Update: Wednesday *and* Thursday

Yes, once again this is a double post for two days worth.

Wednesday

The morning found us all packed and ready to leave Charnock Richard services, for a short trip up the M6 and on to the A6 heading for breakfast at Kendal. Morrisons were a bit more efficient than yesterday, getting our breakfasts ready in time this time.

By the time we'd got to Morrisons it was obvious that the combination of my gutter mount and Lotty's aerial was not enough for me to be heard or for others to hear us. At the retail park where Morrisons is situated, myself and Tony tried Halfords for Charlie Brown gear. Fail. Nothing at all we could use to fix or replace it.

A tiny amount of the conversation involved the disappearance of Mr T (the plastic "in your pocket" type with 6 well known sayings) from outside the hotel. No leads on this one, though it does sound similar to Teef and Moo last year and occasionally he could be heard on the Charlie Browns.

So we left Kendal after tanking up and headed north, strangely enough. I was trying to make sure I stayed close enough to Carol and Michelle as the lead cars to make sure I heard instructions.

And yes, we actually saw Shap Fell this year - and it was definitely worth it. Having seen only rain - or fog - or mist - or drizzle - the last two times I've been up there, it was a welcome change to be able to see the road, let alone the view.

We had the usual 5-way split in Carlisle due to the traffic lights, but Carnforth this year was much better as we pretty much stayed together and before we knew it, our passports had been checked and we were officially visitors to Scottishland.

Our next stop was the usual lunchbreak at Gretna Green. One of the first jobs after scoffing a ridiculously overpriced sandwich and a curiously reasonable ice cream, was to put Lotty's aerial back together. To make sure we could hear and be heard, I decided there was nothing else to do but use the magmount.

I grabbed some speciality beers and we headed off to Moffat, which handily on this shortest of our days was only a short distance away.

We arrived at Moffat camp site by 1500 and it was pretty much as it has been for the past couple of years: the average age of the LEJOGgers was less than a 3rd of the apparent average age of the other campers/caravanners, and they stuck us at the side under the midge filled trees.

But the wee beasties were out in force - after several days of warmth and clear skies, they were all out and hungry as soon as we arrived.

So, tents up, keep moving so they don't work out you're there and edible, and take a walk round the town trying to find some Lego. Unfortunately Moffat's "summer opening hours" hadn't kicked in yet, so half day closing on Wednesdays is still the norm. The only toy shop also didn't see real Lego.

Somewhat dejected, I walked back to the camp with Tony and Team Jellybean (aka the students with Steve the Pirate, "Yaaar!") for a quick beer before heading for the Star Inn. This, as previous readers will remember, is the narrowest hotel in the UK, and is the usual haunt for us to eat in Moffat. One rather nice meal and a dessert later (and the sight of Baz and the Queen sharing a dessert) we spent some more time in the lower floor getting to know each other a bit better.

Heading back to the tents, the midges were in attack mode. Several made their way into my tent, though leaving my little LED light on kept them attracted enough to let me sleep.

Thursday

Morning, as has typically been the case, came earlier than anticipated so I thought the best thing was to get up and pack away with more than enough time left. Then I saw the massed forces of the Revolutionary Midge Army around the tent door. Nothing for it than to charge out and get the tent folded up quick in an effort to not be bitten too badly. This year they seem to have developed a taste for me, though I've not reacted to them.

The A-series (and diesel) dawn chorus coughed into life at 0700 on the dot (camp rules and all that) and we were off on our way to breakfast at Dumbarton. Tony and John went ahead to try getting some photos as we were descending to cross the motorway but the long grass defeated the best of efforts.

Better news was Strathaven - we didn't get lost and we all stuck together (apart from the early morning idiots on the roads). This meant we were actually ahead of time, so we managed to hit the rush hour for every place we went through. We had some bad splits in the convoy but eventually we arrived at Morrisons.

The cafe was much more efficient today, although the service wasn't fantastic and the ordering system was different to every other Morrisons we'd been in. After fuelling both ourselves and our cars we headed off again over the Erskine Bridge and on to Loch Lomond.

Our usual stopping point on the Loch was busy with those darned tourists, so we pressed on. Loch Lomond went by quickly and before we knew it we were enjoying fantastic views of Glencoe and the surrounding area - although a few impatient drivers started to spoli things for us.

Fort William was next, with the usual interest in the Minis from the tourists, this year even more so because of the way they're decorated. A slightly less overpriced sandwich later, with a top up of Neil's clutch fluid, we set off along the lochs to Inverness.

John and Tony went ahead again to the Commando memorial, ready to take photos of the convoy as we came up the hill - though we were again split into two groups. A stop at the memorial found Michelle had yanked too hard on her handbrake once too often, with the result that it was no longer braking by hand. A quick fix by John and we were ready to go again.

Steadily cruising along Loch Ness, we encountered roadworks - surface dressing which was appalling. Driving over the recently laid chippings, our tyres were completely coated with tar, and now have chips all over the place - even around the boot of the minibum. We were not happy.

We stopped as usual at Uquhart Castle for photos - including a young American tourist asking my permission for him to take pictures of my car, then with chips flying we ran down into Inverness.

Tents were set up quickly, with other campers very interested in the cars and what we were doing. A few of us nipped to Morrisons, then food from our regular takeaway was ordered and eaten. Best thing to do with it, of course.

Chris suggested that Inverness at night is light enough that you don't need a torch to go to the loo - though a steady aim is also required to avoid the other tents. Other suggestions included the streetlights, though this was "misunderstood" to mean that Chris was actually a volunteer fireman who didn't need a tender behind.

And apparently, Neil had a hand in Barry's pocket, fiddling with something which made a mess in his hand. All quite innocent, apparently.

And so the night drew to a close. Couple more bottles to be drunk before we all retire, lie in in the morning and hit John O'Groats tomorrow. Nite all!