Travels in a Motorhome for a Year - Ullapool - Melness - John O Groats - Aberdeen - Week 17

TUESDAY, 23 DECEMBER 2014 Week 17

Well we have had virtually a whole week without staying in Amethyst. The weather up here in Scotland has been challenging to say the least, so we decided to hire a car and see the Highlands in a four by four, which we hoped would keep us out of too much trouble. We stopped off in Ullapool first and again it was completely devoid of tourists at this time of year, the local caravan park we were supposed to have stayed in was empty and I was told we had permission to use their electricity, but no other facilities were available. 

I was actually quite grateful that we were not travelling this part of Scotland in Amethyst! On the plus side the views of the mountains and Loch Broom were breath-taking. I loved the little town on the edge of North West Scotland, with a biting wind and peace and quiet. We went to The Seaforth pub and sat by a gorgeous crackling fire in the grate and got ourselves all toastie warm with some delicious food before heading back out in the cold to find some accommodation.

Now we have had some trials and tribulations with finding campsites open at this time of year. Still, we did naively believe it would be far easier to find Bed and Breakfasts or even Hotels open with plenty of rooms available due to the weather and time of year. Hmmm, how wrong we were. It has been quite a testing week to find a bed for the night, but we got there in the end.

We stayed at the Ship Inn, in Ullapool. It was very modern and lovely, but I don’t think they had many guests as the corridors were freezing, but the food was amazing, and it was all decorated Christmassy, which I love. The name didn’t give much away to us, not even the next morning when the whole room shook as I heard a deep rumbling sound which went on for a good few minutes.

When I queried it with Del, he said, “Ah, it’s just the brewery changing barrels!”

Me: “I don’t think rolling barrels shakes a bedroom to its rafters!”

Anyhoo, we went outside to load up the car and there’s a dirty great big ship parked up in the harbour! Okay it was a ferry, but it was a BIG ferry. We found out later that it was the ferry to Orkney, I didn’t realise Ullapool was big enough to warrant it’s own proper port and if we hadn’t been on such a tight schedule to get the car back I would’ve like to have gone over to Orkney or even the Shetlands.

The next day, we drove up to Durness. We had a look around Smoo cave, which I thought was creepy and claustrophobic, but as you can see from the pictures very pretty. We also found the most amazing Chocolate factory called Coco Mountain; I loved it because I love the film Chocolat (with Johnny Depp) and it sells a certain kind of country lifestyle that is easy going. I’d love an olde worlde chocolate shoppe. When we entered the shop, the owner seemed a little flustered and preoccupied; there were boxes everywhere. “Great, you arrived.”

He welcomed us. “Erm, yes, we have! Can we have two deluxe hot chocolates, please…” The guy's face fell a little. “Oh, I thought you were the Packers… I’ve got all these boxes to fill for Christmas orders, and my packers haven’t shown up.” We offered our services, but he only offered us a kilo of chocolate as payment, so we settled for the deluxe hot chocolate instead. And it was the BEST hot chocolate I’ve tasted in a long time. Castle on the way to Durness. On recommendation, we went to the point, and it was brilliant but freezing!

There were meant to be two hotels in Durness, the town at the edge of the world, and they both claimed to be open all year round are closed. All B&Bs are closed. So, armed with just a bag of organic chocolate buttons, we headed further along the northern coast in the hope of finding accommodation. 

We came to a sign pointing to a hotel well off the beaten track in a village (hamlet) called Melness, and what a find. Not only was it open and accepting guests.

It overlooked the most beautiful sandy beach bay and Rabbits Island. Carragan Hotel was warm, pretty, and very comfortable. I can completely understand why holidaymakers go back year after year. We also had a little whisky-tasting session while we enjoyed haggis neeps and tatties… Mmm, yum, yum. The following day, we had a long walk along the dunes on the beach, then went back and had more haggis for breakfast. Aww, delights to my taste buds. We were informed of Dunnet, the northernmost point in mainland UK. I’d always thought it was John O’Groats, but we were wrong. 

