When my Dad and his other half Kathy revealed that they were planning to travel around the UK for two months, we jumped at the possibility to accident their travel plans as well as join them for 10 days on a road trip from Edinburgh to London!

We had never been on a trip where we didn’t do all of the travel planning, organizing as well as “guiding”. This time, we were able to just sit back, unwind as well as delight in the trip ?

This would be a trip of firsts. 

It was the very first time Nick as well as I had ever been to Scotland. It was the very first time we had satisfied household abroad during one of their trips. It was the very first time Nick might be a traveler in a rental car. It was likewise the very first time that I would satisfy numerous of my far-off relatives!

We landed in Edinburgh after our 6 day travel summit in Istanbul as well as waiting on us at the flight terminal was my father as well as Kathy.

Since we’re continuously on the road, we don’t see our households all that often as well as in this case, it had been a year as well as a half because father as well as I had seen one another. After I got in my long overdue father hugs, we set off in the rental cars and truck to our Airbnb – which was found just one road off the well-known royal Mile.

The royal Mile in Edinburgh, we headed right here first!
Even though we were only in Edinburgh for 3 nights, we made every minute count as well as we had a blast! The city is one of the most picturesque that we’ve come across. Dominating the center is the 12th century Edinburgh Castle, which has survived 26 sieges, making it the most besieged in all of Britain, as well as one of the most attacked locations in the world.

The Edinburgh Castle – we wandered around right here for a couple of hours, it’s huge!
The road leading downhill from the castle is the royal Mile, which spans one “Scottish mile“, to the Holyrood Palace. This is the primary traveler area, with tons of restaurants, pubs, shops as well as of course, beautiful architecture. This area is the place to be as a visitor.

On our very first day in Edinburgh, we tried to do as numerous “Scottish” things as possible. We ate haggis, discovered a piper in a appropriate kilt, drank ales as well as listened to people music at one of the tiniest pubs we’ve ever been to. We were in Scotland as well as were soaking everything in!

Bagpipes! This noise is extremely Scottish, I like it
We’d only been in the city for a day as well as we were already in love.

Check out our online Facebook video of the music in the royal Oak Pub (and make sure to like our page to be the very first to see the videos!)

When travelling, we always try to discover one of the totally free walking trips on offer in the city. We’ve joined totally free walks in Salta, Plovdiv, Santiago, Prague, Tirana, Medellín and numerous more.

These trips can be hit or miss depending upon who your guide is, however so far we had been on a roll. And, that roll continued with the totally free walking trip we joined in Edinburgh. A high energy guide showed us around the city while mentor us about the history, the monuments as well as of course, the culture.

It was a excellent introduction to Edinburgh.

Walking trips are a excellent method to discover about the city you’re visiting

On our last day in the city, we took a train to the town of Carluke, which is really better to Glasgow than Edinburgh. This isn’t a typical traveler stop, as well as it’s most likely not anywhere that you would discover yourself when in Scotland, but, for father as well as I, this was a trip to satisfy his very first cousins as well as their youngsters (on his mother’s side) for the extremely very first time.

For me, this would imply satisfying my very first cousins when removed, as well as my second cousins (I think?) – it’s all extremely confusing!

Me taking a look at old pictures of my Grandma

You most likely don’t understand this about me, however I really hold a UK passport in addition to my Canadian one. since my father was born in England, I have double citizenship. He moved to Canada when he was extremely young as well as hadn’t returned up until this trip, implying he hadn’t satisfied his cousins before.

There were about 20 of us at our cousin’s house. all of the Scots understood each other extremely well, as well as were close (some were even neighbours), however we didn’t know anyone. It didn’t matter though, everybody treated us likethe household we were.

We ate, drank, chatted as well as looked at extremely old photographs. It was a special experience to figure out exactly how we were all related, to hear stories about my grandmother, as well as see pictures of my father as well as his siblings when they were young.

Me with my second cousins, or cousins removed, or whatever! great times ?

The Scotland part of this road trip took us from Edinburgh to Carluke to Melrose as well as Jedburgh, before we crossed the border into England. The Abbey at Melrose was a extremely grand, unforeseen site as well as actually, the heart of King Robert The Bruce is buried there.

The Melrose Abby was gorgeous!

Nick as well as I understand we’ll be returning to Scotland to check out much more in the future. The people were fantastic (who doesn’t like a Scottish accent?), the pubs were funky, the history as well as design was interesting as well as the general vibe was cheery as well as fun.

Once we went into in to England, it was fast-paced as well as full of tons of walking, as well as drinking. In fact, commonly we were just walking in purchase to get to a pub!

