Tag: 2022

NC500 Day 1 – Itinerary

Hello, we are back! What a trip and experience and just everything unimaginable. I almost feel the need to apologise to the UK at this point for previously thinking it had nothing to offer. Who would have thought covid restrictions and airline and airport issues would bring us so much joy in pushing us to try something new!

This is blog one of the Scotland itinerary series. Much like the Italy itineraries I shared with you, I will be posting the itineraries for this mammoth trip day by day so you can get a real feel for what this involves. I will be editing my original itinerary and including the new and improved version for you below. These blogs try to give you the much needed information for your trip without too many of my feelings and thoughts on each experience. Should you be needing more of a push to try these itineraries, the links to each day’s blogs will be linked below. 

So let’s start shall we…

I had hoped we would dig into our pre-bought food supplies to have a breakfast of porridge on our very first day however having to be in the car at 5am did not warrant getting up at 4am for a more refined meal. I salute the previous buying of sausages rolls and fruit for the journey up from Essex the day before as we tucked into a much simpler breakfast. 

Having missed our opportunity to do Arthurs Seat in 2021, we drove to Edinburgh to complete our ticklist for the city. We planned to park in our trusty free parking spot in Kirkwood place, however despite arriving early we found this completely rammed. This may be due to it being a neighbourhood area and everyone still being in bed! However with quick googling skills I found a car park literally at the start of the walk for Arthurs Seat and also free on weekends. Highly recommended!

As mentioned in my Day One blog (link below) you will see that we stupidly took the wrong route. As a starting hike for this trip, we intended to keep it nice and simple and therefore wanted to take the blue route to the top of Arthur’s Seat. And yet you will not find any signposts for the different routes. The only advice I can give you is to take the grass route when everyone veers right. As you walk up the tarmacked path with the sloping hills of Arthurs seat on your right and the road on your left, you will climb a sloping hill that turns to the right. Above you on the left are some ruins with a mud path leading up to it should you like a quick look. Returning to the same path, this is where I found the path took a definite right hand turn and the shingle underfoot became larger and looser. This is where a sign would be posted for the blue/red routes. The blue route follows the pronounced grassy hill on the left and the red route is on the right. At our climbing time everyone was on the right and we sheep followed it unknowingly. We kept an eye on the grassy path as we climbed the rocky alternative and it was very clear from above which route would have been more favourable. By taking the blue/grassy route you make a slower, more gradual ascent up ol’ Arthur and definitely smoother. You will slowly curve your way up the grassy sides of the volcano before rejoining the red route for the last very short scramble. Whether you take the blue or red route, the last scramble is the same. There is no clear path to follow as it is literally a hands and feet climb across an expanse of jagged but small rocks. For ease I would return via the blue route, whether you used the red for the ascent or not. It is less busy and has better views of the top as you return to your car. 

Be aware once at the top there are no plateaus as such so put all your weight in your legs for those all important selfies and be prepared for the wind! This is a great little introduction to the hikes of Scotland.

Continue your day up the eastside of Scotland to the Cairngorms National Park. This is not a route to rush. We crossed the Queensferry Bridge which was just fabulous and please do take time when driving through Edinburgh to look at all the fantastic architecture. There are also beautiful tree-lined avenues just outside the city itself and I-spied a gorgeous park called South Inch Park that I could easily have spent an hour or so with a coffee.   

As you enter the Cairngorms the scenery dramatically changes and I feel it is a perfect start to your wilds of Scotland trip. The great thing is there are many many stopping points and they invite you to stop and drink it all in. I advise you to use as many of these as possible. During our time, there were lots of motorbike riders and sports car drivers on the snow roads and we wanted to be slow to take it all in. The laybys help you avoid the rushing for sure. 

Our aim was to drive through the National Park to Grantown on Spey for our hotel (link to review will be added below very soon) and stop at the Balmoral Estates for the walk to the Prince Albert Cairn. Unfortunately due to the Queen’s passing on 8th September the estates’ walks were closed. We did however check out the car park and found it much bigger than I initially understood it to be and it would be a shame if you miss this off of your itinerary. Therefore I have included the information for you below! Go for it! One day we will get there. 

Be very aware you are on the grounds of the royal house of Balmoral and flying a drone at the Cairn will be prohibited. 

I advise you to stay at Grantown on Spey as there are a lot of food options and it is the perfect starting point for Day 2 of my itinerary! We had some fabulous and much needed hot food to finish off the day. Recommendations coming soon. 

A lot of this day is dedicated to driving. The first slog of driving is uneventful but you make up for this with the stop and start nature of the second half. It is definitely a great introduction to what lies ahead!

NC500 Day 1- Edinburgh and the Cairngorms.
Highlight one of the NC500 – A royal goodbye

NC500 Day 1- Edinburgh and the Cairngorms.

