Love, from June & July 2018

…I must learn how to pose properly

Hullo! Are you well? I feel like I’ve hardly had a chance to sit down and say hello recently, we’ve been so busy! Anyway, let’s catch up. This summer in Scotland has been amazing, hasn’t it? We’ve spent most of the last two months making the most of it…

hello, summer! road tripping on the west coast of Scotland

Nearly all of June was spent travelling around Scotland on an extended road trip. First up was a trip to the Outer Hebrides (more soon) where I spent five hectic (and mentally & physically exhausting) days working with the Outer Hebrides tourism board – it was my first visit I’m really looking forward to going back to the islands really soon.

I then flew back to Inverness to meet B staying at Lazy Duck in the Cairngorms National Park and then driving to Lochinver to hike the Assynt mountains – including completing an incredible bucket list climb – the mighty Suilven. Leaving Lochinver we then road tripped down the west coast to the Isle of Skye stopping for a night at Ullapool and Plockton spending my 40th birthday (ouch) completely over indulging ourselves at Loch Bay restaurant and then at the Three Chimneys.

It was a fantastic two-week trip – with just the right amount of relaxation and head-clearing space I needed. I hope you have enjoyed my posts on Suilven, Assynt, Handa Island, The Lazy Duck and the Three Chimneys up to now – there is still loads more to come from this trip!  

how to plan a road trip in Scotland

We walked a marathon! The Great Glencoe Challenge

I must admit that I didn’t tell many people that we were planning on doing the Great Glencoe Challenge, as well, I wasn’t actually sure right up to the day that I was going to be able to do it. I signed up on a total whim (ok after a few glasses of wine) with a desire to ‘do something’ for my 40th birthday – and walking 26 miles from Glencoe to Fort William, climbing 5000ft in the process sounded like a GREAT idea. Ouch. I’d never walked further than 14 miles before…

But we did it – and despite the heat, the worst pain I have ever felt in my feet and a meltdown with 6 miles to go, we had a brilliant day out. We did the walk in 10 hours – hiking all the way through Glencoe, up the Devil’s staircase to Kinlochleven and to the foot of Ben Nevis. We camped near the start at the Glen Nevis campsite, and the whole day was so well organised – breakfast, a coach to the start, water and food stations, food at the finish and a really friendly atmosphere.

If you fancy a brilliant challenge in Scotland, through incredible scenery, do the Great Glencoe Challenge. I challenge you to sign up!

Comrie Croft & Auchingarrich Wildlife Centre

In more typical Scottish weather (thunder and lightning, wind and torrential downpours) last weekend we headed to one of our favourite campsites in Scotland, Comrie Croft to continue our introduction of our little niece to camping. With the family snug as a bug in a Swedish Kata, we pitched our tent and hoped for the best – but our Coleman Coastline 3 tent did a brilliant job of surviving the very strong gusts and 32 mm of rain.

Because of the rain, I also got to finally wear my new The North Face Dryvent jacket c/o Simply Hike – and it was brilliant. With a really flattering feminine style, the huge hood and big collar kept me dry between our tent and the great coffee in Comrie Croft’s cafe – which was definitely needed after a night of little sleep. My jacket is on sale if you fancy one.

To dodge the rain storms we headed to nearby Auchingarrich where we held new-born chicks, fed the lemurs, spotted tiny monkeys and wildcat kittens, ran through the rabbit hole (great fun) and pretended to be kids in the soft play. It’s a little gem in the countryside and if you are in the area (with kids or not) it is well worth a visit. Adults are £8.95, Kids £6.95, and there are often good value family tickets available.

Love, from Scotland elsewhere…

• Fancy starting hillwalking? I’m over on the Simply Hike blog with my beginners guide to bagging a Munro (or any hill over 3000ft) with a few of my favourite photos from my first 10 Munros.
• Check out my favourite hill walks in the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park over on the Ordnance Survey Blog, in celebration of the park’s 16th birthday. From a brilliant hill for the kids to a hill with a health warning, there is something for everyone.
• As part of the National Trust for Scotland’s Love on the Longest Day campaign, I was asked for my ideas of how to spend over 17 hours of daylight in Scotland. From Assynt to Glen Affric, you can check out my ideas on how to get remote in Scotland.

Next month in Scotland…

So, on to August, one of my favourite months as the Edinburgh festival is upon us! This year I am planning on spending plenty of time in Edinburgh seeing lots of shows (I already have tickets for Trainspotting Live). I am also off to Linlithgow Palace to see one of my favourite bands, James, and at the end of the month I am really excited for a weekend in a gorgeous luxury log cabin with a hot tub… let’s hope summer comes back for one last hoorah!

Love, from Scotland x

My posts in June and July (in case you missed them)

How to have a feast in Fife

Loch Bay, Skye

How to climb Suilvan

Puffins & Paradise on Handa Island

Lazy Duck, The Cairngorms

9 reasons to visit Lochinver & Assynt

The Three Chimneys, Isle of Skye

Kate Hopper

The blogger behind Love from Scotland

Love from Scotland is your guide to how to travel Scotland like a local. My name is Kate and on my site you will find everything you need to plan your perfect trip to Scotland – from destination guides to the best places to stay.

 kate@lovefromscotland.co.uk