Welcome to Scotland

Sunday... The snow last night kept on coming until about 11pm. It is a bit surreal, like looking at a postcard.

This morning reality really hit- that we have to get the car out of the carpark and that snow becomes icy and dirty on roads and footpaths.

Made a quick trip back in to York to see Clifford's Hill- a castle at the top of a manmade hill. All the old buildings were very pretty with a top layer of snow.

Made it out of the carpark after scraping all the snow off of the windows. The rest blew off on the A1 to Edinburgh. A very heavy fall- more than 6 inches deep.

Had a roast lunch at a great little pub in a very small east coast village. The locals all wanted to talk to us, one even set the table for us and made sure the fire was burning well. Very welcoming people. Sunday roast was great, best yorkies yet for Rach and enough veggies to not be able to get through them all.

In Edinburgh for the next two nights. A well laid out city and very old. We have already met down to earth strangers that take a genuine interest in others- refreshing after London.

Update- they have just announced on the radio that there are dangerous driving conditions on the A1 from York to Scotland including 'Black Ice'. Some schools have closed because of it. Lucky we made it out of York while the snow was fresh. Many adorable kids in toboggans making the most of the rare level of fresh powder in local parks.

Snow

It was so cold for our tour of York that the group that started as 46 people dwindled over 2.5 hours to a miserly 7.

Our guide was a volunteer, and the Council sponsored tours are free. He was very knowledgable on the dark and medieval history of the area, and of its buildings and streets. He was hardcore, and only once hinted that he was feeling the cold with a 'I'll be getting a cuppa at the end!'

Saw some gems that we would have missed. The 'wall walk' along the city wall provided a great view of the sites including the medieval York Minster cathedral.

We also visited a tiny church in its original state from the 15th century. The original stained glass was fantastic. The philanthropist had his image included next to Jesus. Funny guy.

Following this, we went to the the viking museum. Super cool roller coaster reenactment ride based on what the local archaeologists have learned from 1000 year old remains from below the city. The ride even had smells as you went though village, and included a viking at the end straining on the toilet.

Snowed heavily on the walk home. This is the first real snow we had. The prettiest of places to see snowed over. Walking to the pub next door for dinner- still snowing heavily 4 hours later, street's white. We will have to miss the ghost tour :(

York

By far, the most romantic city so far in UK is York.

Tiny winding cobblestone streets, twisted buildings that clearly predate building standards and even spirit levels all hedged in by a giant stone wall.

Had two contrasting dining experiences today. Betty's for Swiss-English afternoon tea complete with a cake trolley and silverware in an immaculate softly lit dining room followed by dinner at El Piano.

El Piano was a real eye opener. The menu is completely vego and gluten free. It was the freshest food we have had while being away, and the flavours and textures achieved without meat or wheat were amazing.

Sweet potato mousse was incredibly creamy and moreish, the dhaal was up there with best we have ever had.

Will stay a few nights in York to catch up on some rest.

On the trail of Robin Hood

Explored Nottingham this morning. Trekked up to the rebuilt Nottingham Castle and it's beautiful gardens, and then took the pug to Sherwood Forest to see the 'major oak'.

At over 1000 years old, it is pretty impressive. The merry men would have used a tree like this as a meeting place before robbing the rich for the poor. Scaffolding holding the tree together was also impressive;)

Off to York now, hopefully no more Robin Hood souvenirs to tempt Rach.

Learning the accommodation game

So, accommodation over here is a bit different to what we are used to! Not always a lovely 4 star hotel available on wotif for next to nothing.

Points learned so far:
- specify non smoking FLOOR, apparently it is ok to put non smokers next to a room full of chain smokers
- if the heating isn't 'individual climate control' consider taking a fan heater at check-in, cause when you realize your room is never going to heat up properly all the fan heaters have gone..
- large chain motels aren't big on the standby rate and you will pay top rate turning up on the day, find a smaller family run place to haggle with
- don't forget when it's the weekend cause cute country w'end getaways are always popular- book ahead for Friday/Saturday nights
-get everything in writing, or take the persons name down. Poor communication between departments and different accents mean it is easy to misunderstand and hard to explain advice given earlier.

Even with learning the above lessons we have done well with accom so far at 50 (inc b/fast), 90, 41 (bargaino), 55 gbp per night. All with private bathrooms :) Hotel in York is the most impressive yet (below).

Robin Hood territory

Cambridge was very tidy, many bikes and the university row was spectacular. Shows how tertiary education used to only be for the elite.

Architecture was so detailed and grand. Highlights were the second story bay windows, the cobblestone streets that rattle the bikes, and the chapels. Walked for half an hour to find a pub that was recommended was shut for lunch today. Found another where the waiter was coeliac and the meals were 5 quid, score!!

Took the pug to Nottingham. Tom Tom struggled with the bus lanes and split roads. Ended in a few 'bus only' roads but the driver held his tongue when he saw our map. Have traveled 250 miles on 30 GBP with of diesel- very economical.

Scored on accommodation. We parked pug next to a hotel to get off the crazy roads and got a massive room with a view for 40 quid- less than half be cost of our last room.

Super cold in Nottingham, snow on the fields on the way in and the road patrol is laying salt on the road.

Went to Cambridge

After a very cold walk on the pier in Clacton-on-Sea drove back to Brightlingsea. Just caught (great) uncle Cyril before his appointment then shared lunch at a local pub. Great to catch up and thanks for the tour!

Visited a town that looked like a children's fairy tale called Finchingfield in Essex. Immaculate streets, gardens and houses.

The village green takes in a bridge and a pond (frozen), with all the town's amenities around including a windmill.

This evening, arrived at beautiful Cambridge, an unexpectedly expensive place to find a bed.

Looking forward to exploring the old town tomorrow. Cyril warned us about the many students on bikes- makes for a great atmosphere.