STUNNING SCOTLAND, IN A MOTORHOME - PART 1
The motorhome seed was planted in Kruger National Park. In a park where it’s illegal to get out of your vehicle unless you are in a designated camp or area, I saw people having everything with them at all times, from food to a bed, space to stand up to stretch legs and even a toilet. So the van life seed burst into life, like jack and the beanstalk’s beans.
My sales pitch to T was flawless, or perhaps I was just so relentless or persuasive, but we decided our next trip would be in a motorhome/van. The London trip came up at T’s work, and that gave us the opportunity. Since we had to do UK visas, and one aeroplane ticket was covered, we utilised this and started planning our Scotland trip.
After hours of research and planning, we booked our van and some campsites and were ready to roll.
If you want to know more about our van/motorhome and our experience as first-time “vanlifers” (if that’s not a word, it is now), read all about it here.
The Route
With all our trips, I start planning by making a google.me map, and just plotting away. I would start researching and plot points of interest, restaurant recommendations, parks, beautiful towns, etc. Once my map is filled with info, we will start and work on a route. This trip was no exception, only now I was plotting campsites as well.
It would be a two-week timeline, and the route was just over 1000km in total and about 18 hours without any detours or stops (according to google maps). This info was totally misleading. We, unfortunately, forgot to check our total mileage at the end of the trip, but we drove a lot. We like to take it slow and explore every “destination” fully. But with this trip, we were always on the move. If we knew what we know now, we would probably have only done half or a quarter of the trip. Don’t ask me what part we would cut out cause every part of the trip was magical, although we would have loved to see more.
The Scenery.
As mentioned above, the scenery was spectacular, versatile and captivating. The weather was everchanging, and every time the weather changed, the scene would transform again. I understand why Scotland is a landscape photographer’s dream. Having said that, I wish we had driven less and taken even more photos.
Lochs.
When you think of a loch, the first thought is usually Loch Ness and the Loch Ness Monster. I will get into detail a bit more on Loch Ness a bit later, as it has a special place in our hearts.
But what many people don’t know is there are a lot of lochs all over Scotland. I’m talking about 30 000 freshwater lochs ranging from enormous to small.
Although we camped close by, we sadly missed Loch Lomond (Scotland’s biggest loch) due to our cramped schedule. What I can say, though, is that every loch is beautiful and memorable in its way.
Navis/Mountain.
As popular as Loch Ness is, is Ben Navis. It is a stunning peak and should have been done justice with a hike instead of a mere two photos.
Waterfalls.
While driving, we would see all these silver veins running in the mountains. There’s something magical about a waterfall and the sound. Big or small, it has the ability to soothe the soul. We didn’t even begin to scratch the surface.
Woods.
The woods are a fond memory. Whenever we were close to, at, or in a wood, T would brew up some hot chocolate, and we would take a walk while enjoying it. After the drink, walk, talk, and photo scout, I would snap a few shots before we were off again.
The woods feel like a fairy kingdom, and the moss is a carpet to their home.
Animals.
We saw plenty of Scottish animals. From cute little birds to the famous Heilen Coo (long hair cow).
Then we saw sheep, sheep, sheep, dirty sheep, clean sheep, big sheep, little sheep, sheep, sheep and some more sheep. Did I mention we saw some sheep? Oh, and then we saw even more sheep. I must admit that the little lambs were super cute, especially while drinking on their mom and their tail waggling.
What didn’t we see? Red squirrels. Dozens and dozens of “look out for the red squirrel” boards, but no red squirrel. I think they’re a bigger myth than the Loch Ness Monster.
Roads, Castles & Bridges.
Even the manmade stuff was stunning, or just in a stunning location, elevating its beauty.
Conclusion.
The beauty of Scotland is understated, and I wish we’d spent more time photographing. We saw a lot and saw too little, all at the same time.
In our next post (Part 2), we get some rain on Skye, fall in love at Loch Ness, eat some yummy doughnuts, and find the treasure we’ve been searching for the entire trip.
Wandering off now…
T & Me