We stayed for photos, quickly appreciated the views of the coast, and then dived back into the car for warmth. We headed up to John O’Groats, passing the Castle of Mey along the way. (The Castle of Mey was the Queen Mother’s private residence in Scotland, and it was very beautiful, too. It was just a shame it wasn’t open, but that’s the beauty of writing this. I can go back to this next year and start planning the places I’d like to revisit during the summer season, and these places in Scotland are definitely some of them.

The most northerly point of the UK! God, How Cold? The second instalment of Week 17 (titled Week 17 and a half!) It will be posted in a day or two. It was rather a long blog, and I haven't sorted out all the photos yet. Sitting in a cafe, I'm getting funny looks because I've been here blogging for over an hour as it is. Eek!

I'm picking up the blog halfway through the week before Christmas because last week was such a long blog. We headed back down the east coast of the Highlands after a night in Helmsdale, but there wasn't that much in Helmsdale to blog about, really. We spent a night in the Motorhome as we needed to pop back for supplies, then headed back out down the east coast, ending up in Aberdeen on Mad Friday, something I hadn’t really heard of until recent years. Still, it was the last Friday before Christmas, and it was mad crazy and a pleasure to be a part of. 

We went to The Grill, which is the oldest bar in Aberdeen, and the atmosphere was amazing. I’m an avid people watcher at the best of times, so it was interesting watching all the revellers – revelling… I love old-fashioned and well-loved old public houses like The Grill.

It hasn't changed in about a hundred years! We then went to a church converted to a trendy bar called SOUL. I did feel a bit sacrilegious, especially when I realised the DJ was in the pulpit, but it was an incredible place to be. 

Do any of my Mancunian friends remember The Athenaeum on King Street in the '90s? Soul was like that, with an all-original interior and an uber-trendy bar slapped bang in the middle of the ground floor. From Aberdeen, we headed down to Stonehaven, a lovely little seaside and harbour market town with a Lido and good old-fashioned seaside holiday loveliness. We found a great little coffee house called Maggie Mays. Oh joy, I just wish I could’ve stayed longer to try a few of the dishes on the menu. We both chose the Steak Strips on Baguette with a home onion chutney… I’m salivating, just writing about it.

We went to Chanory Point to look for dolphins and saw the tiniest speck bob up out of the sea by Fort George. A professional spotter with a wide-angled camera lens told me it was a seal head. Humph, I was so excited, only to be crushed. It was very cold, but lovely scenery. We then headed back up north as the car had to go back, but we did stop off overnight at Grantown On Spey after riding through the snow-topped mountains and passing through a little ski resort close to Corgarff Castle of Strathdon and the Lecht Ski resort. We travelled through the country in the snow!

Grantown was another picturesque highland town in the middle of the Cairngorm National Park. Corgarff Castle at Strathdon

Lecht Ski Resort. Strathdon lies in Upper Donside in the Cairngorms National Park. Strathdon is an area rich in scenic beauty and places of interest with marvellous opportunities to observe wildlife.  There are small communities scattered throughout Strathdon, the largest of which is Bellabeg.  Every year on the fourth Saturday of August the Clansmen of the Lonach Highlanders march through Strathdon to Bellabeg Park for the Lonach Gathering, a unique and friendly Highland Games.

I did take a few photos but try to imagine acres of pine trees with intermittent splodges of snow-capped peaks. We stayed at lovely B&B called Parkburn and Fay, our host was brilliant, very cosy home with piping hot traditional full Scottish breakfast, just how I like it!
No sign of the Aurora Borealis (northern lights to you and me) yet! We gave up on that little mission.

Don't forget to go to my YouTube Channel for more Travel VLOGS 

And my book Links here for The Beyond Series of Epic Urban Fantasy 

or if you prefer crime and suspense, why not try The Mancunian Tales

A Year in a Motorhome - Travelling UK Coast - Scotland - Glasgow - Fort William - Week16 10 Years Ago

 MONDAY, 15 DECEMBER 2014 Week 16

So, my birthday weekend seems a million years away now despite only happening last weekend. I have only just managed to persuade Del to let me throw out the helium balloons that I kept head-butting in the motorhome all last week! It was most annoying.

