Kilometres Walked : Sunday – 2.5, Monday – 7.7, Tuesday – 26, Flights Climbed – 247.

Tuesday 1st August , 2023.

Sunday was super slow which suited us perfectly. Reading, Netflix and a couple of short strolls and our day was done. With an early start yesterday we packed up and jumped on a train from Balloch to Fort William. Fort William is in the western Highlands on the shores of Loch Linnhe and the starting point for Ben Nevis, Scotland’s highest Munro. Even though it was a drizzly and Misty day (typical Scottish weather they say🤔) the train journey was spectacular. The stunning scenery kept us all enthralled with fields of purple heather, boggy marsh, thick forest, beautiful lakes and lochs, rolling green hills, rocky gorges and yes we finally saw our first big wild Stag. What a majestic sight he was, just sitting on the grass taking in the views with his enormous antlers. We were lucky enough to see a huge Doe as well, again just chilling out in the field right by the train tracks 🦌. Wow this is Bonnie Scotland 😊.

Arriving into Fort William we just had a wander down through the Main Street, indulged in some fish & chips for lunch (perfect F&C weather) and stocked up on groceries before heading back to our lovely little cottage beside the river Nevis to relax before our adventures today 🌼🌸🌺.

With yet another early start we were up and out of the cottage well before 6.30am with the intention on tackling Ben Nevis. Ben Nevis is not only Scotland’s highest Munro at 4411 feet or 1345 metres but the highest mountain in the United Kingdom. It is also one of the busiest 😳.

We were on the track at 7am in the hopes of getting to the top before it became to busy😆. Ha, so did plenty of other walkers. Admittedly it was much quieter for the ascent than the descent though. We couldn’t actually believe how many hikers there were on the trail today. It was a constant procession. We also found this hike no where near as challenging as Ben Lomond. Even though it was a very long slog ( 7 hours return ) it was a gentle ascent with small steps rather than the steep track and big steps at Lomond. Don’t get me wrong, it certainly wasn’t easy but we both enjoyed this hike so much more. The knees are feeling pretty good this evening even though we are a little stiff. The weather was clear nearly all the way up but once we reached the summit we were walking through the clouds again. Stunning scenery surrounded us at every step and we were lucky enough to also experience the famous Scottish Midges 😳. Luckily only for a short bursts in certain spots.

What a spectacular hike indeed. One of our favourites in the UK. After the 4 hour hike up we turned around and headed straight back down to the Ben Nevis Inn, strategically placed just at the bottom of the mountain. That’s what we love about hiking in the United Kingdom, there is always a pub to ease the pain 🍺.

Feeling a great sense of accomplishment with 26km and about 8 hours of walking. Our feet are now a little sore but nothing a nice scotch can’t fix🥃.

Kilometres Walked : Saturday – 26, Floors Climbed – 241.

Sunday morning 30th July, 2023.

With stiff legs, hips and joints we are enjoying a slow relaxing Sunday morning after our adventures yesterday. With a very early start we hopped on a bus from Balloch down to the other end of Loch Lomond to Tarbet, an even smaller village on the shore of the Loch. From there we then enjoyed a lovely cruise across the Loch to Rowardenann which lies at the base of Ben Lomond. Ben Lomond is the most southerly of the Munros ( a mountain that sits above 3000 feet ) in Scotland and one of the most popular. At 3193 feet (974) it may not seem that high but it was definitely a challenging walk. I can say with certainty that these middle aged knees and hips are finding it harder and harder to ascend and descend 🤪 A nice young chap from Australia who was also on our boat (he is having his gap year before university) was about 2 hours ahead of us on the climb and also mentioned he had climbed Ben Nevis the day before 😳 Oh to be young again and have all that energy. (Ben Nevis is much harder) Even though the weather gods seemed to be smiling down upon us with some blue sky, the top of Ben Lomond was under a constant cloud for the entire day☹️.

After our 2 1/2 hour climb, admittedly we were disappointed in the cloud cover. The views are said to be breathtaking from the summit. Oh well, we still had fabulous views for most of the way up and down and only a small amount of rain so we can’t complain and we can’t control the weather. It certainly became much colder nearer the top as well. It was definitely a strenuous hike and I found it quite challenging with both the ascent and descent. The descent’s are getting harder and harder with my 48 year young tradie knees now 😬. So once we both staggered back into the Rowardenann carpark we headed straight to the pub for a refreshing 🍺🍺.

