Day 161 to 162 - 10th to 11th April - U.K.

Point of departure: London

Point of arrival: Whittlebury/Buckingham

Accommodation: Whittlebury Hall, www.whittleburyhall.co.uk

Km travelled today: 156km Cum: 28 059km (gravel 0km cum 4 6 49km)

Countries so far: 14/16

Where to next: Coalbrookdale, Shropshire

No of photos: 12 (cum 6 990)

Oh so close but yet so far… Silverstone! The Hall was right next door to Silverstone but John did not get to take the Beast onto the circuit. At the village pub car park John hears "You are a long way from home with a Gauteng number plate" - an expat. We are bound to bump into more South Africans whilst in the UK and it's a great feeling. We had a lovely weekend catching up with Marina's side of the family: Kevin, Karen, Joshua and Sydney Sutton and Nito, Bridget and Regan Lobo (who all lived in South Africa at one time). Great to see you all again and thank you so much for coming out to see us, we truly appreciated it and little Sydney remember… it's Godmother not Stepmother (Sydney (3) at shopping centre looking for Marina says to Karen "mom where's my stepmother"). Thanks Karen for organising the family rate at Whittlebury Hall. It really is a beautiful establishment with indoor heated pool (John got to do some lengths and the kids swam) and spa (where Marina also pampered herself a bit), beautiful gardens, lounge and pub. Being right next door to Silverstone, it has a rich heritage of motor racing, accommodates the teams during Grand Prix week and the pub is full of racing memorabilia.