The soft steady patter of rain greets me as I pack the car in preparation for my drive through the Speyside countryside to Inverness. The road out of Aberdeen winds it’s way through fields filled with sheep and cattle, stone fences are common and trees line the road, in some places forming long tunnels as the foliage come together. Winding my way up into the mountains I am greeted by wind farms full of windmills there blades appearing and disappearing into the mist, descending into the valleys find fast flowing rivers topping there banks with icy water. It is not long before the signs that I am on the whiskey…

It has been a cold and some what sleety day that greets me for my walk around Aberdeen, the Granite city. All of the buildings are built of black granite, which when the sun is out sparkles. Unfortunately I have had limited sunshine today which has not shown off the city to it’s best. First on the list of things to see was the maritime museum, this was a very well laid out display of Aberdeen’s fishing past and petro chemical present. I have not see a better display of model ships anywhere, apparently a lot of them where made by apprentices of the ship trade as a way of…

After a cold night it is time to head further north to Aberdeen, after my sat nav decided to give me the scenic tour out of Edinburgh I finally get on track to head out over the Firth Bridge, the bridge does not disappoint, you get a really good view of it from the new road bridge, which in itself is very impressive. Unfortunately there is not a viewing point to get a photo. After a short drive up the freeway I take a detour into the town of Perth, it is a very pretty place which the black deep cold waters of the Tay river, flowing quickly through the…

Today finds me in Edinburgh, the day is fine and sunny but a cold wind is keeping the temperature to about 15 deg. The big news item of the day is the Pope is in town,and there is a big parade down Princess street, sounds like a chance to see some top pipe bands so off to the parade I go. A crowd of about 120,000 people line the street, in most places 4 and 5 deep, the pipe bands are all decked out in there finery and are sounding great. After the parade I head of to Calton Hill for a great view over the city, it is a…

The wind is blowing the showers quickly across the town as I prepare to head off for Scotland, after a little more looking I have managed to get accommodation, it turned out my problems have been the end of the comedy festival and the Pope is in town tomorrow. Anyway I have managed to get a room for a couple of nights so off along the coast road I go. After getting off the A1 it was not long before the twisting hedge rowed roads wind there way down to the coast, I decide to stop off at Bamburgh for lunch, it has a huge castle that sits high on…

After a frustrating night of not being able to get a room in Edinburgh I have decided to visit the medieval city of Alnwick, pronounced Annick. This turns out to be a wonderful surprise as it is a wonderful town, it has a fantastic castle, which if you are thinking I have seen this somewhere before well then you probably are a Harry Potter fan as this is the Hogwarts castle from the early films. the town is full of rambling streets and gates that are the reminisces of the wall that use to surround the town. I stayed in the white swan hotel which when I went to breakfast…

Overcast, threatening and cool is the way to describe today, this is the first bad weather day of my trip and going by the weather forecast the further I head north the more rain I will be seeing. anyway the morning is tipped to be the best of the day so off into the walled city I go. My hotel is only a 5 min walk from the tower street entrance and so it is not long that I am inside the old city walls and making my way to the other end of the city to see the Cathedral. I make my way though windy small streets full of…

A crisp bright sunny day greats me on my last morning in Ely, it gives me a great opportunity to take a last walk around the town and past the Cathedral, taking some last happy snaps as I go.  Today I set out on my big push to “The North” with about 300km to drive to get me to my destination of York for 2 nights. So it is off up the A14 to the A1 for a blast up the motorway. About and hour into my journey it is time for a detour and to get a spot of lunch in the food bowl of the midlands, yes that…

Well after a short drive in the country side i find myself in Cowlinge. The town is located along a single street with a pub at one end and the church at the other, i would say that there would be no more than about 100 – 150 people residing. I decided to stop in for a pint at the local pub and ended up spending over an hour talking to the publican and a couple of patrons. I learned that this pub was the last of five that use to be in the town, and that the majority of the houses are owned by people in London that only…

Well today finds me a little sore from many days of walking and climbing so it is with much pleasure that i get to have a drive in the country and see were it all started for the Ely’s. So in the first of day 9 trips it was off to Wickhambrook to have a look at the town and see if i could find the church where my great grand parents were married, and i a happy to say that not only is it still standing but there was a wedding due to be carried out there today.  The town sits in the middle of the fens and the…