From England to Scotland

So, we left Blackpool well in time to begin our 5 hour drive to reach Fort William to catch the 4 pm special train – which train – The Jacobite Express. What’s so special about it? Well if you were a 90's kid you would probably know what I am talking about. It’s the same train that was used in the Harry Potter movies. This was an exciting day, especially for my sister who had been a big fan of Harry Potter. Her excitement could not be contained since not only was she going to see the train but to travel in “Hogwart’s Express” and be a part of the Harry Potter’s world was like a childhood dream come true. Many people travel to two specific view-points just to see the train. However, we were not just going to see but were going to travel in that same train. For Rinku to be in the exact same coach where the famous trio - Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley - traveled to the world of magic was exhilarating. I always complain to my sister that she is not excited about anything and is always very calm and composed but to see the light spark up in her eyes and the excitement in her smile was amazing.

Although sometimes fate has some other plans. We were doing well with time but just an hour away from Fort William we came across a very bad traffic jam; as minutes continued to tick, it came down to just 30 mins before we could reach the train station. I think that was the day we did break the speed limit and managed to reach the station sharp at 4 pm. The whole family ran on the platform only to say goodbye to the behind of a beautiful steam engine. We had missed the last train for the day and the next day we were to leave for Isle of Skye and Rinku was to leave for Stirling to have her dissertation meeting with her professor.

Having missed the train, we still had some time before sundown, so we decided to go to the Old Inverlochy Castle. The castle is a ruin but that’s because it has remained unaltered since it was built in 1280 and has witnessed many battles in its time. The castle is beautifully defended by a river on one side and other three sides were protected by moats which are long gone now. Aakaash and the kids enjoyed climbing the ruins while my sister and I enjoyed walking around the riverside. There was a cute little wooden bridge across the river where the kids enjoyed running around on.

From there we headed to the Fort William town centre where a Scottish band welcomed us with their world-famous bagpipes. We then had a meal of traditional fish and chips, just walked around the town and enjoyed the beautiful weather. We called it a night and were ready for our next leg of long drive.

From Wales back to England

We left Aberyswyth early in the morning and today was going to be a full day of driving. It was gorgeous to drive through the Snowdonia National Park. No picture can do justice to the beauty that the eyes saw. The seascapes of breath-taking beaches, inlets, mountains, water bodies and sprinkle of castles were spellbinding. We stopped at Llandudno and drove around the cliffs of Grand Orme. Unfortunately, we could not go in the Tram because it was very windy. This is the only cable hauled tramway in Britain that has been in use since 1902. A little disappointed we left Llandudno nevertheless the beauty entraps you again and takes you in an awestricken world of its own.

After getting mesmerized by the beauty of Wales we reached our destination in the evening – Blackpool. I only wish that I had come to Blackpool during autumn. During the fall the whole town is lit up with gigantic electrical lights in shapes of different animals, plants, and different shapes. This attracts loads of tourists every year to Blackpool. After a full day of driving we were excited to get the opportunity to walk along the beach. We headed straight to the Pier where there is Coral Island which is an indoor family attraction. Although it closed, we had a wonderful time on the pier. If you visit Blackpool in off season, it’s more like a ghost town, still we enjoyed the scenic view and went on the Ferris wheel from where we could see the whole town alongside the golden horizon set by the sun diving into the sea. We walked around at the sea beach and discovered so many jelly fishes stranded on the sea shore waiting for the waves to come back and claim them; seagulls were flying high and low bidding farewell to the setting sun. With that we wished the town good night and headed back to the hotel to start a new day.

Cardiff-Swansea -Pembrokeshire – Borth – All in a day’s drive

In the morning we wrapped all our excitement and started a new leg of our road trip. As a country Wales can come across to be a peculiar destination for it doesn’t have the glory or the touristic attraction of England’s Stonehenge or Scotland’s lochness monster among the famous few. Nonetheless if you are a lover of nature and beauty, it should be on your bucket list. I think Wales takes on a back burner on touristic destinations because it doesn’t have per se any prominent or world famous attractions. I think the best decision we made was to drive through all the countries. This way we had the flexibility to stop wherever and whenever we wanted, and I am glad that we didn’t go through any travel agent or tours.

So enroute we stopped at Castle Quarters but for a very short while and then started our drive alongside the Wales coast line. It was amazing to see a relaxed way of life as compared to the hustle and bustle in cities. A bright sunny day where people were riding their bikes, relaxing in the garden with their families, children running around and playing with no care in the world, the ships parked at the docks, the whole scenery was beautiful.

