As I sit here in Inverness library with the wind and rain rattling the windows, after three months and two thousand miles or so touring around Scotland, I’ve decided it is time to head back towards London and the south-east. There are various reasons for doing this and the main ones are as follows.
First and foremost, let’s admit it right off the bat – it’s because I am a wuss and I’m really not sure the Scottish Highlands is the place for me to test out whether overwintering in the UK in a van is for me. I think the slightly gentler (though no doubt still exceedingly chilly) climes of the south of England should give me a less intense introduction to what I need to do to thrive or at least survive the darker, colder days where there’s less daylight for outdoor activities and a lot less light and sunshine to generate off-grid power.
So far I’ve identified that I need to buy a winter duvet, I don’t think the lightweight one I use at the moment is going to cut it. I read a tip that using the summer duvet as a kind of underblanket between the mattress and the sheets helps prevent chills from underneath the raised bed which has the additional benefit of not having to find a place to store the summer duvet. So I’ll be shopping for one of those on the way. [Later addendum – I did this and tried it for the first time last night and my word it was warm! I might have switched a bit prematurely!]
The other main source of warmth will be the diesel heater which I haven’t needed to deliberately switch on yet, but from the experience of when I accidentally switched it on with my foot without noticing and how warm it quickly became whilst I tried to figure out what the hell was going on, I’m optimistic that it will do the job swimmingly well. But then I generally am optimistic so there’s always the possibility of disappointment around the corner. I’ve read that optimism is generally not the positive trait that it seems and it’s better to live with a degree of scepticism that all might go horribly wrong to avoid feeling too surprised on the occasions when that inevitably happens. But I don’t think I can really, or that I want to try. I’d still rather feel upbeat about life and its possibilities the majority of the time and deal with negative stuff happening when it happens. It’s not like I convince myself that it never will, I just don’t worry about the specifics of it.
The other reason for wanting to return close to London is musical. The London music scene and the community of musicians there, like The MusiCollective, are the main reason for wanting to be within range of London for the winter and specifically to rehearse and play some gigs with Someone Else Ahead, a band I’m very privileged to be part of. So watch this space for hopefully more news on that.
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Because of the magic of my blog writing attention span you now join me a couple of days later as I sit in a not yet rainy but ominously overcast Berwick-upon-Tweed. Yes, I’ve made it back across the border as the inexorable journey south continues.
The journey of the last couple of days has been pretty memorable actually. First stop was Aberdeen, which turns out to be a fantastic city with some amazing architecture and is a really nice place to walk around and spend some time. But my favourite part of it is the seafront, the North Sea waves crash around the seawall at high tide and sky takes on a wonderful hue of pink and orange. It’s fabulous to just sit and watch it all unfold, the water swirling around, the seabirds swooping in and out of view, the huge ships and offshore wind turbines in the distance. I sat for ages there just taking it all in.
Then instead of following the coastal route down through Dundee, we cut back inland and drove to Perth via Balmoral, Braemar and Gleshee in the south-east corner of the Cairngorms (thanks to Justin for this recommendation). It was a magnificent drive, the road winding and undulating it’s way through the hilly terrain. Thankfully there was no snow yet at the Glenshee ski centre but it had a kind of stark beauty even in its greenness. The roads were luxurious, with a whole lane to ourselves, and Travis skipped happily along as we bounced and wove our way to Perth and civilisation.
As we drove I knew that this would be the last such drive for a while. We had travelled all over Scotland during the previous three months. Alongside lochs and sea, through valleys and up to passes, on a variety of roads from main, to single-track, to some that were more like three-quarters of a track and we barely fit on. And at all times surrounded by such incredible natural beauty. Peace when I needed it and friendly company when I wanted it, spoilt for choice of places to stop and explore and to park and stay for the night. Ample facilities to keep clean, work and eat – Scotland has been amazing and whatever happens next and wherever else we end up going it will always have a special place in my heart. Travis has been here two years in a row now so maybe he wants to go somewhere else next year, we’ll have to have a chat about it.
No doubt I’ll have more thoughts and reflections about it once I’m back in south-east England for the winter. Predictably I haven’t written as much on here as I would have liked, but at least I keep doing it, kinda sorta semi-regularly, and will continue to do so as I get used to a different kind of vanlife.
So far so good though, thanks again Scotland.