UK Road Trip, June 2026

London / Penrith. Wednesday/Tuesday 10/16-June-2026.

This whole road trip was triggered by a biannual face-to-face meeting of the Friends of Carlisle Victorian and Turkish Baths. Video meetings are all very well but there is no substitute for meeting in real life. So we booked ourselves a flight and train to come back for a short trip. Originally planned as a five day trip it was extended when we learned that Keb' Mo' was appearing in London the day before we were due to fly. Full write up of that gig on the blog at Keb Mo at Union Chapel 2026.

You couldn’t call it a relaxing trip - we had a packed agenda for the week and it was a great opportunity to catch up with lots of friends.

Wednesday 10th:

Drive to Bari: given the cost of a taxi to and from the airport, it was much cheaper to book ourselves into long-stay P3. What we had not counted on was their over booking policy. We arrived to find that every single slot was occupied. Fortunately, a Fiat 500 is such a dinky little car we were able to do some creative parking on the end of a row. There was another guy circling the car park and then phoning the office to complain about what the hell was he supposed to do?

Flying from Bari to London: we had allowed plenty of time because we had heard horror stories of long delays due to the new EES system. However, we could not drop off our luggage until two hours before the flight so arriving early was pointless. As it turned out, the airport was very quiet and the automatic gates were not working so we had to queue anyway and were quickly seen by the border guard, no problems.

The train from Gatwick to London was uneventful. We dropped our bags off at the not-so-budget Premier Inn near St Pancras and went for a delicious, light supper at Morr in Islington. Recommended.

Keb' Mo' concert at Union Chapel: 

The concert was excellent. Hardly surprising as Keb Mo is one of our favourite artists. This was the sixth time we had seen him and I really like his laid-back Americana style. 

Thursday 11th:

Because our original flight was for the Thursday, we had booked a train for early evening back to Penrith. The cost of changing the train time was so exorbitant that we decided we would spend the day in London and fit in a number of other activities. 

M. C. Escher exhibition at Somerset House: First was an excellent exhibition at Somerset House featuring all Escher's greatest hits well curated with explanation boards and interactive exhibits plus examples of his influence on other artists, filmmakers and pop culture. 

Interactive exhibits included this one where your could put yourself in Escher's place and take a selfie.

An optical illusion thanks to sloping walls and floors.

Classic M. C. Escher.

When you get up close the detail is astounding for something carved by hand into a wooden block.

One of his impossible buildings.

Mary took the opportunity, as she often does when we are passing through London, to visit Fiona at Hebe in the Strand for a trim. Mary has known Fiona longer than she has known me! On the way to the hairdressers we passed another Paddington so there had to be a photo.

My siblings and I like to meet up for a meal several times a year, sometimes just the three of us, sometimes with partners. A habit that we started when dad and mum were getting old and in care homes and needed coordinated care from the three of us. I am so grateful and so lucky that we all get on so well and are so supportive of each other.

We then went shopping for clothes for Mary and on the way we passed Bedford Street Wines that were offering two-for-one on glasses of champagne. How could we refuse?

We then went up to Euston in good time for our pre-booked 18:30 train back to Penrith. Multiple cancelled trains on the board was not a good omen. It turned out that a vehicle had hit a bridge somewhere in the midlands dislodging a great lump of parapet. Inspections were required which meant no trains were running on that line. We did eventually board our train which set off 45 minutes late. It then was forced to do two detours plus some other delays. 

At Preston we were informed that, due to the very late running of the train, the staff at Penrith would have gone home and we would not be stopping there. We overshot and detrained at Carlisle well after midnight and were taxied back to Penrith where we eventually fell into bed at nearly 1am. The journey normally takes just over three hours, on this Thursday it took more than six! 

Friday 12th:

We had been wanting to do the Settle to Carlisle train journey for sometime. They occasionally run steam trains excursions along this route but at an exorbitant price. Then Northern Trains were offering a deal and we got two returns for £9.10 in total. It’s all about the journey, not the destination as the line passes through some beautiful countryside. 

It was just a shame that it was the day after our nightmare journey up from London. Despite not fully catching up on our sleep, we had to get up early in order to get the train up to Penrith to pick up this journey. It was worthwhile though - lovely scenery and cute stations all along the line.

