Mom and Auntie Carolyn arrived at Twickenham Court (my home in Bradford) on April 6th, ready to see the best of Great Britian. After a few fine days in lovely Yorkshire, the two of 
them, Vanessa and I piled into a rental car and programmed the satnav (one of those computers that talks to you and tells you which direction to go) for Edinburgh. I was driving for the first time in the UK, but after a few false starts, and with oral directions from the ever polite Felicity (our name for the satnav), we were off in the right direction - we hoped!
Vanessa ooed and awed at the little lambs spotting the Yorkshire Dales, Auntie Carolyn imagined the sketches she would do, mom cringed at the narrow roads, and I tried to follow directions for once in my life. I must have been paying attention because after five short hours Felicity had delivered us safely to Edinburgh. However, she didn’t offer to find us a parking spot and so I spent another 45 minutes driving around in circles, fighting with buses and practicing my favorite swear words.
Our guest house was on the edge of the old town, with a great Thai restaurant in the basement. We wondered Edinburgh’s ancient streets in the shadow of the massive castle, visited the castle, went to Good Friday Service in the ancient cathedral, and climbed the green hills on the outskirts of the city – it was delightful.
We then programmed Felicity for the coastal town of Oban, where we ate lovely greasy fish n’chips in the rain and scoped out the Scotch distillery. Oban is a quaint town, with tourists pouring out of every store front. However, Vanessa and I found a peaceful moment on top of one of the hills, were a local church was holding a sunrise service on Easter Sunday.
We left Oban by ferry for the Isle of Mull. The very informative captain told us all about the stunning castle we past as we basked in the cool sun. Once on Mull we remained breathless (and not only out of fear of crashing on the twisty turny roads). The scenery was picture perfect: rolling hills, blue ocean, punk rock cows and fluffy white sheep. The only thing that was missing was burly men in kilts. Our cozy bed and breakfast surpassed our expectations, but not as much as our Easter supper at the local pub – the fresh sea food was overflowing on our table, and was nicely washed down by a local single malt.
The next day we wandered the isles’ twisty roads, walked into a lake, basked on Calgary beach, and ate a few more great meals. There was no doubt about it – Mull was magic.
From Mull we passed back through Oban long enough to go on a distillery tour, and then headed for Glasgow where we met our ever so friendly host at the Barrisdale B&B. Glasgow surprised us with her charm: excellent free museums and galleries, a stunning cathedral and superb taxi drivers (more like tour guides really). Our last meal was at the famous restaurant – Two Fat Ladies at the Buttery.
The following morning we programmed good old Felicity for Twickenham Court and four hours later found ourselves safely home.
It was a road trip to remember. We reflected a number of times that our adventures could be crafted into one of those ultra girly movies about friendship, sisterhood, intergenerational learning, reflecting on the past, etc. Perhaps we’ll write the screen play one day, but until then please check out some photos here.
them, Vanessa and I piled into a rental car and programmed the satnav (one of those computers that talks to you and tells you which direction to go) for Edinburgh. I was driving for the first time in the UK, but after a few false starts, and with oral directions from the ever polite Felicity (our name for the satnav), we were off in the right direction - we hoped!Vanessa ooed and awed at the little lambs spotting the Yorkshire Dales, Auntie Carolyn imagined the sketches she would do, mom cringed at the narrow roads, and I tried to follow directions for once in my life. I must have been paying attention because after five short hours Felicity had delivered us safely to Edinburgh. However, she didn’t offer to find us a parking spot and so I spent another 45 minutes driving around in circles, fighting with buses and practicing my favorite swear words.
Our guest house was on the edge of the old town, with a great Thai restaurant in the basement. We wondered Edinburgh’s ancient streets in the shadow of the massive castle, visited the castle, went to Good Friday Service in the ancient cathedral, and climbed the green hills on the outskirts of the city – it was delightful.
We then programmed Felicity for the coastal town of Oban, where we ate lovely greasy fish n’chips in the rain and scoped out the Scotch distillery. Oban is a quaint town, with tourists pouring out of every store front. However, Vanessa and I found a peaceful moment on top of one of the hills, were a local church was holding a sunrise service on Easter Sunday.
We left Oban by ferry for the Isle of Mull. The very informative captain told us all about the stunning castle we past as we basked in the cool sun. Once on Mull we remained breathless (and not only out of fear of crashing on the twisty turny roads). The scenery was picture perfect: rolling hills, blue ocean, punk rock cows and fluffy white sheep. The only thing that was missing was burly men in kilts. Our cozy bed and breakfast surpassed our expectations, but not as much as our Easter supper at the local pub – the fresh sea food was overflowing on our table, and was nicely washed down by a local single malt.The next day we wandered the isles’ twisty roads, walked into a lake, basked on Calgary beach, and ate a few more great meals. There was no doubt about it – Mull was magic.
From Mull we passed back through Oban long enough to go on a distillery tour, and then headed for Glasgow where we met our ever so friendly host at the Barrisdale B&B. Glasgow surprised us with her charm: excellent free museums and galleries, a stunning cathedral and superb taxi drivers (more like tour guides really). Our last meal was at the famous restaurant – Two Fat Ladies at the Buttery.
The following morning we programmed good old Felicity for Twickenham Court and four hours later found ourselves safely home.
It was a road trip to remember. We reflected a number of times that our adventures could be crafted into one of those ultra girly movies about friendship, sisterhood, intergenerational learning, reflecting on the past, etc. Perhaps we’ll write the screen play one day, but until then please check out some photos here.
