Day 28: Home

Sadly, we said goodbye to our friends and in the pouring rain, headed south for Shropshire; home.

The weather was terrible and the M6 roadworks meant we lost time but we eventually got back to see Nanny & Poppa at Potford Farm at 5pm.

What a trip!

5 countries

3118 miles

12 different beds

Amazing scenery

Lots of unpacking and packing!

Wonderful memories of a great trip!

Thank you for reading it. 😊🙏👍🏻

Lottie, Danny & Finn Gosling

Day 27: Hadrian's Wall

We woke early as we had all our friends to play with and after playing with our sticks in the garden, we had a short hop to the Roman Fort museum. It was very cool as we got 3-D glasses to wear for the special film all about what life was like for the soldiers who had to come from Rome to live and work near the wall. It was interesting and we got sharks teeth at the gift shop too!😊😆

Next, we headed out on a BIG walk up and down steep hills. We were actually following Hadrians Wall which goes all the way across the country from the west coast, all the way to nearly Newcastle. We got to walk on the wall and have a good run around on the grass around it. The spot where we had our picnic was a sensational view (see the picture Daddy has put on below). We walked a long way.

Next, we went to one of the biggest Roman Forts - Vindolanda. It was just a lots of low walls and not very high but we learnt that is has been there for 2 thousand years and shows what the town would have looked like when all the Romans lived there! We ran around and pretended to be soldiers. 

We had a delicious ice cream and went home for a bar-b-q cooked by the dads (the mums helped too) before we were allowed to watch a DVD with our friends.

We loved today.

DJ Danny and FJ 👍🦅💡🌵💪🏻🍦🍦🏅😍

The Famous tree on Hadrian's Wall called 'Sycamore Gap'

Day 26: leaving Scotland

We got up in a hurry because we were really really excited to go to England to meet our friends, Findlay, Lucas, Frank (Snow) & Holly. 

The journey was about 4 1/2 hours from Aviemore, travelling south to Hadrian's wall in Northumberland. On the journey there were signs like mountains rolling hills.

When we arrived, we hugged each other, high fived and other things like that! We played with them for the rest of the day sticks, teddies, pillow fights and as it was a sunny afternoon we went for a walk. The walk was up and up through the hills, there were lots and lots of sheep, cows but we only saw one Shetland pony.

A while later, when we reached our destination, we found a little lake with an island in the middle. Then the children had an idea, to cross the lake to the island....Some of the boys idea also included taking off our shorts so we could wade out to the island. 💡 

It was great fun on the island - we pretended to monkeys eating all the food!

Great day and seeing my friends was amazing! 

DJ Danny 🦅😜

O

Day 25: The Brewery!

Mummy made us some lovely ham and cheese omelette's for our breakfast. Because we were all tired from our long journey yesterday to John o Groats we decided to have a lovely slow day in Aviemore. We took an eight minute walk to the The Cairngorm Brewery 🍺 where a lovely man called Malky gave us an interesting guided tour. We learned about how beer is brewed and were able to look at each part of the process up close, I really liked the giant mash ton. Did you know that real ale in barrels needs a part of the fishes bladder mixed in with it to ensure that the ale is poured clearly? Mummy and daddy really enjoyed the tasting experience, I asked Malky if I could try some but he said I had to wait until I was 18! I secretly tried a little bit of my daddy's, it was tasty!! Mummy created a delicious meal of local sausages, new potatoes and vegetables with a little bit of nanny'a favorite pasta salad on the side and yummy Eaton Mess for dessert 🍓🍇. I am really excited about tomorrow as we are traveling south to Hadrian's Wall where we are meeting up with our friends from Bangkok. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

See you all very soon.

Love Finny G ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Day 24: John O'Groats

Today we became 'End-to-enders' - Lands End to John O'Groats! 🇬🇧 After a 3 and a half hour drive from Aviemore to John O'Groats I felt my brain was spinning with triumph!👍🏻 It was fun at John O'Groats as there were sculptures we could play on - we went SO high up!

It is the furtherst northerly part of the United Kingdom and as it was a beautiful sunny day, I could see the Orkney Islands from where I was standing.

Because it was hot, we were allowed a solero! 🍦

As we were having an ice cream, we saw 3 men cycle 🚴 up to the sign and have a glass of champagne🥂🍾 We spoke to them and it turned out they were 'End-to-enders' (End-to-enders means you have walked, cycled of driven from Lands End to John O'Groats) so we congratulated them. We were End-to-Enders too, we did it in a car!

