Whaligoe – Our Journey to Scotland

The next adventure

After our very adventurous trip at the end of the year 2020 we have been waiting for the covid situation to get better and allow us a next trip to our future homeland.

Now we are ready and will be leaving on the 1st of October for the north.

We learned from our past trips and have been updating our gear. For instance, we bought a great 4-seasons tent from Hilleberg, that can be pitched completely without external gear. And we built a little terrasse for the roof top tent, where we can for instance store the diesel heater. Also, Ronald offered me the best Quilt possible. It is made for temperatures down to 20 degrees below zero. So, it is for the first time really a realistic possibility, that I won’t feel cold during the night.

This time we plan to really meet all our neighbours and invite them to over for a Raclette. To do so, Ronald constructed a wilderness Raclette oven.

With this nice construction we will be able to feed 20 people with molten Swiss Cheese.

But of course, that is not the only plan we have. We bought fantastic Brompton bikes and are planning to test them on the route from Loch Watenan to Wick and back.

Apart from that, I have been preparing myself mentally for a new encounter with the wild horses on our land. Last time I was really afraid, and the stallion might have noticed that, which lead to him behaving even more crazily. This time, I will try to not show any fear and I also bought a bear whistle, that might help with wild horses also. I will write an update on how that worked out…

But for the moment, we are getting together our gear because in the tomorrow we will leave around 5 in the morning to reach the ferry in Amsterdam in time.

One minor problem we might encounter before arriving in Scotland on Sunday: UK has seen some shortage in gas. Therefore we can’t be sure to find a place where we can fuel up while in England. But hey… it wouldn’t be our trip if it was not an adventurous one, would it? So, we will walk that bridge, when we arrive there….

Finally back to Scotland again

As Scotland eased its restrictions for entering the country, we finally are able to go back to Whaligoe without having to spend a 10-days in self-isolation. So we are preparing our next trip. As the weather seems to be better than last time, we will give it a another try with our pick-up to see, if we can make it this time without getting stuck again.

The last it looke somehow like after the recovery with tractor and cable winch:

This in turn means, we will again take the ferry from Amsterdam to Newcastle with a night on the sea. Time-wise it takes longer than to go through the tunnel, but hopefully less stressful.

The good thing about taking the car is, we can bring a lot of stuff with us such as a Raclette “oven” and have a real Swiss Raclette at the Loch. Plus, we will be trying out our new Brompton Bikes to test the route from Whaligoe to Wick.

As it currently seems, we have to conduct a PCR test two days after arrive. According to gov.uk a new test centre opend in Wick. We will try that out …

So, let’s hope the situation stays as it is and we are able to go to Whaligoe soon.

We made it – Plot acquired!

Today marked a milestone in our effort to move to Scotland. The contract was signed and we are the prowd owners of a plot at Loch Watenan!

The plot is on the east side of the Loch, but hidden from the street. An absolutely lovely view. And from the highest part we can even see the sea.

Now we have to wait to get the paperwork finished and returned and prepare for our first trip to our future home.