We had a big photo taking day today!! First up we drove to Oxford. It was really exciting seeing the town and university, and comparing the university to its arch rival, Cambridge! I have to say, purely based on the looks I prefer Cambridge!

   
Then we went to a town called Stow-on-the-Wold for lunch. We had lunch in Britain’s oldest pub! Just as a side note, I feel it is important to mention Britain’s obsession with dogs! Most restaurants, shops, accomodation places and pubs seem to allow dogs inside. It is a very strange sight seeing a dog sitting up at the bar! 

   Spot the dog!

  Britain’s oldest pub!

Then we went to the Cotswald Show. It was really great to see a traditional English country show, no show bags in sight! We saw lots of animals including horses, donkeys, birds, pigs, a cow who has met the Queen, and a ferret race! 

  
  
  
From there we went to England’s most picturesque village, Bibury.
   
  Here  is a row  of medieval cottages

Before dinner, Tess and I had a swim in the pool! The pool where we are staying has a blow up bubble thing around, quite unlike any other pool I’ve ever seen!   

 Today was another really great day. I really do love the United Kingdom!!
Tara

We were heading to The Cotswolds  today and thought we had a 3 hour drive but it turned into 5 due to traffic. We didn’t book our accommodation early enough so there was nothing left online in our price range. We thought we would take a chance and see if we could get something there. Mum rang the tourist information centre and they do a booking service. They managed to find a place that is usually more expensive but because they had no one in that night they gave it to us for a cheaper price! I think it’s our best place yet! It’s a two story cottage with two bath rooms, three bedrooms, a kitchen, a living room and a  little courtyard out the back. And a washing machine!!!  On the way we went to Stratford upon Avon and saw where Shakespeare was born. We also had a very English afternoon tea of scones with clotted cream. For dinner we went to a nice little pub a half hour walk from our accommodation!
  On the way we stopped for a  scone and tea. Yum!

  This is the house were Shakespeare  grew up!

  Our lovely cottage.  The place we stayed.

Tess

We just had a nice easy breakfast in our little apartment before heading off on our Lakes District touring day! Our first stop was Keswick at the Cumberland Derwent Pencil Museum. It wasn’t open yet when we arrived, so we parked the car and walked down to a market in the town. It was a good market with a wide variety of stalls. Back at the Pencil Museum… We learnt quite a bit about how Derwent Pencils are made and a few interesting historical facts about pencils. We saw the world’s largest pencil – it was pretty darn big! 

Did you know? 
Americans worked tirelessly to invent a pen that could write in space, the Russians just took a pencil!

Did you know?
Once upon a time, back in the seventeen hundreds, graphite was actually worth more than gold!

After the Pencil Museum, we went and had lunch at the market. From there we jumped back in the car and headed out to the Neolithic Stone Circles, called Castleriggs. It was a series of stones situated in such a way as to create a large circle. It was really quite amazing to think that they have been there for over 4500 years! Then we drove to Grasmere to try some of Sarah Nelson’s Celebrated Gingerbread. It was quite unlike any gingerbread I’ve ever tried before, but very nice! After that, we had a Kelly’s ice cream by lake Windermere in Ambelside. Afterwards, we went to Beatrix Potter’s house, Hilltop, which is now a National Trust property. The house and gardens were almost exactly as they were when Miss Potter lived there.

   Even Mum’s old set of pencils made it into the museum!

 There were so many pencils! 

 This the Neolithic stone circle.   

  Another stone fence!

Lake Windermere.

  
   Beatrix Potter’s Cottage.

Tara

Well, today we drove and we drove then we walked and walked. Finally we got to a wall, well it wasn’t just any wall it was Hadrian’s wall! This is a wall that the Romans built 2000 years ago to keep the Scottish out! This wall was not very successful. It was amazing to see such an old and historical wall! After we arrived at Lakes District and checked in we walked Down the street for dinner. We went to an Italian restaurant which was very nice. After we went for what mum told us would be a stroll but ended up being a 2 hour walk! We went the long way down to Lake Windermere. It started raining on the way back but it was still worth it for the scenery.
  Here is an old gateway at the Lanercost Priory on the way to the the wall. The Prior dates back to the C13th.

  
A longer stretch of Hadrian’s Wall.
    

  Stone fences are everywhere.

Lake Windermere taken when we went on our evening walk.

Tess

After filling up at the hotel buffet breakfast, we jumped into the car and headed back towards the main land, waving goodbye to Skye. On the way to The b&b in Ayr, we stopped briefly in Fort William for coffee, and a walk around, and then very briefly in Glascow at a service station to get some M&S salads for lunch. But our most exciting stop was at Culzean Castle. It was very grand inside and out in the surrounding ground. We also saw some deer on the grounds!  

  
Eileen Donan Castle.

 Glengarry

Culzean Castle (pronounced Callane)

The Armoury Room at Calzean Castle

  Ayr Beach

  
Turas-Mara guesthouse in Ayr.

Tara

Today we went sight seeing. We drove around the island – literally! First, after a lovely breakfast we drove for a while until we reached Skye Museum of Island Life, a village of preserved thatched buildings and barns that show how the crofters lived in the 18th and 19th centuries. It was very interesting as it showed what life was like back then. After that we went to a whisky distillery  – Talisker, where we went on a tour that told us how they make it. That was not very interesting for Tara and I but Mum and Dad liked it. Although it was a cloudy, drizzly Scottish summers day the scenery was beautiful! For dinner we went across the road from our hotel to a small Spanish restaurant, that was very nice.
    Summer in Scotland.

 Oooooohhhhhhh! Spoooooooky!!!
  

A crofters cottage.

 
Broadford, Isle of Skye. 

Tess