After John O'Groats, (sadly) we drove back a different way, through a narrow road with a great view of the countryside-there were hills, lochs and signs saying 'be careful, animals  around'. We saw sheep doing what they do, eating grass and looking for places to eat grass 🐑. We only saw about 2 houses and about 3 cars for 37 miles.

Because of the narrow, windy roads, the journey took a long time so, eventually, we had to stop and daddy got some fish and chips which we ate near the beach. It was a beautiful sight, not including the seagulls!

10 put of 10!

By DJ Danny 🦅🌵🐣🐤🐥

8 and a half hours in the car but worth every second.

Day 23: Looking for the monster

Our first stop was a surprise...daddy showed us the Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Ground, some of the players were training. The views of the loch (it means lake) as we drove along Loch Ness were stunning. We had our eyes peeled and all thought we saw the monster but it was probably only a wave or log! In the exhibition centre, we found out a lot of interesting facts, for instance, it is still a mystery about the monster and we have to be detectives and make up our own minds. We also found out that there have been hoaxes and fake pictures about the monster.

After lunch and the gift shop, of course, we drove back through Inverness to Culloden. The scene of (another fact) the last hand-to-hand battle in the U.K. The exhibition centre was great, there was a room with 4 walls with a 360 degree view of the battle as it took place. We also saw artefacts from the battle that were over 250 years old, like muskets and bullets.. Other things we liked were the replica canons and the huge video screen (on the floor) which showed all the troops as the battle took place and where the two sides charged at each other and how the battle went. The Jacobites tried their best but the Government army smashed them and in the end some of the Jacobites ran away. We actually went out onto the battlefield itself at the end. We learned a lot.

For tea we had pizza and Eton mess for dessert. And watched Skyfall.

Lottie, Danny & Finn 🦅😳🏅🎖💪🏻🤗😍🌞

Next to Loch Ness

Just in front of the Government line (red flag) on Culloden battlefield

Day 22: Zip-tastic!

At the start of the day it was raining, our first real rain of this whole trip. We were feeling a little bit miserable because we had a booking at the biggest zip-line park in the UK. Because of the rain, mummy even wanted to cancel it but we but we didn't give up and definitely wanted to carry on with it.

We were stunned when we got there because it was massive! After we had put all our gear on and had a safety talk from the man in charge, we started our long, long, long walk up the mountainside. 

When we finally got to the first zip line, we realised it was spread out over a whole forest and all the lines were through all the treetops, above rivers, and gorges. 

When we started it felt like we were really flying. The views were stunning!

We were so high up, and looking down was exhilarating. At some points we were higher than the trees. Everybody seemed to be doing very well, especially as it was quite difficult to land as all the places where you finished each line were actually halfway up the trees, on a platform connected to the tree trunk.

The last two zip lines were the longest, one was 350 m long and we couldn't even see the end. The last zip line over half a kilometre long-I was a little nervous but also thrilled about doing the longest zip line ever!

To finish the day off, we went to a pub called the Winking Owl, I had a lovely and chips. 

Today was AMAZING. Thank you so much Daddy & Mummy. 

Speak to you all soon.

Lottie xx 🐘🍉

Mummy on the 550m zip line 

Me on the 550m line!

Finn & Danny doubling up on the 350m zip line

Day 21: Glencoe, Bond and the Highlands

On our first morning in Scotland, to my surprise I discovered that my tooth had fallen out! It had been wobbly for nearly 2 months and it had finally come out just as I woke up. I was wobbling it, I accidentally pulled it and it came out. It did not bleed because it was ready to come out.

Next, we had a Big, big full Scottish breakfast. I had scrambled egg, bacon, beans and toast in mine.

After that we had a long drive to Loch Lomond and later, Glencoe, which was full of mountains. The scene was indescribable and unimaginable. Amazing! You couldn't imagine how beautiful it was. We also found the place where James Bond and M stood in Skyfall (see below). We had lunch at a lovely cafe where you were allowed to select exactly what you wanted in the kids meal. From our seats you could see out of the cafe to the lovely scenery.

We then had a lovely drive through the Highlands, we saw mountains and Lochs and amazing scenery. Then we arrived at a lovely little cottage in Aviemore.

We had a great day.

FJ 😎🇮🇪👻🦅🍻

Day 20: Belfast & Scotland - 5th country of trip!

