Initially we was only going to spend the one night and start back down South later the next day, but as the weather was meant to be so nice we decided to make it two nights. I'm so glad we did, on Wednesday we took a very long walk along Balnakeil Bay with the hot sun beaming and it felt like we were on a tropical island! Who would of thought we'd have pictures like these from the North coast of Scotland!?
One toe in the sea though soon put Ryan straight on the idea of going for a swim so we made do with lying on the beach smiling instead! :)
The are many traditions about Wedding Cake, many of which seem to include keeping it for many years which we're not in a position to do. Instead we thought it would be nice to bury the last slice in the most Northerly point of our hike where we were feeling happiest with the Holiday. Being Pagan I like the idea that a symbol of our love and union has been returned to the Earth for safekeeping and can help things grow in such a beautiful place. When looking around for a spot to bury it in I found a white feather in the grass so, reading it as a sign, I used that spot and kept the feather for tying to my staff with the other symbols I've received over the years. Below is a panorama from the very spot of our buried cake!
As the sky was still clear, at night we wrapped up warm and walked over to the observation point on the cliffs away from the lights of the camp site to do some stargazing. We've always lived in rural areas so are used to having a good sky full of stars but this was really something else! The Milky Way was so clear as a line over our heads, we lost count of the number of satellites that tracked past and saw no less than 8 shooting stars! It's always a humbling experience when faced with something of such magnitude when we as humans are so small, and we lay there on the ground for ages sharing ideas and our wonder of the cosmos.
Thursday morning we got packed up, done another load of washing before we left and then headed South for the journey home. We drove through the mountains and joined the A9 south to Inverness, then decided we might as well keep going and got as far as Pitlochry. We were a bit late arriving for the shops so spent the night in a car park from the camp spot list and done our last bit of souvenir shopping first thing in the morning. It was a soggy morning for everyone, including this wee Robin who I felt sorry for and fed with some oats! We also visited the Heather Gem factory where they make jewels from dyed, compressed and polished heather twigs. They really are beautiful things and Ryan treated me to a Celtic style necklace with a green gem in the centre for my Birthday!
That day we pushed on as far as we could South and ended up at a spot near Stoke on Trent for the night, that meant that we could have a nice leisurely day on Saturday. We found a nice pub to stay at called The Wharf Inn at Fenny Compton that also has a camp site next to the canal and also offer a free meal if it's your birthday - bonus! :D
On Sunday we made the most of our last morning away, just enjoying our time together and eating pancakes for breakfast! We then made the short drive home and as the roads turned into ones we recognised I felt a strange mix of happy anticipation and sadness. What a trip it has been, we've both really gotten into the swing of living on the road and exploring places so can't wait for our next adventure...
Lovely blog Sarah, more great pictures and I love the cake/white feather exchange! xxx
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