Inspired by Nev's convertible, we bought a soft top beetle and drove to Sara's wedding in St. Andrews. We took a fortnight off work and made a summer holiday out of it.
We drove to Birmingham for our first night, then camped in the Lake District on our second, it was pretty, but really windy, our pitch was really exposed and our tent got wet! We went on a boat on Lake Windermere and had brunch in Ambleside. This was the view on the drive to Penrith.
Then we drove to St. Andrews and stayed with my family in a house opposite David Russell Apartments (where Sara used to live). We met uncle Paul, uncle mejar and Karum there. The next day we moved to a different house close to the chapel where Sara was getting married and we had fudge doughnuts and I had a massage. We had a BBQ that evening, an old wives tale said if you bury a raw sausage the weather will be good the next day! Pete had to rescue the raw sausage from an enormous seagull! But it worked, the weather was fantastic on the day.
Sara and John got married on Friday 7th August. They looked amazing and it was a beautiful day.
Dad wore a kilt and gave her away in the gorgeous St. Andrews chapel.
We had supper at the seafood restaurant on the beach. Mum did the flowers...
.....and Issy made the cake
We looked the part as well:
The next evening we had a ceilidh and hog roast in the rugby club
We had lovely fish and chips for Sunday lunch with John's family before they headed back to Dublin, and we had breakfast at the Old Vic on Monday with my family before they all headed home. Pete and I stayed in St. Andrews for a full week. Then we headed to Dunbar and stayed at Issy's and went to the Edinburgh fringe festival. We saw Tom Parry who was brilliant in his yellow t-shirt, James Veitch Genius Bar, Seymour Mace and Zoe Coombs Marr who was the most expensive ticket we bought and she was terrible!
We then drove across to the West coast of Scotland and stayed in a beautiful youth hostel at Rowardennan Lodge.
It was right on Loch Lomund in the Trossachs national park.
We drove as far north as Glencoe, it was very pretty, and remote and peaceful, but cold, so we didn't risk walking very far!
Then we drove to Oban, stayed in an awful b&b in the town centre run by two eccentric old men who made their own jam!
We explored the small town, had delicious seafood in the recommended Oban Seafood Hut right on the sea and visited the Oban distillery.
We then made our way back to Bristol, via OK Diner for curly fries and American peanut butter milkshake. We spent a night camping in the Yorkshire Dales. We visited York Minster and walked round the city walls with an obligatory ice-cream as it was sunny!
