Day 1 of our UK Staycation!

Like most of British public we are opting for a staycation this summer as opposed to a holiday abroad. As the guidance now advises you can stay away with one other household we decided to go away with another couple!

We were meant to be flying off to Disneyworld later on this month and our friends were meant to be in Budapest for the F1…but we try not to dwell on that and think of this as another way to make different memories! Enjoy our own country and still get an amazing, safe holiday whilst ticking off some of the bucket list!

So what is the NC500? Well…according to multiple articles it is “the UKs answer to route 66” Liam and I have driven route 66 so we will have to see about that one!

Basically, the NC500 road follows the northern coastal (NC) road of the Scottish Highlands, starting and ending in Inverness with various castles, beaches, mountains and breathtaking views on route!

There are many ways you can do the route by renting a car and staying in hotels/B&Bs, getting a campervan or even walking/biking it. We opted for a campervan to be a bit adventurous and do a bit of wild camping, which is legal in Scotland.

Today started off with an interesting start after we had loaded everything into the car we were commenting on how uncharacteristically on time we were when we noticed the car had a flat tyre. So a sudden change of plan saw us unloading and relaoding another car but somehow we still managed to make the 2 hour journey to the car rental company in good time!

We had half an hour to wait once we arrived so popped across the road to the tearoom and had a cuppa and cake! (Well I went for hot choccie)

Soon it was ready to go and meet our home for the week!

The rental company did a full explanation of how things work and provided us with a manual and did a thorough damage check with us. Around an hour later we were off with Big Nige (the campervan).

There are four of us and we wanted a fair bit of room so we chose a 6 berth van with two double beds and a separation between the two!

The first stop on our tour is actually the Lake District for two reasons. 1. To break up the journey and 2. To show our friends our wedding venue for which they are bridesmaid and groomsman!

We stopped off at a local supermarket to stock up on the essentials (mainly gin and chocolate) and made our way to the first campsite: Beckses Caravan Park in Penrith. We sorted all our things out, packed all the food away, had some dinner, a well earned drink and relaxed!

We spent most of the first day getting used to our new home and figuring out how things work but we cant wait to get out and about tomorrow and a good nights sleep!