There’s a storm a brewin’… it was a nice enough morning but cloudy until the rain came on about 12ish and rained most of the afternoon. The wind is up to gusts of 28mph and tomorrow and Saturday that only keeps increasing. To the extent that our ferry is likely to be disrupted or cancelled.

So we took a drive up a new road today but went back to Balevullin beach to take Bhru for a walk and watch the Blackwater Sports Surf School.

The black dot in this next photo is Abbie the camper van!!!

We had a coffee and a wee snack then headed down to Gott Bay to watch the kite surfers.

Then we went to visit the Yellow Hare cafe and gift shop and it’s the first gift shop we’ve seen on the island. We had coffee and cake (again…) 😬🤣

We went to speak to the CalMac office to see what they thought about the ferries on the next few days and they told us to download the app to keep up to date with decisions made but it was ok for now.

Within about an hour that had changed and Friday’s is called out for disruption or cancellation. We sail on Saturday and the weather is forecast to be worse 😳

It’s raining by now so we came back to the campsite and moved to a more sheltered pitch.

We had a lovely relaxing afternoon and I finished the book that Claire leant me called “Where the Crawdads Sing” by Delia Owens.

It was sooooo good. I’ve read it in a few days.

By 5pm the sun was back out so Bhru pup and I took a walk down to Balemartine Beach.

We had toasties in the Ridgemonkey for dinner.

And planning a lovely lazy evening though it’s 7pm already. We might need to baton down the hatches overnight but will see if the forecast changes. The bushes are providing a fair amount of shelter though it’s eased off for now and the sun is out.

Stay safe everyone 💨☀️💨

We had our first rain of the holiday today…. It’s been forecast all week and although the forecast keeps changing, Wednesday was always going to be the worst weather day. (at time of writing it is not going to be the worst day now…. 😬)

As I write this I’m sitting outside Abbie the camper van in shorts and a vest top! It’s hot again out of the wind.

So back to this morning…. For the first time I had to get up in the middle of the night to go to the loo. Someone brought a chilli sauce with us called “Shit the Bed”…. He who shall remain nameless put it in our lovely pasta dish last night leaving me, at 3am trying to carry out that actual task. ‘Scuse the disgusting nature of this conversation but there is a point to it…. I finally got to see the campsite in the dark, and hardly surprisingly, it wasn’t really dark when I got up. I could see to walk to the toilets without a head torch… I needed it for inside the toilets but there was a line of light on the horizon. We’re only a few weeks away from summer solstice which is the reason we’re on holiday in June. I wanted to get away with the lighter nights. We were outside in shorts until after 10pm again last night when the sun set!

I took lots of sunset shots…. The low sun was lovely.

So back to this morning. Moderately heavy winds and rain….. so we stayed in bed until 12.40pm!!! We had breakfast and read books and had a snooze… had a lovely lazy morning.

The rain stopped before lunch and it was still very grey and overcast so we headed to The Hynish Centre today which is run by Hebridean Heritage. It’s unmanned but very informative and we followed the heritage trail.

It explains how the Skerryvore Lighthouse was built.

Skerryvore is 10.5 nautical miles off the coast of Tiree. I can’t imagine how difficult the conditions were to build a lighthouse out there in treacherous conditions.

The lighthouse is 138 feet or 42m high and was built using Hebridean Gneiss for the first 4 layers and then Ross of Mull Granite as it proved easier to work with.

The fact they used no mortar on it at all is fascinating. The weight of the massive upper stones holds the lower stones in place and it withstands the onslaught of the Atlantic.

The sun came out as we walked around and it’s been a lovely day since.

The harbour is fascinating as it had to be open out to sea to allow ships to use it. This lead to sand filling up into the harbour and they had to find a way to remove it.

They built a flush out system where a reservoir fills up with water and the sluice gates are opened and the rush of water flushed all the sand back out to sea and then huge gates came down to keep the ship docked in water without more sand coming in. All of this in the early 1800’s…. It’s fascinating what they achieved.

We then drove back out to Scarinish for a wander and popped into the Co-op for tonight’s BBQ.

So as usual… loads more photos to share but will load these up for now.

