THE PLAN

Ok, I'll toss this on here so we can look back later and compare how all the musing and reality actually stack up. Everything, read: everything from air tickets through accommodation to car hire, has been planned and paid for on the interweb - hopefully allowing low cost and super-flexibility.

We're going to do the long-haul from Australia, landing at Heathrow silly-early on Friday morning. After juggling HM customs and hopefully popping past a Virgin store for a couple of mobile phone SIM cards to power the pair of phones we're taking, it'll be straight to Avis.

Once installed in a car (medium sized according to plan) we're going to head North immediatly, with Warwick Castle firmly in our sights. The plan is to hit up the tourist attraction to ward off jetlag, as well as hopefully entertain and educate ourselves a wee bit (note: the Scots lingo sneaking in there). No idea where we'll stay that night - discussions suggest finding somewhere ought to be easy, likely in Stratford-on-Avon - the home of Shakespeare (dec.)

Next day (Saturday) it's off to Glasgow. It'll be a long drive, possibly broken early with a visit to the Cadbury factory in nearby Birmingham - we'll see, but it might result in a choco-powered drive up the freeway!! We're aiming to stay with Dad's friend David in Glasgow just overnight before heading, via some of Dad's old stamping grounds, to our final destination - Fort William for the World mtb Championships.

Spean Bridge (just along from Fort Bill) will be our base, as I found a nice looking cabin for the week. Unfortunatley 'the week' up this way at this peakish time of the year is Sat->Sat, so we have to forgo the first night and find somewhere else for the final Saturday night. That one's important because the downhill finals on Sunday are where Australia is most likely to medal, Sam Hill being the defending Elite champion.

But it won't all be bikes. I want to go and ride the area and the finals of course are etched in the programme, but we're hoping to pop out to the Isle of Skye for at least a loooong day - and perhaps overnight as well. And with the proximity of Loch Ness we'd be mad not to pop up there! So there's lots to do and little time!

Once we've had our wicked way with the Highlands (I rather suspect it'll be a bit the other way) we're going to pop back to Glasgow for a couple of nights (the first, Sunday, at the end of a loooong day of DH finals then driving back with 40,000 other mad bike-nuts). Time for a bit of a breather for those of us who've been running around trying to suck back all the bike stuff.

Tuesday sees a long haul back to London, dropping the car at Heathrow before making our way by train to the city. Here we'll spend three nights and days in a hotel doing the ubber-tourist thing. Expect lots of walking, looking and spending money.

Then we come home