Sunday, November 03, 2013

There and back again


We've been away for the weekend at a wedding: that of our lovely Son-in-Law 1's equally lovely brother to his also extremely nice young lady. It was a beautiful wedding but I can't show any photos (don't worry, modest groom - you won't feature but I thought the cake deserved a world-wide viewing) because I left my camera with Daughter 2; silly me. These photos are from my phone. All our offspring were there with their spouses so it was a splendid family occasion.

But it was a long way to go (south-ish England). At first, the journey was fine: great weather, empty Scottish roads.


We bowled along,

noticing signs of autumn and


waving to the shade of the infant Mr L in Biggar.


But when we got to just above Manchester - not that far from our destination - we hit major congestion. Two hours passed.


Night fell and we were still crawling. That illuminated notice says "Queue. Caution". Indeed.

However, we got there in the end and it was well worth while.


On the way home today, we were so happy to be going north again because - look at the southbound traffic (including some supplies for Downton, interestingly enough). I don't watch the programme but... (?)


Yes, the queue, miles later. Horrid.


How nice it was to reach the excellent Tebay restaurant and shop in Westmoreland - this is surely one of the most scenic views you'll see from a motorway cafĂ©.

In case you're wondering, the furry friends (Cassie, Sirius and Cupcake-the-guinea-pig-who-belongs-to-Daughter-and-SIL-2) were cared for by a professional live-in animal sitter. (I didn't think I could really persuade Thimbleanna to come from the Mid-West to look after them for two nights.)

3 comments:

  1. That is our favourite stop on the way home! This year we were so early we were able to go for a cruise along Hadrian's Wall as well!

    ReplyDelete
  2. It's the best motorway stop and managed by my cousin, well second cousin!

    Sorry about the M6:(

    ReplyDelete
  3. Awwww, if only I'd known. What a tempting thought. I just mentioned to TheManoftheHouse last week that two of my three trips there have been at this time of year -- and it's always been so lovely! At any rate, I'm glad the furry friends had good care and it looks like you had a nice little get-away.

    ReplyDelete