When the trolley came round I ordered a cup of tea and a biscuit but the lady persuaded me that I had to have parkin as we were in Yorkshire and very tasty it was too.

We have friends who we met in Cisternino and live in Skipton. They drove up to Settle to meet us for lunch. After lunch they kindly took us to the amazing Courtyard Dairy cheese shop (and adjacent Natural Wine Company wine shop). We came away with several lumps of cheese and a couple of bottles of wine.

The smell was amazing as was the selection of cheeses. They have a slick operation. You are assigned your dedicated assistant who makes recomendations and lets you taste every cheese.

We then drove over to Malham Cove for a short stroll. I last visited this cove in 1990 when working in Bingley. It reminded me of our first cat, Cleopatra who we acquired in 1990. The company immediately assigned me a project at Bradford & Bingley Building Society. To avoid disrupting the kitten’s life I relocated up to Skipton with Cleo and Mary came up most weekends. 

Since I was staying in “the Gateway to the Dales” I thought I would try this walking malarkey and bought my first ever pair of hiking boots thinking they would last me a lifetime. How wrong I was! They were Brasher boots, much lighter than the traditional heavy leather variety, and the write up from Chris Brasher said “the first time I tried these on I gambolled like a Spring lamb“.

We parked up in the village and walked up to the cove.

Close up it is an impressive cliff. Halfway up there is a little red dot which is a climber.

Looking a bit windswept.

Back on the train to Carlisle we missed the connection to Penrith by about a minute. It was sitting on the adjacent platform, but its doors were already locked for the off. Plan B the 104 bus back to Penrith followed by a relaxing supper of our just-purchased cheese and wine at home.

Saturday 13th:

Saturday was parkrun as always. Mary was feeling tired and possibly coming down with the lurgy so volunteered as Marshall.

Penrith 13/06/26 31:09 [256/365]

Lunch with friend Ann. We went to Tebay services which has a great café and we got a window table so we could look out over the pond and the occasional duck.

In the afternoon Mary had a Chiropodist appointment in between rearranging the furniture in the house to optimise the dining room. This meant a full domino effect as bookcases and hi-fi systems were rearranged to suit.

To relax after the furniture disorder, we had a couple of beers at Fell Bar and an Italian meal with friends Andrew & Sarah

Sunday 14th:

Finally the social event which was the trigger for this whole trip - BBQ and meeting with the Friends of Carlisle Victorian and Turkish Baths. It was well attended and it was great to meet our fellow volunteers in real life, have a chat and get an update on the progress that has been going on behind the scenes. All very encouraging!

Home for a couple of beers at Fell Bar with other friends followed by more cheese and wine at home working our way through our purchases from the Settle cheese and wine shops.

Monday 15th:

Various health & beauty appointments for the both of us followed by coffee and a catch up with friend Nigel. The afternoon was cleaning the house ready to receive guests whilst we are away.

Tuesday 16th:

A long but uneventful trip - Penrith > London > Cisternino. We had bought an Itsu picnic supper to eat on the plane but ended up saving it until we got home and ate it with a couple of glasses of wine.

And so to bed. [Pepys].

Road Trip - January 2026

Witham, Cisternino, Blackpool. Thursday 24-January/Friday 01-February-2026.

A three part road trip:

• 2 nights in Witham, Essex with our friend Andrea
• 6 nights in Cisternino, Italy checking up on the apartment
• 3 nights in Blackpool for the Blues, Rhythm and Rock festival. 

This came about due to a combination of factors.

• Mary likes to celebrate her birthday in Cisternino and use it as an opportunity to check up on the how the apartment has survived over the winter.
• We had tickets to go to Blackpool for the Blues, Rhythm and Rock festival the weekend following Mary’s birthday

The only flights available at this time of year are from Stansted courtesy of Ryanair. Since our friend Andrea lives not far from Stanstead we decided to go down a couple of days early, spend some time with her, fit in a parkrun, and take the Saturday afternoon flight out to Italy.

Thursday, 23-January-2026.

The long drive down from Penrith to Essex and supper in with Andrea. 

Friday 24-January-2026.

