In Search of Sundance, Nessie ... and Paradise!: A Family Adventure Motor-Homing Through Scotland

By Simon Bennett

Have you ever wondered what it might be like to travelas one big, happy familyover one thousand miles in a motor home?

Simon Bennett did more than think about it: He decided to do it.

It all began when he and his wife, Emma, adopted a dolphin and a polar bear as gifts to give to their twin children on their eighth birthday: Jessica and Jacob.

But the determined Jessica simply had to see her adopted dolphin, which the family learned was named Sundance and lived in the Moray Firth in the highlands of Scotland, which is hundreds of miles away. (Fortunately, Jacob wasnt as determined to see his adopted polar bear in the Arctic - yet!).

Simon had but little choice to start researching, and he found a great campsite book that became his reference source to plan an expedition in a motor home to see some of Scotlands lochs, coastline, and historic places.

Laugh, learn, and celebrate with a family that embarks on an inspiring journey filled with discoveries and adventures they wont ever forget with In Search of Sundance, Nessie ... and Paradise!

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Dec 19, 2016
• ISBN: 9781524666163

Simon Bennett

Simon Bennett has degrees in politics and communications, and a PhD in the Sociology of Scientific Knowledge (Brunel University, Middlesex). He directs the Civil Safety and Security Unit (CSSU) at the University of Leicester. CSSU has over 300 MSc students. As a human factors consultant to the airlines and the military, Dr Bennett uses action research and participant observation (ethnography) to improve communication and teamwork. He has spent circa 1,350 hours on the flight deck, and is familiar with the Boeing 737 and 757 and Airbus A300, A319, A320 and A321. His books include Human Error - by design? (Palgrave-Macmillan), A Sociology of Commercial Flight Crew (Ashgate), Innovative Thinking in Risk, Crisis and Disaster Management (Gower) and How Pilots Live (Peter Lang).

Book preview

In Search of

SUNDANCE,

NESSIE…

and

PARADISE!

A Family Adventure Motor-Homing through Scotland

SIMON BENNETT

Foreword by Emma Bennett

AuthorHouse™ UK

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403 USA

www.authorhouse.co.uk

Phone: [phone]

© 2017 Simon Bennett. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,

or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 03/28/2018

ISBN: 978-1-5246-6617-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5246-6616-3 (e)

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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Contents

Foreword

The Family

Where It All Started!

The Planning Stage

Day 1 (Friday)

Day 2 (Saturday)

Day 3 (Sunday)

Day 4 (Monday)

Day 5 (Tuesday)

Day 6 (Wednesday)

Day 7 (Thursday)

Day 8 (Friday)

Day 9 (Saturday)

Day 10 (Sunday)

Day 11 (Monday)

Day 12 (Tuesday)

Day 13 (Wednesday)

Day 14 (Thursday)

Day 15 (Friday)

Day 16 (Saturday)

Back Home!

A Message To Jess And Jake

Inventory Of Souvenirs

To our two wonderful children,

Jessica Mollie (Jess) and Jacob James (Jake),

who make our life complete and give us reason.

Foreword

I know our trip is not to the most far-flung of destinations nor for the longest of durations. I know that we did not quite encounter anything that others may not have encountered too. What I also know, however, is that our adventure encapsulated an enormous amount of family bonding, shared adventuring, new experiences, and an abundance of happy memories that will stay with us forever. This was an adventure that we did together in every way, an adventure that enabled the children to grow their horizons and knowledge and us all to grow as a family.

It’s an extremely small percentage of families with young children who take to the road in motorhomes each year, but those who do will understand and appreciate the wonders that await – the raw and organic beauty of simple pleasures. We wanted to tell our story for ourselves, for ensuring no part of our most amazing adventure is ever forgotten. We also wanted to tell our story so others can share our adventure. And if our book is able to entice anyone to try something similar, then we will be very happy indeed.

We hope you enjoy reading our story nearly as much as we enjoyed living it and nearly as much as my husband, Simon (Daddy), enjoyed writing it. Who knows where our children will take us next!

—Emma (Mummy)

The Family

Yes, I guess we can be described as the typical family – Mummy (Emma), me (Simon, a.k.a. Daddy), and our two children, 10-year-old Jess (christened Jessica), who now likes to be called Jessie, and Jake (christened Jacob), her twin brother. Oh, and then there’s Harry, our rescue cat whose been with us for six years (following many months of Jess wearing down Mummy and me in her efforts to get her ginger-and-white pussycat), and Dexter, our Labradoodle pup of eighteen months. Jake originally asked for a dog when he was 6 years old, only to be told that he would have to wait until he was at least 8 years old. On his eighth birthday, he asked again. We realised then that he was not going to be deterred or placated with anything other than his chosen beast. After another six months of searching for the right one, we added Dexter to the family. We all live happily together in a three-bedroom Edwardian semi in the leafy South Manchester suburb of Bramhall.

