Scotland

We returned the camper this morning. It was a great 15 days, but Randy is definitely ready to sit back and let someone else do the driving. This may be a long post as I will cover our last few days out. We had a great night in Fort William, and before leaving the area, we checked out Neptune Staircase, which is a set of eight locks. We wandered along the tow path and watched a small cruise ship finish the last of the locks. We also saw some really cool small tour boats that take around 10 to 12 people out to the islands. Paddle boards, kayaks, and one even had sailing dingys. We spoke to the captain, and it sounds like a cool adventure trip. After that, we headed to The Ben Nevis Visitor Center and Trail Head. Very informative displays and lots of serious climbers getting ready to head out. There were a variety of climbs from a three or four hour slightly challenging hike to full-on rock climbing and multi day climbs. There is also ice climbing, and the photos were amazing. We took a 30-minute hike just to say we did and chatted with a few people coming down from the first summit. Very beautiful stop. We then headed to Glencoe. The roads were better, two lanes for the most part, but the scenery was still so beautiful. This area of the Highlands felt more welcoming. So lush and green, still lots of drama but a little softer. Glencoe Village was small and so cute. We wandered around and found the MacDonald Memorial. Even though the massacre took place in 1692, we found references to it several times. We stopped at the village store, and the owner said that they still didn't welcome the Campbell's, but there was only one MacDonald left in town. We found an amazing place to park for the night, outside of town, but still in the valley. It was a parking lot for a forest walk, and although just off the road, it felt very secluded. There were about 12 other campers there. We went on a fabulous forest walk and came out at a country inn with the best ever pub. Boots, it was called, and there seemed to be more dogs than people. They were having music that night, but I was too chicken to walk through the woods after dark. We met a lovely couple who were in the same car park who gave us all kinds of information on the area. They were staying for music, but they had a flashlight and a dog to get them home safe. We went back to the camper before dark and had a quiet Saturday night. We weren't sure where we were heading Sunday, so we just started driving. We drove along Loch Lomond, and the sun came out. It's probably the best weather we have had in our time in Scotland. We checked out Luss, and it was very pretty, but it was too early to stop, and we couldn't find a good place to park. We ended up driving all the way to Falkirk, which was going to be our last stop before turning the camper in. We are a day early. We paid for overnight parking at the Falkirk Wheel. This is a pretty amazing piece of technology that uses gravity to lift boats who are traveling the canal system. I believe they said the wheel replaced 11 locks. We watched a narrowboat come down the wheel, and later, a group of paddleboarders went up the wheel and headed down the canal. Very cool. We took a walk along the towpath and found a small pub called Lock 16. It was very old and very quaint. We sat on tiny stools and watched the locals enjoy their Sunday afternoon visiting. Back at the car park, we met a really nice couple from BC who are taking a gap year and shipped their custom-built van from Halifax to Liverpool. They have a year to see as much as they can. The next morning, we experienced our first real challenge with the camper. When Randy tried to start it, nothing happened. The battery was dead. It was strange, though, because the battery monitor was showing it had power. Challenge two was my sim card hasn't been working for calls or texts, just data. I sent an email to Bunk Campers, and we waited for a response. While we were waiting we went to the visitors center to charge my phone and Randy met a lovely couple who lent us their phone. After a number of attempts, we finally connected, and the rental company said they would send someone to give us a boost. I also tried unsuccessfully to get the issues with my sim card fixed. What a frustrating waste of time that was. The couple who lent us their phone insisted on waiting until the camper was running, so we had a lovely visit. They had just completed the NC 500 in their large motorhome and were heading to the Lake District in England. Once we were back running thanks to Kenny from Bunk Campers, we stopped at The Kelpies. These huge metal sculptures honor the role horses played in the development of the area. They are very beautiful and they along with the Falkirk Wheel draw hordes of visitors to the area. We found a lovely county park to spend our last night out and really enjoyed the facilities. For the first time in a week we have had electricity. We definitely wanted it after experiencing battery issues. There was a working farm in the park, so we had a beautiful walk through the fields. Unfortunately, the hairy coos weren't around, but there were lots of sheep to provide entertainment. We cobbled together dinner from all our leftovers and played a few games of cards. All in all, we have really enjoyed our campervan and the freedom it has given us. We had plenty of space, and if anything, we would have gone smaller because of the crazy roads.Read more