Miles: 368. Wildlife: nil but a city pigeon. Camper Vans: 9. Steps: 8767.

Technically, TECHNICALLY, we are yet to reach the NC500 route, but this trip revolves around it. So buckle up because this is day one!

I’ll start with last night as I left you with the beginning of our journey on yesterday’s blog. (Link below.) We drove from Essex to Thirsk, York. Upon our arrival into this small, charming town we were witnesses to the most glorious sunset. We had booked into a Wetherspoons hotel, something Mr W and I have never done. The joy being that for our first night we had a budget busting dinner of a mixed grill, BBQ chicken melt and a nice cold beer and cider. Can’t go wrong really can you?

On returning to the room via the labyrinthine hallways and exceptionally creaky, sloped floors we couldn’t help but laugh. I looked out of the sash window, gotta love a sash window, at the cobbled town square below and felt the familiar zing of escapism flood my body.

Bed was calling.

This morning we woke up at 4:25am and creaked about our room getting clothes on and our bags ready to leave. With fruit and pastries in the car we didn’t have to fuss over making breakfast and was glad to just get on the road. As we navigated the hallways of the hotel I felt like I was sneaking about and couldn’t stop the giggling in my head. We were in the car by 4:53am, with the thermometer reading 2° and set off for Edinburgh.

We were on the road for at least 90 minutes before any hint of the sunrise appeared. The roads were pitch black and very quiet. The journey was uneventful, although we went through a toll tunnel, the Tyne tunnel, which wasn’t signposted and now have to pay £1.90 before midnight or face a fine so look out for that. Live and learn. We made a few stops along the way so I could try and hobble my back pain away and the morning wind was absolutely bitter. Upon our arrival into Edinburgh we found that our usual, trusty, free parking area was completely full. I quickly managed to find an alternative and am absolutely stunned at the gem I found. Should you ever visit Edinburgh on a weekend head to the Broad Pavement car park. At the time of writing this blog, it is free on weekends and is right next to Holyroodhouse Park. It is perfect for walking to the Royal Mile or, like us, climbing Arthur’s Seat. 

Now, here’s where the day became tricky. My back pain has been bad. And it’s becoming harder to deal with. So Mr W has been wondering if I can even do these big hikes. Now I am a stubborn woman 90% of the time, but when the pain is this bad, I crumble. These past two weeks I have tried everything to ease off this torment and nothing yet has worked. So on arrival at our first stop today we made a promise that if I could not do it, we would leave. I hated the thought of not completing one of our plans but as Mr W put it, if I made it worse by forcing it then the whole trip was in jeopardy. 

With this in mind, we wrapped up against the Scottish wind and started our way up the extinct volcano. I had previously looked online for route advice and found that the blue route was the easiest and would take 1-2 hours. I gave us 3 hours so we could stop and take pictures without feeling the need to rush. 

The route started as a gentle incline wjth a level pathway which soon enough turned into a winding shingle slope. With medium size rocks littered about it wasn’t too strenuous. As the incline grew steeper more rocks and shingle covered the pathway. After a while the path gave birth to huge steps of rock which Mr W had to help me climb. It was only on inspection at the very top of this section that we realised that somehow we had managed to turn away from the blue route and take the much harder, steeper, rockier red route to the summit. Oh yes, we are the kind of people that need signposts every 100 metres or we will just follow the crowds. And most of the crowd we followed were runners who had clearly done this a few times before. I laugh now, internally, but at the time all I kept saying was ‘Jesus’ and ‘What the f**k’ and ‘Who on earth can climb that step, not me, I’m a midget!’. 

With Mr W’s guidance, a hell of a lot of guidance might I add, we reached the top. We did it! I did it! My crappy back let me do it! The very last portion of the ‘walk’ had me in a scramble using my hands to pull my body up the rocky path with fears of slipping down the hill. There wasn’t an absolute pathway up so everyone was eyeing up the best route for them and we all looked like ants making our way into our nest. The view from the top was of pure sunlight and the image of Edinburgh was blurred by the tears in my eyes courtesy of the bitingly frigid wind. But I could have been looking at a gravel pit for all it mattered, we made it to the top and I felt like I was on cloud nine. 250 metres up, up, up. 

We spent a few moments looking out over the city, pointing out Calton Hill and Edinburgh Castle before feeling the need to move on. The whole walk from the car door and back again took us 2 hours and 11 minutes. Pretty good eh?

On our walk down, a man asked us to take a picture of him and his partner, as Mr W clicked away, he told us in broken English, I think he was Scandinavian, that he had just proposed and that she had said yes. How amazing is that? Being a part of someone’s story like that! I became my usual shrill self with excitement and Mr W congratulated them. What a moment!

