Several days in Scotland, snowy trip home.

I wouldn't even have attempted it Kate ! You did well to get there safely. The only thing I don't like is those windmills and think they spoil the countryside.

We almost did Rose. We left in the afternoon and got there at 11pm. The darkness, the flooded roads and adverse weather, combined with not really knowing the area we were diverted along! I think what kept us going was that my two nieces, 16 and 14, were keen to see us!
I agree about the wind turbines, we noticed there were so many of them all along the journey. I know they are beneficial, but, they tend to mar the beautiful scenery.

I'm glad you had a nice warm welcome on your arrival Kate you needed it after that horrendous journey . we have loads of those wind turbines in our sea off the coast I hate the look of them they do spoil the coast and views ..

It was quite a journey both ways, Julia, however the way up to Scotland was the worst of the two. I agree though, some wintry scenery can produce great pics.
Thanks Amy, we did sleep well that night! Yes, there just seems to be so many wind turbines on the coast and in the country!

Ooh, I can almost feel that cold misty weather! You did experience weather in many of its forms!
I am sure it was all worthwhile when you met up with your family. We also have family in Ayrshire, they live on the coast at Troon.

Glad you are home safely Katie.
The A69 can be very 'interesting' when driving conditions are dubious. We use that route when we go up to Kielder Reservoir sailing.
They say if you are in Scotland and don't like the weather, wait 20 mins and then see if you like it.

Love your photos, very atmospheric! Glad you made the trip without mishap.

Hi Kate, glad you had a nice warm reception, you deserved it after all that, I have relatives in Scotland, but it must be nearly 50 years since I last visited, and have lost touch with them, as children we used to go up regularly, and had some nice holidays there, and we never seemed to have any rain in those days, nice to hear that your journey home was in daylight, I hate driving at night, even locally, Derek.

Glad you arrived home safe and dry. Just think, just after the war cars (if you were lucky enough to get one) had no heaters. And our first one had a hole in the floor - no MOT in those days!

Thanks Wildrose, it was worthwhile to see the family. Ayrshire tends to be quite a wet county, my parents don’t live too far from Troon.

Eileen, thankfully we got there safely and returned home safely too. I definitely agree, we did see every type of weather possible while there, especially within 24 hours!
Sailing at Kielder Reservoir sounds amazing!

Thank you Feverfew, that’s kind. It was certainly an atmospheric journey too.

Derek, thank you for your kind regards. I think as we get older, we often drift away from cousins etc. I have cousins in Scotland I haven’t seen in years despite visiting twice a year. I also dislike nighttime driving, as you say, even locally.

Thanks Sue, you are so right about post war cars, we are lucky to have mod cons to make travel easier!

A66 can be a lovely drive, but probably not this time of year. Got my one and only, (so far) driving endorsement on there. Was trying to overtake a car and ended on the wrong side of the double white lines, trouble was police car coming the other way, still learnt my lesson.
Ayrshire is a lovely county, we used to work the western isles whilst fishing and landed in Troon and Ayr.

Hi Davey, you’re right - the a66 is quite a scenic drive. We often see the police sat on the bridges over the m74, fingers crossed so far we’ve been ok! Saying that, it’s easy to be caught out.
The west coast where I’m originally from is nice, but usually wet. I had a brolly in my bag every day of the year. The east coast is much drier. We sometimes take a drive right up the west coast when we are visiting family, Oban is lovely too.

So brave of you to even attempt it in the first place......I can’t say I enjoy winter travelling, and being diverted can be a nightmare.......happened to us last week...the diversion turned out worse than the holdup on the motorway...my OH said he would never ever take notice of “that woman” on Google Maps again...lol!
Lovely photos Kate, pleased you had a better journey back......

Thanks Dd, we were in two minds on the way up. It was OH driving, it takes a lot to put him off, but this was not pleasant for him. My heart was in my mouth at times.
I think we’d agree with your OH in regards to the satnav woman, she sent us on a bit of a miserable 45 minutes or more detour which ended up with a road closure half way up.. in the dark and flooded dips. Each car we passed and vice versa just covered the whole car with rain water.

What a journey..horrendous! I bet you were glad to get home! I am in Dorset....its raining. :(

It must have been stressful for you. That said your photos are full of atmosphere and capture well the scene of Winter.

I was exhausted just from reading your narrative Kate. I hope you are well rested with lots of fond memories.

Karen, it was quite a journey. Usually takes 4 and a half to 5 hours, but in the way up it took almost 8. The homeward journey was better as it was daylight, but, like we all know, the weather here can change within a few miles.
Hope you’re enjoying your trip despite the rain! Safe journey on your way back too, it’s a long one!

Thanks, Legion. I’m surprised the pics turned out ok from the passenger seat while whizzing past the scenery!

Bathgate, it was a lovely visit with my parents. My sister lives a few miles away, right on the coast - she visited us with her husband and my nieces. Plus one of my paternal aunts had us over for lunch whilst the other paternal aunt had us over to see her new bungalow. Both aunts live very close to my parents. Lovely to catch up. We are all going to Ireland in July for a week to celebrate my parents 50th wedding anniversary. My parents tend to go over there once a year to meet up with relatives who live there. Also, several other family members who travel from other parts of the UK usually join them for the week.
I bet after reading my little blog you felt like you’d travelled up to Scotland and back along with me! ;-D

Thanks Kate. I just hope the trains can still get through York by Monday!

Kate my dear, I don't know whether to say you were brave, or naughty for doing that, lol.. All's well that ends well though and would have been lovely to meet up with your family. Do like the photo's, as said they are very atmospheric...

I have to agree with you Lincslass (Sue) - looking back it was quite stressful, especially in the darkness of the Dales! Next time, we’d turn around I’d think.
Thanks for liking the pics!

Kate sounds like the treacherous commute was quickly forgotten once you arrived. Great to reunite with family. What town in Ireland do your parents visit? My family is from Donegal in the upper west. I've visited them a couple times. Once I had to take the ferry from Holy Head to Dublin, then a 6 hour bus ride to Donegal and a tangle with the IRA. Can we talk about a lousy commute? Lol! All worth it once I got there.

Hi Bathgate, the town they visit is called Newcastle, County Down. It’s on the coast and quite close to the Mourne mountains.
My paternal grandmother was 8 years old if I recall, when she and her family moved across to North Lanarkshire in Scotland. She was the eldest of 8 children. My favourite pic of her is during the war, she was small in stature, jet black hair with the 1940s quiffed, pinned up hair and wearing vivid red lipstick.
I’m more like my Scottish maternal grandmother, fair and blue eyed.
Sounds like you had an adventure with drama injected on your trip! Narrow escape? As you say, worth the stress of the journey to get to your destination!
( small, narrow bendy roads over in this part of the world take forever to navigate! )

Well, we have had a mixture of weather here in Scotland. No flooding but I am doing a portrait in Ayr which involves driving across the moors from Glasgow. Each time I have left sunshine, driven through a blizzard to beautiful sunshine again.

Hi Linda, not the Eaglesham moors is it? If so, I remember when I was in my 20s driving that route to the cinema in East Kilbride now and then ( just for a change of cinema !) and thinking it was like a scene from the Hounds of the Baskervilles, with the thick fog! Always at night, always thick fog!
Yes, I didn’t see any flooding in Ayrshire, just rain, sleet, sunshine, blue skies, black skies, flurry of snow - you know how it is, a quick change of weather every 20 mins :-D
Hope you have a safe drive over to Ayr.

Wow... quite a journey...
thanks, Kate, for sharing your photos.

It surely was, thank you for liking the pics, Terratoonie.