Since we've been back from Scotland we have come full circle and have decided again that buying a caravan to tour through Europe will be our best option. It will give us a lot more flexibility and will be much more economical than staying in budget accommodation. The majority of last week was spent caravan hunting and we finally decided on a 2004 model Sterling Onyx. We pick it up tomorrow so will post pics soon. It has a fixed double bed at one end and a di...

We left Howden on Tuesday 13 March, to make our way up to Scotland. Our first stop was Goathland which is where Heartbeat was filmed. From there we went to Whitby, where Captain Cook sailed to Australia from. We finally made our way to Durham and spent our first night there. The following morning we had a look around Durham, which is home to the 3rd largest university in England. We visited the Durham Cathedral before heading across to Hexham to see Hadrians wa...

On Friday afternoon (9 March) we set off for our weekend away in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. John & Katie organised a lovely self-contained cottage for us all to stay in. It was once a church and has been converted into two cottages. We were staying in a little village called Thwaite and there was a little stream running right alongside the village, with a waterfall right outside our cottage. That night we ate at the local pub, where the food was a...

Not long after we arrived in Howden, Loche found the local landrover fanatics. So he went around to see them and yes, they had a 1996 V8 Discovery for sale. Luckily for our bank balance, it has been converted to LPG. It has almost 200,000 miles on it - so we are taking bets on how long it wil last! in Loche's words if it breaks down 'it's all part of the adventure'. I'm yet to agree with him ;-)

We have had such a wonderful time here with Loche's relatives in Howden, Yorkshire. We've managed a few good nights out with family at some very quaint pubs. We first went out with Barry, Jo, Katie & John to the Boot & Shoe, last Friday night (2 March). It was a fantastic night with great food, beer and wine. The publican was a wonderfully friendly guy who let Loche behind the bar and even let him 'pull a pint'. At the end of the night he shouted us ...