On arrival at our hotel in Liverpool, we found that the van would actually scrape into our usual long stay car park. While not actually a case of scraping, the height clearance was scarily slight.

Our luck changed when we were told by our pet friendly hotel that the establishment was no longer pet friendly. This was something of a surprise, since our reservation, which included the dog, had been accepted the previous week.

Fortunately, on walking into the Adelphi, we were told that dogs were welcome.

We celebrated with a drink in the Head of Steam, knowing that the chain allowed dogs.

There was, however, something of a loss of productivity in both this bar and the hotel, since staff took time out to play with the dog.

Talking of the dog, she felt the need to pose with landmarks.

We ate at Down the Hatch, a really good veggie/vegan cafe, which also – yes – welcomes dogs.

Followed by a good night’s sleep

(another micropub might have been involved too).

The following morning, we breakfasted (the dog had eggs), then set off for Keswick. we stopped off at Lancaster to stretch our legs and take refreshments.

We stayed at Castlerigg, on a site close to where I’d stayed with my youngest child 21 years ago.

We were soon joined by another T2, a year younger than ours.

We only spent a couple of days in Keswick; we regretted not staying longer.

The dog seemed to have a good time.

Enjoying cake at the Theatre by the Lake.

She also discovered a gem of a micropub, the Crafty Baa.

It was also good to see that a once really terrible little bar had become an excellent veggie/vegan bar/restaurant/hotel.

Although the decor hadn’t changed in two decades (the other room was busy).

And, this morning, we returned home. in a roundabout sort of way.

Over the last couple of weeks, the van covered over 800 miles without a single problem. That was something of a surprise.