0 to 60 in style…

roads and landscapes make a great road trip

Happy 60th… or is it? No, I’m not quite there yet, but my classic VW camper might have reached the grand old age of sixty. Might have? Technically it’s one year older than that… so is it lying about its age or what? When I first got the classic VW bus, I unlocked its m-code … Read more

Skye’s the limit

Skye bridge joins Kyleakin to mainland Scotland

Mile munching The earlier you start, the more you can get done in the day. Having set off at crazy o’clock in the morning, it gave me plenty of time to break the journey up to Scotland into smaller more manageable chunks. Food stops for breakfast and the obligatory tea breaks along the way made … Read more

Lockdown not a slowdown…

lockdown air-cooled social distancing

Headliner back on track No chance of going too stir crazy in lockdown. A VW camper often presents lots of potential work projects to keep you busy. Fortunately for me, I have the headliner to finish off. Living in the ‘new normal’ of a Covid-19 pandemic, where social distancing is the norm, it’s good to … Read more

Making the rear roof headliner

back to refining the test piece for a perfect fit

Heading to the back With the front two flexible ply pieces for the cab headliner all cut to size and fitting nicely, time to make a start on the rear sections of the bus. In theory, some of these should be a bit easier. Let’s see how that theory works out! When making headliner pieces … Read more

Special stop at Staffin slipway

Spectacular cloudscape over Staffin

Road trips are great for the soul… They are also good for inspiration too! The road trip to the Highlands and Islands of Scotland in our vintage VW camper van continues on the stunning Isle of Skye. Our travels took us further up the north-east coast on the Isle of Skye to Staffin slipway, near … Read more

What’s the story Tobermory

first in line for the ferry from Mull to Oban

Making the most of Mull Having visited the beautiful Eas Falls waterfalls and enjoyed the fantastic scenery of Calgary Bay, we now had a brief stopover in Tobermory, the capital of Mull. Nice not to have to rush around on our last day on Mull. It was a chance to have a leisurely walk around … Read more

Wonderful Waterfalls at Eas Fors

solar power top up in the Scottish sunshine

The road trip rolls on Having had a good time visiting the Isle of Iona for the day, our next decision was where to go next? Eas Fors and Calgary Bay were a couple of spots that I had in mind. Both of which involved water. I think growing up by the sea, and now … Read more

Island hopping to Iona

stunning landscapes everywhere you go on this road trip

Mulls spiritual neighbour Getting to the final destination on a road trip is as much a part of the experience as the destination itself. This is seriously the case on the Isle of Mull as we headed to Iona. The roads and landscape are just so engaging. You want to stop every 5 mins just … Read more

Meandering on the Isle of Mull

making the most of the sunshine on Lochbuie

Memory making on Mull.

Initially, we’d thought Lochbuie might be a one-night stopover for us on the way to other places on the Island of Mull. However, we both fell in love with the area as soon as we arrived.

at home in the Lochbuie landscape
at home in the Lochbuie landscape

Initially, we were thinking of going to the small Island of Iona next, but being the Easter holidays, thought that it might be pretty busy then. So more than happy to be staying here over the Easter weekend, plus a few days afterwards too!

Surrounded by beauty

Lochbuie is a wonderful place to just unwind and relax. Interesting places to walk to and see nearby, or just a very chilled area to relax and simply be. Just what the doctor ordered!

a wonderful view to wake up to
a wonderful view to wake up to

Then, of course, there are the views. It’s hard not to be inspired when you wake up with views like this all around you. That and all the surrounding wildlife too of course!

Lochbuie landscape
Lochbuie landscape

From micro to macro, there was always something interesting to see or experience. It’s a place that makes you just want to explore more.

the remains of Moy Castle at Lochbuie
the remains of Moy Castle at Lochbuie

Island inspiration

Often it’s inspiring to see a ‘new and different horizon’ on each day on a road trip. It can equally be important to make the most of any special places you might find along the way. To us, this place was very special, and we loved spending a few days in the area.

Mingling with some Lochbuie locals
Mingling with some Lochbuie locals

It’s important to take time out to make memories. Experience more of what a place has to offer. We felt that we did that here in Lochbuie… and then some!

exploring Lochbuie
exploring Lochbuie

The lack of facilities and remoteness is maybe not for everyone, but it was great for us! Having the solar panel set up and some great weather, we were all good! Plus of course, there was the Old Post Office for any additional food supplies too.

Marvellous Mull

We got to see the birth of a baby lamb, fish jumping in the sea. A tiny chapel all to ourselves on Easter. Getting woken by the sound of passing sheep in the morning. Even saw an otter pop above the water to say ‘hello’.

Highland cattle grabbing a bite to eat
Highland cattle grabbing a bite to eat

Cows on the beach, rocks on the shoreline that made perfect chairs. Night-time fires, a castle ruin and some delicious food cooked on our little Trangia stove. This has been a brilliant start to our road trip!

natures designer rock chair
natures designer rock chair

Heading to the Island of Iona

The Isle of Iona was a nearby island that we wanted to visit. With its historical Christian heritage, Easter would have been a very busy time there. Having enjoyed a quiet Easter at Lochbuie, we decided to hit the road again and make our way across the Island to catch a ferry to Iona. Hopefully, it should be less busy now, so a better time to visit?

making the most of the sunshine on Lochbuie
making the most of the sunshine on Lochbuie

Although sad to move on and leave our time at Lochbuie, it was great to be back on the road again. The weather remained glorious and the views on the road fantastic. Living the road trip dream! 🙂

living the road trip dream
living the road trip dream

Looking forward to our next road trip destination of Iona, although we won’t be able to take our camper on the island itself! Time for a change…

 

Isle of Mull’s raw and rugged beauty

shorefront camping… here will do nicely

Lochbuie experience Being able to catch the earlier ferry to Mull was a real win. Not only did we witness a beautiful sunset, but be we also still had some late evening sunshine to drive in when we arrived. A big help when driving on the unfamiliar ‘interesting’ winding single track roads to our destination … Read more

Scotland by land and by sea

great sunset as we approach the Isle of Mull

Spoilt for choice OK, so we have a clear blue sky and a full tank of fuel. Where shall we go explore today on our road trip of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland? After a great stopover in Lochmaben, it was time to push on. The first thing we quickly realised was not just … Read more

The road trip to Scotland starts here

our stop over for the night… with decorative shrubbery!

Road trip to the Highlands and Islands begins Or at least so we thought! We got up and double checked our packing and off I went to get the camper to get it all loaded up for the road trip. The plan was to load it up, then head to our local supermarket to pick … Read more