Chilling out with Andrea, another delicious supper of slow-cooked lamb shank cooked by Andrea.

Saturday 25-January-2026.

Malden Prom 29/01/26 30:56 [270 / 473]

Saturday is of course #parkunday so we went to our NENDY (Nearest Event Not Done Yet) from Andrea‘s place which was Malden Prom and we were rewarded with a lovely sunny day. 

Two and a half loops on a varied course, mostly tarmac with some grass and trail. Big crowd and lots of encouraging marshalls.

Mary left her phone behind so had no music or prompts to push her on, so she was expecting a slow time.

After a shower back at Andrea’s, we headed off to dump the car at Stansted Mid Stay car park and fly off to Italy. 

Following an uneventful flight we picked up a hire car at Brindisi as it was cheaper than a taxi at either end of our trip and using our own car once we got there. We ate on the plane and arrived in time to park up and wander around the town and have a beer in Umberto’s.

Our newly installed Internet enabled controller for the boiler appeared not to be working. Although Mary thought she had switched on the heating remotely a few days we arrived to a freezing cold apartment. We slept under multiple blankets that night.

Sunday 25-January/2026.

After checking out the boiler and the electricals and restarting the boiler, we finally cracked it by unplugging the boiler, leaving it for 10 minutes and then plugging it back in again. Upon rebooting it burst back into life and started working. So we had heating but the entire apartment worked like a reverse night storage radiator soaking up all the heat we could pour into it and it took several days for the apartment to get back up to normal temperature.

That night we met up with friends Patsy and Les and ate in Da Tonia.

Monday 26-January-2026.

Mary‘s birthday! We were travelling very light courtesy of the minimalistic, tiny cabin bag, but I did manage to smuggle in a birthday card and a small present so that Mary had something on the day. 

I am still dealing with the fallout from my wallet being lost /  stolen when we were in Bologna in October. The bank card was replaced a couple of days later, the carta d’identita turned up a couple of weeks later, but no sign of the replacement driving license after a couple of months. So Pietro and I went down to the police station to put in a repeat application. The very helpful policeman examined all my documentation, issued me with a temporary permit to drive and put in a formal request for a replacement. He said it would take about 20 days which turned out to be the case.

That night we dined at Piatti Chiari, one of the better restaurants in town, that was open on a quiet Monday.

Tuesday 27-January-2026.

In the morning we went for a walk along the escarpment behind Hotel Lo Smeraldo then drove down to Savelletri for lunch. We drove via the monumental olive trees at Masseria Pettolecchia and whilst there were treated to an impressive murmuration.

Wednesday 28-January-2026.

We picked up 10 litres (two times 5 litre tins) of new season olive oil from Gaetano who runs the linen shop and a holiday apartment both in our street. 

Supper was in the unpretentious, family run Restaurant 21 on Via Roma. It has an Italian-German theme to the menu because the husband lived in Germany for many years. 

Thursday 29-January-2026.

We took Pietro, who has helped us with our properties for over 30 years, and his wife Nunzia for a “thank you” meal at Il Cucco. We were joined by Carole and Mino who able to join us. We hadn’t seen for ages so it was great to catch up with them!

Friday 30-January-2026.

Drove to Brindisi airport to drop off the hire car. The flight back to Stansted was uneventful and on time. We jumped in the car and drove straight to Blackpool in time to see Mississippi MacDonald  He was followed by the Deborah Bonham Band of which we saw half their set but were so knackered from travelling we bailed early and went for an early night.

Saturday/Sunday 31-January/01-February-2026.

Two days of music (plus Lytham Hall parkrun) which had its own blog post: UK Blues Festival 2026. 

Monday 02-February-2026.

Drive home.

UK Road Trip, June 2025

All over the place, UK. Saturday/Monday 7/16-June-2025.

It all started with Elles Bailey, our favourite blues/Americana singer, being chosen as a support act for Rag’n’Bone Man. We were really pleased for her as this will give her fantastic exposure to an audience who will not previously have had the opportunity to hear her music. 

We thought this was too good to miss especially as we also like Rag'n'Bone Man so we decided on a trip back to the UK. We booked tickets for the first of the series of concerts: Friday night at the Guildhall Square, Southampton. And obviously fit in a cheeky Southampton parkrun the following morning.

