Honestly I don’t mind the rain. The only weather that will stop me in my tracks is wind. Wind scares me but now that I don’t spend hours straightening my hair I really couldn’t care less about the rain. It was a grey, wet day but we decided to jump in the van and go to a walking destination that never fails us, Cragside.

This was the first time we’d visited Cragside since we had the van, and it’s another example of us needing to learn that we can’t do all the normal car things we used to. We thought we’d drive the 6 mile carriage drive route around around the grounds, not even thinking that they’re might be some kind of restrictions, but there were, and we only spotted the height signs when we were already at the point of no return. The usually super relaxing drive turned into an ass clencher as I waited to see if there was some kind of bridge or tunnel that we’d forgotten about that the van wouldn’t fit through and we’d then have to reverse back along the whole route. We’re good, there wasn’t. But we’ve learned our lesson. The pros of a van still outweigh the cons, but we definitely need to remember to always check for height restrictions.

We sheepishly finished the drive and parked up (in the coach park as directed…apparently we can’t even park in the normal car park anymore!) and went for a little wander on foot. A nice uneventful stroll, apart from the bit where we realised we were tired and had to do a direct 180 turn and then felt awkward that the old couple walking behind us had seen us just spin around and go back the way we came. Steven cracked a joke about running of a steam and I did a really loud inappropriate laugh and they just deadpan stared ahead and ignored us. Ahh, social interactions.