The forecast isn’t great and everyone we speak to says the ferry might not run on Saturday…. We just have to wait and see. It’s been windy today but that is forecast to double by Friday afternoon….. 😳💨💨💨

And that’s not because of the chilli sauce. 🤦🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🤣😘

Stay safe everyone 🏝🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿☀️

I am sleeping like a log this holiday…. A lazy morning today, pancakes and crumpets with butter and jam, with coffee, for breakfast sitting outside though we figured this morning was long trousers day and not for shorts.

It turned out the morning was cooler but the afternoon as been absolutely scorching!!!

So, I’ve decided I can’t do my Staffa post justice while I have such low internet connection and I’m also trying to spend time relaxing on holiday so Im going to leave it for today and just show you a few photos from todays beach scope.

We drove up the North East of the island today.

We drove up through Scaranish and straight up to Vaul.

This beach had been recommended to me. As with all beaches on the island it’s stunning but I couldn’t find anywhere to park…. My anxiety told me everywhere was someone’s land…. There was no parking particularly for the beach so we double backed and headed up to Caolas and back down onto Gott Bay.

There’s a high level cloud but it’s still sunny… just not as warm as it was the last few days.

We took Bhru for a long walk and then back to the van for coffee. Then drove further down Gott Bay….. it’s that big…. And stopped again for a seat in the sun as the clouds were starting to clear.

The sun then split the skies so we drove further down the coast and stopped at Crossapool Beach.

It was absolutely stunning….. breathtakingly beautiful.

The sun’s been fully out since 2pm. We took Bhru for a big run on the beach.

Of course we paddled.

And then promptly sat up in the dunes for about 3 hours and just enjoyed the view and the sunshine.

Honestly just out of this world.

So that’s all for now. Have so many more photos to share but they can wait till I’m home and have lots of time to share them.

We’re having the loveliest of holidays. Chilled and relaxed with no plans. Just taking each day as it comes.

Heaven.

Stay safe everyone 🏝🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿☀️

I have had THE most amazing adventure today.

Since I was about 10 or 12 years old, I have wanted to visit the island of Staffa off the west coast of Mull. Mum and Dad took us on a boat trip from Oban that went round the island of Mull and passed Staffa in a loop back to Oban.

It fascinated me.

And finally today in my 50th year, I finally got there and landed and walked on Staffa.

I realise it sounds so dramatic…. But it was to me!

So I’m going to leave it hanging there I’m afraid as I’ve been away all afternoon while poor Craig had to stay in the van and nurse a poorly Bhruic. Sadly she had explosive diarrhoea about 20 minutes before we went on the boat….. it would have been horrific if she’d done that ON the boat.

It meant Craig had to miss out… which at £55 a ticket was pretty sickening but no point in getting upset about it.

Will tell you all about my Staffa trip tomorrow as we’re back at the campsite and sitting outside until sunset again. It’s cooler than yesterday but still a lovely evening. Spending time with my boy ♥️ and the pup with the scoots….. 🤦🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️😬😆🤣

Stay safe everyone 🏝🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿☀️

Tiree is called Hawaii of the North and it’s certainly lived up to its name today.

The sun is splitting the sky again.

I woke at 6 but I’d had the best sleep… all that sunshine and fresh air doing us the power of good.

We opened the scenic canvas of the van for only the second time ever. Love having the roof off!

We had coffee and crumpets with jam for breakfast.

We set off on a tour of 3 of the islands beaches via the Co-op on the way home!!

First stop was Balephuil Beach.

The sand is so white and perfect.

Bhru is in her element!

Of course I had to go straight in paddling.

It’s unbearably cold but if you can breath slowly through it then the pain passes after a few minutes but honestly, it was excruciating!!

The beach is so gently sloping that you can walk out really far.

Just throw the ball and stop taking photos Bhru says….

We carried on further up the coast, all the roads are one track roads with passing places. We turned onto a stony track for Sandaig Beach… this one wasn’t the most enthralling but put Abbie’s suspension through the mill big time. All that way for a stony beach and a field really… still that’s what exploring is all about.

We drove through a herd of awfy big coos to get to this beach and they were on the main road too. My experienced navigator was exceptional but really poor at photographic spontaneity! that means there are no photos of the coos or the sheep that crossed the road in front of us… 🤷🏻‍♀️😬🙄😆

We carried on up to Balevullin Beach which really was stunning. This is where they do all the windsurfing.

