Scotland Road Trip
Monday 23rd August – Sunday 29th August 2021
Thanks to Covid a holiday abroad was out of the question this year so instead we decided on a little road trip to a number of locations in Scotland…
A night in Ellon, Aberdeenshire
Two nights in Aviemore
A night in Lochinver
Two nights on Isle of Skye
With our flights and accommodation all booked up in March we were all sorted…haha what fools we were because obviously nothing ever goes to plan and there were a few hiccups. First our week shrunk by several hours on either end as British Airways cancelled our flights in both directions and put us on one 3.5 hours later going up to Aberdeen and 4 hours earlier coming home!
Second, the day before we left, the hotel on Skye called to say that due to Covid they had no chef so they wouldn’t be serving dinner (but they would take us to their sister hotel if we wanted to eat).
Third, we were on the plane at Heathrow and Brewdog (Steve’s most eagerly anticipated destination) emailed to say due to covid they were short staffed and would only be serving their pizza menu…Mmmmm Vikki’s favourite!
Then lastly, as we arrived in Aberdeen the hotel in Aviemore called to say that the ceiling had fallen in on our room so we would have to be downgraded from the Superior King room that we had booked to a small double (which was actually a relief as we thought she was going to say they had no spare rooms!).
So with all these ‘modifications’ to the plan our week began!
Day 1
Not as early a start as originally planned, we headed off to Heathrow, a short wait at security for a random check, a pretty disgusting coffee and we boarded for an uneventful flight. We decided last minute to get Vikki added as an additional driver to the hire car just in case it was needed which meant a hurried attempt to get the DVLA driving code while getting off the plane. Turns out you need to know your national insurance number to get the code and Vikki doesn’t know her national insurance number. Eventually managed to find it logging into the .gov website, got the code, only for Avis to not even ask for it!
We headed off to Ellon for our first stop of the week, involving a lack of seals, closed coffee shops, a tour of Ellon, Brewdog and Steve spilling beer!
Day 2 & 3
After a sunny start to the day we packed up, had breakfast in the beautiful sunny garden and then with only a small amount of faffing we headed off to Aviemore. We were still getting used to the hire car, which seemed to have a random set of piano keys for some things and everything else hidden away in the touch screen. The cruise control controls were completely hidden behind the steering wheel which made using them nearly impossible!
The roads were fairly quiet, so the trip was pretty uneventful with the exception of a lorry coming round a corner on the wrong side of the road towards us! Within less than 2 hours we arrived in Aviemore for our second stop of the week, involving dodgy food, a beautiful sunset, Steve’s first encounter with midges and a piper (not together), quad biking, highland cows and whisky tasting.
Day 4 & 5
After two nights in Aviemore and it was time to head off to our next destination. The morning got off to an unusual start involving losing a few things, including the room key which mysteriously disappeared inside the room – only to turn up at the last minute underneath an antibacterial wipe! The Cairngorm hotel is clearly not known for it’s food and after another not great breakfast we packed up the car and headed to Lochinver, via Loch Ness.
Another beautiful sunny day with clear blue skies meant there were lots of gorgeous views along the way. The traffic wasn’t too bad but the trip did involve a rather hairy turn in a lay-by and a pretty huge detour to Loch Ness.
Part three of our Scottish adventure involved beautiful scenery, an informative but strange exhibition about Nessie, lots of camera faffing, a beautiful sunset, an enormous seafood platter, breakfast with a view, and a gorgeous beach, complete with Steve’s favourite thing…cold water!
Day 5 & 6
After an amazing trip to Achmelvich Bay we headed off to the Isle of Skye for part four of our road trip. As per usual things didn’t quite go to plan but the journey was fun, the scenery was beautiful thanks to the weather, lunch was delicious and apart from a crazy reversing manoeuvre and a couple of absolute idiots on the single track roads the drive was fine.
We arrived on Skye later than anticipated but went on to enjoy a fab hotel, amazing food, quirkle by the piano, canyoning fun, some serious midges, fairy pools, fuel anxiety, oh and Steve ate Flopsy the bunny rabbit!
Day 7
We woke up slightly aching after the canyoning but were able to have a fairly leisurely breakfast and pack as the only plan for the day was to get back across to Aberdeen airport. A very yummy final breakfast set us up for the day and we packed up and left. Steve’s suitcase may have needed a little helping hand to close but we got there!
Long but relatively quiet drive back to the airport, with a stop in Elgin for roast beef lunch and our road trip was at an end.
Starting and ending at Aberdeen airport, with over 850miles covered it was most definitely a memory making week. Lots of fun, new experiences, new locations, beautiful scenery, fantastic company, gorgeous weather – all in all an absolutely brilliant week.
