Loch Loop is not an actual Loch but a cycle loop I did and named it that. Loch Tay is 15 miles long and you can drive all the way around it. We are on the north side which is the main road and the south side is a single track road with passing places.

Last year I wanted to bike all the way around it but didn’t get round to it so this year I was determined to do it. It’s not really my kind of biking being on the road, I don’t mind the single lane quiet back roads but main roads are not my cup of tea.

So I left early one morning when the traffic is less to do the full loop. I only saw about a dozen cars while doing the north side so I knew the south side would be quiet. You see the Loch from all different points and I realised how big it is and how far you have to go.

At the east end of the Loch I stopped for a photo and then carried on around to the south side. The road goes up and down so one minute you are at water level the next you are way above looking down with great views.

The whole bike ride was 34 miles with the last mile being up hill back to base. Maybe I should have done that bit first by going the other way round.

Tufty and Scrufty are the two red squirrels who are eating the food I put out for them like it’s going out of fashion. But it’s great to see them both out on the feeders just metres away from the camper. There is even a third one about sometimes.

I put peanuts in the feeders for them and also treat them to hazel nuts in their shells. They are clever because they take the hazelnuts and run off and bury them because they have shells on them they know they are safe buried. Then they go back for the peanuts and just eat them at the feeder. I did manage to get a photo of two of them but not got all three yet.

The other day Tufty was sharing with the woodpecker and luckily there is enough food for them both to enjoy.

On the Ben Lawers road they have built some walking paths and put in picnic benches so we decided to go and have a look. It’s not complete yet but there are still plenty of walks to do. We started to walk one ( red route) and It was too much for Nikki so she turned back while I went further on. I will go back another day and do a bigger walk.

I could see a bench in the distance so decided that was my return point and then I could meet back up with Nikki. I got to the bench, sat down taking in the view and then went back down to the car and phoned Nikki to see where she was. She was sat at another bench after her flat walk and took up the offer of me picking her up in the car as I passed by.

After picking Nikki up I suggested we carry on down the valley which was where I had been on my bike before and seen a herd of Highland coo’s. The valley drive is stunning and as we rounded a bend I could see the coo’s up ahead. I love these coo’s. There were some calves and also a bloody great big bull. As they were causing a road block, it was approach gently but I wanted to get some photos.

I put the car window down and had my camera ready as I drove past very close and got a photo, the coo just staring at me. I really wanted a photo of the Big bad bull so as we drove past he was wandering up the road with one of his wives so I stopped a short distance from him and her and got out the car, but left the door open in case I had to jump back in quickly and drive off. And got the photo I wanted. I was so happy with the photo and to me it was one of the best photos I have ever taken. And the big bad bull was not bothered with me at all.

We have had a hot spell, not as hot as down south but very nice and as we are under trees it’s been a really nice temperature so the bbq has been on overtime and a cold beer has been taken.

And on the subject of food I had a lovely pie for my tea the other day. A couple who are seasonals on site were telling me about this butchers shop where they live that does pound pies. I did them a favour the other day over and above my duty. I was just being helpful but they were really grateful and said they would get me one of these pound pies from their butcher’s.

Now excuse my ignorance but I started thinking about this pound pie. I was thinking it’s not going to be very big and what’s going to be in it for a pound. Maybe all the bits that fall on the floor and are swept up at the end of the day etc.

So I did some research and found out a pound pie is actually a Scottish pie that weighs a pound not costs a pound. I did laugh and yes it was big and yes I ate it all for my tea and yes it was a very nice steak and gravy pound pie.

After my Loch loop bike ride my bike speedo was on 1993 miles which is how many miles I have done on this bike since owning it. I wanted to get a photo of it saying 2000 so had to go out and do a short ride just so I could get that photo. And to make it extra nice I got the photo outside the Killin hotel which is a great place to eat and drink but it was too early this morning.

Another walk was called for followed by lunch. So we drove to Tay forest park and started our walk up hill. Nikki was having second thoughts but I persuaded her to carry on and I would buy her lunch. The walk was a loop and only about three and half miles but did include some uphills. But she was glad she did it.

The lunch stop was a knitting and craft shop with a cafe which Nikki wanted to have a look at. I just wanted the food part of it. We sat out side with a great view of fields and mountains which made the walk seem so much nicer. After lunch Nikki had a look around the shop while I waited outside.

The wild flowers on site are still popping up all over the site and in a tub by our compound are wild strawberries which Nikki keeps eating before the birds get them. We also have raspberry bushes which again Nikki goes and picks.