I tried to maroon Craig and Bhru on an island but they managed to walk off it!

None of these photos really do it justice. The colours are exceptional. Everything is so vivid in the sunlight.

We picked up the surf dog that is owned by the Balevullin surf shop. we couldn’t shake him for ages.

We drove back down through Scarinish and stopped at the Co-op for dinner then came home to have a BBQ.

Mussels to start.

With lamb and mint kebabs for me and hot and spicy chicken wings for Craig.

It’s 7pm and the sun is still scorching but I’m off for my shower now. Get rid of all the sand and suntan lotion in time for sunset and bed! I’m downloading my photos in the wee camp kitchen hut 🛖 😆

There are so many more photos, it’s so difficult to chose between them!

Boat trip to Staffa tomorrow.

Stay safe everyone 🏝🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿☀️

Oh wow…. We had no idea how beautiful this island was. Tiree is part of Argyll and Bute and is situated off the west coast of Mull and therefore, Scotland, right next to Coll.

It’s a 4 hour ferry journey but only because we stopped at Coll first. That must have taken a good half hour. I also would have hated to join the ferry from Coll to Tiree as they had to reverse on….. REVERSE ONTO A FERRY 😳😬😆 with everyone heading to Tiree already watching….. what could possibly go wrong??!

So we sailed into Scarinish and we are camping at Balinoe so we drove straight here yesterday. The scenery along the way was stunning…. Pure white sand and turquoise sea all along the coast.

The guy who owns the campsite wants everyone to come straight from the ferry so he gets you on pitch and then does an orientation with everyone that arrived.

The campsite is basic but functional. It has two portaloo’s and 2 Portaloo showers. There’s an old camping kitchen with washing up facilities and a third shower room which I used last night… way more space to lay your stuff out.

The weather is glorious…. It’s scorching yet the forecast only says 14C. It feels way hotter. About 3pm we decide to take Bhru out for a walk down to our nearest beach at Balemartin.

The photos don’t do it justice. It’s immaculate and virtually empty. There was a wedding here yesterday…. Can you imagine?! A sunny wedding no. A white beach with turquoise sea and in Scotland…. They were soooo lucky!

Back up to the campsite and made a lovely pesto pasta for dinner. There may have been a weeeee but of cheese on it too….

It appears we are in the sunset pitch on the campsite. We got a stunning view of it last night. I have many photos!

I did some sunset shots with Bhru!

The sun finally went down around 10pm. This was the reason we came on holiday in June. I wanted to camp with the lighter nights. I haven’t seen it dark here yet.

I haven’t even started todays blog… but that’s ok. We’ve seen so many stunning beaches. It’s just out of this world!!

More to come!

Stay safe everyone 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏝🚐

I am in my element…… it’s 07.43 and we are already coasting up the side of Mull on board CalMac’s MV Clansman.

I’m standing right here writing this….

Absolutely stunning. There’s barely a breath!

We are so lucky with the weather.

We had a lovely walk last night after the rain stopped.

There is a chance I may be wearing this hoodie all holiday…. 😆

So we had a fairly uncomfortable night in a random street in Oban. I slept a fair bit but we didn’t make the bed up so we weren’t that comfortable… I woke about 4am and it was really cold. So by 5.15am we were in the queue for the ferry. It’s a beautiful day.

We are one of the first to board. Bhruic is not a huge fan of a ferry but she’s settled down now.

And we’re off….

Now I’ve told this story on the blog before but I used to always want to live in this house on the island of Kerrera. It looks right over the bay to Oban. It was knocked down years ago and rebuilt into this stunning house. I would love to live there.

This is the view from inside the coffee shop on the ferry…. Wow.

Arriving into Coll.

Our first glimpse of Tiree. It’s very flat so photos are not doing it justice!

So I’m gonna leave this here for now, it’s only 10.42 and I’ve taken a million photos already. Straight to the campsite for a lovely relax.

Don’t know what the signal will be like so will take it as it comes. It is a holiday after all!

Stay safe everyone 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿💙🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Of course today did not go as smoothly as I thought it might. We had a lovely morning pottering and getting ready to leave whenever we were ready. There was no timescale, no rush.

