Unused to being woken early by a three year old, Dale and I were yawning as we set off for our day trip to Stirling. May - still excited by her grandma's Kiwi house guests - poked her head into our room to say good morning after being dropped off by her father on his way to work. Since we were up, we joined Siggi and May for breakfast in the kitchen, and then set off for Stirling while Siggi readied May for her pre-school gymnastics class. As we neared Stirlin...

As we drove north from England and into Scotland the scenery became more rugged, the buildings greyer, and castle sightings more frequent. The landscape seemed less populated too - large empty tracts of land with only a few black-faced sheep. Occasionally we passed through a village with a few unadorned grey stone houses clustered around a pub. The traffic increased as we neared Edinburgh, as did the height of the grey buildings we saw. Four and five storey h...

Vikings, Roman Legions and Richard III all came to mind as we neared the walled city of York. It was late in the day, but the sun was still out and I was itching to get exploring. I suspect that Dale, tired from driving, was probably more interested in a nap. However, a quick glance at our tiny b & b room and he was ready to join me on a walk. The nearest gate to the city was only a 5 minute walk away. The tower above the gate once contained a small pris...

The sun was shining, the tubes were not crammed with commuters, and the train to Cambridge was on time. It felt like London was giving us a farewell hug - I love this city!! But it was time to move on and Cambridge was where we had chosen to collect our latest rental car (a Vauxhall Corsa) for our grand tour of Britain. As the countryside whipped by the window of our high speed train, I was surprised by how quickly the uniform brick housing of London had gi...

In the grips of Olympic hype, London had been transformed since our last visit 3 months earlier. Brightly dressed volunteers stand on hand at the airports, tube stations, Tourist attractions and, of course, Olympic venues - smiling and ready to help confused tourists. Signage has been added about the city, on public transport, and to tube maps, pointing out the way to Olympic sites. Temporary bars and restaurants have popped up in the parts of the city most vi...