Often when I meet People and talk to them about my job of running Adventures all over the world and also whilst talking to clients who have just or are about to enjoy one of our adventures, my leg is often pulled. The suggestion is  that my travelling life is one of romance and endless gin and tonics whilst watching the sun drift out of site in some very beautiful countries.

This is of course completely true on many evenings, unequivocally true that is on most evenings of my life,but just very occasionally events happen that are far removed from excitement,romance and gin and tonics not to mention watching the sun drift out of site.

Just recently in July of this year I had a window of two days  in between getting my blue Range Rover overhauled and setting of to the North of Russia in which to meet a new client who wanted me to run a trip into the Sahara to Timbucto and also an off road cultural weekend in the mountains around Alicante in Spain.

My wife had booked me a flight from our local airport of Coventry to Alicante in Southern Spain to take advantage of this window. The flight was leaving at 1300hrs on Monday.

Over the weekend we had just spent a very enjoyable time in the Lakes running a greenlane adventure for a client of ours, which did involve some Gin and Tonics and sunsets as well as marvellous views and exciting tracks, but I was working honest!!. On the Monday morning after  Louise and I enjoyed an early breakfast at the Linthwaite House Hotel overlooking Lake Windermere we set off down the M6 to catch the flight from Coventry.

Even if the traffic had been heavy on the M6 we would have had an hour to spare at home just to put things together for the meeting in Spain before needing to head to the Airport. As we passed the junction for the M62 a message flashed onto the overhead signs “M6 closed at J12 and J13”. No problem we thought it will most likely be cleared by the time we get there in two hours or so. Just in case its not we thought we will leave at J16 and head across country to home in Leicestershire. Our decision to leave at junction 16 was thwarted by a queue of at least a  1 mile long and our decision to press on and to leave the motorway at  junction’s 15,14 and 13 was equally unsuccessful for the same reasons and eventually we ended up stopped on the motorway, luckily near some services.The traffic was going nowhere so as we were tierd and envisaged a very long journey getting to Spain my wife and I booked a room at the Premier Lodge attached to the services and slept for an hour or two.When we awoke the traffic had not moved so lunch was taken, a leisurely one, after which we decided to enter the slow moving stream of cars and lorries. Some two hours later and 16 miles and we burst onto a deserted M6 Toll and enjoyed a blast just to clear the cobwebs only for the overhead signs to proudly and impersonally announce that the M6 was closed at Rugby with the inevitable 13 mile tailbacks. Luckily we managed to exit at J2 so avoided this particular problem but we were two hours late for the flight to Spain.

As I had missed the flight we searched the internet and a friend of ours booked an Easyjet flight out of Luton for that evening. It was still going to be a close run thing to make check-in in time but in the event we made it with half an hour to spare. Louise and myself settled down for a well earned and definitely needed relax over a drink and a meal in the airport lounge before I went through to the plane and Louise made her way home to collapse into bed.

I was going to get into Spain late but at least I had made it!

2130hrs and one hour late we are told that there is a gate change, so we all move down to gate 18 and are told by a much harassed Easyjet representative that unfortunately there is no captain for the flight and that the only available captain has run out of hours, so unfortunately it’s cancelled. Oh well such is life!!

I phoned Louise my wife and got here just before she turned in so she drove down to collect me and i spent the night snug in my own bed.

Now it was imperative that I made it to Spain so we started again the next day and managed successfully to transfer the Coventry flight from yesterday to today. Surely all was going to work well today and my business deal would be successfully concluded.

Only 15 minutes or so after our scheduled time the plane taxied down the runway and England’s green and pleasant land soon lay some few thousand feet below us and the aircraft’s nose was set resolutely towards Spain. Marvellous I thought.

“This is an announcement from the Captain” interrupted my thoughts ” I am afraid that we have a small technical problem and are having to turn back to Coventry”. This was met with groans of dismay from the passengers. For me it is just another one of lives rich tapestries.

I did get to Alicante some 6 hours later and my business trip was very successful resulting in another adventure to Morocco and also a weekend adventure in the mountains of southern Spain scheduled for next summer. Watch out for the dates and info in the Driving club page.