The next morning we packed up headed home (yeah...the trip is very short). We stopped by this picturesque ruined Kilchurn castle, just a few miles from where we were staying. It's situated on the side of the loch, surrounded by beautiful water and meadows.
No entry fees--just walk in and roam around.
The kids read a bit about the historical significance of the castle.
But the rest of the time they wanted to run around and play hide-and-seek.
I found this great video on youtube to give you a better feel of what this place is like. I think it's definitely a must place to see if you are looking for a unique place off the beaten path.
After the castle, we all piled into the car ready for our long day of driving. For some really weird reason, our van's sliding door suddenly stopped working. We could close it, but then it would automatically start sliding back or if we managed to slide it all the way, it wouldn't latch on. Just as we thought we got it to stay shut, we got on the carriageway (road) going 60 mph, and suddenly the door flew open (it didn't fly, since it's a sliding door, but you get the idea). Katya managed to slide it back shut, but it was not latched on, so it was beeping loudly and she had to hold it tightly as it was trying to open again. Finally, we found a spot to stop--at a gas station with a car repair shop. We asked a mechanic to take a quick look at it. He was not sure either why it was happening, but he and Robert fiddled with the door and the latch and the door seemed to slide back and stay tight again. So we drove on.
And the door slid open again while were driving on a very fast road. Robert pulled over and found his hiking belt, strapped it around the panel between the passenger side and the door so the door couldn't be open at all. It was a brilliant solution! And although sensors did beep occasionally during our 7 hour drive (when we were turning sharply or something), at least the door did not slide open again. Unfortunately, as of middle of August, the door still remains broken, but we are working on finding a way to get it fixed.
The highlight of the day (besides the door failure) was that we were driving home on Katya's birthday! She turned TWELVE!! Twelve, folks! That is just crazy to us. We love her to pieces--all of her--even the parts that we don't want to acknowledge she inherited from us:)).
We stopped by in a random town at Morrison's where I picked up a package of Bakewell tarts from the bakery. British treat for a birthday in Britain since Katya doesn't like regular cake.
We tried to make her day special (and were glad she didn't fall out of the car when the door kept opening). We brought a few presents for her to open but kept a few more at home so her birthday would keep going and going.
To celebrate, we decided to take a longer but a more scenic route through southern Yorkshire Dales, leading to Billy Bob's Ice Cream Parlor and Diner. We had visited this place once before with James and his family, and kids had a blast playing in the huge barn and eating yummy ice cream. This time, we actually had an American style dinner and their famous ice cream. It was FUN!
And then we drove to Ramsbottom.
Just kidding. We drove home to Cambridgeshire:)) Another great road trip (which is a lot more relaxing than a plane trip) to the beautiful part of the world.
Cheers!
Lyana.
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