Blogging at 21:00 on Monday 23rd December from intended overnighting spot N 54.68320°, W 02.74502° / http://maps.google.com/maps?q=loc:54.68320%2C-02.74502
This year's escape-from-the-madness-of-Christmas trip was basically a toss-up between the west coast of Ireland and northern France: so here we are heading for the southern Hebridean islands of Islay and Jura.
It's a long story.
In fairness, the Southern Hebrides has been a destination we've courted before, but never quite achieved. As part of the decision-making process, we factored in the time of year. We know that the area takes quite a hit from motorcaravan-based tourism during the warmer seasons, so figured we might hopefully benefit from the increased levels of tolerance under the slightly rickety canopy of the Season of Good Will.
Islay and Jura are supposed to be extremely good for wildlife year-round so - assuming good fortune and reliable ferries - we hope to do what we do in spite of the fairy lights, tinsel and Jesus.
In order to try to make the most of nature watching during the long dark evenings, we've invested in a thermal-imaging camera to complement our daytime optics. It's a handy thing and just to give an idea of its capabilities the attached pic was of the lorry in full darkness about an hour after parking up.
Speaking of parking up, after a pretty routine and murky journey over the A66, we're now hunkered at the coordinates shown, which is a place that's previously served us well. Tomorrow we'll be into new overnighting territory in anticipation of taking on a parkrun on Christmas Day.
Sent from my mobile device