Today I woke up in Northern Ireland and went to bed in Scotland! 

I was SO exited  to go to the Titanic Exhibition. After a full Irish, delicious breakfast, we hurried to Belfast, to the Titanic museum 🛳. 

When we got there, I noticed that the museum was shaped like 4 fronts of a ship! We had a little look around while daddy got the audio guides. When we were all ready, one of the staff told us a few facts about the Titanic (his name was Rob). For instance, he showed us where the Titanic last touched dry land.

When we were properly inside the museum, we learnt that the Titanic was the biggest ship ever built-I wonder how big it was in real life to see it. Also, the Titanic carried 2238 people. We listened to the audio guide which told us about how Belfast became a huge shipbuilding city (biggest in the world) and also we went on an interesting ride in a cable car which took us round some exhibits of people working their hearts off to build the Titanic. There was a cinema showing us about film divers made about the wreck of the Titanic, 4000m below the surface...we saw pots, pans, spoons and other things they used on the Titanic.

We were in there nearly 3 hours and we didn't want to leave because it was so interesting. But we had to.

So the journey to Scotland started and we drove to the harbour to board the huge ferry.

It took 2 and a half hours to get to get to our 5th country on this trip! Scotland!

We drove to Ayr, to a guesthouse then found our rooms. We were feeling hungry so we went to a restaurant that was originally a church!

The day was great...now we are in SCOTLAND!🍻👍😀💪🏻

By DJDanny 💪🏻🦅

Can you spot Lottie, Danny & Finn?

Harland and Wolff were the builders and the biggest in the world in 1912

Ferry to Scotland

In Ayr

Day 19: The Burren to Northern Ireland

Hi everybody,
Top of the morning to ya!!

As our eyes opened, we remembered that we had slept in a horsebox! We drove about 50 meters to the big house where we had an organic, home-cooked Irish breakfast cooked for us. 

After that, we went on an extremely long journey north from The Burren through Galway, Sligo, Donnegal (where we stopped for a wee and some sensational sandwiches which we ate as the car sped to the Giants Causeway!...) and Derry/Londonderry into Northern Ireland. 

Excitedly, we walked down the path and we had an audio guide which gave us lots of information about the Giants Causeway and Finn McCool. Finn was a giant (over 50 feet tall) who one day went to work to make The Giants Causeway. 

I was energetic with excitement as we hopped around on the hexagonal rocks. We were lucky again with the weather as the sun shone and  the sky was blue, and not a cloud was in sight. Towering above us, the cliffs were enormously gargantuan and we took some photos and went as far as we were allowed to near the waves that were crashing against the causeway. 

None of us wanted to go back as we could have stayed there longer...much, much longer. But, we were happy to go and get ice creams (had a Delicious Calipo). 

As the Sun was setting gently over the horizon, I tucked into a home made pizza at the pub/hotel.

Goodnight

Finn (McCool) 

Day 18: Tipperary, west to the Burren

We woke up, sad to leave Niamh, Roisin, Lisa & Harshi. They were all off to Mass, while we were going west to the Burren in County Clare. On the journey, we watched 'the Hunt' narrated by David Attenborough, you should watch it, as it is VERY interesting.

After we had stopped to pick up a great picnic (me, Lottie and Finn looked at the toy department while. I'm my and daddy did the shopping), we drove to the Cliffs of Moher. When we parked the car, we had lunch (daddy tried to open my lucozade and there was a big disaster-you can guess for yourself what happened! 🤣), then we walked along the cliffs (they were 200m high!) and we were right by the edge and we were scared! 😮😳

The walk was beautiful and the sea was shimmering in the sunlight. The cliffs were interested as the layers of rock were formed by the sea over millions of years.

Later, we drove to our accommodation on a Farm. Mummy and daddy said we were 'glamping' and we were amazed as there were piglets and pigs in the field. They were so cute.

In the corner of my eye I spotted what looked like a horse box, but it was actually converted into a caravan and it was amazing and cost inside. It was beautiful and decorated like a lovely home with a shower and toilet. Our bed was technically on top of the cab where the driver would have sat! We couldn't wait to go to bed as we we sleeping in the highest point of the caravan. 

We had tea in Lisdoonvarna, I had a lime and soda and after fish and chips, I had toboerone cheesecake with cream and chocolate ice cream on the side.

It was a great day and night.

Goodnight 

DannyG 🦅🙃😎🏑