We’re travelling lighter than we ever have I think. The last few trips have taught us what we actually need versus everything we would normally want to take.

So you know that I struggle to travel with all 3 dogs…. Well it doesn’t make it any easier to leave these 2 behind. I was almost in tears when we left Calaidh and Freya to wait for their Gran and Gramps and Cookie the Chihuahua to come and look after them for a week.

Madame Bhruic on the other had us all set ready to go.

I started to get a little bit anxious before we left. I think it was my hiking boots that set me off…… yup, you heard right…. I was only going to take my new hiking boots and flip flops and I started worrying it might be difficult to drive in my heavy soled hikies…. Just before we left I added a third pair of shoes into my armour…. Driving Converse of course…. That was better…

This is the trip was are making this time. Stopping in Oban overnight tonight.

It was a beautiful drive up. the sun was shining but the roads were heaving and my anxiety kept building…..until I questioned my position in the road every time a car drove past me on the other side of the road. My eyes felt like they couldn’t focus properly, I think I was panicking that I would make some huge mistake and ruin everything. Drama, drama eh?! I tried to talk about it, tired to ignore it, tried to talk myself “down”…. But I didn’t enjoy one minute of the drive as a result. I was determined to do it though, To hand over driving to Craig would have meant that I was giving into “it”… whatever “it” was….

When we arrived it Oban the heavens opened…. The rain was torrential and the queue for the town was right up to the top of the hill.

We found a great parking space on the road up to the ferry terminal. We sat for a bit and the rain stopped so we headed out for a wander.

And the heavens opened again so we went for fish and chips and came back to the van to eat them. We were soaked.

Eventually it stopped again and started to brighten up so this time we went for ice cream!

I had Turkish Delight and Craig had Vanilla.

We had just commented on the lack of union jacks on our way up north.. given that our village is festooned with them…. And the first ones we saw were in our ice cream!

Craig said he’d get a photo of me so I fixed my hair!!!

We sat down on the rocks and watched the shops coming and going out again…. We saw CalMac’s Isle of Mull, Loch Striven and the new Loch Frisa.

We took it in turns to walk Bhru.

I follow the Scottish Maritime FB page and they’ve been following the progress of the Loch Frisa all week, there have been so many posts about her and she hoves into view…. What are the chances?! (that’s a Blackadder quote there…. Hoves into view 🤦🏻‍♀️🤣🤣)

I love this place…. It enchants me for some reason. It’s a transient town as people move through it to get out to the Inner and Outer Hebrides. I always wonder who all these people are and where they are going and why? I’m so envious of ferry traffic… we passed the queue for Colonsay today. Never been there…. But we’ve never been to Tiree either and we sail at 7am tomorrow.

So we’re sitting in the van now and I’m shattered. We won’t get the best sleep but that’s ok. We have a week to rest. My anxiety is gone. I am disappointed it raised its head today but hey… it’s the gift that keeps on giving. I just have to keep fighting it. Even on holiday.

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

Into work super early so I could wash the van only to find that there was no car shampoo left….. 😳 so I washed the van with water… and hosed it with a trickle of water since the fancy hose head seems to have disappeared…. 🤷🏻‍♀️

It looks great from a distance!

Look who was in again today…. My Peanut Pal… just gonna pose in front of this van, he said!

So today was totally different to how I expected, but thankfully, I was so organised for holiday that I was able to do everything that needed doing and still get away on time.

A cheeky trip to Edinburgh Airport to pick up Lockie the camper van and straight back by 3.30pm and now I am home!!!

I’ve honestly spent the whole of this week making ridiculous mistakes.

Hoody on back to front so my face was covered by the hood… saying one thing but meaning the other…. Losing everything… dropping things…. It’s actually been so funny. I’m glad I can laugh rather than get anxious about it.

I’ve just been to get my holiday toenails done, a nice dark red, here’s hoping I get to see them on holiday… it just needs to be warm enough!

I’ve decided not to finish getting ready tonight, I’m shattered and aware I could be grouchy…. So jammies on, feet up and I’m going to relax. The rest of it can wait until I have a fresh head in the morning. As soon as I decided that I felt a sense of calm wash over me. It’s ok to be tired.

So we set off as soon as we are ready tomorrow. Heading for Oban and maybe via Glencoe. Not sure, we will see. No plans other than the ferry to Tiree at 6am on Saturday morning.