Life’s certainly been a challenge at times, pressurised too. Our life together started when Emma and I met at the Butlins holiday camp in Minehead in the summer of 1991. I was chief redcoat, and Emma, a local Somerset girl, was the children’s face painter. After wooing her over the microphone during my stints as DJ and compère, we got together and moved north to find ‘real’ work. I’ll leave the rest of this story for another time, except to say that arriving back in the ‘real world’ was tough. Emma was 200 miles from home, and we had no money and no jobs, and we lived with my dad, who, I have to say, was bloody brilliant, as were Emma’s parents for the three months before we came north.

After another three months living for free at Dad’s, I got a poorly paid job in a hotel and leisure complex, doing all their PR and marketing. Emma supplemented with doing face-painting parties for kids. We found a small cottage to rent (we often had to pay the rent with our credit cards, as there was always too much month left at the end of the money!). We staggered forward, climbing the job ladder as best we could. Eventually, we had enough deposit to buy the cottage next door. We liked the neighbourhood, so it was ideal. And, after a few more years, we swapped with the house across the road. It was very neat indeed. All arrangements were made with simplicity and civility. On the day of the move, two removal trucks were loaded and then driven over the road in unison. There really was no other way of doing it, unless we had chosen to close the road, using it for temporary storage, all whilst praying for a dry day. We now had a larger home in which to bring up a family. We just didn’t know at the time quite how long we would have to wait for our family! (More of that later.)

We’ve had our fair share of exciting and happy times too, of course, and eventually all that goes with a growing family. As has always been the case, we’re consistently looking for the next great thing to do and finding a way to make it happen. Our friends would describe us as a family that has a glass-half-full outlook on life. Yes, exciting family adventures are what we’re about, but other times, it’s quite mundane – but that’s life, isn’t it? Nothing you would describe as out of the ordinary, but that’s the beauty of it, I guess.

Where It All Started!

It’s approaching our twins’ eighth birthday, and we’re considering what to get for them this year.

Jake will want something sporty as always. You can never have too many footballs, I hear his voice in my head telling me for the umpteenth time.

And Jess? Well, she’ll want another fluffy toy of some description, we’re sure. It always has to be something to do with animals for Jess. Looking at all the options, we eventually happen across the ideal present: Adopt-a-Dolphin. Jess has shown interest in dolphins ever since watching some wildlife programme on the television. We think this will be the perfect way to get her further engaged. As you do with twins, we have to be even-handed, so we go for Adopt-a-Polar-Bear for Jake. Big, strong, and commanding, a polar bear of his own is surely going to appeal to him. (He was to be a little disappointed, however, that there was not a little puppy wrapped up for him to open – but that would come later.)

It’s now the morning of 5 April 2013, and the table is set with cards and presents; our family and friends are incredibly generous. The scene is completed with a cake, balloons, and banners.

I love it! I love it! Jess shouts on opening up her dolphin adoption papers. She feels so fortunate to have her very own dolphin that she names it Lucky there and then. (We would learn later that the dolphin we’d adopted for her was already named Sundance.)

When are we going to see him, Mummy? Jess shouts with excitement and anticipation.

All I can do is resort to the stock answer when faced with such an awkward question: Well, I don’t know. We’ll have to see. We never imagined she’d want to go to see him. Does he really exist? Where does he live?

After many weeks and months of growing protestations, we realise that Jess is not going to be content with the wonderful pictures, poster, facts, and write-up on Sundance until she’s actually seen him. Thankfully, on further investigation, we find that Sundance is indeed a real dolphin, but he lives in the Moray Firth in the Highlands of Scotland. OK, let’s think about this, then. (At least Jake hasn’t asked to see his polar bear in the Arctic!)

The Planning Stage

We have to get to the Moray Firth. It’s more than 400 miles and at least a fifteen-hour round trip in the car. Too far for a day trip; we’ll need at least two nights’ stopover. Even at that, it just doesn’t seem to be working out. Then we’ll have to find someone to take us on a boat trip out onto the water – one who knows where to find Sundance. When can we fit it all in? Is it really feasible? Shall we try to placate Jess somehow and explain the infeasibility of it all?

Well, we do try, but we don’t get very far; Jess is not for dissuading. As far as she’s concerned, the trip is going to happen, and she is going to see Sundance. The only question she has is, When?

I’m not driving all that way just to see a dolphin, I say.

Yes, we are, Daddy, comes Jess’s determined response.

And the planning gets under way!

