26th and 27th of December - We're on a boat...

Boxing day meant a very early start, as we had a 700km trip to the Lake District to drive. We made excellent time through the countryside until we hit Cumbria, where flood waters created huge traffic jams and cut off roads. As a result, we didn't arrive at our beautiful hotel until it was evening, and we had to fjord a road or two on the way.

Because of the conditions, we thought it best to eat at the hotel rather than risk going out again, and we had a fantastic dinner, one of the nicest so far. Andrew had steak, and I was thoroughly impressed with Rudolph (venison). We went back to our room in time to watch The Big Fat Quiz of the Year, and promptly fell asleep afterwards as we were exhausted.

This morning we woke up fairly early again so that we could get some daylight hours to explore before making our way to Scotland to catch a ferry to Ireland. And what a stunningly beautiful morning it was. There was no cloud, and in the sunny but freezing outdoors we could actually see the countryside in all its picture postcard glory. We wandered through the woods down to the ruins of Furness Abbey, and it was just beautiful. The scale of what would have once been a gargantuan building was clearly visible, and the red stone looked even more spectacular in its bed of lush grass that carpets the entire ruin. It was a lovely way to spend our morning before another long drive.

After yesterday, we needed to make sure we were going to be on time for the ferry, so we allowed five hours for what google told us would be a three and a half hour drive. We needn't have worried, we arrived with plenty of time to spare, and the sunny skies meant our day of winding through the Scottish countryside was brilliant, as we could actually see the scenery!

Then it was onto a very big, surprisingly luxurious boat. There's a cinema, a number of bars and restaurants and lounge areas, so our short two and a half hour cruise was spent in comfort. That being said, I still felt a little ill (boats and I do not mix) but a few laps of the deck helped. We arrived in Belfast around six, and after a short drive to our hotel, we settled into our lovely room and then went out for a very tasty pub meal where I discovered sloe gin. So good.

Now we're back, as everything is shut after nine on a Sunday night (feels a little like Adelaide in winter really) and we'll get to bed early so we're rested for a big day of exploring.

- Jess