And relax….

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

I have swithered about writing tonight but I fear it may be a slippery slope. I have so much more time on my hands 🙌 😆

The best thing is that obviously I’m in a good place which really helps. That could be because I have one more day at work until we finish up for holiday. Everything has gone smoothly this week.

I spent last night on the Village Hall accounts and enjoyed getting them up to date. I had a total drama when I realised last years hadn’t saved properly and did not lose my shit! (I have to say it like that as my reaction was incredible for me. I honestly couldn’t understand it but… it was what it was so I just had to do it again. Took an hour or so and it was done. Instead of a whole evening of panic.

It’s finally getting a wee bit warmer… in time for our holiday…. So it’s been lovely to see the sun and an amazing sunset last night.

Our village is all set up for the Queen’s Platimum Jubilee celebrations at the weekend. The wheelie bins are out to protect the newly laid car park as this is where the garden party will be held at the weekend… directly across the road from our house. 👸🏻👑🇬🇧

We will be in Tiree…. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Of course.

The pub is looking lovely in the morning sun at 5.30am this morning.

The hall has its high level bunting up and Rachel two doors down has the Royal Family in her front window…. Some have eyes and some have holes for eyes…. 😆

I’m not massively into the jubilee… I’m incredibly impressed that the Queen has been a Queen for 70 years, that’s going to be a difficult record to break in future. I’ve just never felt particularly Patriotic or British if I’m honest.

There’s a prize next week for the best decorated house in the village…. My lovely in-laws are moving in to look after dogs 1 & 3 so no pressure…. Well huge pressure if they want to win!!

I do like the jubilee logo! I had a cupcake in the Lake District with this logo on it. 😬🤫

The farm was stunning this morning….

We were first there so couldn’t resist an Avery VW silhouette photo shoot.

Look at the colour of that sky!

I feel super organised at work and genuinely calm about finishing up tomorrow for 10 whole days!

I’m meeting the Crochet Hookers tonight so looking forward to a good natter.

I’m actually glad I wrote this tonight… it flowed more easily than I thought.

Happy that my boss can catch up on my “pish” tonight… he’s been missing it 🤦🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🤣🤣

Thought I’d finish up with the puppers in their beds last night… Calaidh was looking particularly cute.

I realise most of the UK are on holiday tomorrow, so enjoy……but one more day for me and then I’m done…. Woo hoo!!

Stay safe everyone 👑🇬🇧👑

I’ve been on a mission today but I’ve actually really enjoyed it despite having bad stomach cramp most of the day.

I slept like a log all night after Friday nights lack of sleep and we had coffee in the sun this morning. It looked like it was going to be a lovely day. It was lovely…. While I was cleaning…. 🤣

Don’t be fooled into thinking I’m in full on summer attire. My Christmas jammie bottoms are up over my knees ready to be pulled back down the minute the sun goes behind a cloud!

So yeah. I’ve been on a mission and blitzed the house today. It feels really good to have everything clean again.

As I cleaned we packed more in the van ready to go away at the weekend. All very organised and calmly-like. I’m quite smug at being so ahead of the game.

I took some photos of flowers in the garden at sunset last night.

I’ve had a good weekend, a good relax and got loads done too. Of course it always helps when you are getting ready for a holiday. 🚐🏕🐶⛴🏝

So after all that I’ve sat down inside now.. The sun disappeared early afternoon and threatened rain so I’ve been crocheting on and off this afternoon.

Thinking I might just have to take a wee nap now too.

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

I could not have predicted I would have such a good day today.

I went to bed ridiculously early last night… when meant I woke at 12.45 and was awake until at least 4am. For those of you who don’t sleep well that’s maybe nothing…. But I don’t know how you do it. Those wee sma’ hours on the morning seem fairly hopeless and it took ages for me to fall back over. I did though until about 7.30am. Thankfully.

I’d been a real grouch last night and this morning I realised it was that time of the month again and the relief was immense… at least that justifies some “off” time.

I sat in Gran’s chair and crocheted while Craig slept and the puppers were stunning themselves in the early morning rays. It’s been so long since we’ve seen sunshine if felt like a welcome relief.

So we decided to spend the day on Abbie the camper van, getting her ready for holiday on Friday.