Our next stop was Oystermouth Castle which sits magnificently on the hills in Mumbles with the spectacular backdrop of Swansea Bay. We didn’t realize that the castle is closed on weekends but that didn’t stop us from clicking a million pictures. Swansea is the second largest city in Wales and from there we headed to the Mumbles Pier which has a beautiful view point of Mumbles and Swansea bay making it a place to explore and photograph.

Later we drove to Three Cliffs Bay which as the name suggests has 3 limestone cliffs that are jetting out into the bay. It was so gorgeous with an enormous shoreline of sand dunes made by the large streams that flows in the middle of the bay. From the hillock we had a paranomic view of the bay and we saw that the low tides had given a man an opportunity to play fetch with his dog. All this had really tempted us to hike down to the bay but due to time constraint we had to make do with clicking pictures from the cliff and kids had a frolicking time rolling around on the grass.

We were on the road again driving through the narrow lanes crossing small towns, breathing the fresh air and seeing the lush greenery everywhere. We stopped at Rhossili bay which has been awarded as one of the top 10 beaches of the world. It was perfect weather to be out on the hillock with greenery all around; surrounded by sheep grazing the grass, the sea birds visiting from time to time with the beautiful view of the entire bay. No one could have asked for more. Wales actually can also be called land of sheep, you will find them everywhere as well as in food menu  and in different preparations.

Today was a day for just seeing divine coastlines and Prembrokshire Coast was perfect for this. A lot of people do days of camping and walking tours also because I think it is the only uninterrupted walkway of 180 miles in Wales. After all the sightseeing we drove through the meadows and over the mountains down the hillocks through narrow roads to Borth which is the only UNESCO Biosphere reserve in Wales. After driving through the rolling hills and crossing castles we finally reached our guest house. 

The view was gorgeous with colorful row houses which makes the street very unique and beautiful, making the location even more intriguing. The setting sun at the coastline which was visible right down the street made the whole atmosphere very magical. The guest house we were staying in was one of the best, it was painted yellow and we had a huge vibrant room to ourselves with bunk beds for the kids. It looked like it had been a kid’s room before the owners turned it into bed and breakfast accommodation. There was a pirate chest filled with toys and the kids excitement could not be contained. It was indeed a very adorable room. We left our luggage and went out to eat. I think we ended up having Nepalese food which was delicious. We had covered a lot in a day and were ready to retire, trying to soak in all the events and beauty that we were wrapped in. I think the highlight of Wales is simply exploring the countryside, driving through the small country roads, admiring the scenery, moving through without any agenda, driving by the small towns along the way, stopping where you like and living life like there is no tomorrow.

England to Wales

After spending an eventful night at Bristol, we started our journey to Bath. Bath is definitely on the UK tourist trail coz of its famous Roman built baths. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The English charm, thermal spas, beautiful churches and historical buildings do make it a must see for people who like to see culture, history and heritage.

You would feel a difference in the air when you walk along the cobbled streets to absorb the rich history of this city. I took pictures of the kids at Bath’s Gothic Abbey with the beautiful backdrop of the grand cathedral. We then headed for the tour around the ruins of the Great Bath. It’s beautiful but you would never think of having a bath in that murky green bacteria infested water with tales of radioactive lead pipes. Anyhow, we went along with the tour and saw beautiful hot springs inside the building and read, heard and learnt about the history of Roman Baths. Once the tour was over we stayed a while in Bath, did a little shopping and then headed to Cardiff.

On our way we drove through countless adorable towns. After a point of time I stopped taking pictures and just soaked the beautiful scenery unfolding in front of me, the rolling hills of the countryside with sheep grazing, grey sky biding farewell to the lit backdrop, the changing colors of leaves on the trees; all made you feel like you were in an enchanted world. From England we drove to Wales and once we reached Cardiff which is the capital and largest city of Wales and the 6^th most visited place in the world, we parked our car near the Cardiff central library, roamed around in the city for a while, had dinner at Bella Italia. While I waited for Aananya to finish her dinner, Aakaash and Aan went to pick up my sister from the bus station who was joining us in our journey ahead. Kids were super excited to have their beloved Masi with them on the journey but we had to curb their excitement so that they could rest, sleep and be ready for the exciting journey ahead.

