Scotland in 14 nights (1 Viewer)

[Terry]

Bev and her Dad both Fit Bits, which record steps taken each day amongst other useless things, well being as we do more or less the same each day the results should be similar, Bev is repeatedly recording 50% more than FIL, the only difference seems to be driving in the Terryvan or ours, it would appear a Mercedes chassis takes out more of the bumps

It should do, it cost 5k for air suspension!
Feel free to add it to the Itineo......

 

[peterc10]

It should do, it cost 5k for air suspension!
Feel free to add it to the Itineo......

Terry, you do him a favour and all he does is moan ..........

 

[Stagman]

Ours is 8m, the pricing goes up in pretty big bands, but 6m - 8m are all the same price, cost us £57 single, but the return fare is exactly double so no real point booking the return and IMO the multi crossing tickets do not offer enough value to bother with they are more or less the sum of all the crossing they include and they want you to more or less commit to crossing dates at time of booking

Options route wise, direct to Harris (Tarbert) either Ullapool or Uig (Skye) second is about half the crossing time at 1 hour 40 minutes and about 2/3 the price, it is also our preference

You can go from Oban on to the Uists then drive up, worth seeing the Uists when you are over, we are crossing down to them in a couple of days then returning to Uig from North Uist

It is not for everyone, but if you like big scenery and nature this is the place to come to

Cheers. We have done Islay and Mull and of course skye but would like to go further out another time. Still got dumfries and galloway to do properly too.
Absolutely love it up there.
We were both admiring your beautiful dog too. Ours is a heinz 57 but his DNA test did identify some bernese mountain dog in him...

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[Bobby22]

Bev and her Dad both Fit Bits, which record steps taken each day amongst other useless things, well being as we do more or less the same each day the results should be similar, Bev is repeatedly recording 50% more than FIL, the only difference seems to be driving in the Terryvan or ours, it would appear a Mercedes chassis takes out more of the bumps

David, I know the problem with the Fit bits.............Bev i turning the steering wheel back and forth, changing gear and a few waves to others in passing places.

Father-in- law hasn't seen any oncoming mh to 'salute' to and no decent lochs to demonstrate his casting style.

 

[DavidG58]

Now clouded over, but we have arrived at a Black House that Bev has been to twice, I did it first time and kind of enjoyed it but came smelling like I had been smoked, Bev said to me 'are you coming in?' I am still getting over the fact that she asked and I can still smell the smoke in my skin from the first visit 8 years ago, no I am not

Just watched my MIL walk up road and have just realised something I have noticed before but couldn't place, do any of you recall a comedy sketch where a waitress carries 2 bowls of soup, her head wobbles and her hands shake so she spills the lot before she gets to the table, well my MIL walks just like that, especially when viewed from behind

It is only day 9, actually not only, it has been hard going, but with some fun bits, we have just been told a storm is coming our way tomorrow, Bev says we are not doing any ferries tomorrow then, for pretty obvious reasons, so FIL pipes up, is it really worth bothering with the lower bit, why don't we go straight back tomorrow from Stornoway, which he keeps calling Stonehaven for a reason known only to him.

Firstly I point out that we have brought them out to see the islands, and that I am slightly miffed that he wants to miss out a chunk, his reaction is defensive, maybe my point was made slightly aggressively though, he thought that by going back we would miss the storm. So I ask how does that work then, Bev doesn't want to get on a ferry tomorrow to make a short crossing, why would she get on one for 4 hours back to Ullapool instead. I did also suggest, still slightly pissed off with him that there is an airport at Stornoway, which BA fly from, he still goes about his bloody air miles 18 years after he was made redundant.

FIL has now changed from trying to book a ferry for tomorrow to saying we must now park on the east side of the island for protection from the wind. I have managed to nick one day back off the travel already, but the title was already wrong, by the time we left we were up to 16 nights, still 9 already done, 6 to do, might try and plan another missed stop, they will never notice

Thinking about it I should have taken up his option to run back to the mainland and blamed the weather

That storm (FIL and me, not meteorological) has eased, I have just mended yet another stupidly flimsy Dometic fridge door catch while they do the Black House, they are so useless (the catches now I mean not the in laws, I have moved on ) that I carry 2 spares in my man drawer, one of them has broken just sat in the drawer

Hey ho, off to the next tourist trap

 

[DavidG58]

Terry, you do him a favour and all he does is moan ..........

