Pressing Pause

When you think your walks and views cannot get any better, you travel a bit further down the road and wham, unexpected gems lay in wait! Glen Lochan just outside Glencoe village are a great network of trails through woodland to a man-made lake. It was created by Lord Strathcona in the 1890s – he hoped the North American trees would comfort his homesick Canadian wife. Poppy certainly enjoyed her swim there but was quickly put back on her lead when I spotted a wedding party coming down to the shore for photos. I had visions of Poppy running up to the beautiful bride in her white dress to say hello!!

From there we headed to Oban, a place I remember my grandparents visiting when I was little. They always used to send us postcards and I was always so excited to read them. It made me think I’d like to send some postcards on this trip to communicate with folk the ‘old school’ way and maybe bring that magic to someone else when we live in a world of technology.

Whilst staying in Oban, we also took the five minute ferry to Kerrera to hike around the island taking in views of Gylen Castle standing on the cliff top. We started in bright sunshine but by the end were walking through thunderstorms in steady rain.

It’s strange that as I was in a place I remember my nan visiting on her holidays many years ago that I received a call to say after a fall she had been admitted to hospital. After her ten years living with the cruelest of diseases Alzheimer’s and dementia, she finally left this life for a better place. She died in hospital on 15th with my sister and cousin beside her. So it is here that I pause my blog as I have returned to Norfolk to plan our farewells to the most generous, caring lady that I was lucky enough to call my nan.

Searching for Sunshine

 It’s only as I pause to write this that I reflect back on our last few days. We have been amongst grey clouds and rain on the west coast, visiting Poolewe, Gairloch (where there is an amazing community cafe,) Driving the coastal route to Applecross and the hair-raising never to be driven again Bealach Na Ba to Tournapress. Visibility was down to about 5m near the top in thick fog/cloud, hairpin bends and reversing as its single track and hoping you don’t go off the edge! I’m sure I may have ridden this as pillion on a motorbike but driving it was a whole new (nerve racking) experience. Poppy also not too sure about all the twists and turns. It definitely interrupted her afternoon snoozing. 

You can imagine my relief at arriving under blue skies in Glen Shiel, yes we had found the sun. After devouring half a box of chocolate fingers (to recover) we set off to explore. We hiked up the hills behind us to get a view out across the valley beyond. Super warm but worth the climb.

Our other hikes this week so far have been to Gleann Lichd with views of the Five Sisters towering above us. An easy, flat hike but with a lot of sheep - held onto the lead very tightly! Today has been our biggest hike as we climbed Ben Nevis and Poppy was a star. Little does she know that at one point today she was the highest spaniel in the country. The photo of her fast asleep is once we had returned back to the van. Tomorrow definitely needs to be a light walking day for her paws and my toes.

So yes, we found sunshine and we also found a summit.

Unexpected Paths

Where to begin? We are being spoilt with remarkable views and quiet spots. Yet again we were the only ones on the campsite I had booked just the night before. It also happened to be right on the Great Glen Way, so we had to walk a section. We took the high route from Invermoriston to Fort Augustus with views back over Loch Ness through the clouds and many a waterfall. We met a chap along the way who had plenty of recommendations for places to visit and hike out west so the next leg of the journey was suddenly sorted! After a pit stop in Fort Augustus, where the Caledonian Canal makes an appearance along with bus loads of tourists, we took the low route back. After 13 miles I had one very sleepy spaniel.

Whilst at our campsite on our own we picked up a leaflet about Glen Affric with some hidden lochs and great walks so made a slight detour on our way to the west coast today to see Dog Falls and Coire Loch.

In teaching, I have found some of the best learning experiences come from unplanned moments. Travel I think can be the same.

Bonnie Scotland

We have crossed into Scotland, hooray! Some great days of walking (lots of it uphill) and some super roads for driving with the kind of scenery that makes you feel very small. 

Photos are from around Stirling and on the road towards Pitlochry.

One minor mistake was booking a highly rated campsite which was super busy when we arrived and was like white, large motor home city. Poor Roo felt quite out of place in her bright turquoise colour and dwarfed by others around her! Our next site only as room for 5 vans. Sounds much more like us (we hope.)

A day on the road…

So what does the day look like waking up in a van? Well firstly it’s quiet. Beautifully quiet. Lots of people said I needed to book campsites for my trip, but I think because of the out of the way sites I’m choosing, I didn’t really need to. Our first site in Lincolnshire we were the only ones, our second site in Robin Hood’s Bay there was probably around ten tents/camper vans and this morning there were three of us and the other two families have left leaving just Poppy and I and the sheep in the neighbouring field. 

This morning is one of those perfect blue sky mornings where the temperature is just right with the sun warming the earth after a few days of greyer skies. We woke up and we always go for a short walk for Poppy to go to the toilet! After that it’s breakfast and then today a long, lazy coffee in the sunshine with a bit of reading and a bit of sun puddling for the spaniel. 

I usually wait a couple of hours after breakfast before we set off on a morning walk. Today we followed a fairly overgrown and less than obvious route to a memorial to some farmers who lost their lives in a snow drift in 1967 on the hills above the village of Alnham. It was a 6 mile, 3 hour walk with a little waterfall on the way down which Poppy loved. Jumped straight in, had a swim and a drink before going slightly loopy rolling in the grass and ferns on the other side. Hopefully a few pictures are attached.

After our walk we usually get back to the van for a late lunch and then the afternoon is spent reading with a cup of tea or napping if you’re a worn out spaniel. 

It’s amazing how quickly you forget about time when out of a work routine, especially in a job where time dictates everything - when you eat, when you can go to the toilet, etc. It’s a good feeling to instead be ruled by how your body feels - whether it’s hungry, or tired, and just go with it, rather than be in a routine ruled by the clock.