Day 1: Location - Ballater

A decent dog walk is how we start every day; getting the legs moving and the blood flowing is a good way to kick start the brain and the body. The best plans are always made when pacing through the woods watching the dogs go wild. The dogs are a big part of how we structure our days and our adventures, whether they are a part of them or not.

On this day, Floki came with us to the crags at the Pass of Ballater for some trad climbing. She was the perfect companion, dotting about the hillside in the sun while we scoped out the routes. We had a chilled day in the strong September sun and climbed some awesome routes at varied grades until it was time to meander back to the van to check on Kida.

Day 2: Location - AM: Ballater, PM: Loch Garten

The sun at the Pass of Ballater gave us the bug for some more warm climbing, so we headed up to a quarry we had heard about at Cambus O’May forest. It is well away from any roads so we could bring both dogs and let them romp around together in the undergrowth. The man-made shape of the massive quarry in the hillside was strange, with the three flat sides of the quarry stretching up around us. It was almost imposing! We got some cool routes done before the sun disappeared and the midges chased us away.

When we got back to the van we thought the dogs would be flat out for the rest of the day but Floki was eager to make some more plans for the afternoon!

Greg squeezed in a quick campus board session before we moved on to Loch Garten for some evening slacklining. But finding a good spot can be tricky! We needed some clear, flat(ish) ground and two decent sized trees at the right distance apart. After a lot of searching through the woods, we realised that the thick heather made a decent landing mat (even if it was a little scratchy!). It also added the comforting illusion that the ground was actually closer than it was! We messed about on the line until the light began to fade and our stomachs were rumbling.

Day 3: Location - Loch Rannoch

We chased the good weather towards Loch Tummel and Rannoch in search of some dry tarmac. We had a road-biking route planned that stretches around the shores of Loch Rannoch and then up a decent climb on the base of Schiehallion. It was awesome to have enough room in the van to have both sets of bikes with us all the time - ready for any opportunity! The route turned out to be a fun loop with lovely views but also a brisk wind that made us happy to have brought some extra layers along for the ride.

Day 4: Location - Assynt

Arriving in the Assynt hills late at night made for some spectacular starry views looking out towards Stac Pollaidh. We looked out of the back of the van at the same skyline in the morning, planning a run up Cùl Mòr in search of some cool rock formations we’d seen in pictures.

After a lunchtime training session from the van we headed into the hills. As we ascended there was some strong winds blowing heavy cloud over the high point to the summit, but once we dropped back down and out of the fog, we were blessed with some cool looking rock features and even better views of the setting sun over Suilven. You couldn’t ask for a better mountain experience, which we glowed about as we smugly trotted back to the van with Floki dotting about around us.

Day 5: Location - Coigach

A chilled day of dog cuddles and more coffee lead to an evening of paddle boarding and open-water swimming in the cold Loch Lurgainn as the sun went down behind Sgurr an Fhidhleir. The best thing about basing ourselves from the van is that even on the days when you don’t get up to much, you can be surrounded by breathtaking views and lose hours just gazing around and taking in the landscape.