Adventure Awaits.....

When Big Blue (our van) joined our family just over a year ago, he was already boarded out and just needed a bit of tinkering to remove a bulkhead and add some carpeting over the boards.

Before this was carried out, I was keen to ensure that friends and family signed their names on the boards before they were carpeted over to ensure that they were carried with us in spirit wherever we went.

One friend’s inscription read: “Adventure Awaits…..Into the unknown…..Happy Times!”

This has served as a successful mantra, as we’ve had holidays, mountain biking trips and days out in Big Blue packed with nothing but positive memories. Today, I took that spirit of adventure upon myself and cognisant of, but choosing to ignore the weather warnings, packed Big Blue with some essentials (warm clothes, hot drinks and a ton of snacks) and headed out on the road for a weekend away in Scotland.

I’m not by nature much of a risk taker, so driving through a storm in the face of a rare red weather warning is definitely out of character. The integrity of this new-found devil-may-care attitude was tested somewhat when halfway up the M74 the severe alert system klaxon sounded on my phone, resulting in a verbal ejaculation, which I shan’t repeat here. Regardless, I pressed on. 

The roads were Covid-quiet as Éowyn battered Big Blue from all angles. The ominous sight of two overturned articulated wagons on opposite sides of the motorway, gave me brief pause for thought and even the overhead matrix signs seemed to repeatedly flash up: “For the love of god, dunkyc, TURN BACK!” I pressed on.

Only slightly later than planned, I eventually arrived at “the unknown” (to me); namely the foot of Loch Lomond. The wind continued to howl and gust, but I took a moment to drive around the empty streets (shops, businesses and restaurants were all closed) familiarising myself with the area and looking for a road down to the loch, which I eventually located and paused at to take today’s blip. 

With the storm increasing in intensity and Big Blue starting to receive more of a battering than he deserved after they day’s efforts, I was conscious of not wanting to push my luck any further than I already had, so I made my way to the BnB, where the lovely hostess welcomed me in and furnished me with a steaming mug of tea and a selection of biscuits as she checked me in.

I fell asleep for a while. Waking hungry, I took a walk out. Despite the wind and rain stinging my eyes to tears, I found an open pub serving food, so settled down with a book and a pint as my every dining need (a flippin’ good burger) was seen to. 

If taking a risk always ends in tea, biscuits and burgers, I shall certainly be taking a whole lot more going forward.

Looking forward to exploring Loch Lomond some more tomorrow when hopefully the wind will have died down a little.

Hoping that all of you UK-based people have managed to stay safe under the eye of Èowyn.