On our way to the Highlands…
First steps in Scotland after a “false start” and a forced return to Glasgow to change Marvin’s rearview mirror, which was blown up by a campervan… The weather has, unfortunately, returned to “normal,” so we’re trying to “buy time” while waiting for a bit of sunshine, so as not to do too much sightseeing in the rain…
General statistics of the adventure so far…
Total Distance (km)
Gasoil (L)
Countries Visited
5.551 km
916,02 L
3
Bye-bye Ireland…
24/05/2025 – Kinbane Head -> Glenarm (Northern Ireland)
We still had one peninsula to visit before leaving Northern Ireland, Fair Head, which ends just a few miles from the Scottish coast, which we could see there, very close… And to accompany us on this last walk between vertical cliffs and heather moors dotted with small lakes (or “lough” in Irish), we had Jeffrey, the dog from the farm where we parked, who followed us throughout the walk (actually, we don’t know his name, but Benjamin thought he had a Jeffrey face… 🤓)
False start…
25-27/05/2025 – Glenarm (NI) -> Neilston Pad (Scotland)
The ferry from Larne to Cairnryan normally only takes 2 hours, but for us, it was an hour longer, given that one of the boat’s stabilisers stopped working just as we were arriving at the port, and it had to be repaired before we could dock… It was probably a sign… It’s a bit ironic, considering the road conditions there, but after two months in Ireland without any problems, it only took one day in Scotland for a motorhome to invade our lane on a road wide enough for trailers to cross each other without even slowing down and smash our right-hand rearview mirror (the worst part is, it didn’t even stop 🤬)! So, back to the suburbs of Glasgow, to Iveco, to have it replaced. Add to that the apocalyptic weather of the last two days (torrential rain and wind that wouldn’t let a Scot go outside), and we’ll probably consider this return to Glasgow a sort of reboot, before starting all over again for this Scottish adventure… 😉
First steps in Scotland…
28/05/2025 – Neilston Pad -> Loch Awe
The Iveco Glasgow team was perfect and replaced Marvin’s rearview mirror in just a few minutes (after having it delivered within 24 hours)! So we took advantage of a break in the weather to cross Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park, the pretty little village of Inveranay (an official “Royal Borough” to be precise, with the pretty castle that goes with it), and settle down on the banks of Loch Awe for a sunny, if slightly windy, afternoon. That said, it was probably better this way, because when the wind died down in the evening, hundreds of tiny flies appeared out of nowhere and started flying everywhere!
As for Loch Awe, it has the particularity of being Scotland’s longest freshwater loch, at 41 km (while being barely 1 km at its widest point). Its waters are renowned for their purity and are popular with trout fishermen. So, we took the opportunity to fill up with water directly from the loch, and even if we didn’t see any trout, we ended up with a pair of mallards as neighbours… ☺️
The universal deluge…
29/05/2025 – Loch Awe -> Loch Etive
Okay, we have to admit it, it wasn’t really normal to have more than a month and a half of continuous sunshine since our arrival in Ireland… So, since we’ve been in Scotland and the weather has returned to “normal”, the shock is pretty harsh!… Especially since in addition to the (heavy) rain, we’ve also had (equally heavy) wind 😮💨. We still walked to Kilchurn Castle today (about 500m round trip), but it was enough to end up soaked to the skin! So, as there are quite a few things to see around here, we decided to wait until tomorrow, for the storm to pass, on the banks of Loch Etive which, even though it is also called a “loch”, is in fact a fjord, with salt water, tides, and everything that goes with it. In the afternoon, taking advantage of a little ray of sunshine, we walked to the nearby ruins of the Priorat of Ardchattan, founded in 1230 by Sir Duncan MacDougall, of the family of the Lords of Lorn.
Checking our estate…
30/05/2025 – Loch Etive -> Glenroy
With the sun back, we began our day at Castle Stalker, perched on its small islet at the end of Loch Linnhe. For those in the know, yes, this is indeed where the Holy Grail is located (in the Monty Python movie “Monty Python and the Holy Grail”).
From there, we logically continued on to Glencoe, to visit our estates and follow the progress of the (conservation) works being undertaken there… Some of you may remember that a few years ago, we became Scottish “Lords” by purchasing a small plot of land (1m² 🤓) in the forest of Glencoe. We immediately entrusted the management of these lands to the Highlands Titles association, which is responsible for managing a nature reserve there for us… Basically, the association finances the purchase of land which it then dedicates to nature conservation by “selling” plots to anyone who might be interested in the conservation of the Highlands (and in a Lord/Lady title, at the same time, since according to Scottish law, any landowner in the Highlands is automatically a Lord (for a man) or Lady (for a woman)…). We were able to verify that our land had just been cleared a few weeks ago to eradicate the American pines that had been planted there, and they are now waiting to be replanted with 100% native tree species and then let to Mother Nature for her to take care of things…
We have to admit, the location would be pretty good for a nice chalet, overlooking the loch, but the astonishing biodiversity found there, even if the reserve is relatively small, is undoubtedly a much better legacy… So to thank us for visiting our land and dedicating it to conservation, we were given a lovely pin, and we renewed our commitment by buying a t-shirt from the association!… 😜 By the way, for those who are interested, you too can become a Lord/Lady in Scotland on the Highlands Titles website…
As for us, we continued on our way to Fort William (the official gateway to the Highlands), and we came to settle in the impressive Glenroy valley: a 12km long valley that looks a bit like Andorra’s Vall d’Incles before enlightened development planning in the country turned it into a large tourist amusement park… Here in Glenroy, there are only fern moors, mountains and sheep. And a river runs through it (as Brad Pitt would say)… And as a bonus, a pretty black grouse came right next to Marvin, at nightfall… 😍
you don’t exactly have a camouflaged camper; we saw you at Stoerhead and are now standing next to you🤭 same… Read more »