After a relaxing 10 hour overnight ferry to Newcastle Upon Tyne, Bruce excitedly heads north 3 1/2 hours to Kate & Al’s home in Laggan, in the Scottish Highlands! He pulls up in front of the “coffee bothy” store and their home on the right! We spot Kate waving at the window, top left, as we park Bruce out the front!

A relaxing 5 days, enjoying their wonderful hospitality once again.

The beautiful rainbows surprise us on our drive to Aviemore and the Harley Davidson sponsored, THUNDER IN THE GLENS annual parade! 5,000 varied types of motor bikes . . . . This Indian Chief motorcycle is up for grabs if anyone is interested?!

We take to the hills, in between rain showers, and Bev supervises Al and Mark on the wiring of the “Broadband” dish!!?! . . . mmmmm!

In the Scottish shop we discover some gorgeous tartan clothing! You might be the lucky person receiving a holiday souvenir . . . . tartan tie, beret or . . . dress!!

A must-have book for you all – – – – ORIGINS OF THE CLAN BRUCE! Actually, it is an interesting read . . . . “No prouder name in Scottish History than that of Bruce!!”

Sad to leave Kate and Al’s, Bruce heads south to England, trying to chase that blue patch in the sky!!

 

We stay two nights in rural England. Connie and Norman were home, so we dropped into Melbourne, Derbyshire, for a cuppa!

Our first night was noisy, in the car park (next to a busy rod) of Fox Hall Inn, after a pleasant dinner in their restaurant.

The other night in a quiet motorhome designated overnight parking spot in Bury St Edmunds. Reminiscent of the facilities we had in France – very unusual in the UK.

With our brollies up, we wander in the rain, through the park with ancient stone arches and walls of the ruined Abbey & bumped into a startled little squirrel and some interesting wolves.

In the tiny pub, lager and Guinness (Bev) in hand, we were unable to get the “Aussies” across the line in the 20-20 cricket match on TV! It was a close call though, 5 runs short!

The traffic is chaotic as we approach London – no surprise there!!.

We left our bikes in Suffolk, at the eBike shop, for some much needed attention & hopefully they’ll be fit and ready for more action next year!

Bruce passed his annual MOT (roadworthy) test and he is all rugged up ready for his restful winter holiday vacation! A big THANK YOU to Mike for chauffeuring us back to London!!

 

 

Our farewell dinner is delcious at the local Italian restaurant with Pummy, Leon and Neil . . . . and our “handsome” waiter . . . . (he took a selfie after he took our photo!!)

*************

AND SO, our 2015, 2 1/2 month, 5,000km adventure comes to an end!! Our advice . . . . . “never say NO to a holiday in the . . . . . . Netherlands”!! Such a beautiful country and people.

Spending the majority of our time there, we had the opportunity to experience and immerse ourselves in their culture, which included many kilometres on our bikes alongside tranquil canals, farms and of course, Windmills!

Belgium is also beautiful and our surprise little “side trip”, cruising the Romantic Rhine into Germany was also a memorable highlight.

“All good things must come to an end”, . . . . . for a few months anyway, however we are now excitedly packing our bags (will those tartan berets fit in!?!?!) and look forward to lots of fun with family and friends in Australia very soon.

The moto for Clan Bruce : ” WE HAVE BEEN” . . . .

. . . . at first glance seems appropriate for “our” Bruce . . . . . . however, there are many other countries he/we have NOT been!! . . . . . . Where will our Aussie Bruce venture next and what surprises are in store for us?