Left Castle Hill at 10:00 am - on schedule. Motored down to Craddocks listening to the engine and gearbox noises. Got the battery and cut over to Brenda & Barry's in Cambridgeshire for the night. The trip is into the unknown as there is no route through the Sahara, I am travelling to Morocco, in the hope that we will find better information there.

Day spent collecting last things. Tarp from Brownchurch. Rope and bits & pieces from London Yacht Centre. Malaria tablets from Boots etc. Busy and hectic but believe I now have all I need.

Motored down to Mike's with Kim riding shotgun. Landie strains a bit on the hills but made them in 3rd. There are different noises from engine and gearbox which I am putting down to the extra weight being carried. Mike has a lot to do in the three days he has left. It could be tight squeeze to get everything packed.

Left Mike at 08:30 to Plymouth. Still listening to the gearbox. The whine is consistent so lets relax a little.

Waiting in the ferry queue looking forward to leaving the cold of England.

A very easy crossing, flat sea with a light wind and a few squalls. Blue sky over Santander as we arrive at 11:30. All English coinage has been spent on breakfast (£1-75).

Woke up cool and damp. Heavy condensation on the nylon tent. Oh for that limitless budget! Weather broken, misty in the morning. Went into town to fill up and get the makings for lunch then up to Fuente de. Decided too cloudy for the cable car so headed off up a rough track heading over to the next valley. Were going well till we hit a steep muddy climb with a 90° turn and a vertical drop behind. The vehicle gave up. 2nd gear may have done it, I was in 1st.. Too far from help to persevere; so aborted.

Headed over the 621 towards Leon. What a climb. Nearly up to the snowline. Took two photos on the Olympus.

Down the other side into a high rugged plateau area. Lunch by the Riano reservoir. After lunch diverted up to Casasuertes and nearly turned it over when trying to turn round on a narrow track. Front offside wheel well in the air.

Left campsite at ~ 10:00 heading for Cavodongo on advice of campsite staff. Followed road on up to Los Lagos. Large steep climb but dramatic scenery. Nikon photo of lake and into valley on descent. Couple of photos of church.

Afternoon spent driving up a limestone gorge to Sotres. Very exposed road in places but very scenic, one photo of the gorge. Back down the gorge then headed for ??? Lucky to find a campsite - most are closed. Meal in a bar in town. The fixed price menus are very good value, 800pst for a big bowl of soup, spare ribs and dessert.

Le patron was hung over but we got away by 09:00. Heavy showers coming through made breaking camp a lottery. Milder though. 100 km to Santander saw us waiting for the ferry by 10:30. Mike arrived safe and sound and was quickly off the ferry letting us leave Santander at 12:30 - 13:00. Weather miserable, wet and cold as we headed up into the mountains and on to the plateau. Stopped for lunch at a cement mine; interesting choice. Continued South past the speed trap and the man trying to kill a rat. It's a quiet boring road and in a Landrover you have more time to see what’s going on. Found a rather poor campsite (but not cheap) at 18:00 and stopped for the night. Eating dinner (a sandwich) at the service cafe, Mike discussed his ideas of a tour of Spain against my view of get to Morocco and sort out the transit problems.

Left the campsite at 08:00 after a fairly good night, only disturbed by some shouting in the early hours. Headed South making for Segavio which we reached mid-morning. Very pretty with cathedral, Roman aqueduct (under repair) and castle. Had lunch under the castle, of normal bread, pate/cheese and wine. Headed South making for Madrid.

Climbed into the clouds to a height of 1880m then descent to Navacerrada for a beer/coffee stop. Strong smell of brakes from my front offside. Carried on to Madrid and Jonathan and Barbara's. The armed guard at the entrance was not impressed but let us through.

Sat up talking until about 01:00

Up at 08:00 to go into Madrid to collect Ann Claude from the train station. Back to Jon and B's then to spend most of the day tidying up little jobs, mainly electrical. Am happier now that the fridge is fused and that the auxiliary power goes through a connector block. Ann Claude and Kim helped on a lot of the jobs letting me get on with sorting out the power. Repacked everything. Looks OK but have all the personal gear to fit in.

Another day of waiting. Gave me a chance to get a few more jobs out the way. Got the rear lap belt fitted (although this was a waste of time as it was never used) and checked out underneath the vehicle. Tried to bleed the brakes but they are still no better and require a good pump before they bite.

Went into Madrid after lunch. Walked around a lot and saw the outside of the Prado, the palace and the Plazo d' Mayor. Had coffee and tortilla (cold) for lunch. Back to J&B's to find Mike never got to the mountains (4 hrs fitting the laminated windscreens)

At 22:45 headed off to pick up Alan and Paul (a last minute recruit) - perfect timing. Had a bit of a detour on the way back but got back by 00:00.

Setting off at last. Left J&B's at about 10:30. Made for the Morgan office in Madrid first and left at about 13:00 heading South.

Broke the journey for lunch in the middle of a ploughed field. But the wine and cheese was still good. Scenery very boring. Flat plains parched from the sun with very little vegetation. Stopped for the night at 17:00 as first group camp. No campsites in the offing so found a road off and set up our own little camp. Very nice. Tents up in an olive grove on the top of a hill. Campfire and pasta meal. Excellent.

Up at 07:00 and ready to leave by 08:45.

Scenery getting better - more hills. Followed the main road south until Cordoba. Kim taking over the driving just before. Hasn't fallen asleep again yet, although he did try and change up into fifth – what does he think this is?. Turned off NIV onto the 331 for Malaga, a single carriageway. Lunch stop enforced by the transmission brake overheating. Was the brake not fully off or did a shoe stick? No further problems for the rest of the day. Lunch at a bar then on to Anteuera, Malaga and Algeciras passing Gib on the way.

Mike, Alan and Paul decide that a visit to Gib is necessary and leave to spend the night there. Kim and I suspect they may cause themselves problems and I see no value in visiting the rock for a few hours, so we stay behind.