I was gonna name the blog “way less steps than yesterday” and I was surprised to see that despite what I thought of as a sedentary day I’ve still done 11,852 steps today. It’s also 8.15pm already so there won’t be many more.

So while we were working I for Evan…. Hoovering, cleaning, unpacking, repacking…. The village hall car park was being relayed.

The before doesn’t do the undulating mountainous terrain any justice. It really was pretty bumpy getting in and out.

Looks amazing…. Our local Finco Contracts did this for free. Not sure we can ever thank them enough!

Had lovely chats with everyone during the day as they carried out the work… I even did some camper van sales pitch!!

So I have one question for you all…. When you have mud on a floor or a vinyl seat cushion…. How do you wash it out? Tried scrubbing with soapy water and it looks amazing…. Until it dries and the mud is still there?! That’s the only negative to today. At least I know everything is clean there are just a few dry muddy marks that won’t clean off. 🤦🏻‍♀️

We carried on until after 3pm and came round and sat out the back as the sun had reappeared. Claire had also leant me a sun lounger, very timely I may add so I sat on it for almost 4 hours and crocheted!!

Craig’s sister and nephew popped in to see us and we had a lovely few hours while Max weeded the veggie patches and the three of us chatted….. child labour… shocking! Turns out he loves weeding and turns out we have a lot of weed that needing weeding 🥴🤣

Here sits lady muck while Lisa and Craig survey Max’s handiwork!

It was a lovely relaxing afternoon and I’ve had a really good day.

Stay safe everyone 💜💜💜

I could get used to a three day week. If only…. 🤣

I woke at 3am…. And couldn’t get back to sleep. I tried everything. Maybe going to bed at 8.20pm could have something to do with it….. it was basically just time to get up 🤦🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🤣

The farm was great this morning. We did the workout in the rain and I really enjoyed it! Once you’re out in it and getting wet it’s so liberating! Yeah ok I hear myself!

Work flew in as usual and I came home I made a baked potato with egg mayo for dinner… all by myself. Jeez has my day has been that dull…… 🥴

I’m sitting here getting cuddles from Bhru… check the smile on her face. I enjoyed it too.

So I have crochet tonight and I’m gonna start a new blanket for me this time. And of course we will put the world to rights as usual.

I’ll leave you with a photo of my favourite bush…. 😆 In the garden. It’s so pretty.

Sorry this was a boring one. It’s been a good day but I am inspirational-less… I know that’s not a word but it made me smile.

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

I slept like a log last night… I didn’t want the night to end. Naturally… it meant my holiday was over.

Until the next one that is… 11 more sleeps!!!

The most exciting thing today was Peanut the whizz kid was back in the office.

I took him out for a walk at lunchtime.

Check the savage dog rolling in the freshly cut grass!!

He had lotsa fun.

I love the bum shake I get when he sees me in the morning now. He has the bum shake, not me… obviously.

He finally settled under my desk at my feet. I think that’s acceptance. ♥️

I love this next one…. ‘Scuse the French!

You all know I don’t have it figured out yet… But after everything next big thing I’m that happens I am back on it tomorrow…

His next one sums me up completely.

I have spent my life paying the terribly high price for people pleasing… I’ve worked hard at it and hard trying to stop people pleasing. It still catches me unawares and I still find myself saying things I don’t mean…. Just to make someone else happy. I hear myself. At least I can laugh at it.

I also love this…..

The biggest takeaway from my blog is that it’s ok not to be ok and it’s not weak to ask for help. There is always someone who will want to listen. Remember that.

I’ve actually had a really good day today. I just wanted to say all that for some reason.

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

It’s been a much drier day today thankfully. I woke at 4.32am to the loudly chirping birdies of Braithwaite Village…. And no rain!

I’d had a lovely caravan dinner with mum and dad last night. We had my brothers homemade soda bread with cheese and pickles and grapes. We then went for a lovely walk round the village before I headed back to the van at 8.30pm!

So I dozed until 7.32 when I got rudely awakened by my electrical control unit in the van, beeping incessantly at me and switching off…. I have suffered from too little power in the past and now it would seem I have too much power…. Can’t win huh?!

It did it a good few times yesterday but I was awake so ignored it…. Not so much this morning!

