okay, so we also had a sweet van ⁽¹⁾ to cruise around in, and some stunning weather that really did show us the highlands at their finest.

about an hour after we left the pick-up point in our van florence, i realised there was no way we would be able to stick to the original itinerary. the old vw just can’t be hurried (top speed was about 55mph – that’s downhill with a tailwind – cruising speed about 40mph) and so plans had to be changed in order to adopt a slow travelling style. slow travel turned out to be the theme for the week!

first stop: food. and (thanks to the power of teh internets) we found a great farm shop ⁽²⁾ not far from our starting point. we picked up some locally smoked salmon, fresh trout pate, scottish cheese, oatcakes and two loaves of freshly baked (still warm) bread. so delicious that we ate almost half a loaf straight away.

our first full day we spent taking the jacobite steam train from fort william to mallaig ⁽³⁾.

this railway journey has been voted best in the world a couple of years running now and is the journey that the hogwarts express train takes in the harry potter movies. it crosses the beautiful glenfinnian viaduct (pictured above) as part of the journey. have a look out for it next time you watch one of the movies…

we had stunning weather and breathtaking scenery the whole way.

arriving at mallaig, we wandered out to the harbour where the skyline bristles with fishing boat masts and colourful reflections dance on the water.

and there are wonderful views out towards the isle of skye

(in a place like this, fish & chips were definitely required for lunch)

the next part of our journey took us over one of the most amazing roads i’ve ever travelled: the bealach nam bo, or bealach na ba (depending on who you ask). all my photographs from this road were taken out the window as nic navigated the steep and windy roads – no places to stop and far too steep to coax florence into a hill start!

The Bealach nam Bo (the pass of the cattle) is an old drove road used in past times to take cattle to the market.  The coast road was completed in 1975, and prior to this, the coastal townships were only accessible by foot path or by sea. The Bealach nam Bo is the highest pass in Scotland at 626m (2053 feet) above sea level.  The road incorporates a number of hairpin bends and is unsuitable for learner drivers, caravans or those of a nervous disposition. ⁽⁴⁾

we ended up at the campsite at applecross ⁽⁵⁾, where plans changed again as we realised it was far too beautiful there to stay only one night and our second full day was full of exploring the applecross area on foot.

tuesday we packed up again and took the low road around the coast from applecross to the tiny northern lights campsite ⁽⁶⁾ overlooking little loch broom.

then following day, after a hearty breakfast of porridge with cream & brown sugar (in honour of my maternal grandmother), we trundled on again to the summer isles located on the Coigach Peninsula. here, i could have stayed forever.

it’s a tiny part of scotland with only about 80-100 residents all year round. according to the chap who runs the polbain stores ⁽⁷⁾, when the tourists are away, the locals get rowdy down at the local hall and have been known to have quite the party in the off-season. guess they have to do something to keep warm!

we had dinner booked at the local summer isles hotel ⁽⁸⁾: it boasts lovely views across the summer isles, a michelin starred restaurant and a whisky nook. we thought we’d give florence a night off, and managed to get a great deal on the last room they had available – in the annex, with a nest of baby swallows just outside the door. perfect!

(don’t their little beaks and tufty heads remind you of muppets?)

thursday morning, we hopped on a boat at Badentarbat Bay ⁽⁹⁾ that took us on a leisurely ride around the summer isles, stopping to look at seals and caves along the way, before landing on the only inhabited island called tanera mor for lunch. the place has its own stamps, so i purchased some to send the postcards i’d written to family & friends along the way.

friday was our last day in the camper and i have to say that, after the summer isles, our night on the shores of loch ness was pretty average. the glens are beautiful but the lake itself didn’t really appeal. plus we didn’t see nessie, so there’s not really anything to show from there.

with love to you wherever you are,
leonie
p.s. more photos up on flickr. comments welcome and appreciated.