The word “pub” really comes from the term “public house”. Years ago, the term signified someone’s house that had been opened to the public. good friends as well as neighbours would stop by for a drink as well as a chat. These days, going to a pub in the UK is still a friendly affair with total strangers striking up conversation with one one more at the bar, while taking turns purchasing rounds of ales.

The culture of going to pubs is full-on in the UK, with numerous locals stopping in for a pint on the daily. This was one element of the UK culture that we were much more than pleased to partake in! The genuine ales are brewed from conventional components such as malted barley, hops water as well as yeast. They had a richer flavour profile, some with a bitter taste, as well as a creamy head on top.

Since leaving the UK, we recognize that we had never truly had a genuine pint before sampling the ales on this trip. Now, it’s genuine ales or nothing for us. It’ll be difficult to go back to ‘normal’ beers after being spoilt for choice.

Pub crawling around the UK!

The road trip continued with stops in Newcastle, Durham, York, Nottingham, Coventry, Baginton, The Cotswolds, as well as finally, London.

It was rather the journey with various highlights – some which were unexpected, like the bit village of Baginton that had the most incredible Inn with a amazing restaurant (The Oak). We likewise had a excellent night at a random bit pub near our guesthouse in York. father as well as Kathy went home, as well as Nick as well as I stayed as well as were fed beer after beer from a extremely friendly couple!

Us with new good friends at the regional pub
The sights of York amazed as well as pleased us in the past, as well as they did so once again this time around around. The York Minster Cathedral has a beautiful exterior as well as the interior provides incredible acoustics! The Shambles (lanes) of York are full of some extremely old pubs as well as hidden gems.

The houses in the Cotswolds were something out of a fairytale, while the caves as well as the oldest pub in England “Ye Olde trip To Jerusalem” found in Nottingham were both incredible!

Isn’t this house amazing?! This is what numerous of them appeared like in the Cotswolds

Thankfully we had a rental cars and truck for this trip to be able to see as well as do as much as we did. Nick as well as I always vouch for renting a cars and truck when travelling, as well as we normally do so ourselves. before we shown up my father stated “The driving right here in the UK is horrible. people are impatient, the roads are confusing as well as there are various roundabouts”. To which I thought, “Right Dad, try driving in Lebanon…”

During our 10 days in the UK, Nick as well as I were so happy that we were in the backseat of the cars and truck being fed road-trip snacks by Kathy and sipping on coffee!

The roundabouts were massive as well as extremely challenging to figure out, as well as the chauffeurs were constantly honking. Plus, the roads were much more like goat tracks in some areas. between the GPS that came with the cars and truck as well as our Google Maps app, we were able to figure it out, however we did discover ourselves in roundabouts going in circles a few times.We all counted: “First exit, second exit, third…oh wait, we missed it! try again!”

Dad was right. Driving in the UK was difficult.

Me as well as father on the walls of York

Regardless of the driving conditions, having a rental cars and truck in the UK is a must. We liked the flexibility of inspecting in as well as out of the locations we stayed at whichever time we wanted. Pulling over as well as going to the random bit areas along the method is what it’s all about.

You never understand exactly how you’re going to get together with people when you’re travelling – household or not. Living somewhere as well as having visitors in your house is one thing, however moving around every day, figuring out where to eat (and what), as well as selecting trips as well as sights together can ended up being stressful.

Thankfully, the four of us got along truly well during our 10 day road-trip as well as we can’t wait to see father as well as Kathy abroad on their next huge experience ?

We made it to London!

We like our digital Nomad way of life as well as wouldn’t modification it for the world. as well as now that our parents are getting to the age of retirement, it’s interesting to understand that they are able to travel much more as well as see us abroad. Or much better yet, we come as well as see them on their journey!

We’ve had our households see us in Grenada as well as San Pancho, Mexico as well as actually, virtually all of our household members will be concerning Mexico in the winter season this year. We’ll be costs a couple of months there in an house while household sees us in “shifts”! It’ll be a great deal of fun as well as I anticipate a great deal of tequila as well as tacos in our future…

We believe that these trips give us much better bonding times with our families. rather than a rushed weekend see (like we had whilst living in separate provinces in Canada), we’re able to have incredible travel experiences as well as produce lifelong memories that only travel can offer!

Have you travelled with your parents or household members before? exactly how did it go?! show us in the comments ?

Check out our travel video From the UK!

Like it? Pin it!

Disclaimer:Goats On The road is an Amazon partner as well as likewise an affiliate for some other retailers. This implies we make commissions if you click links on our blog as well as purchase from those retailers.