Day: June 30, 2023

Day 1175 one of the most beautiful days in the Scottish Highlands 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿☀️☀️☀️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

What a beautiful day at Clachtoll Beach.

It will turn out to be the best day of the week weather wise but we don’t know that yet. The joys of writing this a few days later. The sun shone all day.

It really is the most beautiful beach. There’s often no one on it. The waves have been high all week as it’s so windy but it’s lovely to see it in the sunshine.

I started the morning with Freya on the beach.

We both took a walk out in late morning to Split Rock, which Freya is showing off in this photo!

The colours are absolutely out of this world.

You can’t really see it’s a split rock when you approach it walking though… it just looks like a rock 😂

I was far too scared to climb up it. It looks like nothing here but I got a wave of vertigo and had to sit down!! Craig was off up there like a mountain goat!

I decided I would finally go in for a swim… checked the beach and didn’t see any jellyfish 🪼 so back to the van to get all my kit ready and back down to the near idyllic bay in the last few photos.

And there were jellyfish EVERYWHERE. All different colours, shapes and sizes. Now I know that many of them are no bother, whatsoever, when you are wearing a wetsuit, but sadly that seemed irrelevant at the time. I’m still putting my face in and snorkelling. Plus the wind is coming from the west bringing them all into the beach. I’m gutted to say I got spooked after only a few minutes of snorkelling. I saw two Lion’s Mane Jellyfish almost straight away. The sea was teeming with them. I admit to feeling marginally relieved when a couple and their son came down for a swim, fully suited up, and decided against it. Their son was at Uni studying Marine Biology and reported back that a good few of the jellyfish 🪼 were the poisonous ones.

I’m a bit gutted that we came here, or I did, a at least for the free water sports and it’s been too jellyfish-y (nope not even a word!) and far too windy for a novice to do anything else.

We sat on the beach for a bit enjoying the sunshine but came back up to get everything dried.

We cooked fresh chicken on the BBQ for dinner and had it in Brioche buns. Freya got a good few more walks too!

I take out the camera and boom, she hits the deck for a photo!!

It was a magical day today. Scotland in all it’s beauty.

Stay safe everyone 💙🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿💙

Day 1179 ROADTRIP from Clachtoll through Ullapool, Drumnadrochit, Fort Augustus, Fort William, Glencoe and home!

We’re home a day early. The forecast was dreadful today and it rained incessantly from teatime last night right through. I think that would be ok if you’re in a caravan or Motorhome but we’re literally sitting on top of each other in the van and nothing dries.

We took a leisurely drive down the west coast of Loch Ness, which adds about an hour and a half to the journey, but we’ve seen some amazing scenery.

It’s much windier roads although it looks like the straighter route.

We left here around 9.30am.

Via The Bothy in Ullapool for brunch, for the third time this week!! Freya approves. 😂 A roll and haggis and an oat milk decaf latte!

A leisurely walk through Ullapool…. No rain here thankfully!

Then off on the road down the west coast of Loch Ness, through Muir of Ord, Beauly and Drumnadrochit.

We stopped again in Fort Augustus, to take Freya for a walk down by the lovely river. It’s drizzling now.

I spotted some thistles on the way back to the car!

None of them had a stunning backdrop sadly….

We carried on down and hit traffic just outside Fort William. 20 minute queues just to get into the town! So straight through and stopped just at the Isle of Glencoe Hotel at Ballachulish. My trusty Co-pilot took photos as we went over the Ballachulish Bridge.

It was so calm when we stopped. After the incessant wind of the last week, the calm was very intense and almost loud, if that makes any sense. I said to Craig it was like being inside but outside. 😬 he politely said he knew what I meant! 🤔😆

Freya had a good walk and run around and we had some biscuits and cheese before the last leg of the journey, down through some of Scotland’s most beautiful scenery, Glencoe and Loch Lomond.

Of course it was VERY cloudy but after all the rain, everything looks so fresh and green again.

I wasn’t 100% certain that coming home was the right idea, but the heavens opened just north of the Erskine Bridge and it’s been pretty torrential ever since. We had a lovely day meandering home rather than a bored day being stressed about being stuck inside the van on a soggy campsite. It was absolutely the right decision.

I am devastated the holiday is over already. It seems so fast and almost like I didn’t appreciate it enough at the time. The weather hasn’t been the best but we have been lucky with a couple of lovely days. It just passed in a flash. the Clachtoll Beach Campsite is impeccable. Spotlessly clean. Motivational signs in the toilets.

Free use of paddle boards, kayaks, boogie boards…. If it’s not blawin’ a hoolie outside!

Freya has also been an absolute joy. What a lovely wee dog she has been. We never get that one on one time with her. Very special and obviously all thanks to lovely Louise next door for moving in and looking after the other two (who seem very big now that we’re home!!)

I’m very proud of myself for taking over the driving on Tuesday when we drove back up from Ullapool…. I’ve not written that blog yet… but I will. I’ve overcome my driving anxiety and felt more comfortable driving than being a passenger, no offence to Craig!!

So back to auld claes and porridge as my Grandad used to say.

Calaidh and Bhruic were so excited to see us… and we did come back to some waterworks and traffic lights outside house. We’d sprung a leak so at least that’s been fixed!

Lots more blogs to follow when I can get round to them!!

Stay safe everyone 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿💙🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