We made it back to the car with lots of time spare and wolfed down a lunch of tinned spaghetti and something sweet. The next visit was up in the air due to the Queen’s passing last week. We were due to park on the Balmoral Estate and do a short walk up to Prince Albert’s Cairn. With the car park potentially too busy with well-wishers it was a case of driving by and seeing what was happening. I can happily say we managed to get a space really easily and even though the walk to the Cairn was closed, along with the rest of the estate, we spent some time paying our respects at the gates and looking over the flowers. I am really glad we got the opportunity to stop, being away from London and home for the funeral feels very strange and this went a long way for me to feel like we did something in our own way. The swaths of roses, lilies and sunflowers against the stone walls glittered with raindrops and looked like an ornate carpet. Such a simple way to show care and love and yet transcendent in its admiration and attention. 

Making a promise that we would return one day to complete our walk, we wandered back to the car commenting on how we would be arriving earlier than planned at our hotel. Winner!

And then… our sat nav started playing silly buggers. We found one of the roads on our route through the Cairngorms National Park had been closed and requested a re-route. This was done and admiring the beauty of the Cairngorms passed the time easily enough. That is until we realised we had been down this particular road before and not too long after we found ourselves back at the Balmoral car park. No matter what we did to the demon robot it could not find its way around the closed road and without a signal on my phone, we felt at a complete loss. 

After driving for maybe 5 minutes, I was able to negotiate with my phone and picked up a route that worked. The hour journey took double that and Mr W and I could not help but dump our bags with glee once reaching our hotel room. 

Tomorrow we will laugh, forgive the sat nav and move on. But tonight, we are nursing our shattered bodies, tired brains and thanking the local ‘The Wee Puffin’ restaurant for the most delicious takeaway food… that we ate wearing our pants… in silence.

Highlight one of the NC500 – A royal goodbye
NC500 Day 1 – Itinerary
Tears of travel anxiety

Tears of travel anxiety

Well, it is here. The day I’ve been rattling on about ALL year long. Mr W and I are embarking on a fifteen day tour of Scotland. It is the longest trip we’ll have ever taken together and the most intricately planned one too.

We will be staying in 14 hotels, travelling over 1800 miles, drinking copious amounts of tea that have been made using our car kettle, going wild swimming for the first time and we are taking you with us!

Yes, to add to the 12-14 hour days, the miles upon miles of hiking and the basic meals of oats and pot noodles, I will be writing every single evening. I’ve often wondered if this will put too much strain on the trip and whether I should wait until after. But truthfully, this is the chance to get every emotion and opinion down as it is on the day without inference of the delay of time.

If you’ve been following this blog so far you’ll know I’m either bordering on OCD or already a fully fledged member of the OCD Club of Organisation Addiction Awareness. So you may not be surprised that every blog going forward already has a template from which I will be able to work from. I also have a notepad that’ll be with me in the car and a printed itinerary I can edit along the way. I really want to learn as I go along on this trip, which means if something I have researched (albeit meticulously) does not work out, I want to find the answers and tell you everything. You may have gleaned by now that I’m passionate about travel beyond measure and if I can inspire (ick word) you to take the trip you’ve been putting on the back burner well that’s just a beautiful thing.

So today, we are driving up to Thirsk in order to break up the mammoth drive to Edinburgh from Essex, our very first and brief stop on Saturday morning. We’ve stayed in Thirsk a number of times now and it works perfectly for us as it’s small enough to not have any traffic and it has a big Tesco and petrol station. It has made the perfect overnight pitstop previously and there’s nothing better on your first night than familiarity. It also helps that our hotel has a restaurant, a budget one, so we don’t need to dig into our food reserves and can be at full energy for the longest start of the trip.

We have an exceedingly early morning tomorrow because we still have a 3 hour drive before our first stop, so we will be up before the sun and on our merry way.

As ever, my nerves about leaving home have started hitting me. This has been happening in its worst form for about three years now. It is hard to pinpoint the exact time it happened but I think it has a lot to do with the time we had to leave our home without a housesitter in 2019. Although we had various people coming in and out at least three times a day, I was incredibly worried about our dog and cats and don’t think I’ve ever really recovered from the guilt. Since then we have secured a housesitter every single time we have left for longer than two days. My dad will always say it’s not an issue but really his doing this enables us to really go out and live.

I literally can’t sit still the days leading up to when we travel and I dare say a lot of that is down to nerves. I love to come home to a clean and tidy home and before we leave I’ll often remember tiny little jobs I’ve been putting off , for instance I’ve been pottering in the garden getting it ready for autumn and reshuffling photos in the hallways.

