With our visit to Scotland at an end we head south. Stacey, Brett and the kids in their hire car and Greg and I back on the bike - hope the weather stays good!

Stacey, Brett and the kids left the house about 10 and headed south to Carlisle then east to find Hadrian's Wall. This was something that William had done quite a bit of research on and was very keen to see. They found a Roman Museum to explore and then headed to an archaelogical site where parts of Hadrian's Wall were being excavated. They spoke to the archaelogists at the dig and Hayley even uncovered a bone which had to be added to their records - she would rather have kept it apparently. It was then off to Chester's Fort to actually walk around part of the wall.

Meantime, back in Glasgow, Greg and I did the washing and a tidy up of the house before leaving on the bike. It felt great to be back on board the Sprint after being in the car for the last 2 weeks or so. Mind you, being in the car for that time was a blessing really as the weather in Scotland had not been the best. We set the GPS for York where we would meet the family for the night.

We were last in York in 1997 on a bus tour and decided to stay right in town to make exploring the city with the kids easier. We were able to park our bike in front of a window in the hotel courtyard. This Travelodge looked like the tower of a castle so the children thought it was great. As we arrived late in the afternoon we left site-seeing till the morning - just as well as it started to rain just as we came out from dinner in the restaurant next door.

In the morning we walked the 200m up to the main part of town. First stop was York Minster - a monster of a cathedral. It was closed as The Bishop of Harrogate was visiting later in the day; the BBC were waiting to film this occasion. York is a walled city that was founded by the Romans in 71AD. The wall was built around 107AD and enclosed about 50 acres of city. We walked around the wall from Petergate to Monkgate. It was then back in to the town to walk down The Shambles - a street of medeavil buildings that overhang the street and look like they are falling down. The children then decided to visit the Jorvik Viking attraction. By this time, Greg and I were walked out so it was off to the closest café for us. We all met up at 11:30 and left York and headed to London.

As always, the traffic in London was congested and hectic. The hire car had to be returned to Heathrow so we were all dropped off at the hotel and Greg and Brett went off to return the car. That was about 6:30pm - they returned at 10:30pm on the bike. We are staying in a Travelodge about a 3 minute walk from Kings Cross Station. The bike is parked across the road on the street, chained to a tether in the ground; we can see it from the front door of the hotel.

We decided on 2 transport options for our 3 day stay in London. We purchased a 48 hour Hop On, Hop Off bus ticket and also an Oyster Card for Underground and Red Bus travel - these would enable us to travel everywhere we needed to go and even included 2 trips on The Thames. So off we went.

First stop was Trafalgar Square. The children were fascinated by the numerous buskers and 'statues' entertaining the crowd; they paid their few pennies and posed for photos. Tom's main request for London was to see Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesties Theatre. We found a ticket outlet and after parting with the required pounds had 7 tickets in our possession for Saturday night, we also had one very excited 9 year old who immediately started humming tunes from this famous musical. The rest of the day was spent hopping on and off the bus to get our bearings and to help us decide what to do for our remaining 2 days in London.

At 7pm we arrived at the theatre - just as well there were no 'dress' requirements as we had not been back to our hotel all day so were still in our shorts and t-shirts. Our seats were in the middle stalls only 3 rows back from the front, and towards the middle. Tom recognised the chandelier under its cover and became even more excited - if that were possible. He sat between Stacey and I for the first half and was mesmerised by the music, dancing and acting. He quietly hummed along with most songs much to the delight of the other Australians that just happened to be sitting close by. We were all treated to Tom's renditions of the songs on the way back to the hotel absolutely exhausted - especially Grampy!

On London day 2 we headed to Buckingham Palace for the changing of the Guard. We also hoped to catch a glimpse of her Majesty but we discovered that she was out at Sandringham for the day as Princess Charlotte was being baptised there this afternoon. We gathered with about a thousand other tourists and hugged the fence to watch the spectacle. Shiny uniforms, marching bands and precise drill kept us busy for 30 minutes. We all chatted happily while we waited with other tourists, some of whom had been waiting almost 2 hours so they could get a 'good' spot. We wandered towards Hyde Park and visited the Australian Memorial Wall. Then it was off to Harrods for a spot of retail therapy. I had been preparing Stacey for this visit for many years. Of course, we didn't really buy anything but the fact that we were there together was more than enough for us. Our next activity was a "Jack the Ripper ' guided walk. It all started out well with the guide retelling the stories associated with this grusome event but his storytelling didn't appeal to the children and they soon became restless - Tom suggested that the walk would have been WAY better if it were a ride! Big Ben was next and we arrived just as it struck 3. By this time, Greg and I were walked out so we returned to the hotel to do some washing, rest and treat ourselves to a quiet dinner together in a little Italian restaurant that we had found. Stacey, Brett and the kids decided to visit The London Dungeons. This, according to the boys, was much better than the Ripper Walk; it is a wonder any of them slept that night as visions of ghosts, ghouls and methods of torture were relayed to Greg and I when they got back to the hotel.

Our last day in London was saved for The Tower of London. We had purchased our tickets in advance, so were able to skip the long queues at the gate. We wandered around the walls and found Thomas's Gate right near The Torture Tower. No visit to the Tower would be complete without seeing the Crown Jewels so we lined up to gain entry. Luckily the lines moved quickly as the kids all agreed that this would also have been better if it was a ride! They were however duly impressed by the jewels when we eventually saw them up close. The horses and armour in the White Tower was probably their favourite part of the day as they were able to see guns, lances, armour, canons and even models of horses dressed in armour. At the end of the Tower visit it was off to Picadilly Circus to visit Lilliwhites sports store. Unfortunately, William could not find a Manchester United shirt to buy as Man U are changing their sponsor so merchandising has not yet been released. He did however decide to but a pair of Manchester United goalie gloves and a little gift for his teacher, Miss Moore.

Our time in London was at an end. We were all exhausted, no wonder we were tired as Stacey informed us that we had walked approximately 7.5 km on one of the days alone. In the morning Greg and Brett will ride to Folkstone on the Sprint to go to Paris on the Chunnel. Stacey, the children and I have tickets for the Eurostar from St Pancras Station in London to Gare de Nord in Paris.