Between houses road trip.

Nothing much has happened since my road trip to Venice to meet the family my goddaughters Ruby and Jodi Sheldon in Venice in June 2019 and I haven't had much to report on the Costa Rica Saga holiday in January 2020 but now my house has sold and the property I hoping to move to in Prestatyn is still occupied I decided on a UK road trip until it is. I moved out on 29th July and after a celebration meal on that evening with the guys who helped me with transport issues over my hip replacement and house move I went down to Leighton Buzzard to see Anne who further aided my recovery by walking my legs off but we also visited NT Ascott and I was surprised with my first ever Hogarth paintings, one was from the Harlot's Progress but the other was a portrait which I suppose was his bread and butter work. Archie and I then moved down to Suffolk after a visit to NT Ickworth and spent a week with Keira, Kay, Charlie and Zane which wore me out especially the day at a theme park, possibly not the ideal rehab for the hip! We then visted the NT Blicking Estate before overnighting in Wiggenhall St. Germans on the river Ouse, a blissfully quiet spot with a lovely walk along the banks of the Ouse to give you an appetite for dinner. Visits to Lincoln Cathedral and Castle as well as a whistlestop call in at Durham Cathedral lead to an interesting stay in Coldstream in the borders, the hotel wasn't up to much but a great craich in the bar for the Lions warm up game against the Sharks and the accents were a weird mixture of Geordie and Scots. From there we drove over to Lindisfarne, I could live in that castle and the church was so cute. The next stop was for a couple of days in Edinburgh, a horrible city to drive in with far too much traffic and unsyncronised traffic lights which made my discovery of the tram stop outside the hotel which took me into the centre of town the next day for a miserly sum. Unfortunately my silver tongue failed to wheedle my way into the castle so i walked up Arthur's Seat which has fabulous views of Edinburgh when there is better than zero visibility! The National Gallery yielded another Hogarth, a portrait of the murderess Sarah Malcolm just before her execution but the highlight was a stunning full lenghth Gainsborough of the Honourable Mrs Graham. My journey thentook my up via Aberfeldy and Inverness to see John and Seonaid for a few days in Dornoch, lots of walks including The Strewie and Ben Bragie but also far too much good food and drink, but great to catch up after all the social isolation. We then paid a compulsory first time visit to John O' Groats staying overnight in Wick, if you ever get the chance, avoid both. The long trip down from Wick to Kilmartin was a joy with Beauly and Appin being the highlights but with views like that I am surprised that I did't run off the road. Kilmartin was a very relaxing couple of days visiting prehistoric sights and quiet peaceful countryside but the strange feeling I had when I left Wick manifested itself when we hit a traffic jam in the village of Kilmartin, 2 miles from that night's accomodation, there had been a serious smash, I doubt the driver survived after taking out two dry stone walls. I am now in the wonderful city of Glasgow, I think it is my second favourite after Amsterdam. It reminds me of Liverpool in many ways, the people are friendly and the girls are attactive but even though there is a lot of renovation with glass and steel, a lot of the original buildings remain and the pubs are a revalation. The city is small enough to walk around and I am fortunate in being in a hotel on the south bank of the Clyde in Rangers territory just south of the city centre and I can reccommend the Italian restaurant La Fiorentina, so traditional and authentic, run by second generation immigrants. I have a table booked in The Auctioneer pub for tomorrow's first Lions test after a visit to Kelvingrove Gallery and lunch at the Italian.