We headed up to Glasgow and found our first really quiet and almost empty caravan club site. I guess people aren't mad enough to camp in Scotland during the winter, and right now they are, too. I swear we were staying in the middle of a hurricane!! 

With the wind, rain, thunder and lightning plus sub-zero temperatures, I did begin to wonder if Scotland at Christmas was such a good idea. Ed’s American Diner in Glasgow... Mmm, yum. Glasgow Shopping Centre at Christmas, lovely.

We did have a brief look around Glasgow city centre, but I was so cold and wet that I really wasn't enjoying myself at all. So I finished off my Christmas shopping in a nearby shopping centre and didn't venture out of the van again. I did manage to get quite a bit of editing to my book done, so I guess that's a small bonus.

Our next stop was Fort William, and I have to say the trip through the hills (I was going to say mountain pass, but I'm sure someone will laugh and correct me!) was quite scary. Blizzards and icy roads, plus snowploughs constantly passing us in the wrong direction, gave me great cause for concern. When we arrived at Fort William, we had nowhere to stay (all campsites were closed).

Blizzards whilst driving! Loch Linnhe - Fort William.

So as members of the Youth Hostel Association, we decided to stay there for two nights and the place was FREEZING!!! Granted,, as members of the Youth Hostel Association, we decided to stay there for two nights, the view from our bedroom window was stunning, with trees, a stream and Ben Nevis right ahead, but I couldn't enjoy it because it was too cold to sit there. There was a wood burner in the dining room that wasn't working, so we turned a sofa around in the main lounge to face a radiator. As you may have guessed, we were the only two guests staying there.

However, I thoroughly enjoyed the walk through the woodlands into the town. We walked along the enormous Loch Linnhe with a backdrop scenery of snow-capped mountains and then went for a ride on the Ben Nevis Ski lift. We didn't go all the way to the top, but 650 metres above sea level in the middle of winter was far enough and cold enough for me thank you very much. Again, the views were stunning.

Going up Nevis on Gondala. Us on Gondala—I look a bit worried because I was!! I'm not good with heights!

On the second night, three more guests arrived, and they were bonkers mountain walkers—the kind you meet in all weathers walking the peaks of Britain’s great ranges at all times. I couldn't sleep Saturday morning, so I got up at 5 a.m. to make a brew, only to find them suited and booted for a trek up Nevis. Crazy, Mad people, it doesn't get light up here until at least eight in the morning!

(Me looking a little anxious!)

Now, if you think I'm exaggerating about this weather thing, then think again. We set up Amethyst, all ready to head off to Bearnock when we discovered that the water pipes had frozen. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, and if we had thought about it, we would have kept the central heating on whilst freezing our butts off in a hostel, but we didn't, and so now we are without water, a problem still not fixed!

(Me on Ben Nevis! It was cold!)

We then had another scary drive up to Bearnock, beautiful countryside, but the campsite was on an ice rink on a hill, and we decided that we would forget that and move on to plan B - Inverness Caravan club site, which was also like an ice rink for campers. We were without water and generally, a tad fed up, so a pub crawl around Inverness at night was just what the doctor ordered. And it was delightful too. However, we did come up with a cracking good plan C and D. (It's amazing how a few drinks to relax the mind conjures up great ideas).

Us on Nevis - Brrrr!

The next morning, we got up, got a taxi to Inverness airport, hired a 4 by 4 beast of a car and decided to tour the Highlands and beyond, staying at B & Bs for ten nights and leaving Amethyst safely at a Caravan club site in Inverness until after Christmas. We both feel much better about this, and when you read next week’s blog about where I'm currently blogging from, you'll understand why!!!! Dun Dun Derrr!  

