Travelling Fletchers

After nearly a week on the NC500, today was a very different kind of day.

We only had about 20 minutes to drive from one campsite to the next. On roads like these, you don’t have much choice but to take it slowly anyway!

The morning started off fairly dry, so we made the most of it with a trip to the beach for Monty. It turned out to be the highlight of his day.

Schnoodles have a very particular way of running when they’re excited. They tuck their back legs up, bounce along, spin around and, I’m convinced, grin from ear to ear. Monty did exactly that. He dug holes without anyone telling him off, raced in and out of the sea, then barked at the waves as they disappeared again, as if they were playing a game with him. Watching him having so much fun was an absolute joy.

When it was time to leave, the rain arrived, almost as if Mother Nature was saying, “Right then, time to move on.”

For the first time this week, the heavens really opened. It wasn’t just a shower. It was a proper downpour.

We parked up overlooking the beach and did something we hadn’t really done all week – absolutely nothing. We read, watched a film, dozed off and simply listened to the rain drumming on the roof of the motorhome. I think Mother Nature needed it, but if I’m honest, so did we.

A couple of hours later the rain eased. We looked outside and started laughing. For the first time since we’d arrived, we realised we could actually see our campsite. Until then it had been hidden behind the curtain of rain and low cloud. It felt as though someone had quietly lifted the stage curtain to reveal the view we’d been missing.

Halladale Inn Campsite has been one of my favourite stops of the trip so far. It’s a small site, but it has everything you need. The toilets and showers are spotless, there’s a laundry room and an on-site bar and bistro.

We didn’t need the laundry, but we certainly made good use of the rest of the facilities. We’d booked ahead, although in truth we probably didn’t need to as the campsite wasn’t full.

The bistro, however, was a different story. It was busy all evening, with plenty of people coming from outside the campsite just to eat there. That tells you everything you need to know. The food was outstanding. Maybe it tasted even better after a week of our motorhome one-pot meals, but honestly it was delicious.

If I ever find myself travelling this way again, I already know Halladale Inn Campsite will be on my list of places to stay.

After a week of living in the motorhome, I thought I’d share a few thoughts.

It’s amazing how quickly it starts to feel like home. We’ve found a routine that works, everyone knows where things live, and setting up and packing away has become much quicker.

We’ve learnt a few things along the way too.

Over the past 20 years we’ve owned several caravans, so it’s been interesting comparing the two. Both have their advantages. One thing we never experienced when towing a caravan, though, was hearing every rattle and squeak from inside while driving. In a motorhome, you’re travelling with your entire kitchen and living room behind you, and it can be surprisingly noisy! In fact, we’re planning to buy a screwdriver so we can give a few screws a quick tighten each morning before we set off.

I do think our years of camping, first in tents and then with caravans, have given us a practical, problem-solving attitude. That’s rubbed off on the kids too. You quickly learn that there’s usually a simple solution if you think about it.

It’s amazing how much quieter the journey becomes when you wrap a towel around the glass cooker lid. And yes, you really can cook dinner for four people in a single frying pan with no oven or grill. It’s all part of the adventure, and somehow everything tastes better at the end of the day anyway.

A slower day wasn’t what we’d planned when we set off on this adventure, but sometimes they’re the days you need the most. Time to rest, recharge and appreciate where you are before setting off again tomorrow.