4th March 25. A first for me

After a very good meal and a good night's sleep and catching up with family gossip. An early start to get to East Edinburgh for opening time. This is always a difficult one as I remember only to well the moans and groans from the early starter sales execs, when drivers arrived to drop off or collect a car. So I always fully expect a delay when the receptionist tries to find someone to help me. My experience tells me the canteen or coffee machine is the likely place.

At Hyundai Edinburgh though, I didn't have to wait long, dropped off the car got the prized signature, off a more thorough sales exec this time. Google mapped our way to Westerhailes railway station. A short 17 minutes walk away.

Not the most glamorous walk we ever did, but sometimes I do like to see the seedier side of life rather than pretty countryside. Yes really! this walk was certainly that. Taking us up through a housing estate and through a very small shopping mall. I say mall. More like a 70s concrete object. Full of the shops required for such an area. I'm sure there are worse in Edinburgh and other places. But the highlight of this one is, head and shoulders above the rest. Greggs. The rest are either boarded up. Charity shops or Bookies. And the others are selling beauty goods for a £1

The youngsters or 'Neds' as they are known here are obviously still sleeping off last night or still clucking and scratching. So this morning it was filled with people with walking aids, wheelchairs, silver or blue hair and bent over trying to walk. So the 30-50 year olds then. This area the life expectancy is, I imagine, low.

The morning was a Trainspotter movie flashback

We got to Westerhailes station to find the ticket machine non operational and broken. I had bought an online ticket, which you needed to print. I don't think this particular machine has printed a ticket since the Flying Scotsman went past. The train arrived and the rattly bus on rails took us to Edinburgh Haymarket where we changed for the train to Dunfermline.

The train to Dunfermline was going to take us over the Forth estuary and over the famous Forth Railway Bridge. I had driven over the road bridge a few times and seen the bridge in all it's glory. But this was a first for me and obviously Alda.

Obviously not easy to photograph a bridge you are on, especially from a moving train. So here is one I took earlier

Previous Trip to North Scotland in the Defender

The train journey was a delight It's a beautiful part of the world. Any journey to northern Scotland is always a difficult choice to go East. Like today. Or West, via Loch Lomond. Both are beautiful.

Todays trip wasn't too far north. Just over the Forth to Dunfermline City station to collect the car which needed to go back south to Hexham Cumbria.

From the station to the dealership was a walk through Dunfermline. Another first for me as never been here before. So we decided to walk the 30 minutes and it took us through some very pretty streets, clean and tidy Scottish granite houses with very well kept gardens. If only the climate was similar to the south east!

Went through a park where Alda decided to become a child again and used the zip wire scare herself and screamed as she went the few feet before stopping. Really!

Finally the walk took us past Dunfermline Athletic football stadium to the dealership. Another Hyundai dealer, to collect a 74 plate pre-registrated, so new. Vauxhall Astra, to be taken to Vauxhall Hexham. Not sure why a Hyundai dealer had a per-reg Vauxhall. But anyway.

The Drive back from Dunfermline obviously took us back over the Forth road bridge so Alda got to see the rail bridge she had just travelled north over a few hours before. A lovely experience for us both. Just seeing her face was my pleasure.

So the drive back took us through the border country and across the Scottish/English border. Obviously high up in the hills and marked by a large stone, with, funnily enough the words Scotland and England on either side. We decided to stop. However the wind was incredible and even standing was almost impossible

We arrived at Hexham after the leisurely and stunning drive through the border county and handed the car over and walked the very short distance to the station and got the next train for Carlisle. Which I think actually travels along what's left of Hadrian's Wall it's so rough a ride.. it was dark when we walked the 20 minutes journey back to the family home.

Tomorrow the journey was back to Aylesbury in our BMW 318 I had left there a few weeks ago. See, it all comes together.

The overriding feeling of this whole trip the last few days is that I have to pinch myself to think I get paid for doing this and I can travel the country. See things I've never seen before have these amazing experiences..

And call it work!!

Lucky? No just found my thing. And did it ❤️