Scottish Borders: 7th - 9th Aug

We explored the castles, towers, and abbeys of the Scottish borders for just a couple of days before returning to England.  Visited Stirling Castle, the Wallace Monument, and the ruined abbeys of Melrose and Jedburgh.

Once back in England we went to Hadrian's Wall (the northernmost border of the Roman empire) which was built to keep the Scots out of Brittania.

Back into the UK now for our final week of holiday before heading home. We will spend a few days in Durham and Newcastle before heading back south to London.

Into Scotland - 6th August

We left Blackpool this morning to head north into Scotland for a few days.

Visited our favorite Scottish castle - Caerlaverock - before heading off to Lockerbie for the night.

The Blackpool Incident - 4th Aug

It started out as a pleasant walk home along the beach for the kids...

But add in a treacherous slope covered in slippery algae and a human bowling ball named Jacob Ogilvie and what do you get...





STRIKE!!! ... Dad and Harry were wiped out by Jacob at high speed and we all ended up with blood and grazes wallowing in the sandy pool at the bottom of the breakwater.

Thankfully it is funny now looking back. Photos of the site of the incident and aftermath...

Blackpool: 3rd - 5th August

What better place to experience the English summer than the ultimate resort town of Blackpool...

As Tarsha said "Its a great place to come if you want to feel normal" - there certainly is the full range of humanity on display here... (Helped by the fact that there is a punk festival on this weekend!)





Plenty to do though and we have visited the Blackpool Tower, the Tower Circus, Madame Tussaud's, magic shows, Sea Life Blackpool, the Funpark, the Blackpool Dungeon, and of course the beach.

Legoland Manchester - 2nd August

Continued on our way up north today and called in at Legoland in Manchester. We got to see how lego was made, saw another awesome 4D movie, visited the lego mini world, and of course ended up in the lego shop!



The parents are starting to get worn out with all this fun!

Next stop is Blackpool though so I don't think there will be much let up...

Alton Towers - 31st July & 1st August

Another fun filled day today with a visit to the Alton Towers theme park!

It was a bit of a rainy English summer day but that was OK because we all got soaked anyway on the Congo River Rapids, The Flume, and the Battle Galleons...

There were plenty of amazing rides too - Nemesis, Oblivion, Thirteen, Submission, and the Ice Age 4D movie. We even got to battle zombies in the Duel in the Haunted House.

Cadbury World and Sea Life Birmingham - 30th July

A fun day out today in Birmingham! First we visited Cadbury World and toured the Cadbury factory. There were plenty of free samples to eat along the way and a huge shop full of chocolate.


Next it was off to the National Sea Life Centre with plenty of awesome aquarium displays and a cool 4D Turtle Vision movie.

Hotel McGurren - 27th & 28th July

Visited our friends Drew and Jane in Horsmonden near London for a couple of days (Tarsha worked with Drew in Guildford).

The boys enjoyed playing with their girls Phoebe and Lucy and also met George the tortoise. We also visited the Bedgebury Forest where there were lovely walking trails and playgrounds.

Battle Abbey - 27th July

We left the Isle of Wight today and travelled up to Horsmonden near London. Along the way we stopped in at Battle Abbey - the site of the great Battle of Hastings in which the English army was defeated by William the Conqueror of Normandy.

Legend has it that William defeated King Harold of England after poor Harold took an arrow to his eye!

Shanklin Beach - 26th July

Tomorrow we leave the Isle of Wight and return to the mainland UK. We have had a lovely time here and will be sure to visit again and see more of the sights.

Spent a bit more time at Shanklin beach today as well as a quick visit to the Brading Roman Villa.



Shanklin is where our B&B is so we have had plenty of visits to the beach over the last few days!

Osborne House and the Monkey Haven - 25th July

After the Queen's visit Tarsha and I went to Osborne House - the former residence of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Amazing estate which was passed on to the nation after her death in 1901.

It was cool to see the rooms as they were right up until the day she died.




Later in the day we visited the Owl and Monkey Haven and the boys did the Marmoset Encounter where they got to feed and touch the little monkeys! Jacob also nearly lost his glasses to one particularly cheeky little fellow!

The Queen in Cowes - 25th July

Went to see the Queen today in Cowes - the last stop on her Diamond Jubilee tour through the UK.

Thanks to Carly and PJ we got a great front row spot for the walkabout. No royal handshake for the kiwis but otherwise about as close as we could get!

Carisbrooke Castle - 23rd July

Explored Carisbrooke Castle today on the Isle of Wight - once the prison of King Charles I before his execution...





Found a cool sword for Harry - Excalibur, the legendary blade of King Arthur!

Now we just have to worry about getting it back in to NZ...

Blackgang Chine - 22nd July

Went to the Blackgang Chine adventure park today too.

A busy day for the boys who spent most of the day going around and around and around on the raft water slide with Carly's boys (Sam and Harry).









The raft ride and hedge maze...

The Needles - 22nd July

Went to the Needles today on the Isle of Wight - an appropriately named piece of coastline!





We took the boys down to the beach via the chairlift for a quick play on the beach and then visited some of the local attractions - glass blowing, lolly making, and sand figures - great fun for the kids and grown ups!