The facilities in this campsite are amazing. Despite the site being full, I’ve never seen more than 3 people in the toilet block at any one time and the showers are amazing. So a nice leisurely shower then met up with mum and dad to follow them back into Keswick. I am finally getting my boat trip on Derwent Water!!

It’s really lovely this morning after all of yesterdays rain.

We boarded a 50 minute cruise on the Derwent Water. You can get off at various stops if you have the time. We just went right round.

This is my happy boat trip face! 😆

Zoom in to the sign on the top right window…. Dad said that’s what the ducks are queuing for 🤦🏻‍♀️🤣🤣🤣

We went to the Lakeside Cafe for brunch and I had a lovely Oat Milk DECAF latte… only remembered because mum asked for decaf first….. 🤔😬 and Chimichurri Mushrooms on Soda Bread with rocket. It was lovely.

Sadly there is a chance I may still be tasting said Chimichurri tomorrow and the next day…. It’s very garlicky and very unforgiving… 😷

Then it was time for me to leave and head back up the road. I had a great run. Left at 11.45 and was home by 2.15 without any stops at all.

Immediately after I passed over the border into Scotland, the heavens opened… it was comical. Literally like, woo hoo Scotland! RAIN!!!! To be fair it stopped pretty quickly.

So home for 2.15 and have unpacked and washed everything already. I love getting the van all cleaned out otherwise I’d not do it for ages.

Of course it was great to see Craig and the puppers and have some more of my sister in laws lovely 50th anniversary cake!

We’ve had a lovely weekend celebrating with mum and dad. I’ve left them there for a few more days and I was a weeeeee teeeeensy bit jealous.

Back to work tomorrow after a lovely 4 day break!

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

Ok let’s start with yesterday or even Friday night…. The van all ready for bed.

I’m super cosy in my bed with my new blanket.

I could not get to sleep at all…… i was wired to the moon, it was 1.08am the last time I looked at the clock.

I’ve been waking at 6am and can’t get back to sleep at all. Which isn’t the best when I’ve been late to bed so I’m a bit groggy all day… and a teensy little bit grouchy. 🥴🤔😬🤭

We met for breakfast in my brothers chalet and they put on a magnificent spread.

I do realise that’s just the empty plates and bowls 🙄

The chalet is lovely…

So we went into Keswick for the Mountain Festival, caught the bus as the traffic was likely to be crazy in Keswick and spent the morning walking around the festival site on the shores of Derwent Water.

This was a HUGE trip down memory lane as this is one of “my buses”… it was built at a time when I worked for the manufacturer and I managed the Stagecoach contract. I found myself remembering all the names of all the colours etc. 🤦🏻‍♀️🙄🤣

There were loads of activities for kids…. Someone was happy ⚖️🤣

There were lots of fell races starting.

This one in particular caught my eye… a 1500m swim around Derwent Island. Look at all the wee bodies in the water!!

And the finish line…

It started to rain quite heavily by now so we took a walk into the town for a wander round the shops and a coffee shop stop. This is Keswick in bloom.

Keswick is a lovely wee town with lots of amazing outdoor shops. It has quaint, narrow streets.

There are, however, a lot of people.

There’s a market on in the town too.

As you know, we came home and I went for the best nap…. And missed a whole of of sunshine.

We were booked for dinner at the Lyzzick Hall Hotel for 6.30pm. It was a beautiful evening.

Lyzzick Hall was out of this world.

The views over to Cats Bells … the hill in the distance.

The wisteria on the side of the building is stunning.

Me, Mum, my wee Bro and Dad before dinner.

The hotel is beautiful and very tastefully decorated.

A selection of the meals…. The food was honestly exquisite. Could not fault it.

But you know something… it was the staff that really made it. Their attention was polite, witty and funny without being intrusive. They made the whole experience a real pleasure and I would highly recommend anyone to visit.

Lyzzick Hall Hotel & Restaurant

We honestly couldn’t recommend this place highly enough. They even got happy anniversary on their dessert plates.

We got a taxi there and back and they were faultless too. We were so lucky to have such a lovely evening.

The only thing missing was oor Craigie who’s stuck at home with the dogs for the weekend. He was missed.

I slept a bit better last night and sadly it had rained all day today. This is the crossroads in Braithwaite Village.

