53 HOMEWARD BOUND...

After a good night's sleep and a full English, we returned to the road, making the 250-mile journey from yesterday in reverse (click on the video below to see just how far it is).  We had to make a slight detour to Stroud to pick up the alloys I'd bought on eBay.  

For two and a half hours, we bobbed and weaved our way through Dorset, Wiltshire, and Gloucestershire, slowly heading north. We passed through quaint little villages and a single-track hollow (pitch black and a bit scary) and then hit Bradford-upon-Avon at rush hour, which took five minutes to get through - it is a different world down there!

We eventually got to Stroud almost on time and met with Steve, the seller from eBay's dad.  What a lovely man.  He let me use his loo and we chatted for half an hour about all things Abarth and our trip.  I checked the alloys (which look even better in real life), loaded them into the boot, and headed on our way.

We hit the M5 and then stopped for a break outside of Birmingham.  I got a call from Carl to say he had picked the car up and driven it home.  He was giddy with excitement!  He said he was storing it at his aunt's, so he would bring it around the next day for me to look at and maybe take some pictures for this little corner of the web.

After a lousy burger at Burger King, we headed back onto the motorway and on to the M6, where a beaut nearly sideswiped me in his 4x4 after he realised it was his junction coming up and did a kamikaze dive from the fast lane to the slip road - absolute helmet.

The rest of the journey was drama-free, and we made it home in enough time for me to run in, stack the alloys in the kitchen like some mad Top Gear art piece, put on my dancing trousers, and head off into Liverpool to meet Mitch and Chris and see Public Service Broadcasting live - YAAAS!