We caught an early train to Glasgow so that we had time for a coffee and snack at Glasgow Central station before catching the train to London Euston. The old Virgin Pendolino trains (now run by Avanti) are rather smelly and cramped but at least it arrived more or less on time. A quick transfer to Waterloo and then on to Southampton and the local train home. A long and tiring journey but without any real problems or delays. Fish and chips for supper.
The next day Richard went to the gym for Body Pump and met up with friends Terry and Moira. Then we sorted out the boat stuff we needed to take up to Ardrossan, including the boat top cover. Richard managed to tear it getting it down from the garage loft so Anne had to make an emergency repair. She was not happy!!! Anne did a lot of tidying up in the garden, but more will be necessary when we are back for good.
We were off early in the morning to pick up our van from Enterprise. Not as nice as vans we have had in the past and a little bit past its best. Once home we loaded it up and we were on our way north at about 10:30. Given it was a bank holiday weekend coming up we didn’t anticipate a fast journey and indeed the traffic was really heavy and slow moving in places but we were never really stopped. Anne said the van was designed for “white van man” with big work boots and didn’t find it comfortable to drive. We stopped at the Tebay Services on the M6 in Cumbria for supplies and carried on to Carlisle where we had booked a night at a Travelodge. Soon checked in and ate our supplies in the room before turning in.
Up early and on what was a much quieter motorway to Glasgow. The satnav took us round the motorways to the south of Glasgow which was a bit stressful with lots of roadworks, but we soon going cross country to Ardrossan. After refreshments we took advantage of the light wind and no rain for Anne to hoist Richard up the mast so that he could take the wind speed and direction sensor off. Whilst he was there he better secured the VHF antenna cable that he had been concerned about all season. It was fine so any concerns were unfounded. The next job was to mouse off all the halyards and store them below whilst they were dry. This way there is the minimum for the wind to catch and the wind sensor is not damaged in the winter gales that are expected on the west coast of Scotland. We started packing the van with the sails and other heavy items like the inflatable dinghy, so all in all a productive day.