Nottingham to Falkirk

Day 1 proper of the road trip.

I met with the rest of the group at Woodall services around 8.30am and we headed north in convoy, variously overtaking and changing position on the road to break up the relative monotony of a long drive, although the scenery does noticeably perk up through Northumbria.

The route was selected to be A roads  - everyones fuel tank range was on the order of 150 miles, depending on weight of right foot, which meant regular stops for juice, drinks, snacks and to stretch.

Cars

• Andrew - Zero
• Dan - SSC Stylus
• Ian - Zero
• Keith - MK
• Peter - 2B
• Richard(me) - Zero
• Rob - SSC Stylus
• Simon - 2B

Schedule

• Start: Nottingham
• Finish: Falkirk
• Driving Time: 5 hours 36 minutes
• Miles: 308

Route

• Premier Inn Nottingham west - start
• Woodall Services - stop
• Ferrybridge Services - stop
• Scotch Corner Services - lunch
• Washington Services - stop
• Wooler - waypoint
• Falkirk Wheel - stop
• Premier Inn Falkirk - overnight

Scotland!

We crossed the border into Scotland around 4pm, no incidents of note; getting close into Falkirk we were expecting a welcome committee & there on the bridge were some more RHOCar members: whiz & shiney waving, meant we were getting close...

Falkirk Wheel

The main meeting point before moving on to the hotel was the Falkirk wheel; numbers increased to 10 cars & just time to see the wheel rotate a barge from the top canal into the basin below. Whiz had received the trip stickers which were duly applied to the cars:

Joined by:

Cars

• Andy - Zero
• John - 2B

Time to see the wheel do its thing and drop a boat 24metres into the basin below:

Then on to a well deserved rest/evening meal - Andy, Stuart & John are local so would be returning in the morning, Derek joined us for the meal. I'm sunburned already!

From left to right: Peter, Me, Dan, Keith & Rob..

Andrew, Simon & Ian...

Keith, Rob & Derek...