How can a 2 hour 40 minute plane flight change things so much? We left Venice on a stormy 31 degree day and landed to a chilly 19 degrees and a decidedly Autumnal feel in the air. Everyone spoke English (well sort of) and there was a familiarity and sense of solidarity that came from being back in the UK. We picked up our hire car at the airport and headed off to adventure. This is where things came a little unstuck. No internet meant no GPS and despite advice that “you can’t go wrong – just follow the A90” we did actually go wrong and got completely lost. The A90 goes on forever and splits off in various places so not as easy as we first thought. Add to the fact it was getting dark and we were REALLY eager to just get there. We stopped people the old fashioned way to ask for directions and eventually found our street. Pulling over at a bit of an awkward angle to try and see the numbers meant we had to reverse out into the traffic and this is when things got silly. We couldn’t find reverse. Literally. The MOTH had specifically requested a manual for his driving holiday and as he often hires one in Oz I wasn’t concerned. Until now. We tried pushing the gearstick down and lifting it up. For at least 15 minutes. I nipped into a gym and harangued the poor bloke at the desk to look the car up on google to see how it worked but no luck. In the end we switched on our phone and our overseas charges and rang the hire company who explained there was a little knob at the top of the stick that came up separately from the rest and BINGO we were in business. Needless to say by the time we checked in we were completely wrung out and desperately needed dinner and wine! We looked for a pub but they all seemed to be full of large groups of guys on a mission so we took refuge in a local bistro and filled up on carbs until all was well with our world again. A quick trip to Tesco to get an internet bundle for our phone made us feel much more relaxed for tomorrow’s drive out of Edinburgh and we slept like babies.

Little did we know the bundle hadn’t actually been activated and we would run out of mobile data within hours and even after various top ups it never did work leaving us at the whim of public wifi and sporadic connectivity for 12 days. We had thought before leaving Australia that it would be good to disconnect from our phones a bit but it turns out we really needed it for almost everything and I will most definitely ALWAYS buy a local sim from now on when overseas for any length of time. Luckily the NC500 road is well signed and you can’t go too wrong once you’re out of Edinburgh. Our first stop was Culloden – where the final battle of the Jacobite uprising in 1745 went horribly wrong and 1500 men were killed in an hour at the hands of the British. Drummossie Moor looks relatively tame nowadays but was a total bog on that fateful day and the best laid plans of the Jacobites were foiled. There are some ancient clan stones depicting mass burial graves of Camerons and Campbells etc and it really brought home how hard things must have been there back in the day and just how tough The Scots were. A very interesting and moving afternoon for my very own Cameron man.

From there we drove up the coast to Dornoch and our lovely hotel for the night – Links House – located on the doorstep of the Royal Dornoch Golf Club. The hotel was hosting a large group of golf mad Americans whose plans were turned upside down with the death of Queen Elizabeth and her planned funeral. This meant everything was shut – either for the day or for a few days depending on the Royal connections. For us it meant we couldn’t visit the Glenmorangie Distillery or Dornoch Castle as planned but we couldn’t have chosen a nicer place to be to watch the funeral on TV. Our car had a flat battery so whilst waiting for the cavalry we holed up in their library soaking up all the pomp and pageantry of what was a very special moment in British history. For me it was a gift as I was finally in the right time zone to feel properly immersed. The whole day was so well executed from the solemnity of a lone bagpiper to the splendour of the gun salutes ricocheting around the country. The whole day was timed to 80 on the metronome apparently – a beat to march to and one I continued to hear in my head for a few days afterwards. The local shops all had little tributes to Her Maj in their windows with many references to Paddington Bear, marmalade, corgis, horses and various other quirky meaningful things which I found very sweet and rather comforting.

With our car back on track we headed North to Thurso and the beautiful Forss House. En route we stopped in Wick to have a tour around the Pulteney whisky distillery which was fascinating and even though I was sure I hated whisky, the tasting surprised me and as it turns out I am actually a fan of the whiskies that are aged in sherry casks! We also learned that a bottle of whisky bottled 20 years ago is no older than when it was bottled – they can only develop and age when they are in barrels so keeping a bottle for years does not change it like a wine does.