Moan Peter, moi, I don't think I did, I see it as a 'feature'

actually in reality it could be mainly down to the reverse gear judder, never driven a Fiat MH, but I now see what all those comments are about

This still isn't a moan Peter, just my style of writing you picky little sod

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[Popeye]

This still isn't a moan Peter, just my style of writing you picky little sod

Sorry to pick you up on a point here David but under "Rule 1" you really shouldn't call @peterc10 a picky little sod,

..................That's my job............ Peter, you picky little sod.

 

[Puddleduck]

[

moved on to a little site north of the Callanish standing stones £18 / night with electric, nothing special but nice and clean

I really like that site David. If there are a few tent campers in the kitchen / common room can be great fun, and if someone has a musical instrument and there is a sing-a-long so much the better. Last time we were there there was the opportunity to use the swimming pool up the lane - don't know if that is still on offer?

Ahhhh, the smell of peat smoke, takes me back to my childhood Callanish is a great place ...... especially when you think of what they charge to go near Stonehenge !! And you get such a feeling of awe when you stand and look round.

Did you go and see the Norse Mill? For anyone who does go take a torch with you.

In Stornoway one of the best places for buying tweed is The Lewis Loom Centre off the road that goes up to Bayhead (A857). It's sort of set back and there is a small museum and a shop. I think the prices have gone up a bit in the last few years but it is still much cheaper than buying the same jackets in posh shops elsewhere.

 

[peterc10]

Sorry to pick you up on a point here David but under "Rule 1" you really shouldn't call @peterc10 a picky little sod,

..................That's my job............ Peter, you picky little sod.

You only say that because you know you still owe me the money for the bike rack I saved for you, despite having people queuing up to buy it.

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[peterc10]

This still isn't a moan Peter, just my style of writing you picky little sod

Little I agree with, although I prefer svelte.

But me a picky sod?????? At least I drink tea people offer me ..... I am still mortally wounded by that . I have now ordered your special water from Harrods for next time though.

 

[Terry]

Did the same with me Peter -brought his own coffee said mine was Shit -then promptly left me the full jar for next time -Hope FIL appreciates it
terry

 

[Puddleduck]

Did the same with me Peter -brought his own coffee said mine was Shit -then promptly left me the full jar for next time

I've learnt something. I didn't know coffee came in jars. Thought there was some funny ritual with beans and machines. Mind I don't like coffee - not even the smell. I don't drink tea either so it's me that's really the fussy duck.

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[Debs]

@DavidG58 I think you are likening your MIL to Mrs Overall (Julie Walters )...Acorn Antiques/Victoria Wood.....do I get a prize?

 

[golly]

I think this may be the one your thinking of
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6aYLOf8CUQ

 

[laird of Dunstan]

Enjoying your blog. It's making us think of our trip up there last year and the year before! So much to see. We've been lucky and had no midges and lovely weather both times.
We're also heading up in the next couple of weeks for 17 days.
We can't wait, we're hoping we will drop lucky with the weather again.
I've got a Fitbit 1 , I don't know if Bevs and your dad have the same sort. If they have , and they are getting totally different mileages and steps , but doing roughly the same. It must be the settings.
Have they set their fitbits to their own pace ,walking , running length and is it correct.
If ones on the factory setting or ones been done to the wrong pace length that could be why.
Though I doubt you care one fig !
But it may stop one more niggling conversation disagreement on an evening.

we are heading up in a couple of weeks as well,we may bump into each other

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[DavidG58]

morning all, a few more photos, starting with proof that the sun doesn't always shine, I only got out for long enough to take one shot of the lighthouse at Butt of Lewis, for nicer ones see @Ralph-n-Bev thread, it's always sunny for them

last night, had a debate with in laws, 'we will be happy to stop over wherever you would' that is till we pull up on the quayside at Stornoway, when FIL almost immediately says we passed a camp site sign back a bit can we go there? Nope, not for now at least I have promised myself fish and chips, what a delight they were, Camerons on Point Street, yum. we are back there later today, might just have some more