We booked our flights for a week away with the plan of doing a small road trip along the south coast to visit our friends Bob and Lynne in Ringwood where we used to live, my second cousin in Bournemouth and possibly our friends on the Isle of Wight. But then it all went a bit haywire.

Firstly, Mary realised that she had left her purse with credit cards and driving licence in Penrith. Then our hi-fi in Italy blew up (well just never powered up when we plugged it in). So we bought ourselves a replacement to be delivered to Penrith with the plan of bringing the dead one back for repair and swap out for the new one. 

Also, due to a calendar mix up, we had to vacate our Italian home a day early to make way for some Home Exchange guests. We decided to bring our flight forward and take a longer road trip. 

The trip to Penrith was to be a quick out and back on the train to pick up the stuff but when we looked at car hire for the rest of the trip it was outrageously expensive. Six weeks' long stay car park at Heathrow was one third the price of 10 days car hire. So we decided to catch the train up to Penrith to collect our own car, use it for the road trip, drop it off at Heathrow (where we will be returning in August) and get the bus down to Gatwick for our return flight. 

Day 1, Saturday 7th - Cisternino to Gatwick:

As always Saturday morning starts with parkrun which we were able to do at Salento as we had a late afternoon flight. Despite the heat, I managed a respectable time of 29:14 and a number 3 finisher position.

This was high position made possible by the fact that we had no tourists to boost the numbers; it was just some of the regulars. It also meant that the token sorter did not have too onerous a task!

After parkrun, we came back for a quick shower and final cleaning and tidying before our HomeExchange guests arrived later that day.

We parked up at Bari long stay and had an uneventful flight to Gatwick. We knew that the flight would land too late to catch a train up to Penrith so we had booked ourselves into the Gatwick Hilton. A snack and a couple of glasses of wine in the bar ensured a good night’s sleep.

Day 2, Sunday 8th - Gatwick to Penrith.

We had an uneventful train ride up to Victoria, across London arriving at Euston in time to buy some lunch for the journey.

At Penrith, it was a drop off the bags and a quick change at home in time to go out with friends Andrew and Sarah. By a stroke of luck our favourite local band, Bare Wires, was playing at the Boot and Shoe at nearby Greystoke and it gave us a chance to hear their excellent new singer.

This was followed by supper at Grants of Castlegate. That was, of course, followed by the ill advised nightcap in Fell Bar ensuring another night of deep sleep.

Day 3, Monday 9th - Penrith:

Mary had some errands to squeeze in (stereo repair, opticians) and a physio appointment while I was mostly pottering about including a trip to the recycling to clear out all the rubbish before our Penrith Home Exchange guests arrived.

Day 4, Tuesday 10th - Penrith to Cranham:

After a trip to the chiropodist for Mary, we set off from Penrith. We took the opportunity of this road trip to break our journey south at Cranham, just outside Cheltenham, and spend the night with our friends John and Andrea as we haven’t seen them for ages.

We spent a very pleasant evening with them including a pub supper at The Butchers Arms in nearby Sheepscombe. As we left the building we were treated to an exhibition of traditional English Morris dancing.

Day 5, Wednesday 11th - Cranham to Ringwood:

As per our original itinerary, a visit to our friends Bob and Lynn in Ringwood, which is where we lived for 13 years in Ibsley, a small village couple of miles north on the A338. 

Having some time to spare we decided to make a slight detour via Stonehenge on the way. The first time I went to Stonehenge was over half a century ago! Back then it was basically an open field and you could wander in and around the stones and sit on them with no restrictions. Now it is much better managed. There is an excellent visitor centre some distance from the site with a shuttle bus to take you to the stones.

They have an audio guide app which provides useful little snippets of info at various points. And even better we are English Heritage members and got in for free!

Lynn cooked a delicious venison stew and we had a good old natter catching up.

Day 6, Thursday 12th - Ringwood:

After a relaxing morning waiting for the rain showers to pass we had a delightful walk round Blashford Lakes Nature Reserve.

Walking around the lake, we stopped at various hides and were fortunate to catch multiple sightings of kingfishers which was a real treat. 