After a sneaky rum on the boat this beautiful bright rainbow appeared. Of course all of us big kids ran upstairs to get photos 🌈. What a fabulous way to end our adventurous day.

And of course Ben finally came out from hiding under the clouds at the end of the day whilst we were waiting for our return bus to Balloch😆

Kilometres Walked : Thursday – 7.6, Friday – 14.5 Floors – 40.

Friday 28th July, 2023.

On a drizzly grey morning yesterday we said goodbye to Glasgow and hopped on a train for Balloch on the shores of Loch Lomond. With a much brighter sky and definitely feeling much warmer we found a lovely old pub ‘The Balloch House’ to have lunch in once we arrived. Indulging ourselves with deep fried Brie bites for starters and then Steak Frites for main😋 We’ll work it off tomorrow we said!

Deciding to just stay local today we opted for a wander through The Balloch Castle Country Park which sits on the southeast shores of Loch Lomond. The park itself consists of 200 acres of semi-natural woodland, walled gardens, open parkland and shoreline. Unfortunately the castle has fallen into to disrepair and isn’t open to the public at present. The park itself is beautiful with lovely wide paths and sweeping views over the Loch.

Halfway around the park we were able to add on another trail that took us through a little magical path where fairies run wild and squirrels have pyjama parties in their trees. The trail took us up to Winny Hill where you could imagine herds of deer roaming through in the early hours of the morning. Mossy fences, beech lined paths, streams trickling past and leafy green forests added to the fairytale landscape.

After our magical stroll through the fairie forest we meandered back alongside the Loch back to the pub for beer o’clock. 🍺

A lovely magical warm up walk before our adventure tomorrow 🥾

Kilometres Walked : 18

Wednesday 26th July, 2023.

With grey skies sitting above the city we sat at our little dining table in the bay window of our flat ( that’s what they call an apartment here ) drinking coffee and watching seagulls as big as cats swoop around over the beautiful old buildings along our quiet street. We are in the middle of the city yet our street is nice and tucked away behind the main road and we are surrounded by some fabulous architecture. Today was all about art and architecture. Clocking up a few more kilometres, the sun made an appearance and we made our way to The Kelvin Grove Art Gallery and Museum.

The building itself was very impressive and we were even more impressed at some of the big names adorning the walls. Several of our favourite artists made an appearance.

Yes we’re lucky enough to see two Van Gogh’s today. A definite highlight 👏

With more Cezanne, Matisse, Rembrandt and Salvador Dali, the collection was quite amazing. Strolling back through the busy streets of Glasgow we managed to find even more fabulous old buildings. Even though the city is a little dirty and dark the architecture is something else.

The other stand out on the streets of Glasgow are the murals. There are some very clever people👏.

Next stop – Balloch😊

Kilometres Walked : 9.5

Tuesday 25th July, 2023.

This morning was spent relaxing in our very comfortable apartment whilst giving our legs a little rest after all of our walking yesterday. Once we finally found our motivation to head outside we went to visit The Gallery Of Modern Art in the hopes that we could be lucky enough to be able to purchase tickets to The Banksy Exhibition. YES we managed to get tickets for this evening at 7pm👏

Whilst we were there we had a wander around the rest of the gallery. Most of it wasn’t really our cup of tea but there was one stand out which was a surprise. ‘Oyster Stew Soup’ by Andy Warhol.

This statue out the front of Goma has had a cone on its head continuously for the past 40 or so years. Despite the efforts of the local council and police, every time one is removed another one takes its place.

After a little wander around we spent the afternoon relaxing again in anticipation of going to The Banksy Exhibition.

Banksy – Cut & Run – 25 years card labour did not disappoint. We weren’t allowed to take photographs ( our phones were placed in locked pouches ) which at first was disappointing but then we realised how nice it was to be wandering around looking at fabulous art and there weren’t ten mobile phones in your way. And of course you then decide to buy the book at the end😆.

