An air of optimism

Pitched our tent in Drumnadrochit tonight, by the bonny bonny banks of Loch Ness at the start of our family cycle tour. The plan is to cycle some, or sections, or all of the Great Glen Way which is one of Scotland's Great Trails stretching from Inverness to Fort William.

My lovely husband and I were inspired to do some sort of family adventure like this after hearing Mark Beaumont speak about his adventures back in February, but it was the eldest of the little ones who was dead keen to cycle from one side of Scotland to the other.

So we are here, with tents and bikes and cereal bars, midge nets, sunscreen, waterproofs and all manner of other bits and pieces and we will see how it goes. The hardest stretches are the first (if heading this way) and the boys are already pretty shattered following their east neuk adventures last week, but as I said, we'll see how it goes.