We’re in the home stretch now. About two hours away from London (provided the M1 doesn’t completely bugger up near the city), fully rest-stopped and ready to get out of the car. She’s served us well, the wee black steed.

We stopped for lunch about 90 minutes south of Edinburgh in Bamburgh. The pub was another from the pub guide, and it lived up to its billing. I had the steak and ale pie: very tasty. There’s also an enormous castle that dominates the town, so we drove up to the gate, took a few pictures and got back on the road.

Nothing else of consequence to report: a long drive, hot weather (it’s sunny and 27 outside), some Tornados flying formations near Newcastle…that’s about it.

As much as we loved Scotland and the English countryside we’ll be very, very glad to get back to the flat in Ealing.

One observation: it isn’t a cliche…Scotland really does have that many sheep. Another observation: my wife is now addicted to Thai sweet chili crisps.

I hope to put a few pictures up on my flickr stream tomorrow, if I can find a way to do so with Win2k native software. Stay tuned.