Baby you can drive my car…. McCartney/Lennon

We were awake early thanks to the concrete beds from the night before, and ready to go today, knowing we had to take a damn trip back to Edinburgh to pick up my laptop. I still hadn’t heard from the hotel but I knew there was no other place it could be, so we were heading there do or die. I phoned along the way and they confirmed they had found it, so we were on a mission. Get the computer and get to the Lake District, then to Liverpool. We stopped for breakfast at Airdrie along the way. I had a very average cinnamon scroll at Starbucks and a swimming pool sized hot chocolate there.

It felt like deja vu finding our way back to the hotel but we did it easily this time. Racing in, I grabbed the laptop then we fought peak hour morning traffic to get out of Edinburgh (again). We already knew it was going to be a busy day even before having the added drive to pick up my computer. We typed the Lake District into the GPS and it still didn’t like me much and kept rejecting everything I asked of it. Finally we got Windermere on the screen and we couldn’t wait to get there.

It is the land of Beatrix Potter after all. How could you resist? My mum used to buy People’s Friend magazine many years ago and it seemed to be full of stories from the Lakes District so it definitely whetted my appetite for our adventure there. Driving through some of the most gorgeous countryside, quaint little towns and windy country road, we stopped to admire the Yorkshire Dales on our way to Windermere. By the time we got there, we were ready to be out of the car and have a bite of lunch.

There was a gorgeous little Italian restaurant there and we decided to partake of their hospitality. We sat upstairs on the covered in balcony, with the sun steaming though, overlooking the beautiful olde worlde town. It was quintessentially English. Very windy little lanes and a stunning mix of cottages. Lots of flowers, lots of trees, lots of quirky little shops and LOTS of people. OMG it was packed. So good to see these little towns being patronised and actually thriving, not just staying afloat.

I ordered a prawn linguini and Cecile ordered satay chicken. and a side bowl of olives. The meals, when they came, were divine. So was the lime and soda we ordered. The food, the service and the ambience was beyond reproach. It was all fantastic. Feeling like we were ready to explode after polishing it all off, we waddled out of there and back into the car. We enjoyed the last of the gorgeous country lanes and ended up on one of the many highways that lead into and out of London.

Now we had our sights set on Liverpool. We wanted to get the car back before 7.30 as we were going to have to get an early flight to Dublin in the morning. We still hadn’t explored Liverpool either and we didn’t want to leave not having seen a bit of Beatles memorabillia. I hadn’t even had a chance to sing Ferry Cross the Mersey to Cecile yet and I know she was SO looking forward to that. So we were determined to fit everything in. We knew we were pushing it but it had to be done. Traffic on the highways was horrendous with queues left right and centre and a couple of accidents on the way, but we were on track.

We had also recieved a message from Ryanair saying that due to new security features at Liverpool Airport, we would have to be there 3 hours before our flight. Well our flight was at 7.40, so that meant be at the airport by 7.30ish. So we needed some sleep too. Aaaargghhh.. what a dilemna.. Whoever planned this trip was an idiot.. Oh yeah, that would be me lol. So we booked into the Hampton by Hilton which was right on the airport. Pricey but so was everything else around there.

As the traffic conditions had added at least an extra half hour to our trip, we decided to just bring the car straight back and then take a bus into Liverpool city to see what we wanted to see. That all went great and the guy from the car hire drove us back to our hotel where we got ready and caught the bus into Liverpool. He also told us that the Grand National was on in Liverpool on the weekend so it would be crowded. We weren’t looking forward to that one little bit but we took the chance anyway. It was damn freezing, let me tell you that but we powered through. Arriving at Liverpool One (bus stop) we found our way around fairly well with only a few diversions. The town, as we were told, was full of people. Lots of young women in all kinds of dressed up frippery. They were dressed to the nines, hair done, make up (once) perfect and in a variety of conditions. Most of the frocks that had started so well were looking worse for wear as were their occupants. One long cream dress was dragging on the ground and looking unwashable. I think there would have been a few sore heads this morning.

We picked up another smaller luggage bag to get us through as Ryanair has less luggage allowance than we have had up till now, then set off, maps in hand, in search of the Holy Grail and eventually we found it.. We got to the Cavern. Going down the stairs (not fun for older women with bung knees lol) we were met with a wall of people and heat and noise. But holy cow, we were in the Cavern where the Beatles once played. It was amazing. We didn’t stay down there too long but wandered through the lanes connected to it. Then we tried to make our way back to the bus stop but that wasn’t as easy as everything else had been. We talked about getting a taxi but the airport is around half and hour from the city so we hummed and hahhed about the expense. Cecile went to ask directions from two young guys when their voice suddenly started to get louder with each other and they started to have a full on punch on. That was enough for us to quickly hail a taxi after all.

Ridiculously, the airport charge cab drivers, 6 pound to drop people off at the hotel or airport, so it was an extra 6 pound on top of the fair but we were back there and out of the fights and the cold. We had a cuppa and did the luggage shuffle to try to get our bags to check in acceptable weight. Then we needed sleep. I started to write this but knew I had to get some sleep so turned the computer off and went to bed, falling asleep almost immediately. I did remember to put the computer away so I wouldn’t forget it though lol.

When the alarm went off at 3.30am this morning, I can tell you I wasn’t a happy camper but we were looking forward to getting in to Dublin and doing the Irish component of our British Isles adventure. Ireland, I am coming home.. See you soon.

Happy catching up on sleep if you need it….. Livvy xxx