Phew.

Well, back home after another whirlwind trip to Englandshire. We left Skye in rain after months of rain, drove through a big dump of snow and arrived in England to more rain, drizzle and chilling winds. Of course, while we were away summer happened on Skye. That was it, I was leaving, I was moving to Herefordshire or Cumbria or Derbyshire or Northumberland or Wales. Anywhere without insane amounts of rain, midges and wind. Anywhere with a modicum of sunshine and maybe occasional warmth.

We did the obligatory tour of wonderful relatives, too much 'outlet' shopping and an awful lot of eating. The drive back was hell. The A1 in fog was the Devil's own road, people with no lights, people driving too close and so many cars it was terrifying. Still, we made it through and the further north we travelled, the fewer cars there were and the more the fog cleared. We arrived home and climbed wearily out of the truck to an absolute absence of man-made sound. Birds and water were the only audible things. The air could be sucked in greedily and expelled lustily to carry out the toxins of the south. It was, quite literally, wonderful. We revelled in this experience until the kettle called and enjoyed tea made with water fresh from the spring and unsullied by chemicals. By now of course Herefordshire, Cumbria, Derbyshire, Wales and Northumberland, lovely though they all are, were forgotten and the West Highlands was the only possible place to live.