We left London early Friday morning and headed North with a vague idea where we wanted to go but no idea how to get there ; what we were going to do when we got there or why we were going there. All we knew was that we were on a Roadtrip and about to have a fun time, so with Andy at the wheel, me with the map and Devan with munchies and music we were set and on our way.
Our first stop for a hearty breakfast was to a little market town called Rugby, famous for the myth of William Webb Ellis in 1823 who "invented the game of Rugby". After breakfast it was a walk around the town, which is mostly victorian. We visisted the statue of Ellis.
The town centre is noted for its large number of pubs, and was for many years in the Guinnes Book of Records for having the second highest number of pubs per square mile in England.
From Rugby it was onto Derby and a stopover in Nottingham where we explored the castle. Its well worth a visit and the views from the top of the castle are awesum.

From Nottingham it was onto the Peak District and this was the start of the old England I was so looking forward to .. we were out in the fresh clean air of the countryside , driving through quaint villages and the locals were friendly.
Matlock was the first town we drove through and it was really beautiful consisting of a group of settlements built along the River Derwent. The region is noted for its beautiful valleys and rugged hills. The town was buzzing with bikers and motorbikes of every kind and colour. (this was to become a regular sight along our trails).
We then continued our drive through this beautiful green and hilly countryside until we came to Bakewell - this gorgeous village reminded me of being lost in another world completely. It reminded me of being in a farmland village of tiny cobbled streets and walkways, tiny shops and a great big stone church which can be seen from miles in the distance. Its truly gorgeous, a river runs through the village with an old bridge and ducks in the water - its just unbelievably beautiful.

Bakewell is in fact a small market town in Derbyshire and well known for the local confection, Bakewell Pudding.

On our way further north and onto a little village called Buxton - amist the mountains where we slept for the night and it was beautiful. The nights were misty and mysterious and I felt lost in a faraway village. Buxton is a spa town in Derbyshire and is described as "the gateway to the Peak District National Park".
It was bright and early the following Saturday that we departed Buxton and planned on heading for the Lake District.
We went through Manchester, onto Preston and via St Helens…. Until we found ourselves on the coast and another quaint town called Morecambe, which is a seaside resort town in the Lancaster district (on the northwest coast) we took a stroll on the pebbly beach, and enjoyed views of the magnificent backdrop of the Lake District and Bowland Fells.
After throwing rocks into the water and having a leg stretch it was off again and this time straight into the Lake District.

First stop was the Windermere Lakes and a stopover in
Ambleside which is situated at the head of Windermere, England's largest lake and within the Lake District National Park.

Ambleside is a busy touristy village where there were just loads of people going on a boat trips and walking around the area. It is also a base for hiking, mountaineering and mountain biking.
Grasmere was our next village and is just amazing with uniqueness and charm. The old cobbled streets and backdrop of the mountains in the distance make this a perfect place to stop and explore.
We settled to camp on a farm just a couple of miles outside Grasmere and a few miles out of Keswick.
Devan was just besides himself that we had finally stopped driving and that he could run wild. The minute we settled on our spot and the tents were pitched, Devan got a boust of energy and climbed the mountain (not a hill) ... a mountain on the farm behind where we were camping. He had an absolute ball chasing sheep and Illama ; climbing the mountain as far as he could go in the light getting rid of a lot of energy. We climbed halfway up the mountainside to give our legs a good stretch and made our way down again.

That night we ate a fantastic fish and chips in the little town of Keswick and then it was back to the local inn for a game of pool and a whiskey to help the sleep. It was a rough night as the ground was cold and the air was wet and cold. I had a really sleepless night as my bladder needed to be overused and it was ever so frustrating and my little sleep bag kept choking me (it was a size or 3 too small) next time I aim to buy bigger to make sure theres room for the feet to move. Needless to say it was part of the experience and I was happy I did it in such an awesome spot.
Sunday morning came and it was another day - another adventue and another beautiful part of the lakes to explore.

We set off back to Grasmere where we spent the morning and had typical English scones with jam and tea and then went to the local bakery where we bought homemade pasties for brunch (no words can explain the freshness and deliciousness of these pasties).
Grasmere has to be one of my favourite villages - but it was time to move on again and this time we headed North toward Ulswater and Eden Valley and another beautiful area of green fields and sheep and farm houses.

Ulswater reminded me a lot of the Haartabeesport dam in South Africa (for those that know it) and I got a pang of home sickness. We stopped and breathed the fresh air deep into our lungs and then it was back in the car and on our way across the Yorkshire Dales we headed. Driving through the Yorkshire Dales we stopped for coffe in an enchanting village called Hawes. It was alive with bikers and bright coloured bikes, pubs, cafes and restaurants. I loved the maze of narrow stony cobbled streets and it seemed to be a gorgeous, sleepy village that had come to life with the hundreds of bikers. Devan was in his element clambering from one bike to the next.

We had a stopover in Hawes - which was just gorgeous… reminded me a of a sleepy village that just came to life with all these millions of bikers who must have been out on a rally and Devan was in his element clambering from one bike to the next. All the colours just lit up this little stony village with tiny streets into an exciting and alive place to visit. From there it was back thru the dales and down to the Peak District again for another night of rest. I hoped and prayed that Andy wasn’t going to want to go with the camping again and I was lucky and relieved to say that we stopped at a Premier Inn and slept in the most comfortable bed EVER.
On Monday it was off again but this time back to London and we made the best of our last day in the country. We set off for a great old english breakfast in Chapel-en-Le-Frith. A drive through Glossop and down to the Dove Dales and into Ashbourne - our last village along this side of town and then it was a serious ride back to London.
And so our mountain to mountain road tripping holiday had to come to and end but it is definitely not goodbye as I would love to go back again with our bicycles, a whole lot of energy and "go where the car cant go" so to say.