As I sit here typing this blog it is raining again heavily and is set for the next couple of days. I checked the weather this morning and it said yellow rain warning. Now I have been warned about eating yellow snow but never heard about yellow rain. I just imagine it means it will be pissing down.

Tomorrow marks the 7 weeks until we shut the site. We are starting to plan our winter trip and a big change is on the cards for us. Will tell you more as the weeks go by.

We have two days off a week and look forward to them, but it’s never enough because we have so much we want to do and see and also sometimes we just want to do nothing and potter about at home.

I also check the weather for our our days off which makes a decision on what we will do. With the weather looking bad for our first day off we decided to take a drive out to a national trust property called Hill House at Helensburgh.

The house was built in 1902/1904 , designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh and his wife. It’s very art nouveau inside. The outside was clad in Portland cement which was a flawed material choice so the house was crumbling away over the years with the wind and rain.

The house was donated to the national trust in 1982 and in 2019 they clad the house in a transparent chain mail and put a huge roof over the whole house. This lets the house breathe and dry out over time so they can renovate the outside.

The structure is also a good way of viewing the outside because you can walk all around it at different levels including a Birds Eye view from above it. Nikki stayed on ground level and of course I had to do the whole experience. To get photos.

With the structure surrounding the house it meant that this was a good choice of things to do on a rain forecast day. But it didn’t rain.

The inside was very art nouveau with some great features. This made a change from a lot national trust properties which are much older.

To get to the house we drove along side Loch Lomond. A very popular place for people coming to Scotland but not the best of roads for so much traffic being narrow in a lot of places. This is fine but you get a lot of hired motorhomes with people driving them who have never driven anything bigger than a car before. And then they meet a caravan or lorry coming the other way and go into panic mode.

As we drove along the edge of the loch we saw a place called Firkin Point and it just made me laugh so much. I decided that was where we’re going to have to stop on the way back. So we did. It’s a small picnic area with an old tree on the edge of the Loch and a small beach area. Some girls were swimming in the loch.

The next day I went out on my bike. I had wanted to do a big loop for ages but my fitness was not good last year so had planned to do it this year. Again my fitness is not good, it’s a bit better than last year. I didn’t plan on doing it that day because I had not been on my bike for six weeks because we were doing other stuff.

As I went off down the hill I thought I would go towards the loop and yes you guessed I ended up doing the big loop I wanted to do. 35 miles and 3195 ft of elevation. Taking in great views and three dams and a bit of Scottish traffic ( Highland cows)

The route was 95% on single track roads of which the most was a very old road which is all broken up in places so is not used, only by farmers and mad bikers.

After getting back and having some lunch I chilled for the rest of the day but felt good and then went to work the next day for a rest. Talking of work, we only have ten weeks to go before our season is over and we shut the site up. But that’s enough talk of work, let’s talk about the last two days which we had off.

Another thing on our list of things to do on our days off was to see the Kelpies and the Falkirk wheel. We didn’t get round to seeing them last year, yesterday we went out to put this right.

The Kelpies are two giant horses heads set in the Helix visitor centre. They stand 30 metres tall and are made from stainless steal. Crafted by artist Andy Scott they pay homage to the horses that once powered scotlands industry. They are very impressive. You get a glimpse of them if you’re driving up on the M9 motorway but they are worth going to see up close. I took so many photos of them but will not bore you with all of them just a couple and an arty farty shot.

A short drive from the Kelpies is the Falkirk wheel which is a rotating boat lift connecting the Forth and Clyde canal with the Union canal. Opened in 2002 this fantastic 1800 tonne boat lift structure rotates to transport canal boats/ barges 35 metres up or down to join the canals. To do a complete circle it uses the same power as eight domestic kettles. It didn’t say how many cups of tea that is.

To stand there and watch it revolve is amazing and they don’t spill any water. We were lucky that not many people were about.

And no the boats don’t go upside down as it turns, the designers thought of that luckily. The marina at the lower level had a couple of nice old barges on.

From the Falkirk wheel we went into Stirling to do some food shopping to include some BBQ food for today because the weather people said it was going to be nice today. They lied. The weather people are the only people that constantly get their job wrong and don’t get the sack. we will see what it’s like later but I am not holding my breath. I know the rest of the U.K. is basking in higher temperatures and we are about ten degrees cooler up here in Scotland but to be honest I am happy with that as long as it’s not raining.