Coventry to Bristol (Cadbury World, Warwick Castle and Stonehenge – All in a day’s drive )

We started our journey from Coventry to Birmingham where our first stop for the morning was the Cadbury World. Kids were so excited to see the love of their life in its making- chocolates. The moment you enter you are engulfed with the overbearing smell of chocolates and hell ya they do give out free chocolate to taste that eventually you have to refuse because the decision becomes very personal; do you want to gulp more chocolate vs throwing it all out from your system if you consume any more of it. There is so much to do and see like tours, play areas, eateries, music, games etc.; you can spend an entire day there if the chocolate overload doesn’t make you sick. Warning for parents: stay away from the gift shop, the kids go crazy seeing so many chocolates and truth be told so would you. After filling our bellies with chocolate overload and battling to keep everything inside we left for our next stop- the Warwick Castle in Warwickshire.

I was already told by my sister that this is a must-see castle and it sure is beautiful. There are a lot of shows that happen during the day. When we reached the castle, jousting was just starting so after enjoying the show we went around seeing the beautiful set up of the castle. There are loads of opportunities to get great clicks with the Royals around and so many wax models with different settings that it made the entire experience a lot more fun discovering different parts of the castle. Later on, there was a birds of prey show which all of us enjoyed thoroughly and then headed to the Princess chambers where only kids were allowed and they felt so special. Finished seeing the rest of the castle, clicked some goofy pictures and right then it started to pour, we knew it was time to head to our next destination.

We were to drive through Cotswolds to go to Wiltshire to see Stonehenge which has been on Aakaash’s bucket list for a long time. All of a sudden, we decided to drive through Oxford instead which was a little detour but we said what the heck we can do as we please, all though I’m not sure why we did it but I think we were curious to see the town. One thing that was really working in our favor was the daylight saving. That’s how we were able to drive such a long distance and were able to make it to Stonehenge- one of the most famous UNESCO World heritage sites. It was incredible to see the prehistoric site and the mystery that surrounds it is intriguing in itself. Where did the stones come from and what was its purpose? Apart from it being a burial ground, I wonder if we will ever know the use of these stones. Although we were little disappointed since we were not allowed to go inside due to some restoration/ construction work that was going on, we were pleased with the pictures we took from outside. After enjoying the scenery/landscape, we headed towards Bristol when it started to get dark.

We reached the Inn at 11 pm after driving around 200 miles, we were dying to hit the bed and hurried our luggage to the room. The kids were excited seeing the room and were running in and out. Between Aakaash checking in, filling in forms and formalities and bringing the luggage from the car

and me shoving the luggage in the room, I suddenly heard Aananya scream at the top of her lungs. Next what I saw, stopped my heartbeat completely. Aananya’s finger stuck in between the hinges of the door and she was screaming in excruciating pain. I just didn’t know what to do for when I tried to open the door she would scream more and if I tried closing it thinking that it might free her finger she would yell and cry. Hearing her scream Aakaash came running and finally he was able to free her finger. You would think it was over. To my horror our nightmare had just begun. What I saw next I can never ever forget in my life, Aananya crying hysterically looking at her battered blue finger which was flat and deformed. We just ran at the reception asked for the nearest hospital and drove like mad for 10 miles. Landed into emergency but the doctor was on round and we were asked to wait. This was the most unsettling wait I have ever had to do. We had to wait for 2 hours before we got to see the doctor. Aananya had stopped crying by then and was tired and sleepy. The doctor asked us to take an X ray of the finger and asked to give her a pain killer. Luckily there was no fracture and Doctor gave us a thumbs up after which we went back to our hotel and just crashed on our beds.

England

So, we were crossing countries by road and from Scotland we drove to England. This is for the first time we took a very unorthodox approach for our accommodation. We really had to think through as to how much time it would take to travel to and fro from the accommodation we were to book, keeping in mind the traffic and time to leave the city in order to reach the next destination. Hence, we decided that whatever accommodation we would find enroute to our journey we would book it. I would say that we were lucky to find an accommodation on the highway itself.  Our halt for the night was at Keswick. Usually we always read reviews and find out more about the accommodation that we are going to stay in. However, in this case we didn’t bother much because we were just staying for one night. While booking we didn’t really know what we were getting ourselves into but we didn’t bother much because we were reaching late anyway and were there just to sleep for the night and leave the next morning. For sure I was definitely in for a shock; and kids were super excited when we entered this tiny room, the room had 4 bunk beds and that’s it. Nothing else, not a single piece of furniture not that there was any space to fit anything else either, we could barely fit our luggage in this tiny room…. The name of the property did suggest bunkhouse and this establishment was more so for bikers and had a dorm room set up but still….. There was a bathroom for all the dorms, separate for men and women and I refused to use the shower facilities there the next morning, although apart from me everyone else did. A little walk ahead and there was a kitchen where we had our breakfast and I was happy to leave the place in a scurry.

