We set off on Monday Aug 20th for a camping trip round the Scotland. First stop was the Orkney Islands off the North coast of Scotland. We took the train from Glasgow to Thurso - the journey took us through the Grampian mountains and up the east coast through glens and lochs, it was absolutely stunning, and we got 4 seasons in one day along the way! We got the ferry across to Stromness on Orkney and we pitched our borrowed tent in the darkness and pouring rain!

The tent was very old and we hadn't used this type of tent before, however we managed to get it up eventually, just as it started raining, and without getting a divorce!

We spent the next few days exploring the island on foot and discovering some of the old archeaolgical sites that are on the island from around Pictish times- some 5000 years ago. The site at Skara Brae was amazing, as were the standing stones of Stenness and the Ring of Brodgar (al of which are connected - worth googling to find out more, if history is your kind of thing)

We then headed to isle of Hoy and did a fantastic 17 km walk to the wee town of Rackwick and had a great picnic at the beach there. This was the best day weather wise and the views of the surrounding islands were awesome.

After 5 days on the Orkneys, we got the train to Inverness on the mainland and hired a car. We then drove to the very north western tip of Scotland through the Highlands, and camped at a wee place called Durness. The campsite was on a huge cliff right on the edge of the sea and the beaches below had golden sands being pounded by the raging north sea. Whilst in Inverness we bought a new tent and we managed to take nearly 2 hours to pitch the new tent in a howling gale!! We managed to pitch it inside out - twice!! - before getting it right. It was a wild night so the new tent was a good investment. The drive to Durness was simply breathtaking- every corner we turned we saw something different,and with the changing weather conditions we took some great snaps of the landscapes and seascapes.

After Durness we drove 80 mile south to Ullapool and got the ferry to the Outer Hebrides, which are a set of remote islands of the west coast of Scotland. We arrived on Saturday night and were fortunate enough to see a Scottish Ceiligh band, playing on the spur of the moment, in the bar on the ferry over.

Sunday is a day of nothing on the island as they are very religious,so we didn't see many locals or get much of a vibe for the place.

We did a great walk on the cliffs of Lewis right on the tip of the island, then we visited the standing stones of Callanish which again go back to Pictish times. These stones were laid in a cross/crucifix type shape and were used for some kind of ceremony back then. It was quite spooky and again we had sun, then rain and clouds as we stood there.

From there we headed by ferry to the Isle of Skye where we had 3 days of walking and exploring the island. Some of the walks were brilliant and the views were awesome. we did the old man of storr walk, a walk along the cliffs in ramasaig, and the quirang. The signs were so hard to find and all in gaellic so it got a bit tricky at times to find them but they were so rewarding.

We were planning on doing a walk on the wednesday near the cullin hills but it started pouring so after a few calls, we were in the car and on a 6hr drive back to Glasgow to watch the mighty Celtic play in a very important Champions League match. This was Kate's first visit to Celtic Park and Peter hadn't been since 2002. The game was one of the best and most exciting with Celtic going through after a dramtic penalty shoot-out. We got back to Glasgow and Peter's parents house at 12.30am after leaving Skye at 12pm on Wednesday - a long day but a great day!

We then drove all the way up through the Highlands the next day to Eillan Donan castle - once home to the McRae clan,Kate's ancestors. We toured round the castle and took in all the history, and Kate had a great day wandering round the home of her forefathers!

We then headed to Glen Coe to camp out and visited the local pub where we had great food (haggis for Peter!) and a few beers. We did a small walk at Glen Coe and visited the monument of the Glen Coe massacre, where 38 of the McDonald clan were killed by the Campbells which gave it a spooky atmosphere- the surrounding mountains were just breathtaking but unfortunately the rain was too heavy the next day to do a longer walk. we would love to go back there one day!

That was the trip finished. We had a great time camping and walking. The freedom of wandering round such beautiful islands and mountains made it probably the highlight of the trip so far. The campsites were great also, with hot showers! Occasionally we treated ourselves to a break from the usual pasta, rice and bread for some delicious smoked salmon or poiddas bacon & egg rolls. The weather was good and bad but that just made it an even more 'Scottish' experience really!