Packed to the limit, carrying the kitchen sink, we set off early on Friday 28th.June to begin our first lengthy camping session of the season. We planned to be away for two weeks, and were hoping to find the sun.
Sunshine in summer is not something we’ve come to expect over recent years, at least not in the west, so we determined to go to the sunniest place and pitch ourselves there with hope in our hearts! We chose the Inverness area, since the long term forecast seemed to be most promising in that particular part of Scotland, and it was an area that most of us hadn’t explored. It proved to be a good choice, for after only a couple of days of intermittent rain, we were treated to a spell of glorious weather, ideal for camping.

Week One
Following our ‘trial’ at Aberfoyle, we were slightlybetter and perhaps a minute or two quicker at pitching our tents. The prescribed time of 20minutes( suggested by tent manufacturers) came and went before we eventually found our homes for the fortnight established well enough to contain us and all our clutter. Our excuse this time was that the ground was too hard to peg, resulting in more than a dozen ‘bending of pegs’ with an accompanying hail of silent and not so silent oaths into the blue above! One day we WILL pitch perfect and beat our current time of an hour, or maybe it was nearer an hour and a half??
Anyway, both tents were soon kitted out ready for inhabitation, and we rewarded ourselves with some comfort of the southern kind- in plastic glasses of course – and a fish supper to save the need for immediate cooking and washing up. Well it was our first day and we had been on the go for a long time. We deserved it!!! Fresh air, a wee drink and a nice fish supper was enough to send us off to bed early.
Early to bed early to rise! Light in this part of the north of Scotland barely allows darkness. We had torches and battery lamps that were only occasionally used. We’d arrived and had fourteen days ahead of us to fill with exploration!

We visited Findhorn, Nairn, Inverness by bus, Inverness by car, Inverness retail parks-all of them-frequently. We walked and talked and played cards, met friends old and new, viewed a neighbour’s amazing trailer caravan, and cheered Andy on his winning way to silence those wimbledon commentators who said he never would for ever! We slept well, ate well and drank very well. We decided to book our second week in the same campsite to avoid the hassle of re-pitching elsewhere, and given weather forecasts, Nairn was the place to be! We planned our second week activities as our first week drew to a close.

Week Two
Cromarty is on the Black Isle. It is a delightful little place with its own pottery, pantry and play park. We visited them all in succession, availing ourselves of their particular offerings. With purses lighter, and stomachs fuller, we sampled the play park. It’s no ordinary play park. The senior citizens of Cromarty are responsible for this one which sits adjacent to the children’s park. It is especially designed to exercise those parts of older bodies that are beginning to lose their effectiveness, even with a regular spraying of WD 40. It is to say the least a challenge, six challenges to be specific. Each designed to exercise the parts that once were tuned to perfection! We completed the work-out and left full of admiration for the ‘seniors’ who had the gumption to raise the money, build the park and set their sights on remaining fit. Perhaps a replica park is needed closer to home!!

We visited Nairn, an Inverness retail park(again and again), walked to the forest’s end and back, played more cards, ate well, drank even better and slept very well. The sun still shone on us and once again we met up with old friends not once but twice. Cheese, wine and a singalong entertained not only ourselves, but the rest of our fellow campers as Haze and Daze performed their party piece yet again.
We visited Speyside, wandered through Grantown-on Spey, Dufftown, Aberlour and Elgin. We attempted the whisky tour but fell at the first distillery, Glenfiddich, where an excellent hour-long tour culminated in a sampling of not one but THREE of their famous malts. Alex and I were intoxicated by this wonderful place and soaked up lunch with our patient escorts before being whisked off to no other distillery on the trip back to base camp. We agreed that a few more trips would be needed over the next decade to do justice to the whisky trail!!! Or perhaps we could just camp in their midst and breathe in the surrounding air? My brother did say that Speyside was a good place to set up tent-now I know why!!!
Our days were numbered. We filled them with more local visits and began to think of packing the cars for our homeward trek. Would we get everything in??? We ate our last supper with more than a sprinkling of sadness and prepped our minds for the homeward trail.
It had been a wonderful trip, a real step into the adventure that is a holiday under canvas. Four Seniors, Two Dogs and Two Tents would again blaze the trail into other areas of our beautiful countryside. Perpetual Campers? Us? We wish??!!!!