At least the kids were really excited, they had a great night in their bunk beds and were going to Puzzling Place. I would really recommend this to all parents – it’s a fun way to play with science. There is an anti-gravity room, crazy perspective room, illusion room and a lot more. We all had a blast running to our favorite instruments, machines/ rooms etc.

Due to our over ambitious goal of covering a lot of places and driving through 3 countries in 13 days covering over 3000 miles, it didn’t give us as much time to explore all the places as much as we would have wished or wanted to. So, from Puzzling Place we headed towards Liverpool to see the UNESCO World Heritage Sites - Stanley Dock, William Brown Street, Pier Head, Castle Street, Albert Dock and the Lower Duke Street.

  

On our way, we stumbled upon Killington Lake service station and it was just beautiful. All of us stretched our legs on the lush green pastures right next to the beautiful lake but it was so windy and cold that we were forced to run back to our car. Once in Liverpool, it was quite a task to find all the 6 World heritage sites and we spent most of our time in Liverpool looking for the sites rather than really getting off and seeing some of the interesting places but then that’s the price you pay to have overambitious goals to cover a whole lot of distance. Later we crossed Manchester, although we wanted to spend some time there but we were running late on our schedule and had to reach Coventry before night fall. The Inn that we had booked was very comfortable and we relaxed well for the next day was going to be a very long ride.

Scotland

I use to think that I am pretty methodical in doing things till I received a full detailed itinerary from my sister which even included what time we needed to get up and what time we were to leave for a place including the time we were to get out of there in order to reach the next destination.

So, in the morning, as per the schedule given by my sister we got ready and went downstairs for breakfast. The sweet Scottish lady had prepared a scrumptious Scottish breakfast in her  kitchen downstairs and we were more than happy to gobble everything into our empty stomachs. Today was a fresh new day and we were ready to start our first ever 13 day road trip starting from Scotland, England, Wales and then back to Scotland, practically doing a full circle around the UK.

Stirling is surrounded by forts and I love visiting places with lots of culture and history and our first destination was the Wallace Monument, located on top of a hill. It was quite a climb for all of us especially me who is not a fan of walking at all. The 248-steep spiral staircase is indeed a considerable climb that ultimately reaches the crown of the monument, nevertheless the panoramic view was breathtakingly beautiful and worthwhile.

After getting our beautiful shots we went to meet Rinku and saw her cute apartment. It meant a lot to me coz this is for the first time I saw my lil sis all grown up and staying by herself. She was really excited to show her beautiful 310 acre Stirling University which is one of the most picturesque university campuses in UK. Who else can boast of having a golf course, lake, meadow, woods and a castle in their campus. What can be better than studying in one of the best universities and right in the luxurious lap of mother nature.  Since she had her dissertation to finish she couldn’t join us on the trip immediately and was going to join us later on.

Therefore, after dropping her off to her apartment we started our little adventure towards Keswick. Rinku had told us to visit the Falkirk Wheel, we had no idea of what it actually was till we reached the Scottish Canal and wooah what an extraordinary experience for all of us. Falkirk Wheel is a rotating boat lift, I didn’t even know that such a thing even existed. This beautifully engineered wheel raises the boat from a canal below and transports it to the upper canal. It is one of the very few boat lifts made in the world. After enjoying the ride, we drove to the neighboring country England…

It was really cool driving from one country to the other, stopping wherever we wanted. Although on a timeline yet defying it sometimes when completely smitten by the beauty of nature; soaking it all in slowly but surely. Our halt for the night was at Keswick, the Lake District. It would be totally criminal if we were at the Lake District and didn’t visit a lake, so on our drive which was almost all along the lake we decided to stop at one of the viewpoints. The kids had a great time running around on the pier until it got dark and we headed to our accommodation. Every view point we crossed it was fun to see people fishing, some youngsters were just having fun listening to music, eating, dancing, kids playing. The country side really shows you how people can enjoy life without being slaves to electronics.