We are all packed and ready to head off on our big adventure. I will blogging whenever possible and updating facebook. It’s been a busy few weeks cleaning and tidying the house but it’s all done now and we’ve briefed Mum on how to look after all the animals – so glad she lives next door – it makes going away so much easier.
Saw this fun idea for google search stories and thought it might be fun to make a holiday story since I’ve been working on our plans the last few days.
Well plans for our UK/Baltic cruise trip are almost complete so I thought I’d post our itinerary here so that if anyone has any MUST-DO’s we can add them to our list.
Fri 18th June – LOOOOONG flight to London
Sat 19th – Wed 23rd June – London (British museum, Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, Hampton Court, Globe Theatre, London Eye, Museum of London, Madam Trussards)
Thurs 24th June – Transfer to Harwich to board Jewel of the Seas for 12 night cruise
Sat 26th June – Copenhagan, Denmark
Mon 28th Jun – Stockholm. Sweden
Tues 29th Jun – Helsinki, Finland
Wed 30th – Thurs 1st July – St Petersburg, Russia
Fri 2nd July – Tallinn, Estonia
Sun 4th July – Gothenburg
Tues 6th July – Back in England. Pick up motorhome. Visit Jimmy’s Farm. Drive to Portsmouth
Wed 7th July – Porstsmouth (HMS Victory, Spinnaker Tower
Thurs 8th July – Bath (Roman Baths), Stonehenge
Fri 9th July – Kennilworth Castle, Warwick Castle
Sat 10th July – Chatsworth House (overnight at Buxton)
Sun 11th July – York
Mon 12th July – Wensleydale Creamery (love their cheese), Lake District (World of Beatrix Potter?, Hilltop Farm, Grasmere gingerbread), overnight Keswick
Tues 13th July – Cumberland Pencil Museuum, Hadrians Wall, Gretna Green, Meet up with my Dad
Wed 14th July – Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood Palace
Thurs 15th July – Stirling Castle & Monument, Bannockburn
Fri 16th July – Loack Katrine, Callander
Sat 17th July – Glen Coe, Kevin flies home
Sun 18th July -Glen Coe
Mon 19th July – Glenfinnan Monuement, Loch Ness Visitors Center, Urquart Castle
Tues 20th July – Dunrobin Castle, Drive to John o Groats
Wed 21th July – Day trip to Oarkney Island (tour booked)
Thurs 22nd Drive to Ullapool
Fri 23rd Culloden, 3 night at Rothiemuchus estate
Sat 24th – Sun 25th – ??
Mon 26th July – Arheolink Prehistory Park
Tues 27th July – Haddo House (where my Dad was born during WWII), Castle Fraser
Wed 28th July – Scottish Border area
Thurs 29th July – Bolton Abbey, overnight Skipton
Fri 30th July – Drive to Cambridge
Sat 31st July – Return motorhome, transfer to London Heathrow for flight home.
Okay, I know planning comes before packing, but the post on planning will take me some hours to write – so will have to wait till next time.
Packing can be a bit of a fine art. You’ll find lots of packing lists online and in travel books but really it’s a personal thing. For nearly every trip I pack 4 days worth of clothes for each person as I am prepared to do washing every 4 days. When the girls were younger – and tended to get dirtier – I’d pack another couple days of clothes for them.
The biggest thing about packing is working out what you’ll need for that particular holiday. If we’re traveling by car I’ll tend to be a bit more generous with what I pack but when we travel overseas I pack carefully with lots of mix and match clothes. When packing you obviously need to take into account the weather you’ll experience. When we travelled to Western Australia last year we had to take clothes for the hot weather in Broome and warm clothes for cold weather in Perth – which means more clothes! But I still stick to the 4 day rule.
For our upcoming trip to Britain it will be Summer but a much cooler Summer than we get here in Australia. We will also get some very cold days during our 6 week trip. My strategy, on top of clothes for 4 days, is going to be layering. I know we’ll be buying quite a few souvenirs so I want to have lots of empty luggage when we set off.
For example for each person I’ll pack:
1 pair jeans, 1 pair other long pants, 1 pair 3/4 pants (or lighter pants)
2 t-shirts, 1 3/4 sleeve top, 1 long sleeve top (knowing we’ll no doubt buy some t-shirts along the way)
1 light jacket, 1 heavy jacket, 1 waterproof jacket
2 sets of PJs – one short sleeve, one long sleeve
Shoes – Joggers, Summer crocs, slip on shoes
Sunhat or cap
Beanie/scarf/gloves (for those cold days)
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Plus we’ll have another comfy outfit we’ll wear on the plane with our slip on shoes
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Since we’re cruising we’ll also have the following:
Swimming costumes
1 formal outfit (with accessories to change the look for each night)
1 dressy outfit for other nights (shirt for Kevin)
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I pack each persons underwear, socks, PJs and swimsuit in a plastic travel bag (can just use a large zip lock bag). You also need a toiletry bag – I pack small bottles for a weekend away and larger ones for longer trips – but only taking slightly more than I think I’ll need. If mulitple member of the family use the same product – pack just one. Since we’ll be sharing bathrooms on this upcoming trip I’m thinking of packing one main toilet bag – probably a hanging type thing – then maybe a smaller bag for things only each of us use – like my makeup.
Other things to pack if needed :
First aid kit and any necessary medicine (more if going to isolated locations)
Any particular food requirements (we often take our own lollies to the States)
Something to use as a laundry hamper – a pop open container, plastic bag, etc
Stain stick and possibly washing detergent, clothes line ropes for bathrooms (in case they aren’t provided)
Any child requirements (look for a future post on travelling with kids)
Electrical adaptors for country you’re travelling to + power board & extension cord
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When it comes to suitcases I recommend buying the best you can afford, especially if you travel often. Back in our newly married days we bought soft sided bags that would be wrecked and worn within a few years. After one trip to the USA – where we had WAY too many bags – we decided to invest in Samsonite hard sided cases – one for each of us – plus two small roll-ons for the plane. We’ve since worked out we usually still need an extra bag coming home so pack a large soft-sided bag in one of the suitcases to use when needed.
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Remember that every trip is different and the further away from shops the more careful you’ll need to be. Prepare a list, check it twice and try to travel as lightly as you can – unless you don’t plan to buy any souvenirs :-).