After two nights and a wonderful day in Edinburgh, it was time to continue our three week epic through the British Isles by heading to Manchester. We left Scotland's capital at about ten o'clock and took nearly 45 minutes to escape the city, primarily due to tour buses and commercial vehicles on the Royal Mile.
But escape the capital we did, and once we passed the City Of Edinburgh Bypass, we suddenly found ourselves seemingly in the middle of nowhere. Quite the contrast to cities in America that seem to stretch out forever. The A702 took us through a series of towns, eventually depositing us in the village of Biggar, where it was time to refresh ourselves.
Now, one would think this would be a perfect java experience. In the midst of rural Scotland on a very green country road, picturesque small town, quaint architecture. But something wasn't quite right - perhaps the cashier had had a bad start to her morning, but she just didn't seem too excited to be serving us. Perhaps it was our West Coast Accents. Perhaps it was because we knew what we wanted when we ordered. Or maybe she just sucked. Regardless, we didn't seem very welcome here, so we collected our order and proceeded south. The drinks we did get were adequate. read more