FOOTNOTES:

1. cheers to mr. petherick for this phrase. the van mentioned was rented from escape campers
2. fencebay farm shop. go there! well worth a visit. delicious smoked fish, pate, cheeses and BREAD. try the bread.
3. the jacobite
4. Source: The Applecross Peninsula; A tour of the peninsula
5. applecross campsite
6. northern lights campsite
7. polbain stores
8. summer isles hotel
9. summer isles cruises

wales was just so beautiful that i fear none of my photographs have done it any real justice. however here are a few more; this batch from some of the coastal areas we visited…

hope you are having some great adventures of your own, even if you are only venturing out into your neighbourhood
love,
-leonie

{comments welcome and appreciated. i do love taking you on adventures with me}

greetings from the verdant welsh countryside…

more postcards to come from the coast

with love,
-leonie

p.s. i came home to find my copy of the squam journal volume one waiting for me in my letterbox. it’s even better than i imagined it to be. i would even go so far as to say that it’s AMAZING! i take my hat off to visionary elizabeth as well as all the other delight-full people who made it happen. if you want to remember squam, or be a part of it, please go get yourself a copy *.

* disclaimer *
just so ya know, i AM featured in the wondrous journal, however i don’t make any money or whatever from the sale. i just love it. and i think you will too…

york streets… beautiful old buildings everywhere.

york city walls; the main reason for our visit

more of the walls…

…

…

pieces and responses, york minster

york minster. ridiculously opulent, and impossible to photograph, even with a 10-22mm wide-angle lens

york minster

el piano, grape lane. awesome vegetarian/vegan/gluten-free restaurant where we stuffed ourselves silly

the pasty: quintessentially english. a hot meal in pastry.

next stop, NEW york, usa (end of feb). postcards from there too, i promise
xxx

those of you who follow me on twitter know exactly where i was this weekend. for those who don’t, nic and i headed for bristol to take a hot air balloon ride as part of the bristol balloon fiesta. we took the train over from london on friday night as we had an early start on saturday morning… we needed to be at the site, ready to go by 6am which meant a 4.30 am start!

nice day for a balloon ride

oh, it was most definitely worth it. according to our pilot (who has been doing this for 20 years), we couldn’t have picked a more perfect morning for it. there were no clouds as far as the eye could see, cool still air and the warm sun beaming at us over the horizon.

we were all giving instructions on how to get into the basket, and a safety briefing, then we were off. floating up into the gorgeous bristol morning with the rest of the balloons.

we flew for about 75 minutes, commanding a spectacular view over bristol and the clifton suspension bridge

after a stunning flight and some very welcome bucks fizz, we headed into to town center for some lunch before heading back to our b&b for a quick nap… then, we headed back out to the ashton court estate to see the red arrows.

ak, i was thinking of you as we saw these guys… it’s like the ultimate in drag racing being up there i expect

then we watched the balloons go up for the evening flight. there was definitely more of a crowd around this time and finding a good spot was tricky.

after the launch we decided we needed to be closer to the arena, so headed for one of the beer/pimms tents, where we managed to grab a table & chairs right on the fenceline for the finale of the evening, the night glow. set to music & beautifully choreographed, the night glow had the ballooons lighting up for us in an amazing display.

by the time this was done, neither of us could bear the thought of queueing for hours to get on a bus, so waved down a cab and headed straight back for bed. a most amazing day from start to finish.

nic and i both have hundreds of photos to sort through… these are just a few of the highlights.

love,
-leonie

#617 in the 1000 things to do in britain book

#814 in the 1000 things to do in britain book – join the cloud appreciation society

(yes ~t,  i can hear you laughing at me from here)

not so long ago, (7 years to be exact) i married a man, on a beach, in the sunshine.

the beach is very dear to me. i grew up so close to the beach that it was the sound of the ocean that sung me to sleep. i miss it now we are living in london.

so, nic and i have promised each other that, for as many of our anniversaries we can, no matter where we are in the world, we’ll spend our anniversary weekend by the sea.

this year it was st ives, in cornwall. about 6.5 hours from london by train.

we stayed in a gorgeous b&b on the top of a hill, with a stunning view over the bay and down into st. ives

as soon as we’d dropped off our bags, we headed straight for the beach to greet the ocean

we walked here

and there

visited the museum and sculpture gardens of barbara hepworth

and had cream teas in the top of the tate, stopping a while to take in the magical view

a perfect way to celebrate my life with a wonderful guy

happy anniversary nic.
i love you more and more

after departing from our beautiful accommodations, we head for the south coast of england

(via a stop in arundel to marvel at the castle).

after a walk along the beach,

we stopped for lunch at the east beach cafe.
(#504 in 1000 things to do in britain)

then it was off to visit the roman palace in fishbourne

before heading homeward feeling rested and relaxed.

my guy. who brings happiness, fun and laughter to my life every day.