Back to FIL, 'mum doesn't want to stop here next to the sheep' well we like rural, but these were on a triple decker sheep lorry, so I sort of saw her point, but wasn't prepared to go to the site he reminded me about again

But I did have a location in mind, trouble is it is getting dark, and my memory isn't what it was so went for second option which was further down the road I thought the first was on anyway, but right at the end. So we go back to 'how far are we going?' 'it seems a very long way' 'what will it be when we get there? all with constant reminders of the site he had seen between each bit of the grilling

So we pull into here, in fairness the photos were taken this morning as it was too dark and starting to rain

parked exactly as in the photo above, FIL immediately says, 'aren't we parked the wrong way round?' well I really didn't know quite what to say, in fairness the views of the hill behind are not that bad either

no I should add by 'we' FIL was referring to his Terryvan, I was driving ours, and Bev had parked alongside me (us, me and FIL), so after a deep breath and a pause I said, I really would have thought this was fine and we would always chose to face the sea. But if you want to be the other way round get out and talk to your daughter. Then promptly took Lola for a walk down to the beach to escape

walking back I spot FIL on his way down to beach, but before he spots me, so I veer off left dodge behind some dunes and carry on back. On arrival Bev says 'what was all that about?' 'all what say I?', really not having a clue Bev - 'why did you tell Dad to see me about which round to park?'

Oh Please!- if I argue I am wrong, ignore even worse, now suggesting he sorts it out himself isn't right AAAAAAAGGGHHHH

I then explained to Bev that as we pulled in FIL had said to me I thought we would park the other way round, to which Bev replied to me why would we do that? Are you keeping up, if not go back to top and start again, then when we meet next tell what happened

As you can see we stayed as parked, and first thing this morning had sun streaming through the front where I had intentionally left the blinds open, as we usually do when somewhere so remote to make best of views with almost zero chance of anybody being anywhere near let alone right in front of the window. another query for FIL to that as well, but that I kind of understand, he just thinks we are wrong, different maybe, not wrong

I meant to add some detail the other day on a thread about the weather, FIL has twice sailed with a friend to the channel isles, this means he knows more about anything to do with ships than anybody else, hence the need for us to shelter on the east of the island due to the winds. If anybody maritime related saw him wrap a rope like he does his mains cable (elbow and shoulder) so it had become a spiral of wire, which even when I explained why not to he didn't get. Any casual involvement he has had makes him an expert, god help anybody he meets with a motorhome in future

Now shopping in Stornoway, had a lovely breakfast in the first floor café / restaurant overlooking the harbour, then off to Tarbert for the Harris Tweed shop, a peep into the new distillery next door, then off to find a semi sheltered (west facing ) beach view to overnight and see out the storm

Crossing to the Uists tomorrow, but only if the winds have dropped, not even sure if they are sailing today

 

[DavidG58]

BTW, I now know the only LPG outlet on the western isles is in Stornoway and it hasn't worked for months, so fill before coming over. Uig the port to here from Skye has LPG, so we will be filling on way back. Despite an absolute assurance that they are not leaving heating on, and only putting water on when needed, plus fridge and gas hob only for coffee we have cooked everything, they have consumed a full bottle of gas. However you may recall the difficulty we had up and down and clockwise / anti clockwise relating to the heating controls on day 1

 

[laird of Dunstan]

Well david what some of us would like to know , is this male bonding session between you and Fil ,going to become an annual event?

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[CWH]

Well david what some of us would like to know , is this male bonding session between you and Fil ,going to become an annual event?

Oh my Laird, 'funny' just isn't enough for that one

 

[Ralph-n-Bev]

I've just looked to see if I have a sunny pic of the Butt of Lewis . But ( see what I did!) I've not got an album for last years visit on here. Just the first visit we did in 2014 . I'll have to remedy that one.
We loved the Outer Hebredise so much we went the following year. The opposite way around the islands. In Pug our PVC too.
Broken Link Removed
Click on the arrow and it takes you through some lovely views of the almost always sunny , midge free Hebredian islands trip.

