From York we drove south to Milton Keynes where we had a rented a flat for three nights. Once again, we were staying here because of the accommodation option, and also it was a good central point to base our drives.
 
We drove 280kms south through Sherwood Forest, around a number of cities - Leeds, Sheffield, Nottingham and Leicester, and arrived at our home for the next three nights on the outskirts of Milton Keynes. A flat with everything a traveller needs. All the ingredients for an English breakfast were in the fridge, fruit in the bowl and everything down to cotton buds in the bathroom. It seems quite amazing how well these places are set up.
 
 
 
Milton Keynes reminded us of Canberra. It is a planned city, a city which amalgamated several villages and was designed to take overflow housing from London. So it is very spread out, but has a very large shopping area. A covered shopping centre at that - something that is a rarity here - figure that out in the climate here!

Our last sightseeing day was in Cambridge, a university town that that we love. Its low buildings, the many attractive university colleges, and the winding River Cam provide a lovely background to the energy of the many student-centred cafes and shops. It was a cloudy day - it was the first time on our trip that we had seen rain that was harder than spitting bouts. Regardless of the weather the punters were out on the water. 
 
 
 
It was a most enjoyable last day of our 10 week trip. And to top it off we had a last late but lovely lunch. The restaurants were crowded, but in just off the main drag we found Carluccio's. This chain, overseen by Italian chef Antonio Carluccio has many restaurants in the UK, though this is the first one we have come across. We each ordered Pasta Carbonara, a dish that we first tasted in Rome in 1985. That dish was very rich. This one at Carluccio's was delicious. It was light and fresh and the bacon amazingly crispy. Just the thing on a rainy day. 

And so back to our flat to pack up. What a trip it has been. A week in the UK, 3 1/2 weeks in Turkey, and then another 5 1/2 weeks in the UK. With rental cars we travelled 3000kms in Turkey and 8000 in the UK. We stayed in hotels, B&Bs, and apartments. We mostly ate out, but also picnicked in our room at times, and of course cooked our meals in apartments.

We had excellent weather. No real rain until we drove to Cambridge, but plenty of cloudy days. These were actually excellent for travelling, as the temperature was mostly Tshirt type weather. The only hot weather we saw was during a few days in the south of Turkey. 

We saw so much, and it is hard to is hard to say what we liked the best. We loved Turkey - there were some amazing sights here. Cappodoccia, Pamukkale, and Istanbul were stunning, and swimming the the Mediterranean was delightful. In the UK Scotland really stood out, and the Isle of Skye our most magical memory. 

We met some lovely people. In Turkey, everyone says 'You are welcome', after any service, no matter how small. And they mean it. In the UK we were surprised at friendliness and service wherever we went. I just cannot imagine tourists here would get the same consistency in Australia.

So now we head home to continue our very full lives. But with some more wonderful memories on which to contemplate.