The Lake District and 'limping' home

Leaving Glasgow, the weather improved as we drove south. The oil pressure stayed steady but the brake noise persisted. We stopped off to see Tim Stamper in Penrith http://www.stamper-astonmartin.com where the brake issue was fixed (it was the handbrake after all). As the sun peeped out from behind the clouds the beautiful green countryside of the Lake District unfolded and we arrived at our hotel in Ambleside. We had treated ourselves to two nights at Rothay Manor Hotel https://www.rothaymanor.co.uk (there is ample outside parking onsite) The bed was super-comfortable, the room overlooked a pretty garden and it was just a short walk into town to visit boutiques, bookshops and tearooms. We ate at the hotel's restaurant 'Rowan' which was a fine dining experience from a Michelin-starred chef. The breakfasts each morning were delicious (with table service) and they serve tea and cake in the lounge room every afternoon for their guests.

We walked to nearby Lake Windermere and climbed up Loughbrigg Fell to Lily Tarn. The views were magnificent and it felt like we were on top of the world! Having put in around 15,000+ steps, we took 'M' for a drive around the periphery of Lake Windermere (via Bowness-on-Windermere, Newby Bridge and Hawkshead). It seemd like a good opportunity to test out how 'M' handled on the smaller country roads. Well, she didn't like it. We barely made it back to Ambleside with her coughing and spluttering and overheating. Not the kind of good health we need for the Mille Miglia! She still needs a lot of work :(

Leaving the Lake District, we filled up with 99 Unleaded fuel and 'M' was reasonably OK for the first part of the journey. The motorway driving was easy and she was happy cruising along at around 60mph. Unfortunately as we got closer to home the misfiring and spluttering got worse, particularly at lower revs and slower speeds. Mr F thinks it is a problem with the engine getting too hot and the fuel evaporating. He had to limp her from the M40 to the M3 on the hard shoulder and was relieved to finally arrive at her home base. There's going to have to be some more work done on her before we can consider doing the Mille Miglia!