Ten days today we will be on our way to Glasgow airport, from there to Dubai, Delhi and eventually Srinagar. But the journey nearly didn’t start at all… A phone call from the Co-op bank on Monday told me that my Visa card had been compromised and I should cut it up and wait for a replacement to arrive. Only after I’d done this did I remember that I’d yet to collect my train tickets to Motherwell, bought on this card… Fortunately, the nice lady at Durham station was sufficiently convinced by the reconstituted card to print off the tickets for me!

We will spend a few days in and around Srinagar, before heading off on the road to Leh; National Highway 1D. The 430 km route is one of the highest and most spectacular in the world but also amongst the most prone to landslides – 30 years ago I spent an uncomfortable couple of days camping in a bus in the middle of nowhere whilst the remnants of such a landslip were dug manually off the road.

I’m hoping the road might have been upgraded a little since then….

Anyway, I thought a map might be useful if you are interested in following our travels and this is the best overview of the route I could find.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com

The map below gives a little more detail of the topography and also some of the places we’ll be visiting in Ladakh.

http://www.liveindia.com/ladakh/leh-ladakh-map_jpg.jpe

However, before we arrive at Glasgow airport there are a few other things to fit in; a trip to Milton Keynes for an OU meeting and to meet Yasin, the director of Indus Experiences, Rosie’s graduation and the small matter of a half marathon to run!

If anyone would like to sponsor me for Sunday’s Great North Run and help the Percy Hedley Foundation (http://www.percyhedley.org.uk/) raise money for their new hydrotherapy pool, I’d be very grateful. You can do this via https://www.justgiving.com/Heather-Kelly4/ Thank you.