Loch Lomond & the Trossachs

We woke up on our last morning in the Lake District to lovely sunshine. Alas overnight the temperature had also dropped and our previously sodden tent was frozen solid! All the cold and rain also meant that it was impossible to dry out anything, and all our bedding was getting cold and damp.

We decided we needed to reset everything. So, in our next location, the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs national park in Scotland, we rented a small self catering cottage for three nights.

It was absolute bliss! On our first night we cranked up the heating and did several loads of washing. We even set up the damp wet tent to dry in the front room.

And the next day we were treated to a beautiful sunny day while we explored the national park.

We decided to go for a walk up Ben A'an, a smallish mountain that we had read promised amazing views from the summit. It started as a gentle uphill ascent through lush forest before turning into a final rocky climb.

The views from the top were absolutely amazing. Because of the cold weather we have been having, the distant highland mountains were all snow topped, and with the blue sky, deep blue lochs and autumnal coloured forests it was just a perfect scene.

And we have been able to get all our bedding and our tent clean and dry, ready for the next campsite! Although, something we didn't reckon on, is that a lot of campsites are now closed for winter. We haven't been able to find a single campsite near our next stop, Inverness, that is open. Not wanting to spend a fortune on more B&B's, we have checked into a youth hostel! We'll let you know how that goes!