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NC500 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿NC500 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
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NC500 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

November - December 2023
First road trip in our finally finished campervan! Read more
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  • JGM TRAVELS 2023NC500 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
    1112
    Day 1

    Day 1. Leaving to Catforth

    November 18, 2023 in England ⋅ 🌬 14 °C

    Today’s the day we leave for Scotland - finally ! We have loads to do today , starting off with washing Maddy in the utility sink as she has rolled in fox poo the day before - thanks maddy !
    Once maddy was washed with her tropical shampoo, we left her to dry and set off to Leigh’s garage . Leigh very kindly lubricated the gears for us as they were starting to feel to bit clunky . James then jet washed the van ( although give it an hour and it would be filthy again).
    We borrowed the land rover and went to Ledbury tip to get rid off all our rubbish from the van build . Afterwards , we headed to Aldi and Tesco to get our first three meals for our trip and some essentials ( gin and tonic , obviously ).
    Quick drive back up to the garage to load our shopping into the van , to our surprise everything fitted perfectly .
    Next , we had to reverse the van down the steep and slippery driveway , it didn’t quite go to plan as James got distracted by me talking and managed to back it too far onto the grass bank . After placing loads of wood slats in front of the tyres , it was obvious that the freshly washed van was properly stuck and filthy again . Fortunately, Leigh was coming down the drive just as this happened . After teasing James true Leigh style , Leigh luckily managed to tow us out .
    The next few hours involved packing all our clothes into the van and cleaning out our hobbit house and the garages . We had a lovely lunch in between taking loads to the garage - thanks Jackie !
    Once all the lifting and tidying was done , it was time to enjoy our last shower at home ,we were both in there for ages as a daily shower will now be a luxury of the past .
    Finally , ready to leave at about 1800. I did the driving tonight , some rain showers on the way but on the whole a very pleasant journey to a little village called catforth, which is near Blackpool .
    We had a cheeky beer whilst I cooked supper , a chilli con carne pasta bake , which was very tasty ! We took Maddy out for a little walk and then watched Netflix for a while before going to bed .    Read more

  • JGM TRAVELS 2023NC500 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
    Day 2

    Day 2. Catforth to Loch Katrina

    November 19, 2023 in Scotland ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

    Today we woke up in Catforth and had some breakfast, we then headed up the long scenic motorway to Gretna Green passing the lakes enroute. We stopped at Gretna green to have a look as may be a "potential" place to get married, we paid to go and have a look around inside and the history of the place was fascinating. After letting Maggie have a run we cooked a full English before carrying on upto Scotland. When in Glasgow we needed to do a fuel and water run, fuel easy, water not so much... But eventually ended up stealing some from a tap we found at Morrisons as we had enough of touring Glasgow 😂. Then we headed upto a great park up next to a stream and Loch called Loch Katrine, we had a lovely gusto meal (cheers mum) and took Maddy on a walk around the local woods in the dark. She is loving van life and loves her new robes for wearing inside, she's a little confused with us constantly cleaning her but needs must when she gets into the van. Van life so far is great, we had a flannel wash before bed which worked a treat. Van and everything is working well so happy days.Read more

  • JGM TRAVELS 2023NC500 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
    11
    Day 3

    Day 3. Loch Katrina to Glencoe

    November 20, 2023 in Scotland ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    This morning we woke to blue skies and autumn colours, such a beautiful time of year to be up here. We stopped at another loch for services and saw some crazy people swimming 🥶🥶. We have a very scenic drive this afternoon, weaving between the mountains to our next park up in Glencoe. It's so nice cruising along at 40mph without a care in the world and having everything we need on board makes it even better.
    We managed to find a park up 12 miles off the main road, the road to the park up was very narrow and quite bumpy, but the scenery was amazing. The look of concentration on Grace's face was comical, but we got there in one peice, only hitting one pothole on the way.
    After about 40 mins on the single track road, we had made it to our new park up for the night, which was right next to Loch Etive in Glencoe. We had managed to get the best parking space before all the other campers drove in for the evening.
    We had enough day light left to take Maddy on a nice walk around the side of the Loch, taking our time and skimming stones along the way.
    Once the light had gone, we took the opportunity to use our new firepit! We sat outside drinking hot chocolate and warming our hands over the fire for an hour or so, it was lovely.
    Once back at the van, we dried Maddy off and put her towel robe on to keep her warm.
    We had a couple of beers whilst James cooked a delicious masala curry. After the washing up was done, we sat and chilled for a while before taking Maddy out again for her night time walk.
    We had a cuppa in bed and started watching "A Man Called Otto".    Read more

