Everything going very well so far. We had glorious weather as we drove through the Kirkstone pass (how thankful I was that I didn't have the caravan on the back!). With the sun shining on all the blossom and gorse it really was quite heavenly. In Carlisle we pitched camp on a nice level site which had very few visitors. My Dad and Olive pitched the other side of the hedge from us. 6 of us managed to sleep in the four-man tent and it rained overnight but we stayed mostly dry. On Wednesday we visited Carlisle Castle and then the Cathedral. We ate army rations for dinner - out in the field. Overnight we got more rain. Next day we went into Carlisle again to the museum which was very interesting - especially the Roman parts. One bizarre feature of this museum was the opportunity visitors had to list things they would 'take with them' when they died - on just about everyone's list was written 'mobile phone'.
We arrived at Ardrossan in plenty of time to catch the ferry and the prayers offered in the morning for a calm crossing were heeded and we found the camp-site and pitched camp faced by a wonderful view. We could see seals from our tent as well as a lot of lighthouses after dark.
Next morning Neil May came down to the campsite and arranged to meet us in Whiting Bay in the afternoon from where we had a lovely walk up to Glenashdale falls. Neil May is a frequent contributor to the Deuteronomy list and is the first person I ever met whose company car is large enough to comfortably accommodate ALL of the van den Broeks - and it is a MERCEDES!!! I must add that Neil drives the local school bus!!!
Arran is certainly a very beautiful island - at least at this time of the year. While returning from the walk we noticed a poster informing passers-by of a concert to be given in the Village Hall on Saturday evening so I decided to take 5 of the boys along. I left Philip to babysit the younger two and we all very much enjoyed the live music and friendly atmosphere of the Arran Brass concert. We also enjoyed the 'supper' afterwards!
Sunday found us in the Church of Scotland where the service was led by a lady : - ( . When we were on our way to Ardrossan there was a discussion in the van about where we should go to church - the boys were adamant that the Free Church was out of the question because of the 'lack of music' - on the way back to the camp from church today it was decided that on Mull we will be looking for a Free Church however!
After dinner we packed up the big tent and are all loaded up again ready for the off straight after our banana pancakes. The bananas we brought along with us are not bearing the travelling well and when we have mashed the remains and mixed them in with the pancake mix we will avoid bananas for the rest of the trip!
While writing this message my ears are assailed by the sound of Neil May playing the bagpipes - we insisted that he must get them out so that we could learn more about them - my conclusion is that they are better enjoyed out in the glens than in the living room.

We had hoped to bring you some pictures along with this update but the technology has let us down - the pictures are there in the camera but the computer isn't able to find them. We hope to try again at the next civilised stop (that will be Wick).

The sun continues to shine - Praise the Lord.