Unfortunately, they move too fast to get a decent picture so here is a more sedate photo of a swan and cygnets.

We passed a whole clutch of Scarlet tiger moths which had just hatched out. They were very lively and, like the Kingfisher, impossible to photo. I did manage a screen grab from a video clip but even so the black and white parts of the wings were a blur.

That evening we dined with two other friends in Antepli Turkish restaurant. I am getting to really appreciate Turkish restaurants having had some excellent meals over the last couple of years. Lamb is one of my favourite meats and they do it very well. Most lamb served in Italian restaurants just does not seem to be the same quality.

Day 7, Friday 13th - Southampton:

Finally, the gig that prompted this whole road trip. We had an early supper of Thai style tapas at Mango Above Bar and went in early to see if there was any seating we could grab. Any perches were already occupied but we did find a bit of fence to sit against.

The first support act was Glasgow singer, Kerr Mercer. Not a band as such just him and a fellow guitarist. He sang a number of excellent self-penned compositions and got a good reception from the crowd. He also did good banter with the crowd including "If you can't understand what I'm saying ask for a translator".

Elles was second support act immediately before Rag’n’Bone Man. She mostly sang songs from her latest album “Beneath the Neon Glow”. She was on great form and put on a rocking show that really caught the audience's attention. I am sure she will have acquired a bunch of new fans as a result.

Rag’N’Bone Man rounded off the evening singing songs from both of his albums plus one new composition. I was fully expecting the encore to be “Human” but he actually chose that as the last song of the main set at which point we started threading our way through the crowd while he did two encores.

A great concert with three excellent acts.

Day 8, Saturday 14th - Bournemouth via Ripley:

Southampton 14/06/2025 29:03 [614 / 1126]

Saturday was another packed day. First of all we did Southampton parkrun which was my hundredth tourist location. I emailed the Run Director a couple of days prior and got a shout out and a round of applause.

Then it was back to the apartment for a shower and check out by 11 which worked well as we had a 70th birthday party in Ripley to attend. Jane was a contemporary of my sister's from their very first day in primary school so we have known her for 65 years! There were a number of old acquaintances there so it was great to have a catch up for a couple of hours.

Then it was a drive down the A3 to spend a couple of days with my second cousin Effie.

Day 9, Sunday 15th - Bournemouth:

As Effie no longer has a car, we take the opportunity when we visit of going on an outing. This time we decided on a trip to Kingston Lacy. It was our first visit and Effie had previously visited the gardens but never been inside the house itself. It was a beautiful sunny day for the trip and our NT membership cards got us in for free. We spent the morning exploring the gardens including a Japanese tea garden.

After lunch in the cafe we did a tour of the house which was fascinating. 

Kingston Lacy has a dynamic history. Over centuries the Bankes family built, altered, embellished and rebuilt their house. Their wealth came from extensive estates and profitable marriages, including inherited wealth from Caribbean plantations supported by the Atlantic slave trade.

William John Bankes created the house we know today between 1834 and his death in 1855. Forced into exile for homosexuality, at that time punishable by death, he lived in Venice and remotely remodelled the house, creating lavishly decorated interiors such as the spectacular Spanish Room. Displaying remarkable paintings by renowned artists like Rubens, Van Dyck, Titian and Brueghel, the house is a miniature ‘national gallery’ for the South West, and includes Bankes' collection of ancient Egyptian artefacts, the largest private collection in the UK. [National Trust :: Kingston Lacy]

That evening we dined in a local Italian restaurant, which might seem like coals to Newcastle, but it was a very different style to the Italian food we get in Puglia.

Day 10, Monday 16th - Bournemouth to Cisternino:

Because of the logistics of flying in and out of different airports we drove from Bournemouth up to Heathrow and dropped off the car at purple parking long stay. That way, our car is in the right place when we fly back to Heathrow in August to avoid the Pugliese heat. We then got the bus round the M25 to Gatwick. From there it was the usual flight back to Italy, pick up our car from Bari long stay car park and drive home in time for a late night snack, a couple of glasses of Verdeca and bed.

Pitlochry New Year 2024

Pitlochry, Scotland. Monday 30-December-2024/ Friday 03-January-2025.