We just remembered. We finally got into the Christmas spirit by decorating the van. Oh, we have also set our phones to alert us for the Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights, which we are both eager to see. Del even found a compass app for his phone so we always know when we're facing north. (we have more chance of seeing if we are facing north). If anyone hears of a major solar flare, please text Facebook or Twitter. (in advance, please. Don't tell me after the horse has bolted the stable, ah thank you). And on to the Highlands. TTFN. xxx

Don't forget to go to my YouTube Channel for more Travel VLOGS 

And my book Links here for The Beyond Series of Epic Urban Fantasy 

or if you prefer crime and suspense, why not try The Mancunian Tales

A Year Travelling The UK Coastline in a Motorhome - Newark - Bodelwyddan Castle - Birthday Week 15

 MONDAY, 8 DECEMBER 2014 Week 15

What a thoroughly lovely week! First, it was my Birthday. Happy birthday to me. Ah, thank you! So naturally, I’ve spent most of the week celebrating.

We headed to Newark and Brownhills, where we bought our motorhome. The place is great and so big that they have a Bistro, shop, free hook-ups, swimming pool, sauna, Jacuzzi, TV lounge and all the other facilities any sane glamper could need! And it’s all FREE! Bonus. We stayed for two nights so we could sort out all the little problems we’d had with the van before we began our mammoth winter tour of Scotland. Del is happy now because he now knows how to use the central heating system properly, and we can run it off gas OR electricity! So, free heating and toasty toes for me all December, then. Hurray.

We got an added bonus when we discovered Brownhills was offering free Tinsel and Turkey lunches for all members throughout December. So we got a free dinner, crackers, and Christmas hats.

We then headed up to my hometown of Bury and the lock-up to store all the summer gear that’s been weighing us down in the van. Amethyst is probably several tonnes lighter now! But joy, oh joy, my book adverts are working. We parked the van at the lockup, and two car mechanics came over asking about my books. They just whopped their wallets out and bought a load of books for Christmas. Result! 

We went out with my family for my birthday and got lots of winter woollies ready for our Scotland Christmas trip. Then we met up with our friends for a catch-up as we’ve not seen them since our wedding in August. I was told that more photos were needed. Guess what? We all forgot to take photos of the time together. Anyway, we had a few drinks around Bury after a great time at Bella Italia; it was a bit odd being back home after all this time, but it was fantastic to see friends.

We then drove Amethyst down to Bodelwyddan Castle for my birthday weekend with my Auntie Doreen and Uncle Dave. I do enjoy driving the van; there’s a certain sense of freedom about it. As a treat, Del had booked one of the enormous Executive rooms. It was a notable change from motorhome living for four nights,

Oh yes and because it was my birthday, Del had arranged a surprise birthday cake, balloons and the entertainment staff singing happy birthday to me in front of a packed restaurant. Thank my darling hubby – I was suitably mortified!

We get there, and on Friday night, we have a cracking meal, lots of FREE drinks and entertainment from Kimika. The opening act was a VT of their past television appearances, which were all from the 8o’s, a VERY young Eamon Holmes and Anne ‘thingy bobs’ from GMTV! I was like, Oh My God! How old is this act gonna be? But actually, I was pleasantly surprised. Granted, the husband and wife act had aged, but rather well, and the comedy in between the singing was very funny. The female singer gave a cracking impression of Tina Turner, and her husband was an amazingly talented guitarist.

Saturday was a pamper morning. I tried Tai Chi for the first time, and I actually felt some things click and ping in my neck and shoulders. Then I went for a facial and massage, which was amazing. Then I went for a swim, sauna, and Jacuzzi. We all went for a lovely drive out to Bets Y Coed, which was so beautifully Christmassy, with a little fair. (I'm Wearing my new bobble hat.)

We went to Swallow Falls, a place of outstanding natural beauty, and were charged £1.50 EACH for the pleasure. We even had to pay through an automatic pay machine, which released the turn-style gate when we paid… Outrageous!! Just to look at a waterfall. (Del is throwing me in the waterfall.) Saturday night, we had a Queen tribute act called Queen. He was very good and sounded just like Freddie Mercury.

I was also accused of being domineering! Me! Really? I was organising our seats so we could all see the stage and a complete stranger said he wouldn’t argue with me because I was domineering! Could you imagine me dominating Del? Hmmm, nope… and no rude comments, please; ah, thank you. Another free night of drinkies meant we were all a little merry, and so we ended the night with some dancing, including our first dance from our wedding… ‘Hello’, by Lionel Ritchie, but sung live by a ‘live’ singer. Lovely.

