Billy (the Cali) Ocean
Lifetime VIP Member
Lejoggers.
A few years ago my wife and I both celebrated our 50th birthdays in the same year. We decided to travel Lands End to John O’Groats in our camper to mark the occasion. With no plan, other than starting one end and finishing the other, and excited by the prospect, we were off. At the time, we had a converted 4 motion, nothing as luxurious as our California.
Leaving Staffordshire we headed south. It was a Friday, and we left much a later than planned as work had delayed my finish. This meant our first stop was what we thought to be a quiet lane near Portishead to catch some sleep as we made our way down. Waking the next day, and stepping out of the van in my boxers for a smoke, we were outside a Halfords on a small retail park - luckily only the staff were arriving and it wasn’t in full swing. It was a chuckle moment that set the scene for what was, and still remains one of our best journeys to date.
We decided mostly to use pub car parks, with the odd camp site sprinkled in. Then, whilst there we would ask what there was to see locally - this ended up with us zig-zagging the country and covering almost 2,200 miles.
(And unusually for us extended the trip by a week, which luckily work and Cattery accommodated)
Obviously we covered both sign posts, from the commercial madness of lands end with its shops and pay to touch approach to the post, to JohnO’Groats where you rock up with no one there (well on our day anyway) and can have a Scottish square sausage sandwich and walk and touch the sticker covered post. Brilliant.
In between, so much to see. Totnes markets and Castle, Minack theatre, Gower Peninsula, Skirrid and its oldest inn and horrid history, Abbeydore and Gwatkin’s cider festival, Hadrian’s Wall, Glasgow, Glencoe, Loch Ness, Glenmorangie, Dalwhinnie, Cairngorms, Gretna - so many fabulous places and interesting people.
Point of the post. As we sit and discuss our NC500 adventure in April, we remember sometimes the best trips are those with no plan other than touch points. Letting conversation with locals and the map and the road guide you can be exciting, leading to great experiences where there was no expectation and you are left feeling amazed by the journey.
Booking places can be advantageous especially during busy months, it can also restrict the experience. Travelling one end of the country to the other, there are so many places to stay and things to do that the risk of disappointment is (in my experience) zero (and in truth, an odd night on a side street - or a sea front, is no hardship).
Lejog, I would highly recommend it. Stay safe, be respectful, enjoy the road.
A few years ago my wife and I both celebrated our 50th birthdays in the same year. We decided to travel Lands End to John O’Groats in our camper to mark the occasion. With no plan, other than starting one end and finishing the other, and excited by the prospect, we were off. At the time, we had a converted 4 motion, nothing as luxurious as our California.
Leaving Staffordshire we headed south. It was a Friday, and we left much a later than planned as work had delayed my finish. This meant our first stop was what we thought to be a quiet lane near Portishead to catch some sleep as we made our way down. Waking the next day, and stepping out of the van in my boxers for a smoke, we were outside a Halfords on a small retail park - luckily only the staff were arriving and it wasn’t in full swing. It was a chuckle moment that set the scene for what was, and still remains one of our best journeys to date.
We decided mostly to use pub car parks, with the odd camp site sprinkled in. Then, whilst there we would ask what there was to see locally - this ended up with us zig-zagging the country and covering almost 2,200 miles.
(And unusually for us extended the trip by a week, which luckily work and Cattery accommodated)
Obviously we covered both sign posts, from the commercial madness of lands end with its shops and pay to touch approach to the post, to JohnO’Groats where you rock up with no one there (well on our day anyway) and can have a Scottish square sausage sandwich and walk and touch the sticker covered post. Brilliant.
In between, so much to see. Totnes markets and Castle, Minack theatre, Gower Peninsula, Skirrid and its oldest inn and horrid history, Abbeydore and Gwatkin’s cider festival, Hadrian’s Wall, Glasgow, Glencoe, Loch Ness, Glenmorangie, Dalwhinnie, Cairngorms, Gretna - so many fabulous places and interesting people.
Point of the post. As we sit and discuss our NC500 adventure in April, we remember sometimes the best trips are those with no plan other than touch points. Letting conversation with locals and the map and the road guide you can be exciting, leading to great experiences where there was no expectation and you are left feeling amazed by the journey.
Booking places can be advantageous especially during busy months, it can also restrict the experience. Travelling one end of the country to the other, there are so many places to stay and things to do that the risk of disappointment is (in my experience) zero (and in truth, an odd night on a side street - or a sea front, is no hardship).
Lejog, I would highly recommend it. Stay safe, be respectful, enjoy the road.
