Travel

Our usual 8am start. We packed and serviced the camper, much quicker now we know how to do everything! Whilst I’m servicing the camper, the kids nip to the shop and buy 3 peaks patches for their backpacks. On wards to England! We had a few unscheduled stops along the way, first because toilet door catch has stuck, and the door keeps flapping about when we go around corners, very distracting. Next I hit and smashed the case for the wing mirror along the tight stretch of road next to Loch Lomond - rather unfortunate. Glad I bought the extra insurance! ...

8am start again with fried egg and bacon rolls with the last of the homemade sourdough. Alex has coined them Baconaters. We made sandwiches and the customary soup and tea to take with us. It was raining first thing, but the forecast is good, so we carried on. The route started at the footbridge over the river progressing to the stone path upwards. There are quite a few others on the path, and it’s slippy due to the drizzle. ...

8am wake up and a simple breakfast of cereals. Einy has not been well waking me up in the middle of the night with a present on the floor. Probably eating the dead sheep yesterday! We packed and serviced the van for the first time, taking a while to figure out where the key for the grey water tap was. Turns out, the glove box. We set off for Scotland, a pretty long but uneventful drive. We had tried to find a flogas refill but to no avail. Arriving at the campsite just before 5pm we parked up, went to explore, and a drink in the campsite bar. ...

Since it’s our rest day we have a lie in before setting out on a warm up hike. We walked the 5 minutes into Pooley Bridge and took a short steamer ride to Howtown. It’s a nice day, but it’s quite breezy on the lake, and we have to wrap Einstein in a spare waterproof because he’s shivering! We walk back to Pooley Bridge reminiscing over the last time we were here when Bella was a baby, and we hiked with her in a backpack. ...

We have an early breakfast with Grandma Anne and leave for the Lake District around 9am. An uneventful drive to the Lakes, and we arrive at Waterfoot Park for 2 nights and our rest day! We set camp, figuring out how to deploy the awning and how the various hook ups work and then take a walk into Pooley Bridge for a drink before dinner, followed by dinner at a pub in the village. ...

Day 1 - we pick up the motor home and head for Brascote. Arriving late for super and a catch up with Grandma Anne and Tom. Distance Driven: 120 miles

Since I was a child and in the Scouts I’ve wanted to complete the 3 Peaks Challenge. Whilst completing all 3 in 24 hours is too much for a family holiday, spreading it over a week is more than doable. We love to hike and were looking for a summer holiday what would include Einstein, the family Dachshund. The 3 Peaks sounded perfect! Our Itinerary Day 1 - Collect the motorhome and drive to Brascote Day 2 - Drive to the Lake District Day 3 - Rest day Day 4 - Drive to Scotland Day 5 - Hike Ben Nevis (1345m) Day 6 - Drive back to England Day 7 - Hike Scafell Pike (978m) Day 8 - Drive to Wales Day 9 - Hike Snowdon (1085m) Day 10 - Drive to London The trickiest aspect will be the tight schedule, and the weather - we will have to climb rain or shine, or skip a mountain under extreme conditions!

After a 3 hour layover we board our flight to London. Hanoi airport isn’t anything to shout about so we’re keen to get moving. It’s a night flight so we all do our best to sleep, that works to begin with even with Coca Cola fueled children. Once it’s time to get up in Vietnam though, we’re all awake and reading or watching the entertainment. Arrival at Heathrow is pretty smooth apart from a really slow family queue at passport control which had us all on edge. ...

We took the opportunity to have a lie in and a late breakfast which was nice after all the early starts. We checked out at 11am, leaving our bags at reception and took a walk to the Notre Dame Catherdral of Saigon. The cathedral was build from bricks imported from France and looks completely out of place. It’s also closed for renovation so it’s a short visit. ...

The night was hot and sticky but we all surprisingly slept pretty well. The chirping gecko and the snoring of the other guests didn’t help, but our preparation for the mosquitos worked out well with none of us getting bitten. All in all a successful but sticky stay which we thoroughly enjoyed. Today was the first day of the trip without an alarm but due to the sun and the neighbours waking up early it was impossible to lie in. ...