  • JGM TRAVELS 2023NC500 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
    1
    Day 4

    Day 4. Glencoe to Skye

    November 21, 2023 in Scotland ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C

    Today we woke up to another beautiful sunrise ! James took Maddy out for a quick walk at about 730 and I slowly rolled out of bed to make a cuppa .
    Once James was back , we made the decision to head on up to the Isle of Skye as we have stayed in Glencoe before .
    En route to Isle of Skye , we stopped off at the famous Harry Potter film location in Glencoe , which is where all the scenes with Hagrids hut are filmed . We managed to find the exact spot and take some good photos - sadly we couldn’t find buckbeak.
    Next , time to stock up on food , fuel and water before entering the wilderness . We managed to buy our meals for the next 5 days , including some tasty venison burgers (sorry , Bambi). Obviously we bought some more beers too !
    After our very expensive food shop , we are now cruising slowly towards our fourth park up in the Isle of Skye . We crossed Skye bridge which was scary as it’s very high and long. Our next park up was about 40 mins deep into Skye. We stopped at a place called Ord which was really secluded and beachfront which was cool. After a walk along the beach with Maddy we cooked some venison burgers and some wedges which were delicious, using the oven more than we thought we would. We had a cosy night in the van and watched a film. Van life is great!!    Read more

  • JGM TRAVELS 2023NC500 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
    Day 5

    Day 5. Isle of Skye

    November 22, 2023 in Scotland ⋅ 🌬 12 °C

    Today we woke up to strong winds and rain next to the sea front so decided to move on, we are touring the west side of skye today. We decided to visit the famous fairy Pools, this involved abit of a hike from a very expensive car park, as soon as we were booted and ready to go the wind picked up, we braved it anyway and Maddy enjoyed wearing her new rain jacket. We hiked to the pools which were flowing well but not as pretty as they could have been on a sunny day, but it was fun all the same.
    After a lovely 1 pan full English breakfast, we headed north west towards our next park up, hopefully another coastal one as we want to see what the vans like in 50mph winds overnight, may be a silly quest but having fun all the same!
    We drove for about an hour to our next stop off point. The road was more like a beaten track, with huge potholes everywhere and quite a drop on the left side. After creeping up the track slowly, our phone notified us to say we had reached the park up spot. Unfortunately, it was a boggy feeding area for cows, really not suitable for a camper.
    James turned the camper around like a boss and we headed back up the track, to find a tiny little pull in just big enough for a camper. This was our spot for the night!
    It was super windy and rainy, but we loved it. It's so relaxing sitting in the warm campervan with a cup of tea listening to the weather outside.
    We took Maddy out for a short walk and then cooked a stir fry for supper.
    After having a good tidy up, we spent a few hours playing rumicub and uno- with a few beers of course.
    We climbed into our comfy bed and started to watch a film on Netflix but we both fell asleep and woke up at 3 due to the sound of the stormy weather outside. A great park up, middle of no where!    Read more

  • JGM TRAVELS 2023NC500 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
    Day 6

    Day 6. Isle of Skye

    November 23, 2023 in Scotland ⋅ 🌬 7 °C

    Today we woke up to such a view after a very blustery night, we carried on heading our way around the island firstly stopping at Neist Lighthouse, we didn't realise it was a good walk from the car park and the weather was rolling in so decided to carry on. We took a road over the top of a mountain which was super exciting and went past cows and sheep blocking the road. Next stop was a place called fairy Glen, upon arrival you could so tell why it was called Fairy Glen, as it looked like something out of the Hobbit. Rolling pointy small hills and big rock formations, we explored here for an hour or 2 and we all made it to the top of the tall formation (including old smaggie bless her).
    After exploring we needed to find a campsite to do the toilet and restock on water, we found one close and got Electric hook up for the night to restock battery's. £28 for us all for the night, but was worth it for the shower and emptying the tanks. It was very blustery again and we staying beachfront at a place called Uig which was a busy harbour. We explored here and the beach and came across a big spotted ray dead on the shore, it was huge.
    We then went and cooked a Thai curry which was delicious and the van doesn't smell of curry after which is a plus, the ventilation is working well. We looked at our next move onwards and played rummikub. Getting used to van life now and loving it. We started a new series in bed on BBC1 called boat story and then went to bed.    Read more

  • JGM TRAVELS 2023NC500 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
    Day 7

