July 10: Lazy day, Daughter concert Another busy lazy day? Haha. Short and sweet. First thing, I headed to Leinster Gardens. I had wanted to go beforehand but clearly now that they were mentioned in Sherlock, it was a necessity ;) It's quite something though, looking up at the facades - you have to pay attention to pick out the facades compared to the real houses. It's in the windows and the front doors. Very cool. For lunch I had to go grab my usual London treat and get a sandwhich and hot choco from Speedy's. Always good for a lunch break. Of course I couldn't resist the usual photo of "221B" where I noticed the knocker was crooked. Def made me smile. I was planning to head down to Waterloo or Blackfriars so o could ... read more

Back to London today! Feels so great - it’s like going back to my second home - I really have missed it terribly. I had a two hour wait at the train station, but I took the time to finish my book (“The Yellow Birds” - great read) and to watch some Y&R. Yes, my guilty pleasure lives on while I travel haha. Anyway, train ride itself was uneventful except for the fact it brought me back to my glorious London :) I really can’t pinpoint what’s so great about this city, but it is my honorary second home and of all the places I’ve been this is where I most enjoy coming back, so that must say something. But ugh, London hostels... one of the few things I despise here. I've stayed at some decent ... read more

Off to Dartmoor today! So, I learned a lesson today - if you're in Dartmoor you need a proper GPS. Or a car. Or both haha. I got... not lost but stuck shall we say because I didn't want to keep going down some random valley in the bushes and get lost. There are no signs in the paths and there are a lot of intertwining ones so having the map with you doesn't even help… What a shame. Ok backtrack. I bussed up to Newton Abbot and wandered around the village for a bit - small and cute - before heading up to Haytor Vale in Dartmoor. Basically as soon as I started the hike I was like 'yep this won't end well' haha. Right from the start there are four paths generally going in ... read more

June 30: Brodick, Arran Island Back to the rural life I go - or at least more rural than Glasgow. I took the early train down to Ardossan Harbour to catch the ferry to Brodick on Arran Island. I had a lovely moment at the train station when I found Morrocan green and white iced tea which I forgot existed and I forgot I absolutely love. Yum. The ferry ride was relaxing - I had started outside but there were a lotttttt of little kids so I retreated to the indoors and their big comfy chairs. In Brodick I had originally planned on walking the coastal path to Goatfell and climbing the large mountain... however... I'm still feeling the effects from the Storr so I decided more mountain climbing might not be wise. I did walk ... read more

I’m mixing together the past two days because I had no wifi when I changed hostels and meh, such is life. (Also, I'm on a train and their wifi isn't strong enough for photos - so they're to come later.) June 27: The Old Man of Storr I headed out on the school bus again this morning lol, this time I was headed just north of Portree - to the Old Man of Storr. This time the bus actually drops you at the bottom of the mountain which is good (less of a hike) but also supremely daunting to look up and be like... oh... that is quite high, isn't it? I was also greated by a lovely sign that cautioned hikers that due to decay and bad weather that the top most part of the ... read more