United Kingdom: Part 1

Flying into Glasgow airport concluded our 90 day trip gallivanting around the globe. But fear not, our early retirement is far from over. Coming up next; Tour United Kingdom & Tour Australia.

We left Reykjavik in the dead of night, the streets icy and bare. Fortunately our bags provided a pillow of warmth between us and the frozen air. The bus loomed up the shadowy street, we had already payed the fare, the driver greeted us in Icelandic… reply we did not dare.

With the intention of visiting as many folks as we could while we were back in the UK, we hired a car from Glasgow Airport and beetled our way up North to visit Hatti’s parents.

We had a lovely time staying with Cathie & George, and it was great to see Harrison, Nicole, Mary & Walter while we were there! Cathie treated us to a roast dinner, as per Hatti’s request, it was exceptional! One of the many highlights of the meal was the roast potatoes cooked with a chilli honey and mustard glaze!

A trip back to Hatti’s folks isn’t complete without the company of their lovable dogs, Glen and Fiddich. With guest appearances from Archie, her grandparent’s lively mutt.

Yes… they are named after the popular Whisky Glenfiddich!

Next on the list was a meet-up with our Aberdeen contingent. We were lucky enough to see; Jenna, Niall, Christine, Stef, Gemma, Mark, Fiona, Eddie, Nicole, Harrison, Mikey, Alex & Tanya! We had an excellent evening in Brewdog catching up with the ‘wild bunch’.

We stayed in the night in the Copthorne Hotel in Aberdeen, it was a novelty staying in a hotel in Aberdeen having lived there for 8 years! The Copthorne did the trick, proving to be a pleasant place to stay for the night!

We departed around midday the following day, after picking up a few essentials (mainly socks), and headed a couple hours down the road toward the central belt to meet up with my Grandfather and keen blog enthusiast, Jim.

Hatti, Jim & I had a lovely afternoon catching up, before heading to a local hotel for a fantastic meal. Hatti and I opted for the wild mushroom ravioli, seen below. Many a desert was devoured, as is customary when visiting the patriarch of the Nicol household!

On arrival in Edinburgh we had a few packages to open, tools for the road ahead, that my Dad had kindly let me get delivered to his.

Hatti and I are both proud owners of Tens (sunglasses), a Scottish company based in Glasgow. Their website is here if you would like to have a look at their range!

We figured that yellow would be apt for the trip to Australia, not dissimilar to pantone 116C used in the national colours of Australia circa 1984.

Unfortunately another evening we didn’t capture, we do have friends… honest. Fantastic to see Jenny, Jamie, Sam, Mikey (again), Rachel & Ru! We took a short walk down Broughton Street to The Basement, an excellent Mexican restaurant… for a few burritos & a beer or two.

Next up, Leeds, hosted by our friend Tom Joy the talented photographer!

After the mango beer we hopped down the road to Bundobust, a restaurant highly recommended by Tom which served Indian Street food and craft beer. It did not disappoint… it was beyond excellent, 8/8.

After the meal – which, again, was incredible – Tom took us on an evening tour of Leeds, which culminated in a quick stop at Northern Monk Brewery to see their impressive facility.

We woke early the next day as to avoid hitting the road too late, and at the same time, ensuring we could squeeze a quick brunch into the agenda. Tom took us to one of his favourite brunch venues, Laynes Espresso.

With time running out, we raced up a nearby NCP carpark to get a spectacular view across Leeds.

Not even a unreasonable parking charge could sour our trip to the North (of England)!

Thanks again to everyone who welcomed us in on our tour around Scotland and Leeds. We thourourly enjoyed ourselves, it was a pleasure to see you all, and we look forward to reuniting again soon!

H. will now continue the journey further South in U.K. part 2!

See you all soon,

James