The GPS Blog| Activity | Activity date | Activity description |
|---|---|---|
| The Golden Road - East Harris | 2022-05-14 | A visit to Tarbet and then back south along the "golden road". Lots of theories as to why it is called "golden" but most likely is the cost.
The landscape is very "lunar" for much of the route - lots of rocks and some moorland.
An otter spotted us before we made a quick escape.
For about 25 miles of single track road, there seems to be absolutely no part that is either straight or on the flat. Very much a 2nd and 3rd gear road.
Lots of cyclists in the Outer Hebrides but we only saw 2 on this road - daft sods!
The recorded average speed of 19.9 mph includes the "easy" road back up the west side of the island.
Tags:
East Harris
|
| Luskentyre Sands - a new favourite | 2022-05-14 | Scooby Hound in love with the beach at Luskentyre Sands on Harris.
Miles and miles of pristine sand with views across to Taransay.
Tags:
West Harris
|
| Colyton - muddy - very muddy! | 2016-03-04 | Round the rebellious village of Colyton. Muddy. Very muddy. Like a muddy year at Glastonbury - say 1984 perhaps - but without 30000 people off their heads.
Oh - and Scooby didn't like the hail at the end of the walk but he did enjoy the run about on Beer beach afterwards. A dip or two in the sea cleaned off a lot of the mud from him.
Tags:
East Devon
|
| Weymouth to Topsham | 2016-11-14 | From Weymouth round Portland Bill to Topsham at the top of the Exe.
Stage three in bringing Derek H's new Fulmar back to the Exe.
With very big Spring tides, we took the offshore route around the East Shambles buoy and a few miles off Portland Bill.
With the wind pretty much on the nose after we turned west, we motored most of the way back from Portland Bill.
With the wind varying between 12 and 20 knots against us and 1 or 2 knots of tide with us, the first half of the journey back to the Exe (after Portland Bill) was a little bouncy at times.
We reached the Exe just as it got dark - the trip back up the Exe in the dark and with big tides was interesting! With the Exe's mix of lit and unlit buoys and moorings encroaching on the channel, I really wouldn't recommend going up the Exe at night without local knowledge!
Tags:
East Shambles
|
| Prawle Point and The Pigs Nose Pub | 2018-09-01 | Down to Prawle Point - the most southerly point in Devon and a headland well known to sailors!
Pint at the Pigs Nose pub.
Tags:
East Prawle
|
| Budleigh to Otterton hound walk | 2020-06-19 | Scooby's been complaining about "just going round the block" so we took him for a stroll from Budleigh Salterton to Otterton via East Budleigh (birthplace of Sir Walter Raleigh).
Didn't see any beavers in the Otter River but did see their teeth marks on trees.
Tags:
East Budleigh
|
| Newark Bay and Point of Ayre | 2026-05-24 | A hound beach walk while using up time waiting for the evening's ferry to Shetland.
Tye liked the beach at Newark Bay - he preferred that bit of the walk to the section along the top of the coastline to the Point Of Ayre.
Tags:
East mainland
|
| Slains Castle | 2026-06-12 | Stopped off on the way to Fraserburgh to have a look at Dracula's Castle (i.e. the 2nd Slains Castle).
Interesting history - https://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/crudenbay/slainscastle/index.html - built after the original Slains Castle was destroyed and added to over the centuries. But abandoned and in disrepair for over a century now.
Tags:
North East Scotland
|
| Potarch Bridge - meeting old friends | 2026-06-12 | Off the Lerwick to Aberdeen ferry at 07:00 and along to the river Dee to Potarch Bridge to meet one of Liz's childhood friends.
Arrived a couple of hours early so went for a short stomp around the local woods.
Met Claire D and Colin at Potarch Cafe - logon for photos. First meet up in over 20 years!
Tags:
North East Scotland
|
| Newburgh Seal Beach | 2026-06-12 | You'd think after 5 weeks in Orkney and Shetland we'd have had enough "seal spotting" but a stop off at Newburgh Seal Beach proved otherwise. Hundreds of them hauled out on the beach for a rest at the entrance to the River Ythan estuary.. A lot of eider ducks as well. Some grand dunes on the beach and the misplaced WWII defences showing how much they move over time.
On our return, we saw a Scottish wedding party taking photos at the local beauty spot - seems to be a Scottish thing as we saw the same at The Bridge to Nowhere at Dunbar the last time we were in Scotland.
Tags:
North East Scotland
|
| Drumnadrochit | 2026-06-13 | From Fraserburgh, a pleasant drive along the A96 and the Moray Firth. Got a bit gnarly round Inverness with some roadworks and a sudden plague of roundabouts.
Now at the very nice Lock Ness Bay campsite after having gone looking in Drumnadrochit for somewhere to eat. Confusingly, the Lewiston Arms is now the Loch Ness Inn - presumably because if you look at the word Inn all squinty and with just the right font it could just look like nessie. Or not.
Tags:
North East Scotland
|
| Glen Affric and Dog Falls | 2026-06-14 | A good walk round three Scottish forestry ancient Caledonian pinewood walks in Glen Affric. Another case of going back to Liz's childhood holidays.
Then we tried Plodda Falls which was a big mistake - worst road we've ever subjected our poor campervan to!
Tags:
North East Scotland
|
| Fraserburgh | 2026-06-12 | OK - so Fraserburgh wasn't our bestest ever choice for a night's stopover. We didn't really give it a fair chance - it was raining and the food wasn't too inspiring (please no - not another fish and chips!). And then the Friday night boy racers in their "hot" hatches were all parked up just near us.
But, then again, the beach is great and the hound liked it.
The size of some of the trawlers in the harbour is thought provoking though.
Tags:
North East Scotland
|
| Pitlochry and Black Spout | 2026-06-15 | Down from Drumnadrochit to Pitlochry on the A82 alongside Loch Ness and the Caledonian Canal. Then the A86 along Glen Spean and the A9 though Glen Garry. All very picturesque and Scottish!
Into Pitlochry for some wandering and lunch.
We did a short walk from Pitlochry to a local viewing point which left us a little underwhelmed. We weren't expecting "herds of wildebeest sweeping majestically across the plain" (TM) but maybe the views on the morning's drive had raised our expectations too high! Then on to the Black Spout waterfall that met with our approval.
Tags:
North East Scotland
|
| Edinburgh | 2026-06-16 | Doing the tourist thing in Edinburgh. Princes Street, Royal Mile and Calton Hill.
Didn't bother with going in to the castle itself.
Good buses from the campsite (Mortonhall) to the centre of Edinburgh and Tye does appear to now be bus trained!
Oh - and my vertigo didn't enjoy driving over the Queensferry Bridge on the way to Edinburgh.
Tags:
North East Scotland
|
| Arthur's Seat | 2026-06-17 | Another stomp around Edinburgh - this time with the aim of getting Liz back to Arthur's Seat.
Stopped at Holyrood for a coffee and a laugh at the entrance prices for the Palace.
Then on to Arthur's Seat where I "mutinied" a little below the summit and sat it out with the hound. Liz marched onwards and upwards.
Then back via the Royal Mile.
Tags:
North East Scotland
|