 

[Ralph-n-Bev]

morning all, a few more photos, starting with proof that the sun doesn't always shine, I only got out for long enough to take one shot of the lighthouse at Butt of Lewis, for nicer ones see @Ralph-n-Bev thread, it's always sunny for them

View attachment 122066

last night, had a debate with in laws, 'we will be happy to stop over wherever you would' that is till we pull up on the quayside at Stornoway, when FIL almost immediately says we passed a camp site sign back a bit can we go there? Nope, not for now at least I have promised myself fish and chips, what a delight they were, Camerons on Point Street, yum. we are back there later today, might just have some more

Back to FIL, 'mum doesn't want to stop here next to the sheep' well we like rural, but these were on a triple decker sheep lorry, so I sort of saw her point, but wasn't prepared to go to the site he reminded me about again

But I did have a location in mind, trouble is it is getting dark, and my memory isn't what it was so went for second option which was further down the road I thought the first was on anyway, but right at the end. So we go back to 'how far are we going?' 'it seems a very long way' 'what will it be when we get there? all with constant reminders of the site he had seen between each bit of the grilling

So we pull into here, in fairness the photos were taken this morning as it was too dark and starting to rain

View attachment 122073

parked exactly as in the photo above, FIL immediately says, 'aren't we parked the wrong way round?' well I really didn't know quite what to say, in fairness the views of the hill behind are not that bad either

View attachment 122074

no I should add by 'we' FIL was referring to his Terryvan, I was driving ours, and Bev had parked alongside me (us, me and FIL), so after a deep breath and a pause I said, I really would have thought this was fine and we would always chose to face the sea. But if you want to be the other way round get out and talk to your daughter. Then promptly took Lola for a walk down to the beach to escape

View attachment 122075

walking back I spot FIL on his way down to beach, but before he spots me, so I veer off left dodge behind some dunes and carry on back. On arrival Bev says 'what was all that about?' 'all what say I?', really not having a clue Bev - 'why did you tell Dad to see me about which round to park?'

Oh Please!- if I argue I am wrong, ignore even worse, now suggesting he sorts it out himself isn't right AAAAAAAGGGHHHH

I then explained to Bev that as we pulled in FIL had said to me I thought we would park the other way round, to which Bev replied to me why would we do that? Are you keeping up, if not go back to top and start again, then when we meet next tell what happened

As you can see we stayed as parked, and first thing this morning had sun streaming through the front where I had intentionally left the blinds open, as we usually do when somewhere so remote to make best of views with almost zero chance of anybody being anywhere near let alone right in front of the window. another query for FIL to that as well, but that I kind of understand, he just thinks we are wrong, different maybe, not wrong

I meant to add some detail the other day on a thread about the weather, FIL has twice sailed with a friend to the channel isles, this means he knows more about anything to do with ships than anybody else, hence the need for us to shelter on the east of the island due to the winds. If anybody maritime related saw him wrap a rope like he does his mains cable (elbow and shoulder) so it had become a spiral of wire, which even when I explained why not to he didn't get. Any casual involvement he has had makes him an expert, god help anybody he meets with a motorhome in future

Now shopping in Stornoway, had a lovely breakfast in the first floor café / restaurant overlooking the harbour, then off to Tarbert for the Harris Tweed shop, a peep into the new distillery next door, then off to find a semi sheltered (west facing ) beach view to overnight and see out the storm

Crossing to the Uists tomorrow, but only if the winds have dropped, not even sure if they are sailing today

Found a post with some pics of vatersay and Butt
http://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/threads/vatersay.119794/#post-1641057
Your fil might find them interesting too......

