So…… Gayle and I have been talking about going to The Boat Shed Café in Lochgoilhead for ages now… Gayle saw it on Instagram and I’ve been following it too.

It’s such a pretty coffee shop on the banks of Loch Goil and it’s about an hour and a half drive from where we live.

We agreed to meet up today as the Scottish Dog Behaviourist was working! He is so busy he’s having to work a Sunday now.

When I picked Gayle up I gave her options… the first of which was the Boat Shed and she jumped at it and we both got really excited. I was so pleased she wanted to go and didn’t think it was too far. She was pleased that I was happy to drive there.

It’s a beautiful day. After all the rain and wind we’ve been having, the cold sunshine is just so lovely. It is still pretty cold but there’s a warmth when the sun is beating down on you.

I was up at 7am and did 2 dog walks before 8.30am!!

Bhruic and Freya first…. look at that sky!!

The morning sun makes this old mossy wall look so green against the blue.

It also made me look really tall and the puppers look like wolves!

The primroses are blooming, I always think they are so pretty.

Gielsland Estate looks lovely in the sun too.

It’s so quiet I stop the 3 of us for arty middle of road shot.

When I used to have the big, heavy job and used to drink and be Mrs life and soul of the party, I would never have seen this time of the morning…. This is now when I’m at my best. No one around, sounds of the birds chirping and nothing else. I just love it!

Home and quick change for Calaidh and Khaleesi.

It’s just so beautiful.

Khaleesi zonked out in Gran’s Chair when we got home. This is the seat I used to sit in when I was off sick… it’s a great seat to relax in and lovely to see Khaleei likes it too.

So back to the ROADTRIP. Love that WordPress always puts that word into caps for some reason 😂😂😂

We set off on an exciting adventure.

It’s a beautiful drive… my trusty Co-pilot even thinks to take some photos for the blog. She’s a keeper 😂 the next 4 are Gayle’s taken from the moving car!

The drive through Scottish lochs and mountains is breathtaking at any time but when that sky is blue it’s just stunning!

We get to the turning for Lochgoilhead and the road goes down to single track, with passing places. It’s not a great single track either but a very crumbly road with steep verges at either side, if you pull off the tarmac there’s a chance you might not get back up onto it.. my anxiety heightens a little. I’m relieved that I didn’t know this in advance!

Lochgoilhead is beautiful.

The single track road runs right along the front of the loch elevated about 6ft from the water itself… no barriers, just the drop. 😬We finally get to the Boat Shed Café on our tiny single track road…. We made it!!

There are lots of people standing outside, come to think of it we’ve driven past loads of people walking on the single track road towards and away from it.

The realisation…..

The car park is over full already and there is literally nowhere to park.

We’re both completely shocked as that thought had never crossed our minds. We’d driven all this way only to not get in?!?!

We had no option but to drive right past it. I finally found somewhere to turn and we drove past again but nothing had changed.

About half a mile up I found somewhere to pull the car into. This shows how narrow the roads are…

We parked and walked back.

We stood in the queue and took the obligatory selfie with the sign in the background.

There were about 7 groups of people in front of us. I don’t know how long we stood but nothing was moving. Gayle was reading lots of comments on their Instagram page about the lack of parking and the trouble you could get into parking illegally…. We talked ourselves into worrying that the car wasn’t in a proper parking space and could be construed as in a passing place…. I went to take some photos of the loch.

I mean it would have been a lovely view for coffee but the outdoor area isn’t in the sun… the sun is shining on the road side of the building. Everyone had blankets and looked freezing.

We really sadly gave up our space in the queue and decided to leave.

We were gutted that we’d gone all this way and couldn’t get parked. It’s only 24th March, goodness only knows how hard it must be in the summer as the Loch Goil cruises go from the same car park.

With hindsight, the car was fine where it was parked and we could easily have stayed but the shine had gone a bit by then.

Instagram follows are all very well but the reality of the beauty of the place is often different. Their posts are beautiful, so appealing but obviously everyone and their Auntie want to go too!

So back in the car and took a shortcut back to the top of the Rest and Be Thankful. I say shortcut… the satnav didn’t want us to go on this road but it was so much quicker.

The Rest and Be Thankful is named after the old road which was super narrow and windy to the top of the road. You had to rest and be thankful when you got to the top.

This photo doesn’t do the depth of the valley any justice! if you look to the left you’ll see the new road which cuts up the side of the hill. This gets closed after almost every heavy rain shower due to landslides. The old military road gets used more often than it should be!

We then got back onto the A82 and headed down into Arrochar. We eventually found a parking space!

We managed to find a takeaway for hot chocolate and a chocolate bar as we were starving by now!

Spotted this GATE!!!

It’s so still and calm but clouded over a bit.

Sadly despite the beauty, the beaches are covered in plastic. It’s really sad as it’s sooo bad. it must wash up in storms but there is so much of it.

Back in the car and down through Tarbert to Firkin Point on Loch Lomond. I stopped because there are toilets here!! It’s very pretty too.

Back into the car and further down the Loch to get a picture of Ben Lomond.

Then we headed back down the road and home.

Despite not achieving our main goal, we had a great day! Great company for a lovely chat.

Happiness is what you make it and I’m never happier than out sightseeing and especially with a great friend!

Wishing you all a great week ahead!

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️