16 degrees and raining, must be summer in Britain

As I write this it is just two weeks until the end of summer and it has begun to rain again. It rains here a lot. Nothing torrential, but a continual drizzle punctuated by occasional dryness. And always cloudy. Winter seems bad when there is so little daylight, but summer this year has been perpetual twilight. Occasionally the sun has crept out and has been entirely pleasant, but it is a rare occurrence. Just as a comparison, the next four day forecast for Sydney is:

Wed

20°C | 10°C

Thu

20°C | 13°C

Fri

14°C | 8°C

Sat

16°C | 7°C

and for London:

Tue

21°C | 15°C

Wed

21°C | 15°C

Thu

21°C | 15°C

Fri

20°C | 14°C

remarkably similar,


We've made the best of it anyway. Money has been tight, with the moving and the like, so we haven't done anything to extravagant for the break. We have made two trips though which I will briefly outline highlights for.

ROADTRIP!!!

Krystle with the convertible mini (and sun).

We stopped at a pub outside of Sheffield that had the biggest fish and chips we have ever seen, this picture really only represents less then half the meal and you wouldn't be unhappy if it was your entire meal. Very impressive size and price.

Having had the mini for 10 months now we decided to rectify the shaming indignity of not having undertaking a good old-fashion road trip. The destination was set as Blackpool which is according to google maps a 4hr 15 min drive 252 mile highway trip. We instead chose this route (click here) which was a lot more scenic and enjoyable. We drove the whole way with the roof off, its summer with a convertible what else would you do, and handle the wind (of course), the sun (yay!) and even the rain (remember its always about to rain here). We took 2 days to drive up taking some nice country roads and getting rained on and dried out by the sun in equal measure. The rain wasn't to bad really, the worst part was going through a town where you slowed down enough for the rain to just fall, otherwise it pretty much got blown over your head by the breeze and momentum of the car. We got a few looks from people wondering who the half-wits were driving with the roof off in the rain, but the good thing when rain is always drizzle, is that just as it is true that it is always about to rain, its also true that it is always about to stop.

We made Blackpool, a little damp, but impressed by the mini's ability to handle the challenge of a road trip with the consummate ease befitting a far bigger car. It helps that he doesn't realise just how small he is. This was our second visit to Blackpool and proved just as enjoyable as the last time. We stayed at a lovely guest house that was hosted by a very friendly couple. The breakfast was ample and top quality, and the bar was well-stocked and the cheapest we've seen anywhere in the UK, including happy hour in Paris.

Tram to Fleetwood on the Northern End of Blackpool

We had a nice time looking around Blackpool, we travelled along the tram to Fleetwood, bought raffle tickets and played tombola at the Surf Rescue fete and had a relaxing and enjoyable time.


We also managed to squeeze in a visit to Krystle's favourite hangout, the Walkabout. Here Krystle learnt that there is more than one way to make a snakebite, and I learnt that some pubs still have sticky floors, how 80s.

Blackpool at Low Tide. This photo is from the North Pier looking towards Central Pier.

And Blackpool at High Tide from the reverse direction. The contrast in
tides is amazing, and did you notice that its just about to rain.