A celebration of big birthdays: Mary and SIL Sandra birthdays are almost exactly ten years apart, January and December respectively. Rather than exchange presents for their special birthdays they decided upon a joint experience - a luxury New Year's break in Pitlochry. Mary and I last went there for New Year 2013 with Mary’s mum, May, and had always wanted to return.

This year it was a four night dinner, B&B deal in Fisher’s Hotel right in the centre of Pitlochry. 

Monday 30-December-2024. We drove up to Pitlochry on the Monday and snagged the last space in the hotel carpark. The rooms were fine with a hint of faded grandeur - Pitlochry experienced a tourism boom following Queen Victoria’s visit in 1842 and many hotels date from that era.

Tuesday 31-December-2024. On the Tuesday morning we had time for a quick wander round the town and purchase of the obligatory fridge magnet to document our travels.

In the afternoon we went for a whisky tour and tasting at Blair Athol distillery.  On the way we were treated to a saltire in the sky. We were not sure if it was deliberate by the planes or just a happy happenstance.

Me "nosing" while Mary listens to our tour guide.

Before our New Year's Eve dinner Sandra and George very kindly provided a bottle of Krug to start off the evening’s celebrations in style.

Back down for reception drinks, we were piped into supper by this duo.

We ate and drank, some of us danced, we chatted to strangers on our table, hugged and kissed at midnight and finished the night with the obligatory Auld Lang Syne.

Wednesday 01-January-2025. Every parkrun country had the option of an event on New Year’s Day at the discretion of the local volunteer team. Fortunately Faskally Forest just 2.5 km outside of Pitlochry was planned and not cancelled by weather unlike many others around.

A lovely trail through the forest, some horrible hills, a small, lovely loch and a great bunch of volunteers. George (BIL) reported that breakfast at the hotel was finishing at 10:45 and not midday as per our itinerary. Luckily we were able to cadge a lift back into town with a couple of volunteers and get our essential post-parkrun bacon butties.

Part of the fun of Pitlochry is the New Year's Day ceilidh in the Main Street kicked off by a pipe band.

The Main Street is closed off for the whole of the afternoon so people can dance the Dashing White Sergeant, the Gay Gordon and Strip The Willow, etc. Everyone looked as if they knew what they were doing although we did see some folks doing a sort of "follow my leader".

Thursday 02-January-2025. An excursion to the nearby outlet mall, House of Bruar, and a short walk to a local attraction the Falls of Bruar. 

Robert Burns, although taken with the falls themselves, was unimpressed by the lack of vegetation. After his visit in 1787, he wrote the poem,The Humble Petition of Bruar Water to the Noble Duke of Atholl. It entreated John Murray, 4th Duke of Atholl, the owner of the land, to plant some trees and bushes around the falls. [wikipedia] 

Would then my noble master please 
To grant my highest wishes, 
He'll shade my banks wi' tow'ring trees, 
And bonnie spreading bushes.
Delighted doubly then, my lord,
You'll wander on my banks,
And listen mony a grateful bird
Return you tuneful thanks.

Then it was back to the hotel for Cream Tea followed by a quiz. We didn't win but neither did we disgrace ourselves, coming in third.

Friday 03-January-2025. The original plan was to pack up and head home to recover, birthdays having been duly celebrated - possible fitting in an overnight stay end route for a new parkrun on the Saturday. In the end we decided to go and spend the night with Sandra and George in Erskine and do a local Glasgow parkrun.

Saturday 04-January-2025. As it turned out that was a wise choice. Many possible parkruns were cancelled including Sandra's and our planned locations. We spent the Friday evening watching the cancellations roll in.

In the end Greenock was almost last man standing and only half an hour's drive away so off we went. Still some treacherous black ice on the non-gritted roads so we were very grateful for the 4-wheel option on our Kia Sportage.

A bit blustery, double out-and-back along the River Clyde.

We spotted a seal basking on an outlet pipe.

We were amused by this crocheted pillar box topper of "Jesus, Mary and Joseph and the wee donkey"[Line of Duty (YouTube)].

Then it was back to Sandra's for a quick coffee and finally go home to Penrith to recover!