I was tired on Sunday, so we just pottered around the castle. Doreen and I looked around the historical part of the castle, and Dave and Del tried rifle shooting. I stayed away from the rifle range in case I got shot!
In the afternoon, the hotel entertainment staff decided to use this weekend to practice their Christmas pantomime Aladdin on us poor, unsuspecting residents. Dear Lordy Lord… It was so bad; it was brilliant!

Yes, I enjoyed it because it was so awful… haha haha… There were two staff down for the show, so they got a guy from the bar to stand in. Granted, he was very brave to get up and have a go, but he’d literally had a few hours to practice, so he walked into every scene with the script, and he fluffed his lines so much he confused the rest of the cast to the point where Widow Twankey snatched the script off him to read his (I mean her) own lines….In fact, all the mistakes and ad-libs were funnier than the scripted ones. Someone should tell them to keep them in the performance on the other shows they do… Hahahaa…. Still chuckling at it.

And so another birthday week is over for another year, (booked for next year already).  And on to Scotland… Dead excited! 

Don't forget to go to my YouTube Channel for more Travel VLOGS 

And my book Links here for The Beyond Series of Epic Urban Fantasy 

or if you prefer crime and suspense, why not try The Mancunian Tales

A Year on the Road in a Motorhome - East Anglia - Northern Soul - Heacham - Sandringham - Kings Lynn - Week 14

 Wednesday, 2 December 2014, Week 14

We start off the adventures for this week at Searle’s Soul and Motown weekend in Hunstanton. What a fantastic weekend! I actually attempted to dance the Northern Soul style, as I had blogged about in the film a few weeks earlier. It was like stepping back to the 1970s, and some of the dancers were fantastic twinkle-toes, even in their fifties and sixties. I decided I wanted to learn how to dance like that properly, as I felt quite self-conscious, intimidated, and a little clumsy.

We then headed out to the lovely caravan club on the Sandringham estate. I was amazed just how many hard-core caravaners there are in this country… It’s certainly a way of life for some. 

Anyway, we received directions for a walk in the Queen's estate, and although the house wasn’t open due to Her Majesty residing there for Chrimbo, we could go to the visitor’s centre. I have decided that from now on, I will be the map, direction reader and general navigator. (I haven't mentioned the culprit's name for legal reasons, hehe!) We were looking for the 'wild wood' and ended up in the middle of a clay pigeon shooting field on the estate!! A pleasant thirty-minute walk to the visitor centre actually took us nearly two hours to find!! That cup of tea tasted terrific when I finally got it. The visitor centre was decorated all Christmassy, which was lovely and cosy, so all was forgiven, and the grounds were gorgeous and atmospheric as we headed back to the campsite at dusk, with mist floating around at ground level and through the pine trees, beautiful. 

We went to Kings Lynn for a couple of days, and I was pretty surprised by how lovely and old-world the town was. For some reason, I had an image in my head of an industrial freight port with giant cranes everywhere. Anyway, I had a successful day, leaving my Beyond Books advert cards dotted around places of artistic interest and entertainment (e.g., local theatre, bookshops, and cinema).at Kings Lynn Theatre. It was a very funny and entertaining film. I was just a little disappointed that they didn’t play the original theme tune from the TV.

Talking of cinema, we also went to see Paddington Bear the movie at Kings Lynn theatre, a very funny and entertaining film. Just a little disappointed that they didn’t play the original theme tune from the tv series I loved so much as a kid.

South Beach at Heacham was unusual, with a hotchpotch of boats/sheds/houses by the sea. First, though, a quick trip to Bury to see friends and a Birthday Party!!! Yay!!!

PS The Funniest thing I've just seen was Del shooing a fly out of the Motorhome. LOL!

Don't forget to go to my YouTube Channel for more Travel VLOGS 

And my book Links here for The Beyond Series of Epic Urban Fantasy 

or if you prefer crime and suspense, why not try The Mancunian Tales