Smoo. Cool name. Small place. We camped in the Smoo Cave Hotel and ate there too. The hotel’s seasonal cliental is a curious mix. Hard living locals at their only watering hole, playing pool, the juke box, and probably having a scrap now and then. And rather genteel tourists feeling out of place but excited […]
The Cornish Wanderer
The Crask Inn
I intend to keep stories short and sweet, ideally a weekly catch up, but this lonely place deserves its own post. The Crask Inn. Lairg. The Crask Inn could be Britain’s most remote inn. It’s certainly one of the most rewarding. Of course any measure of extremes depends on the author, so let me set […]
The Anderson and other adventures.
The Anderson. Fortrose, on the Black Isle. The Anderson does little to tempt you in. No lights. A closed door. A sense of foreboding. And the grime of years leaving windows looking abandoned. Thankfully we didn’t let that put us off and pushed at an entrance that might have been barred for a decade. All […]
Oh beautiful England
Please see this as a speed read through the social whirl that got us to where the adventure really began. St Just. Granite. Tears as we pull away on such a beautiful day. We’ll be back, and I’m sure it’ll be just as odd (please let it be so). Land’s End. We had to start […]
Preparing for a big trip. Excitement and nervousness dealt in equal measure.
Excitement and nervousness dealt in equal measure. The ArchieVan project started with ambitious long term goals. An extended trip that would involve a complete life change. Leaving jobs, selling the business, leaving our home. 18 months ago the idea felt daunting, but easy to put to the back of our minds. Today it is 100% […]
Trevedra Farm – keeping it local.
Proving that you don’t have to drive miles to have a great time in your van, we spent the bank holiday weekend at our favourite local site. ArchieVan updates. The weekend was to be our last opportunity to test the (very nearly) finished van before we hit the road on a long term trip. The […]