We had the obligatory stop at John O’Groats for a photo and we swerved by the Castle of Mey which used to be the holiday home of The Queen Mother – still shut due to the funeral – arriving in Thurso to a beautiful bedroom and extraordinary bathroom complete with a freestanding copper bath! Lots of fishing tack and flies and a crazy clock wall on the stairs all helped contribute to this hotel’s country charms. The gardens were lovely and breakfast was fit for a King. The Full Scottish is something I literally couldn’t deal with – replete with haggis, black pudding, sausage, bacon, eggs, mushies, beans, potatoes, toast and tea it was just too much (the MOTH had a valiant attempt of course) but I really loved the local Scottish salmon and also the traditional Scottish porridge drizzled with honey. We had to whittle our meals down to 2 a day and breakfast and dinner became the pattern over the next week keeping things a bit more manageable and a remote chance that our jeans might still fit us at the end of our holiday.

The next segment of our road trip was spectacular. The wilder west side of the highlands is truly magnificent. The sort of views that incur a swift intake of breath when you round a corner and see it stretching endlessly in front of you in every direction. Every loch was surrounded by green hills, purple heather and orange gorse and the blue skies did nothing to detract from it. Sheep dotted the land and occasionally tumbled onto the roadside as they searched for some juicy morsels. Goodness knows how they ever round them up as they straggle far and wide over the countryside which in bad weather would be very harsh country I imagine. We stayed tonight in one of our favourite places of the trip – The Scourie Hotel. Initial impressions of the village weren’t the best. The local pub had shut two weeks previously and there was literally nothing there except a small village shop where we bought a packet of crisps and spent 2 hours in our car reading until the hotel opened!!! Many other travellers were in the same position and we were just super lucky that we were booked into the hotel which was the only place within cooeee to get dinner that night! Our room was delightful and the hotel so cosy with wood fires burning and groups of avid trout fishermen walking in with their waders and their day’s catch – all discussing the merits of their day and full of conversation…a very convivial atmosphere and a delicious dinner to boot!

We decided to have a night in an old fashioned hunting lodge. Shieldaig lodge in Gaerloch was gorgeous – set in a 26000 acre estate tucked away down a meandering road adjoining the bay it had a tranquility that comes from having been there since the early 19th century. This means it also has decidedly dodgy wifi and some dubious plumbing but the views from the beautiful bay windows made it all worthwhile! They also have a falconry and archery section at The Estate with a mixture of owls, buzzards, falcons, hawks and eagles to hang out with. We had booked a time to fly some of these majestic creatures but realised if we wanted to make it to The Cameron Museum in time we couldn’t do both so sadly the falconry got cancelled but there was a real sense of old school timelessness at this hotel which made us very relaxed.

The next day we headed off to Fort William and Cameron Country. One of the main reasons for this road trip was to discover The Cameron Museum and find out some more of the history of our family which originates from the area. The MOTH apparently felt an affinity immediately and had a sense of belonging, so it was worth it! The museum was a long way up into the hills situated just 15 miles north-east of Fort William, this is the ancestral home of the Chiefs of Clan Cameron, whose members have lived in the Lochaber area for around 700 years. Achnacarry Castle, the ancestral home of the chiefs of Clan Cameron, was crucial to the allied campaign against the Axis powers during WW2. The castle was used to train elite commandos from Britain and the US as well as France, the Netherlands, Norway, Czechoslovakia, Poland and Belgium from 1942 to 1945. More than 25,000 men passed through Achnacarry from when the commando centre opened in 1942 and until it closed in 1946. Many Commandos still see Achnacarry as a spiritual home; just as it always is for those, from any corner of the earth, who proudly bear the name Cameron.

The MOTH also felt an affinity with the local pub and the Friday night dart competition where he “had to rest his knee” while I went off to explore part of the 100 km long Caledonian Canal which connects the Scottish East coast at Inverness to the west coast in Corpach near Fort William.  There are 29 locks, four aqueducts and 10 bridges in the course of the canal. It was quite a busy little place and made for a very pleasant walk in the afternoon sunshine. The darts competition was going off when I returned and a couple of burgers, some chippies and a few wines later we left feeling almost like locals!