Banksy is an anonymous controversial English street artist who has been active since the 1990’s. His works of social & political commentary have appeared on streets, bridges & walls throughout the world. The identity of Banksy is still one of the biggest modern mysteries. This secretive artist has officially authorised this show which features 25 years worth of never before seen stencils. In his own words-

“I’ve kept these stencils hidden away for years, mindful they could be used as evidence in a charge of criminal damage. But that moment seems to have passed, so now I’m exhibiting them in a gallery as works of art. I’m not sure which is the greater crime”. Banksy.

It was a fabulous exhibition and we are both feeling very lucky to be in Glasgow whilst this is on and to have been able to secure tickets to a sold out show.

Kilometres Walked : 20

Monday 24th July, 2023.

Sitting here with slightly sore feet, we now realise why. It certainly didn’t take long to rack up the kilometres today. This morning we started with a walk along the Clyde River and around Glasgow Green. Glasgow Green is the cities oldest park which also houses the largest terracotta fountain in the world standing at 14 metres high.

Also on the grounds of Glasgow Green is The People’s Palace which is a museum and Glasshouse which was opened 1898.

The afternoon was spent exploring Pollok Country Park. We thought whilst the weather was great we should do all the outdoor activities. This magnificent country park is Glasgow’s largest and with it’s beautiful walled gardens, woodland walks and it’s famous Highland Cattle it was well worth the five kilometre walk to reach it.

Yes it was very easy to clock up 20 kilometres today. Luckily we found a lovely smooth Australian Pinot Noir at none other than Aldi to ease the pain🍷

Kilometres Walked : Wednesday – 5.1, Thursday – 8.6, Friday – 8.1, Saturday – 3.5, Sunday – 6.5. (Not our usual km’s😳)

Sunday 23rd July, 2023.

After a lovely two nights at Filey, we packed the car and headed to York on the way to dropping the keys back to Toni. York is a beautiful historical walled town in North Yorkshire famous for its Cathedral-York Minister and the shambles, a historic street with preserved medieval buildings, some dating back as far as the 14th century. With timber buildings overhanging the narrow cobblestone alleys it is definitely something worth seeing.

York was a beautiful old medieval town with once again pots of colour at every turn. It’s definitely one of my favourite things about England 🪻🌹🌺🌸 . Whilst having a bite to eat in the middle of the Shambles market, another couple joined us at the table. After chatting for a while we discovered that they have been travelling for ten years. Yes you read that correctly. They sold everything back in Seattle ten years ago and have been travelling ever since. How amazing and exciting and they haven’t killed each other 😆.

The next few days were just relaxing, hanging out with the family back in Newcastle and trying to reorganise our belongings. They do seem to have somehow expanded 😳. We might have to stay out of the op shops.

Today we set off on the last big leg of our adventures. We jumped on the train and headed off to Bonnie Scotland. After a very entertaining train ride sitting across from a couple of Sunderland lads ( and a whole train full of people heading to the Red Hot Chilli Peppers in Glasgow ) we arrived at our first stop. Yep you guessed it, Glasgow. And no we didn’t decide to go to the concert, the prices were a little scary with our exchange rate.

With blue sky peeking through the clouds, we had a little stroll to the river Clyde. Spotting something rolling around in the water we first thought it was an otter ( a really big one ) but realised it was a seal. Then there was another one. That definitely wasn’t something we expected to see in the middle of the city. Jason thought Loch Ness had decided to visit Glasgow. 🦦🦭

Kilometres Walked : Monday – 13 km, Tuesday – 13 km.

Wednesday Morning 19th July, 2023.

After saying our goodbyes to the family on Monday morning we headed to the seaside. Our very good friend Toni had offered the use of her super cute caravan at Filey and so we packed our swimmers 👙 and went to the beach. Filey is a beautiful quaint little seaside town about 8 miles south of Scarborough on the east coast of England. Starting out in heavy rain as we left Leeds, the closer we got to the coast the more blue we could see in the sky! Stocking up on supplies we made our way into Filey and found the holiday park where we were staying. What a quintessential English caravan park with all the neat vans lined up in rows with little pots of colour around some and good sized decks on them where you can just sit outside and enjoy a wine as the sun sets. No sooner than we had unloaded the car and settled in, Julian and Ash surprised us with a visit for the afternoon. ‘Get your shoes on , we are going on a trip to Scarborough’ they said. And so off we went on a double decker bus ride to Scarborough for none other that the most delicious Icecream Sundae’s you have ever tasted. Oh and waffles🤪

Yes a lot of sugar was consumed in a very short space of time. We all had a round of Sundae’s 😋 (Ash had 2) then we all had a round of Waffles! Super delicious and so filling we couldn’t even contemplate dinner later that evening. The Harbour Bar, a groovy retro milk bar that has been around since the turn of the last century and is still going strong today, and if the taste of all those goodies was anything to go by I can clearly see why.🍦🍨

After an evening stroll along the Filey promenade and headland gardens, our dinner consisted of wine, cheese and olives. That was about all we could fit after our decadent afternoon at Scarborough.

