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Road Trip – Scotland (Part1)

Road Trip – Scotland (Part1)

Scotland is somewhere that we have wanted to visit for quite some time, and I think this may be my most favourite road trip in Otis to date. We planned the trip for May half term 2016 and were totally blessed with the most amazing scenery and beautiful weather.

We started off fairly early (for us!), but not before taking our standard Campervan selfie that we have to take before any road trip. Lame I know but it’s become a kind of tradition and I love looking back at the changing faces of Mr and Mrs S.
We hit the motorway feeling rather smug that we had managed to leave the house so early… but then had to turn around for…a forgotten coffee percolator. Yes thats right you did read that correctly. We turned around for a coffee percolator!! Mr S and his love for coffee……

After initially  getting stuck on the motorway, the rest of the journey, although long –  was plain sailing and we finally arrived at our first destination much later than planned (thanks to the coffee percalator.) Our friends greeted us with a large glass of wine and  the journey was a distant memory. Our first stop was Inverness.  We found a campsite just on the southern shore of the Beauty Firth, which was a beautiful location to start our road trip. The caravan and campsite was a lovely quiet, family friendly site, set in 20 acres of sheltered parkland and had panoramic views of the waters and mountains and hills beyond.

The campsite provided an ideal base to explore the beauty of Inverness and surrounding areas.  The following morning we woke to beautiful sunshine and headed off to explore the area. We found some lovely walks around here, leaving  behind the wonders of technology and throwing ourselves into outdoor living.



We explored the Falls of Foyers, a wonderful waterfall on the River Foyers, which feeds Loch Ness. There is a lovely cafe here which I can undoubtedly say has the best cake and coffee !!!


In the late afternoon we stumbled across a wonderful shingle beach in Dores. The little ones loved the spontaneous late stop-off collecting shells and pebbles. I think this evening was so memorable for us. The setting was breathtaking. The shingle beach was empty. Watching the girls enjoy running around the beach with their friends, at a time when you normally would be rushing them into the bath to then get ready for bed,  is so memorable, and well… priceless. Sitting on a rug, looking out at the breathtaking scenery – listening to their laughter was enough to put a smile on anyone’s faces. Family time is so precious.

 Day 1 was definitely what you would call a success.  Dores was a lovely little gem of a find.  That is the thing with Scotland, you can’t help but take a lot of spontaneous photo stops, as you head on your journey. I lost count of the times I squealed at MrS to stop or turn around, as we passed stunning scenery to photograph, spotted little coves, and stumbled upon beautiful shores to explore.

The other thing I need to mention is the roads! There is very little traffic, and that makes for a pleasant road trip. After a busy day we headed back to our base to cook up a storm on the camping stove, and enjoy a glass of wine while the kids ran around in their onesies, enjoying the campsite and their newfound freedom and relaxed routine.


The following day we headed to Whin Park, Inverness which has lovely facilities for children with an excellent play park and a boating pond where we hired rowing and paddle boats out with our friends, and enjoyed ice-cream and coffee.


We then headed towards Nairn where we found a marvellous sandy beach which had beautiful views across the Moray Firth.  This offered another evening of building sandcastles, enjoying the freedom of having little routine and no plans or to-do lists,  (or set bed time for the kids!)


With a van full of sand, we returned back to our base to eat and get some rest before leaving  Loch Ness and moving on to our next destination.

We had a wonderful and memorable start to our road trip and had already fallen in love with its beauty. We  couldn’t wait to hit the road and find out what else Scotland had to offer.

 

 

 

Travel Loving Family

**Please note this road trip was paid for by myself and I have reviewed the attractions with no benefit to myself**

Our fabulous friends are happy for us to share the photographs that they feature in.

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