Some great pictures there, you must have been out sharpish when the sun finally came out this summer.

Keep up the good work Andrew.

John

John,

thanks for your kind words and for dropping by. It's certainly not been the summer we'd hoped for but then there's always next year!

Talking about next year. Our Switzerland trip is hardly over and the kids are already asking us where we're going next year... "Can't we go to England for a change?" Well, I've tried to tell them that the weather is even worse there than over here, but that doesn't seem to be a problem. So who knows we might just be passing by the lovely Summerseat in August of 2008. Could you already order some nice weather by then? And just a question I could also ask Mappy.com, but the answer to which is probably best to be had from an experienced cross-Uk-driver like yourself: what is the approx. distance/time from Dover up to the north (Yorkshire, North-West, perhaps doing some of the Cotswolds underway...)? And are there sufficient motorways to get up there without losing too much time? Of course, the journey is more important than the destination, but let's not get too buddhist about travelling, shall we? Not with three kids in the backseat... :-D

Hi Serge, can't promise the weather but you and the family would always get a warm welcome in the hills!

We reckon the journey from Dover to Manchester would be about 6 hours including stops at motorway services. Travelling via the Cotswolds would take you longer although the area's worth seeing.

I'm sure the ferries from Belgium also link to the UK's East coast which would save a lot of driving if you decided to do the North. August is usually good weather wise and you might consider the Lake District and even a trip into Scotland.

Hope that's of some help and haven't your kids got great taste!

True about the ferries, but I'd rather drive up North than spend 12hours+ on a ferry boat! Anyway: 6 hours is less than I had thought. So who knows...
Scotland and the Lake District are, indeed, must-see places too. And yes: my kids have great taste. Should see the parents they have picked for themselves! :-D