, is so lovely.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner - vodka at all three – all day! Radek did very well at interpreting. A wonderful day – well worth the effort of getting here.

Bed by 10.30 pm.