We had a slower morning… breakfast about 10.30 ish in the chalet again and off into Keswick for a wander round and then lunch.

We went into the Derwent or Cumberland Pencil Museum…. Well into the shop. Look at all these pencils!!!

A mahoosive pencil sharpener

Dad and Kenny off up the street.

Some lovely pansies.

More stunning flowers.

We stopped a a wee battery operated boating pond and it was a lot harder than it looked!

And then this fudge shop….

So my bro and his family are away home now and mum, dad and I are chilling ready to make some plans for dinner later. Right now I’m cosy in my van with the diesel heater working!!!

And finally at 4.16pm the sun just peaked out from behind a cloud.

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

Going to have to put out a quickie today as we’re just having pre dinner drinks before we head out for Mum and Dads 50th anniversary dinner… still sadly minus Craig who’s stuck home with the dogs. Miss you Craigie. ♥️

We’ve had a lovely day wandering around Keswick and then back to the van for the best nap! I could have written the blog but I chose to nap… priorities huh 🤔

The sun was scorching when I woke up and the van was super cosy.

This is the view from my brothers chalet now. It’s a lovely evening.

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

I slept like a log last night, two nights of no sleep finally took its toll. I was in bed from 8 and slept until 4.45am!

Up for the Farm this morning and it was super hard work but good for the head.

I got home, packed up Abbie the Camper van and drove down to the Lake District and was here for 1.30pm.

We went straight out into Keswick to a really fancy supermarket that I LOVED!! Booths. It’s a very lovely shop. We got some supplies and went for coffee, I had a scone with cream and jam and and an oat milk latte! I could not believe the number of bananas!!!!

We then headed down to Derwent Water for a wander round. There’s light rain on and off but it’s very atmospheric.

My sis in law made this amazing cake!!!

Happy Golden Wedding Anniversary Mum and Dad! Lots of love ♥️ and Craigie we miss you lots ♥️

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

It’s 7.49pm and I haven’t stopped all day. I know that’s not unusual for most people but I didn’t get to bed until 11.30pm last night. On a school night!!

Rangers very sadly lost in the last second of the game last night in penalties. It was devastating after such a tense game. Hence the 11.30pm bed.

I woke at 3am and couldn’t sleep because Snorey McSnorerson was in action… my head’s been spinning for a couple of days now so I lay getting angry. Not…. at the snoring but at my thoughts…. so I stormed into the living room and tried to sleep on the couch. That didn’t go well but I did eventually make it to 6.30am but by then I was exhausted.

A people pleaser cannot please all of the people all of the time. A people pleaser can only do what she thinks is right and try to please herself. A people pleaser not pleasing everyone all of the time is in constant turmoil. Trying to live a normal everyday life. The fake smile never more evident.

I have had to fight so very hard all day.

We’ve actually had a fantastic day at work. We handed over so many customer vans today…. five in one day!! And you know what… I did all of that despite being shattered and feeling rotten.

We had a living room full last night and I got my hair in French pleats… that’s what the girls were doing while the boys were focused on the game!

I’ve spent the day telling everyone I had the hairdo of a 5 year old 🤣🤣🤣

I need to believe in myself more. I still allow outside influences to shake my core. I use them as a excuse to prove I’m still not quite there yet.

Writing a daily blog becomes difficult when these outside influences are things that can’t be written about. They are not my story to tell… but I soak them up like a sponge.

Claire and I went a walk with Calaidh when I got home and we put the world to rights.

I have to say that I chose to sit on the bloody cactus all day.

I found criticism even in the things that went well and that needs to change.

Tomorrow is a new day. I’m in bed and the electric blanket’s on. I still have my 5 year old pleats. 🤦🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🤣 and I feel so much better for writing this down.

I have 4 days off work now and I’m heading down to the Lake District to celebrate a very special occasion with Mum and Dad and my brother, sis in law and nephew. Poor Craig has to stay home with the dogs but that’s just one of those things that happens. It can’t be helped but I’ll miss him… and I know he’ll miss me 🤣🤣🤣 that goes without saying…. Who am I kidding?!? We all know the poor boy has peace for 4 days….. 🥴🤣

I guess not every day can be plain sailing and you learn from every experience you go through.

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️