This week that has been made a darn sight harder due to the flare up of my back condition. Oh yes, we have a 30 page itinerary for a 15 days trip and now is the time my back doesn’t want to play ball. I’ve tried movement, stretching, walking, sleeping, sitting and resting and so far sod all is working. It’s been over two weeks and I am slowly but very steadily getting pissed off. I am determined to keep to the plan for the trip as this has been so long in the planning and even longer in the dreaming.

Putting the final touches to everything this week has definitely kept my mind busy but I know I’ll be a blubbering mess as we leave in a short while. It’s ridiculous really for someone who lives and breathes to travel how much it makes me nervous. You’d think I’d be used to it by now. It catches me off guard and I feel my breath catch in my chest. It’s like a wave of worry washing over me. An anxiety avalanche if you will.

Mr W asks if we should cancel and I know that I can’t stay here forever, holding down the fort, protecting what I can’t while I’m away. Therefore it is off to the horizon we go, me and him, finding the next adventure and praying my anxieties get lost along the way. Maybe I’ll tie them to the rear bumper and give them a good chance of joining us, if they can hold on that is.

Right, here we go. Scotland 2022. Let’s see what you’re all about.

Miles: 232

Positivi-tea

One cup of positivity

½ cup of reality

3 spoons of sugar

One cup of gratitude

And a pinch of looking around and taking it all in

A cup of positivi-tea. Boil yourself a brew. 

You may have read my piece ‘Mental health: triggers’ (linked below). If you did, you’ll now know about the impact negativity has on my mental health. The problems of being a people pleaser and an emotional cheerleader is draining. In my own being I am inherently a negative person. I look at myself with less than loving eyes and foresee potential problems to safeguard myself against future worries. Silly when tomorrow’s worries become today’s sleepless nights. Ironically I don’t want others to feel bad in their lives and try to be a positive influence on them. I am the epitome of not living by my own advice. Silly girl.

I have started to view the world in a rather ‘off’ way recently as I recognise my own mental health triggers. I have seen maybe what I have not seen before and wondered if my eyes have deceived me. Has my new awakening conjured up the negative people or have they been there all along?

It wasn’t until I was watching the news reports on the passing of our Queen that a particular phrase struck me. The man being interviewed had been asked how he thought the world would react to Her Majesty’s passing. He said the obvious things about sadness and grief and yet went on to say how the world of late had become very angry. Though this is a natural reaction when grieving, he said it in a way that it would be outside of the grief, and just how people are used to reacting today. It got me thinking about how true he was. I started to wonder why the world is so angry. 

Is anger the go to emotion?

Covid. Lockdowns. Money. Bills. Elections. Politicians. 

The unrest of the last 30 months has been so unprecedented that the human race has become the tennis ball being hit backwards and forwards at such a rate that we are all worn and befuddled. I understand the reaction. I even understand the anger. We are the proverbial two year old who is tired and yet doesn’t want to sleep. We want ice cream, a pony ride, a big fluffy blanket, pasta, our favourite movies, a day at the beach and hugs all at once. Now! We need constant reassurance. We are catching up with the events of 2020 while navigating 2022 and wondering where on earth the year 2021 went. We are battling through a kind of PTSD while engaging with more battles foreseen and wondering when the peace will return. I understand entirely. 

What is happening is unbelievable. Incredibly implausible. Far-fetched. Unthinkable. Impossible and preposterous. What has happened is the same. What will happen is enough to make us sink to our knees and beg the world to stop spinning. 

And yet it won’t.

The only thing you can control is how you react. Everything that has happened was hard and everything that will come to pass is hard. At each step we are tested. There has been no rest. Just a hard slog through. And yet you are still here. You are choosing to continue. To not give up. Just waking up in the morning, making a cup of your favourite hot drink and walking out that front door proves you have not given up. I promise you that your reaction is your armour against whatever this life throws at you. If you need to scream. Do it. If you need to shout. Go for it. Stomp that foot. Throw those arms in the air. Bow that head with frustration. But do not give up. 

Anger is the one emotion that controls you. So let it in. Let it do its thing. And then throw it into the wind. Let the wind carry it far away. You are not anger. You are who you choose to be. Don’t let anger rule your heart. It will win. You will lose yourself. You will sink to your knees and not regain your composure. 

How you react to whatever life throws at you is the person you will be moving forward. I feel your pain. We all do. Life is damn hard. Don’t let it change who you are. You deserve so much more. 

One cup of positivity

½ cup of reality – it sucks, but it is all we have.

3 spoons of sugar – there is sweetness locked into the smallest moments, if you only take the time to seek them out. 

One cup of gratitude – put your hand on your chest. Inside is a heart that beats to keep you breathing, walking and talking. Feel the breath in your lungs. The pulse in your wrists. You are alive. 

And a pinch of looking around and taking it all in – go on, do it. 

Drink it all up. Let it warm you and comfort you. You are not alone. 

Mental health: triggers