After a very slow start to the day on Tuesday we eventually got ourselves organised and went for a lovely long beach walk. Filey has an impressive 5 mile long sandy bay that is perfect for beach combing at low tide. We had hoped for a swim in the North Sea, but the weather had other ideas. It was a little to windy and cool for a dip. (Well for us Aussies anyway)

Filey Beach, what a lovely little hidden gem. Such a beautifully kept town with stunning gardens and pots of colour at every turn. With cute and neat little houses all with fabulous colourful gardens and well kept lawns. An abundance of fish and chip shops and a fantastic historic promenade overlooking the huge beach. Thank you Toni.😊

Kilometres Walked : Friday – 3.8 km, Saturday – 1.6 km, Sunday – 1.2 km 😳 not many!

Monday morning 17th July, 2023.

Setting off for Yorkshire for a weekend of catching up with friends and family we decided to call into Harrogate for lunch and a wander. Drizzly rain made the day a little cool and dark but we still had a lovely walk around the old city centre. Harrogate is well known for it’s beautiful gardens, architecture and flowers and it didn’t disappoint. Flower beds and hanging baskets bursting with colour lined the streets and sidewalks. Everything was as neat as a pin. Unfortunately we didn’t have time to go to the main gardens and Betty’s famous tea room had a very long line waiting for a table, so we just strolled around the streets and opted for a takeaway coffee from the pub next door. (Which was very good & we had some laughs with a couple of locals)

After our short sojourn at Harrogate we then headed for Leeds to visit with the family. We had a fabulous weekend catching up with Aunts, Uncles, Cousins and Friends indulging in lots of food & wine as well. Someone did mention we needed fattening up😜 Dashing off here, there and everywhere it was a very busy few days indeed but we managed to see nearly everyone before heading off again Monday morning to the seaside for more adventures.

Of course I totally forgot to take any photos with my cousins and in particular Jarod & Erica’s beautiful new house they have built.

Aunts, Uncles, cousins, friends, food & fast cars, what a fantastic way to spend the weekend 😊

Kilometres Walked : Monday – 8.2 km, Tuesday – 14.2 km, Wednesday – 7.8 km, Thursday – 10.7 km.

Friday Morning 14th July, 2023.

We are back in the United Kingdom. After a very boring three hour delay at the airport in Paris on Monday we finally boarded our plane and arrived back in Newcastle. We were so pleased with ourselves for getting to the airport early as it seemed to take for ever to get through security and passport control only to then discover delay after delay after delay on boarding our plane. Oh well it could have been worse, we could have been stuck there overnight. We did receive a free coffee and sandwich though.

Aunty and Uncle picked us up and we spent the afternoon catching up and taking a stroll around Jesmond to stretch the legs. One of our favourite cottages (Rose Cottage) was looking fabulous with the garden in full bloom. After three months away we could notice the difference in the seasons with all the roses blooming and the fuchsias cascading over little stone fences, lavender full of busy bee’s and wildflowers dotting the parks.

We had a lovely lunch out at Francesca’s on Tuesday to celebrate Holly’s University results with the family. The rest of the day was spent scouring the op shops far and wide for new jeans! ( our old Jeans have become a little baggy, we have lost some weight somewhere! ) Wednesday we headed over to Lucy’s for lunch and a catch up. Her garden is a picture of colour at the moment with pretty flowers in every colour spilling out everywhere. And we were lucky enough to get Gi Gi pats🐈 Yesterday we picked out hire car up and went for a little drive to Alnwick for a sneaky pub lunch ( have to fill the jeans out again! ) and wander around the picturesque village.

It’s been a lovely relaxing week catching up with family and giving the old legs and feet a rest. Now we are off to Leeds to catch up with more of the family.