Our newest adventure begins…

A glorious sunny day to begin our latest adventure – a two month odyssey in the Scottish Highlands and Islands.  But first we have to get there.

The motorway gods have blessed us and our journey up the M1 and M6 are virtually trouble-free and although it cost us £11 to take the the M6 toll road, we thought it was worth it just to avoid the huge juggernauts for a while.  In fact, it was virtually deserted.

We stopped at the Stafford motorway services and enjoyed our M & S sandwiches in the sun by the lake.  Certainly a superior type of services which confirmed the five burger rating on the website.

Incidentally, the fuel at the Total petrol station near Penrith proved to be quite a bit cheaper than at home.  Just as well as motorway driving at a steady 70 meant that dear old Bessie guzzled diesel at just 24 mpg instead of her usual 29.  Nearly £90 worth!

We arrived at Troutbeck Camping and Caravanning site (close to Keswick) in good time – about 5.40pm – with the sun still shining down on us.  There are rather a lot of statics but we found a wonderful corner plot overlooking the hills.  There are lambs in the field next to us and there is a glorious glow along the hills in the setting sun.

It was great to stretch our legs after that long drive and we wandered out of the campsite to take in the views.  Daffodils bloom cheerfully in the hedgerows and we spot chaffinches in the trees and swallows perching daintily along the telegraph wires.  The air is alive with birdsong.  What a lovely way to start our holiday.

A skype call to Sally and Guy is fun – care of the campsite wi-fi.  A bit expensive at £6 for 10 hours but worth it as our dongle is failing to get a strong enough signal on the 3 network.  A look at the weather forecast for tomorrow shows that it is likely to be cloudy until late afternoon when we should get treated some more late sun.