    Day 7. Isle of Skye and Quiraing

    November 24, 2023 in Scotland ⋅ ☁️ 6 °C

    After a good nights sleep we quickly restocked the tanks and had some breakfast then headed for the north coastal road. We got around the head of Skye and arrived at the Quiraing, the UKs largest landslip mountainous area which has created the most scenic mountains.
    We parked the van and headed off along the path crossing waterfalls following the path, which was getting better with every step. Maddy loved every second, crossing sketchy bits with ease, we were calling her a mountain goat, she's definitely got it in her still despite being 13 in 10 days, 2 people think she's a puppy today 😂🐶. We walked to the end of the trial and saw a small path heading straight up the side of the rock stacks. When we eventually got to the top we were just under the top of the mountain, looking down at the formations of rock. It was beautifully peaceful and started to snow a little at the top, we sat here and enjoyed a rest... We then we realised it was up and down the same way, no circuit this way 😂😬. Downhill took ages as it was super steep and slippy, thank God the weather was nice today, Maddy was good as gold on the lead, we both had a little slip over on the way down, but all good 😂. It was super fun to get walking again finally.
    We then headed to Kilt Rock which was pretty, then onto Lealt Falls which was also really cool. We have found a lovely little park up on the side of the coast, with about 6 lighthouses in our view . We have crossed off the map where we have been and read up and ready to head to Applecross tomorrow, hopefully crossing Bealach na Ba, Scotlands 3rd highest mountain pass😬. Super excited as weather is looking good for next few days. Cosy night in the van, pasta bake and games tonight.    Read more

  • JGM TRAVELS 2023NC500 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
    Day 8

    Day 8. Part 1. Isle of Skye

    November 25, 2023 in Scotland ⋅ ☁️ 5 °C

    Part 1

    After a lovely nights sleep at quite possibly our best park up yet, we were woken to the most glorious sunrise, the sun slowly coming up over Bealach Na Ba, Island of Raasay and Rona. The view was absolutely stunning! Cold but very scenic. We had some breakfast and set tracks as today we were walking upto Old Man of Storr another famous mountainous landmark of Isle of Skye. We parked up and started the 700 mtr climb upto the view point. Weaving in and out of the huge stacks of rock, also like yesterday from a landslide 6000 years ago. The view on the way up was so pretty but very cold, we struggled to regulate temperature whilst walking up. When we got to the top we were looking down on the rock formations and the lovely sun made a special scene. Maddy was yet again called a puppy twice and people were shocked when we told them she was 13 and she jumped up the hill like a spring chicken. After a walk back to the car we were heading onto Applecross via Bealach Na Ba.Read more

  • JGM TRAVELS 2023NC500 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
    Day 8

    Day 8. Part 2. Bealach Na Ba-Applecross

    November 25, 2023 in Scotland ⋅ ☁️ 1 °C

    Part 2
    We had a super scenic drive to our next stop, passing all the lochs and snowy mountains on the way, the reflections of all the colours against the crystal clear loch waters was beautiful. We refilled water, fuel and food as we are off grid the next day or so. We then got onto the start of the NC500 - mad to think we have been gone 8 days and only just starting the route. First stop is an extra from the main route and to stop at Applecross is one of the remotest settlements in mainland Scotland. We headed over Bealach Na Ba a 650mtr high mountain crossing with about 12 hairpins, dad is going to freak😂. We went for the crossing and got up fine, coming down though, Lennys brakes didn't like us much and they started to overheat a little, we stopped and let them cool down before carrying on. When cold, we headed down the mountain to Applecross. I had been told on a cruise by a Jordie chap that we must try the seafood pub when we get here, sadly this shut the for season. So we carried on along the peninsula and found an awesome park up by a small lake. On the way to be parking Grace had an Aurora alert for this evening. We were checking outside constantly and there it was!! A rather faint but clearly different lights changing. Finally we had seen the Nothern Lights! Wow!! They were really pretty and we took some cool pictures on my phone. We had to go in as it was so cold tonight re feel of -3 in the wind. Grace cooked a lovely Pealla to warm us up and got ready for a cosy night. What a great day!Read more

  • JGM TRAVELS 2023NC500 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
    1
    Day 9

    Day 9. Applecross to Torrindon

    November 26, 2023 in Scotland ⋅ ☁️ 3 °C

    Today we set off after a slow morning. We headed up and around the bay past Loch Torrindon, we wanted to have some lunch so headed to Sheildig & Torrindon but unfortunately they were all closed. Instead, we stopped and watched the Loch for a while and took advantage of the fact we had signal for once.
    Afterwards , we drove down to Lower Diabiag looking for a park up for the day/night, it was super pretty but after 2 hours of searching we decided to carry on along the road of the NC500. We eventually found a awesome place next to the mountain range and Ben Eighe. We took Maddy for a walk up abit of the mountain. Feels very cold so both looking forward to getting the van nice and cosy.    Read more

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