Chapter 5 — From Top to Bottom

29 hours. Over 1,000 miles. In a little over 2 weeks, we’ve travelled from the very top of the United Kingdom all the way to the bottom. The contrast in scenery has been amazing, and there have been moments when we feel like we’re living our best life: waking up to a sunrise over the ocean at the most stunning camping spot in Durness; stopping as 3 stags leaped across the road as we drove through the Highlands; a lovely family reunion in Ballater; getting a wave from King Charles III himself on his way to church near Balmoral; spending our first hour in England at a pub watching an England football victory with the whole place going bananas; enjoying the quaint place names (particular favourites being Twatt, Kent’s Bottom and Tiddlywinks); and biking around the Cotswolds from one idyllic village to the next.

But there have been some rough times too. The kids have taken to arguing like it’s their chosen Olympic sport, and on occasion we’ve had to (and I mean this quite literally), prevent them maiming each other with their knitting needles. Plus we’re quite exhausted. The combination of long drives and little sleep meant I found myself at the counter of a Costa Coffee in Inverness unable to form a sentence, or in fact, remember why I was there in the first place.

We now look forward to the next few weeks as we travel around Devon, Cornwall and South Wales, hoping for good weather and, god willing, some better sleep.