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[Terry]

BTW, I now know the only LPG outlet on the western isles is in Stornoway and it hasn't worked for months, so fill before coming over. Uig the port to here from Skye has LPG, so we will be filling on way back. Despite an absolute assurance that they are not leaving heating on, and only putting water on when needed, plus fridge and gas hob only for coffee we have cooked everything, they have consumed a full bottle of gas. However you may recall the difficulty we had up and down and clockwise / anti clockwise relating to the heating controls on day 1

Hi David don't forget I turn off one of the bottles so it gives me notice that one is empty --There should be enough to last you a fortnight even with heating on 24/7 -I used less than 14 ltrs over 5 days /4 nights 24/7 over the new year and it was bloody cold outside -toasty warm/hot inside

 

[andy63]

BTW, I now know the only LPG outlet on the western isles is in Stornoway and it hasn't worked for months,

Hi David. .. I filled up with lpg in stornoway. ..the first garage was out of commission. ..but they directed me to a second garage not far away and their pump was working...
I can't remember the name of the second garage but maybe @irnbru can...
That would have been couple months ago...
Andy

 

[DavidG58]

Well david what some of us would like to know , is this male bonding session between you and Fil ,going to become an annual event?

although I am sure you know already, just to be absolutely sure

NO

and heres another good example

Bev has just bought a new Harris Tweed credit card holder from a local shop, just moving cards to it and Bev happens to say she doesn't think all her cards will fit, there then followed what can only be described as card wars, out come both of in laws wallets with a blow by blow listing of every f&&cking credit card complete with limits , then every f&&cking loyalty card with last time used , then followed by an extra list of those they had left at home

why me??

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[DavidG58]

Hi David don't forget I turn off one of the bottles so it gives me notice that one is empty --There should be enough to last you a fortnight even with heating on 24/7 -I used less than 14 ltrs over 5 days /4 nights 24/7 over the new year and it was bloody cold outside -toasty warm/hot inside

either you were done on the last refill Terry or they haven't got a clue how to use it, first cylinder gone 2 days ago , all they have done is hot water, boiled kettles and little heating

Will make sure they are refilled before we return

 

[DavidG58]

I hope the sun is shining in the morning, we are on another of West Harris Trust camping spots, they ask for a voluntary £5 / night, tonight we are right on the sin=de of Luskintyre beach, hope to provide a sunny photo in the morning, only very small negative is the A road is only about 10yds behind us

that and the 50mph winds and horizontal rain

ferry tomorrow

 

[CWH]

why me??

err... why not?
if not you, it could be me, and I have enough of the same grief with my own dad, don't need your FIL as well thanks

but reading your stories does help me to think how I could manage myself better when I'm faced with my dad's pronouncements, so thanks for the laughs and the opportunity to reflect

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[DavidG58]

tonight in the middle of a flow of conversation, Bev and MIL mentioned a waterfall they had seen, 'I saw that' FIL said, how the F@@k do you know which one they mean I thought but didn't utter a word, Bev said some thing I didn't hear what, FIL says 'was yours running down the hill?' luckily I was the last to laugh, but not so I was also last to stop, as Bev adds, 'no, ours was the one going uphill'

He has now gone back to the Terryvan sulking and it was nothing to do with me well sort of

 

[CWH]

Priceless

 

[DavidG58]

so FIL on way out to sulk was asked to put outside light on in Terryvan for Mum, did he chuff, either forgot, or really is the selfish SH1t I have him down as, but it then reminded me of him falling out of our MH the other day when he wouldn't use the step

however I have since found out our door pocket is broken where I am convinced he uses it as a handle to get out, when refusing to use the FUUking step , so today I said, it is important for your safety (yeah right, but it sounds good) that you must use the step, and by the way you fUUkwit (thought not said I hope again) the pocket is broken where you use it to climb out

a few hours later FIL tells tales to Bev saying David has said I have broken the door pocket, now Bev is in a really hard position and will not take sides, so listened and said nothing, but at a garage later we stopped to refuel, told him it was our turn to pay and left him inside, Bev then finds him climbing out without the step (I had put it back in due to tight aisle width) using the same pocket he hasn't even touched as a handle , now she takes sides and tells him to use the FUUking step like David said, although of course Bev didn't swear at him either, I put that in for effect and to ease my own frustration

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