Friday 4.12.2009 Day 51 Edinburgh There was lots of snow and Ice on our car when we tried to get going. We drove to Edinburgh and had a look at a Tartan shop and saw the weaving looms working found our families tartans and coat of arms and when the family names originated mine is 1273 and my friend is 1249. We then went to the Edinburgh castle but did not go in as it was £11 ($19.80 aus ) per person and we could see some of it from outside and had seen the inside on tv (Edinburgh tattoo) . We were a few minutes late getting back to our car and got a £30 ($54 Aus) parking ticket. The city is very nice and has lots of old buildings and the Royal yacht ... read more

Wednesday 2.12.2009 Day 49 York Minister We had a fantastic bfast and then we drive to York Minister the largest gothic cathedral in northern Europe and it is 1000 years old. It is one of two cathedrals that has its own police (the other being the Swiss Guard off the Vatican). The Minister and the inner city are inside a wall that surrounds the city. York has more miles of intact city walls than anywhere else in England, and some sections of the walls date back to Roman times. We then drove to Scotland just before we got to the border it started to snow and as we got to the boarder there was lots of snow even on the boarder sign. We then checked into our hotel the Barony Castle and had a look around ... read more

Monday 30.11.2009 Day 47 Clivden Cliveden is an Italianate stately-home at Taplow, Buckinghamshire, England. Set on cliffs 200 feet above the River Thames, it has been home to an Earl, two Dukes, a Prince of Wales and the Viscounts Astor. It is now owned by the National Trust and the house is leased as a five-star hotel run by von Essen hotels. During the 1970s it was occupied by Stanford University of California who used it as an overseas campus. It was the meeting place of the so-called "Cliveden Set" in the 1920s and 1930s and the setting for key events in the Profumo Affair in the 1960s. "Cliveden" (pronounced CLIV-d'n) means "valley among cliffs"and refers to the dean or valley which cuts through the estate to the east and south of the house. The gardens ... read more

Saturday 28.11.2009 Day 45 Taplo We checked out of our lodge and drove to Taplo the town my friend was born in! We are staying in a great little Inn called Inn on the green that has bfast it is over our budget so we are looking for some where cheaper to stay tomorrow night. The good thing is it has free wifi so I got to update my blog and catch up on my emails. It good to be connected to the world again! ... read more

Thursday 26.11.2009 Day 43 Cardiff After raining for days, the weather got worse today with hail storms. We drove to Cardiff - and saw a pile up on the motorway caused by the large amount of hail on the motorway. We visited Llandaff Cathedral, building of which was started in 1120 and continued in stages for a few centuries! It was not a beautiful cathedral, but rather austere and piecemeal inside. It was full of little shrines and chapels to the rich and powerful over the centuries - these people were obviously closer to god than most. It did also house the memorial chapel of the Welsh Regiment, with battle damaged regimental flags giving evidence to the ferocity of past wars. Due to the terrible weather4 we did not get to see much else except when ... read more