Edinburghs Hogmanay [Part III] The Breakdown

If you have not yet read my previous two posts on Hogmanay - you need to catch up! Check out part one and part two.

So at the end of part two it was about 7am. I indulged in a two hour power nap, while others decided sleep was only for the weak. When I rose at about 9am I was handed a glass of champagne. In true kiwi style, Nick and I decided to have a wee drink to celebrate the first day of the new year. The rest of the day was a bit of a write off, really. We sat around listening to music, drinking the left over cocktails and eating.

That evening we got to bed relatively early - as the following day we would be making the long drive back to London.

We were all up early and on the road by 10:30am. All went smoothly until about 10 miles before the English border. We pulled off the road to fill up at a place called Gretna. Just off the motorway there was a horrendous noise coming from one of the wheels. We quickly pulled over and had a look underneath; nothing obvious. The petrol station gave us the number for a tow truck, which we called and organised to get picked up. Lindy also called a garage in Carlisle (about 10 miles away) who said they were able to take a look.

Edinburghs Hogmanay [Part II] Getting Loose Mother Goose

The adventure continues. When we last met, our little kiwi adventurers had returned home at 7am from a huge night out. We catch up with them now, just rising from their slumber at Gemma's house...

Neal: "I feel like ****"
Lindy: "Me too"
Neal: "Lets go back to sleep"

And that is exactly what we did, not surfacing until mid-afternoon. When we finally did get up we promptly made our way to the pub. As you can tell we were after a real Scottish experience.

That evening was the torchlight procession. Basically a whole lot of people light these big sticks on fire and wander around Edinburgh. AWESOME! And there was a HUGE amount of people! At one point we got a little bored and decided to play with the fire, as you do... You can check out the results below. I think licking the flame was probably one step too far...

Edinburghs Hogmanay [Part I] Kiwi Comrades

ROAD TRIP! 1,300 kms, 6 days, 4 awesome kiwi comrades, 1 tiny car, and 1 HUGE party. New years; its on!

First up, lets meet the crew. Lindy - our fearless leader. Elisse - a ruthless navigator. Prue - resident DJ. And your humble narrator. All packed into a Ford Ka; Possibly the smallest automobile ever made.


We set off bright and early on a Tuesday morning. Destination: Newcastle. The journey went by quite well, taking in some of the beautiful English countryside. We arrived in Newcastle at around 5pm and found our hotel. It was tidy, cosy and close to town. Perfect.