Day Six - Scotland Loop
We were a long way from Scotland, so it was only going to be a wee visit.
I’d planed the route carefully to be under 300 miles & T.Y.R.E. said 6 ½ hours, which was fine, but those of us more awake than I was, pointed out that the SatNavs were saying almost ten hours – which wasn’t fine.
So before breakfast I started amending the route. Linda wanted to keep Buttertubs pass in & Duncan wanted to do the roads in Scotland, so that sort of restrained the edges. First off I reversed the route so Buttertubs was at the beginning, but by the time I’d finished the adjustments the SatNav was still showing over 9 hours. In the end I moved all the return leg onto A roads & finished the route at a café almost 100 miles from the hotel, so we would do the route, meet up at the café, then just ask the SatNavs to take us home. That met with everyone’s agreement, so I loaded the route onto the SatNavs & off we went.
We did Buttertubs in a heavy overcast, but shortly afterwards the sun showed signs of coming out, but the route had a poblem, the SatNavs all wanted to take us across a field with a locked gate. Fortunately we were close to Brough Castle ice cream parlour (again) so adjourned there to decide what to do. It was here that Robert decided to take his poorly car back to the hotel & try to get it mended, so with what seemed like 20 three year olds (but was probably only four) watching enthusiastically as if these strange cars would suddenly sprout wings & soar away, we set off for Middleton-In-Teesdale & from there, northwards.
We were a long way from Scotland, so it was only going to be a wee visit.
I’d planed the route carefully to be under 300 miles & T.Y.R.E. said 6 ½ hours, which was fine, but those of us more awake than I was, pointed out that the SatNavs were saying almost ten hours – which wasn’t fine.
So before breakfast I started amending the route. Linda wanted to keep Buttertubs pass in & Duncan wanted to do the roads in Scotland, so that sort of restrained the edges. First off I reversed the route so Buttertubs was at the beginning, but by the time I’d finished the adjustments the SatNav was still showing over 9 hours. In the end I moved all the return leg onto A roads & finished the route at a café almost 100 miles from the hotel, so we would do the route, meet up at the café, then just ask the SatNavs to take us home. That met with everyone’s agreement, so I loaded the route onto the SatNavs & off we went.
We did Buttertubs in a heavy overcast, but shortly afterwards the sun showed signs of coming out, but the route had a poblem, the SatNavs all wanted to take us across a field with a locked gate. Fortunately we were close to Brough Castle ice cream parlour (again) so adjourned there to decide what to do. It was here that Robert decided to take his poorly car back to the hotel & try to get it mended, so with what seemed like 20 three year olds (but was probably only four) watching enthusiastically as if these strange cars would suddenly sprout wings & soar away, we set off for Middleton-In-Teesdale & from there, northwards.
We inevitably got separated & three of us stopped for coffee & cake by the lake in Kielder, but the roads were EPIC & empty.
- Having reached Hawick (pronounced “Hoik” apparently) where the apparently simple task of refuelling in the same petrol station as everyone else proved too difficult for me even with a SatNav, so having toured the town for a while, I was playing catch-up, which I did at the café. Then it was just a run south on a main A road, which was busy, but wide enough for overtaking to break up the journey.
Robert’s car was mended by a local garage, so when we arrived back at the hotel, it was straight into the bar for refreshment.
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