Leeds and London After leaving the ferry at around 9pm, we headed north intending to get as far as we could that night. We did not have any campsite booked and since most places would now be closed we knew we would be (illegally) wild camping for the night. After rejecting many places as unsuitable we finally pulled into a layby off the motorway. We joined 3 or 4 huge trucks also bedding down for the night. What a ghastly night! The road was noisy and we...

In the UK again After six weeks back in Oz for David's graduation as an officer in the Army Reserve, it's back again to the northern hemisphere for some more travels in the van. We left an Australian winter for early autumn in the UK - there wasn't any discernible difference in the weather... In Leeds we collected the van and did some reprovisioning. In all the rush to pack at the very end, we discovered we had left quite a few things behind in Sydney .....

Northern Ireland: In Dungloe, we met a fellow camper who had travelled from his home in Northern Ireland. On asking where we were headed next, we replied Northern Ireland. Oh dear he said, do you realise what date it is tomorrow... it's the 12th of July, the marching season when the Orange men march in the streets and all the Catholics get upset and riots happen. He and his family, and loads of other Northern Irish judging by the numbers on the road, just pr...

To Scotland and Wales: We had a couple of days to fill in before heading off on our first trip. Since we were halfway up the country already, we decided to head for Scotland, and in particular Kirkcaldy just over the water north of Edinburgh where a good friend now lives. Janet, whom I have known for about ten years through my job marking writing competitions and literacy tests, moved back to Scotland a few years ago. The further north we drove, the more dis...

Bardsey near Leeds: The London visit was over once more, so it was back up to the Midlands to collect the camper. We checked out of the Aston and fought peak hour crowds on the underground to get to where we had to pick up our next hire car. In fact we could not both squeeze onto the train it was so packed, so I pushed my way onto one train and Russ had to wait for two more trains before he could find a big enough space to get on. Having a backpack and two ca...