On the recommendation of a fellow guest in Corpach we drove about 10kms out of town to the Glenfinnan Viaduct to witness the passing of the steam train more famously known as The Hogwarts Express. People came like rats out of a sewer to see this now classic experience and it was really special! It’s located in a beautiful little corner overlooking the top of Loch Shiel and it definitely brings out the child within you as we all waved like 5 year olds as the train puffed past us proudly tooting its horn!

Then after all the planning and driving, the NC500 was done and dusted and we were back to the big cities with a night in Glasgow and two in Edinburgh to finish off our trip to Scotland. The amazing scenery, majestic views, friendly locals, fabulous old hotels and gorgeous local produce had come and gone and now we were back to looking for street addresses, parking meters and keypad entries to hotel rooms. Glasgow was gritty but vibrant and we spent an afternoon at The Pot Still – an amazing whisky bar in the centre of town with over 800 whiskies available and kilt wearing barmen to boot! The MOTH finally bought a puffer jacket just in time as it was COLD in Edinburgh with an icy wind that chilled your bones and as we were walking everywhere we needed all the help we could get. The open top bus tour tested our spirit and even though it was a great way to explore the city we were SO desperate to get off and find somewhere warm to eat by the end of it!! We found some ancient pubs with walls so thick no wifi or air-conditioning could penetrate it and the whole pub could barely hold more than 6 small tables making for a very competitive lunch hour getting people through the doors! The local Cullen Skink proved to be a perfect lunch dish – a type of smoked fish chowder that hit the spot on a cold day and bangers in onion gravy served in a giant yorkshire pud had its merits too! Cammo had lots of fun in all the kilt shops trying the Cameron tartan and finding out the fascinating etiquette involved with everything kilts! They take an awful lot of material weighing about 7kgs and costing around $1000 to make and send to Australia. There are whole shops dedicated to all the accessories required for a casual/formal or clan kilt – sporrans, kilt pins, socks with flashes, garters, belts and buckles, vests, jackets, brogues and even a sgian-dubh which is a small knife that is worn in the sock when wearing a Scottish kilt. All of these come in casual or formal, hunting and sporting types meaning the options are endless! Thus far he has resisted getting one but a mere whisper of a Scottish type wedding would have him ordering one in a flash!

Edinburgh was a terrific city with lots to recommend it – plenty of history and all very accessible. We could walk everywhere from where we were staying in the West End. The Royal Mile, although touristy was gorgeous, and I could just imagine how solemn the recent procession would have been through these streets as the Royal Family followed the coffin of the Queen through Edinburgh from Holyrood House to St Giles Cathedral where she laid at rest for 24 hours whilst her family stood vigil – a very moving event. It was bustling again by the time we arrived of course and the tourists were definitely back in force. Goodness knows what it must be like here in July and August – crazy!! It was here that we parted – the MOTH to return to The Meadow and I hopped on a train down to South Wales where my sister and Mum picked me up amid much shrieking and hugging and over the top exuberance – it had been 3 years since we had all last been together so this was going to be a very special week catching up on life! We hardly stopped talking for the first day – somehow speaking and listening simultaneously as only girls can and it was so lovely to be back in a home situation with a washing machine, non stop cups of tea and yummy homemade meals punctuated by trips to the local shops, a fabulous Michelin starred restaurant (The Beach House at Oxwich Bay) walks along the prom on a sunny afternoon, a night at the movies followed by an Indian meal and many, many conversations whilst snuggled up on the lounge with a glass of wine! Good times indeed. A trip to Warwickshire to visit extended family was lovely as was getting together with my Great Niece and Nephew who have grown up SO much since I last saw them – time really does fly! Family get togethers are precious and should ALWAYS be included at every possible opportunity. After a fantastic week of being spoilt by my sister and with my cup full I packed up for the last time and headed to London and the long flight home. Luckily they are planning a trip out to Oz in March so the goodbye was slightly less awful than it may have been although I never ever get used to it! Thank goodness for technology keeping us so connected. After 7 weeks I was ready to return to real life and my little white house in The Meadow.