After a few unsuccessful attempts at trying to persuade the sat nav that there was such a place as Criccieth the only thing left to do was input it manually. Hopefully once in it would remember Criccieth for the future and recognise our attempts at saying the name . The sat nav took us back the way we have come . This surprised me as I could see the coast road up to Maentwrog which seemed a faster option and perhaps a prettier one as it hug the coastline . . However sat nav knows better and took us what seemed like the long way round . Eventually though she brought us into Criccieth . The weather was still wet and blistery but the town looked somewhat more inviting than Barmouth. The sea although rough looked ... read more

We woke early at the crack of dawn in our quiet overnight stop near Antwerp. The reasoning for waking early was to "do a Hamburg". That is get round Antwerp before it woke up . Easier said than done . The roads were dark and dismal and dawn felt a long way away. There was not much conversation in Gabby so early in the morning. We were not going to be rewarded with the flame red of the sun rising this morning . The traffic even at this ungodly hour was busy . Roadworks here and there slowing the traffic to a crawl. Moving from one side of the carriageway to the other and closed lanes all impeded our journey . Coming home always feels a letdown but there is always another holiday just around the ... read more

Well the plan today was to travel to see the summer residence of the Dutch Royal Family Het Loo . However , as normal things were not going to plan at all . It was Monday and Het Loo was closed . So a quick rethink had to be had . What else was on the way to the Tunnel ? We had rebooked the return trip so had to fill today with something , drive to our overnight stop near Antwerp and then to the Tunnel the next morning . So what was there on the way home ? The Nederlands Openlucht Museum came to mind. That is the Dutch Open Air museum to you and me. The home to old houses rescued from being destroyed and given a home in the Museum grounds . ... read more

How quickly things can change ? One minute we have a holiday planned that will take us across to Poland and then next minute because of Glenns knee we are thinking of heading home. It will take us five days of solid driving to get from where we are now to the Channel Tunnel and then another gruelling six hour drive around London and home . A sobering thought . We could drive back across the Great Belt Bridge and head down to Germany. This was just be the reverse of the trip up. Or we could continue downwards to Rodby . We have a plan . Before that though we stayed the night at a pleasant campsite and fell into conversation with a couple who were spending another five weeks in this part of the ... read more

1000 years ago, the Vikings sailed along the shores of Europe. We know that they went up rivers and across the open sea throughout the North Atlantic area. They travelled near and far . Ships are what define the Vikings and on which Scandinavian countries were founded . The Vikings changed the world with their ships and are part of a story that spans beyond trips and voyages . The Vikings changed the world . Theirs and ours with their travels , their mythology and their gods. They say that without ships there would be no Viking Age . And perhaps there is a truth to be found in that. First things first the drivers knees were still aching . Perhaps we could try an automatic gearbox. That might work but the story goes that they ... read more