Well, if we’re going all that way, we’ll have to make a holiday of it. We then have a brainwave: let’s hire a motorhome and spend some time touring around Scotland. Yep, that’s it. We’ll have a true adventure, a real opportunity to spend some quality family time together, and the dog can come too.

I find a book called Camping by the Waterside by Stephen Neale with a foreword by Martin Dorey, whom I really like a lot from his Camper Van Coast book and the spin-off TV series. A quick flick through the pages reveals some quite stunning locations that welcome dogs and give the opportunity for motorhomes to be pitched right on the shores of the lochs and close to the beaches when we’re on the coast. This will be ideal; we love being on the water. We have two sit-on-top kayaks with which we have had such fun over the last three years or so on our many trips to North Wales and the Lake District. There’s just one problem; we can’t find a motorhome that will carry our kayaks, so we have to shift to plan B and end up purchasing a pair of two-person inflatable kayaks. We just can’t be by all that water and not get out onto it.

The campsite book becomes my bible and key reference source around which I plan our expedition. I didn’t envisage we would go further north than the Moray Firth, but on thumbing through the pages, I can’t resist including some of the most amazing beaches and panoramas there to be seen and enjoyed. One such campsite destination, Traigh na Beirigh, is right on the most incredible beach, which Stephen Neale describes seductively: ‘My favourite campsite of them all. No pictures or words can do it justice. Just promise to see it for yourself before you die.’

High praise indeed, but this beach in on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, and we’re not going that far up. Stephen’s words keep nagging at me, however – until the point I check out the sea-crossing details. We would have to get to Stornoway by car ferry from the mainland Highlands. Well, we can’t not include it on our itinerary, can we? So, ferry booked, I duly call the campsite to make our booking.

Hello there, can I please book to stay on your campsite for two nights? I say with excited anticipation of our time in paradise.

Och, what? What do you want? comes the rather curt response.

I want to book to stay on your campsite please, I plead.

I’ll pass you over to my husband, the woman says eventually. Thank goodness, I think. We’re starting to make some headway …

Hello, can I help? I now hear the unmistakable Scottish tones of her husband.

Yes, can I please book to bring my family in our motorhome to stay on your campsite please?

Silence. Then the Scottish tones start up again, obviously having not computed my request: What do you want? We’re not open.

No, I don’t want to come just now but at Easter, I try again.

Sorry, we can’t take bookings. Thank you. Goodbye. And the phone goes dead.

Undeterred, I resolve that we will drive up regardless and all will be fine on arrival.

The only other campsites we haven’t booked are in Ullapool, where we are to catch the ferry to Stornoway the following morning, and Arisaig, on the far West Highlands coast. Both campsites laughed when I tried to book, saying there would be no problem with space for our motorhome and to simply turn up, choose a pitch, and settle up when we left. OK, if that’s how it’s done, that’s what we’ll do.

All but three campsites linking us right the way up, and back down again, are now in place, all courtesy of Stephen’s excellent appraisals – except for the fact Stephen’s book doesn’t identify any campsite on the Moray Firth; thanks, Stephen! This necessitated me to resort to Google, where I eventually settled on a campsite right on the beach between Fortrose and Rosemarkie on the Black Isle on a mile-long stretch of the bay they call the Dolphin Mile. That’ll do for us. Hee-hee.

Our route will start in Loch Lomond, as this is about four hours’ drive from home – feasible and long enough for our first leg. Then we’ll be travelling up to Loch Ness. The kids will love looking out for Nessie – in fact we watch some documentaries and clips on YouTube about the monster before we set off, suitably whetting the appetite and raising the excitement factor. Then from there it will be up to find Sundance and onto paradise.

*     *     *

With the route sorted, I now set about finding a motorhome. My goodness, there are so many options. The one we find that we believe will work best for us is a six berth with a double bed over the cab. This double-bed area will be ideal for Jess and Jake; they’ll love it, as it’ll be like a den for them or maybe that ‘tree house’ I’ve always promised them. We can also leave it as a bed during the day too. I can’t stand all that reconfiguring from day to night to day. What’s more, this choice of motorhome has a four-seater dining table in the central kitchen area. This is where the kids will sit on journeys; they can use the table to do their colouring or watch films on their DVD player when bored of taking in the scenery. The rear section has a lounge we can all sit in during the evenings or during the days when it’s wet outside! At night, this will become Emma’s and my bedroom quite easily. And the dog? Well, we can just about fit his crate in the dining area. Yep, all seems like it will work well for our trip. Now what more do we need to do?

I leave it to Emma to organise the food, clothes, and other essentials. To be fair, Emma revels in this role and gets us all sorted with great efficiency. It’s left to me to do the core logistics of our trips – where we are