To Scotland and Freedom!

It was hard to get our heads around the fact that the build was finally over. The UniMog was complete save for a few bits and pieces that could be finished off on the road. We could finally leave the workshop and remind ourselves what the world outside was like. It didn’t seem real.

We crept out of the workshop, blinking in the light, and headed straight for the nearest fuel station ready for our long journey south. It seemed strange to see the UniMog outdoors

As we slowly drove the long motorways away from Durham and towards Warwickshire, lumbering along at 50 miles an hour in our new 24 year old HGV, it felt as though a cloud was lifting from our shoulders. We arrived at my Mum’s house feeling as light as a feather, breathing in the fresh air and basking in the sunlight

We took a few days to admire our creation….

It was looking good

Even the garage had been decked out with shelving and straps to keep our tools and spares tidy

James spent a whole morning diligently cleaning the outside

All the neighbours came round for a viewing

And quite a few friends drove quite a long way to come and visit. Everyone seemed impressed, it looked as though all our work and effort was going to be worthwhile.

After a few days of rest and relaxation with my Mum it was finally time to set off on our new adventure. We were planning some time in Scotland to test everything out and make sure there were no gremlins. I had never been to Scotland before apart from a couple of visits to Edinburgh and it had been on my bucket list for a long time.

We packed everything we owned into our new cupboards and drawers, hugged my Mum and pointed the UniMog north

The freedom of the open road was beckoning

Our first night living in BigMog was bliss. Everything just worked, from the induction cooking

To the air fryer

To the comfortable seats, the hot and cold water, the composting toilet and the shower. The first of using everything was nerve wracking, especially the toilet which was a rather strange experience.

And as we settled into the most luxurious and comfortable bed we had ever slept in, it seemed that life was finally going our way once again

When we travel in Henry we get a lot of attention with people coming over to chat and have a look around. It’s fun and it’s a good way to get to know both the locals and other travellers.

Whilst there is definitely something special about a fully-kitted out Landrover thousands of miles from home, it has nothing on a beautifully built 7.5 tonne, fully kitted out UniMog expedition truck. We are literally besieged wherever we go – this must be what it feels like to be famous. We see people surreptitiously taking photos or videoing us as we drive past. People drive up the road after us and stop to ask for a look around. In this first two weeks of our journey we must have had at least a dozen people coming inside to see what it looks like and if we’re not already famous on Scottish social media it won’t be long before we are!

As we woke up on our first morning, we had no idea what was in store for us. A group of off-roaders in their Landrovers had come into the campsite the previous evening and set up around us. The farmer himself was out and about on his tractor. As soon as we opened our door to greet the day they all surrounded us, broad smiles on their faces, compliments flowing, mouths agape. Even the Landrover owners said they had truck envy

We chatted for over an hour before having to prise ourselves away.

We were still in England at this point, Scotland is a long way from Warwickshire for a UniMog who’s top speed is around 53mph. Our first stop was to be Alnwick Castle, seat of the Duke and Duchess of Northumberland.

We drove into the small town of Alnwick in our huge truck, still in the early stages of getting used to its size. It was a little disconcerting wondering whether we’d get stuck in narrow streets, come across a low bridge or simply cause annoyance to other vehicles as we lumber along – not to mention the difficulty of finding a car park that has no height restrictions, has spaces big enough to squeeze into and allows lorries.

We headed for the main car park near the castle to find plenty of space but signs saying no HGVs. With little choice and more than a little hopefulness we decided to park up anyway – it’s not as though we are a commercial lorry, BigMog is quite cute really

For the first time but very definitely not the last, the character played by Will Ferrell in the film Elf came to mind as we looked at him sitting there, far too big for the space and towering over the other cars in the car park. Bless him!

Alnwick Castle is spectacular and we spent most of the day wandering around admiring the architecture and the pristine grounds

Inside was just as impressive and has been used to film a variety of films and TV programmes including Harry Potter and Downton Abbey – but sadly no photos allowed, you’ll have to take my word for it.

We were amazed at how beautifully everything was maintained and presented and I commented to James that I would not like to have to look after such a huge estate

We found out from a guide that the family own 100,000 acres around the castle along with significant other land holdings across the country. We stopped worrying about the cost of maintaining the whole thing after that but still could not bring ourselves to envy the enormous responsibility that owning such a magnificent, historic building must bring

I had my first scone and cream of the trip at Alnwick and still haven’t managed to better it – despite numerous valiant efforts.

Later that afternoon we drove across the border and finally made it into Scotland. We booked into an aire surrounded by peaceful countryside

Where we opened a bottle of champagne bought by my sister to celebrate the official first night of our new journey

The next morning we drove up the east coast a short way to the pretty fishing village of St Abbs. As we neared the car park at the harbour the roads got increasingly narrow and winding. James was concerned that we might get stuck with no way to turn around but in the end we decided that we couldn’t spend the rest of our travelling days too worried to go anywhere so we pressed on.

We had a hair-raising moment passing a bus at exactly the wrong point through the tiny village where a sheet of paper would have struggled to get between us as we manoeuvred our way through – but both vehicles survived in tact.

We managed to park, albeit taking up at least two spaces, and spent half an hour chatting to everyone who came up to see us before wandering along the beach and ambling through the village

Peace and relaxation were seeping into our bones along with the fresh sea air

Pretty as it is, there is not a great deal to do in St Abbs so after an hour or so we jumped back into the Mog and headed for Edinburgh.

We had been advised to try parking at the Edinburgh Coach and Lorry Park which is supposed to be safe, clean and close to bus routes into the city. It is also just a short walk from Portabello Beach.

It sounded ideal and, as we pulled in and I jumped out to speak to the very friendly staff in the office, we were pleased with our choice. Bigmog would be safe here and we would have the freedom to explore the city for as long as we wanted.

We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering along the promenade at Portabello beach and had a quiet night safely tucked up inside our new home.

But our new lives were beginning to feel a little strange – we were travelling but living indoors, we were travelling but still in the UK. It was as though we were somehow mirroring our old lives but everything was different. I started to realise that this was going to take some getting used to.

I am sure many of you have visited Edinburgh, it is one of those cities that draws you in. Fabulous architecture, lots of places to visit and a very relaxed atmosphere.

Our first stop was to be the Royal Yacht Britannia which is not on any bus or tram routes from where we were so we booked an Uber. When we arrived we were made to feel very welcome and spent a great couple of hours poking around the yacht with our little audio guides

The bridge was interesting

The Landrover made me feel wistful

And the promenade deck was very swish

But I have to admit, I was quite surprised at how austere it was, there was nothing particularly fancy about the furnishings, in fact it was all a little old fashioned

Both the Queen and Prince Philip apparently slept in single beds

But we were told that Charles asked for a double bed to be brought in to the guest room when he first married Diana

When we saw this long dining table we assumed it was the royal table, being very much in keeping with the low profile nature of the rest of the yacht

But apparently this was the officer’s mess, the royal dining table was somewhat flashier…

We admired the engine rooms which looked like a museum piece but had apparently taken the yacht over a million miles in her lifetime

And outside were a Rolls and the landing boat used when the royals were doing tours

After our tour we had lunch on the upper deck with lovely views over the harbour and had our second scone and cream of the trip…touring Scotland one scone at a time

We caught the tram into the city and headed for the Surgeon’s Museum which was fascinating but a little macabre being full of thousands of body parts in jars.

Eventually we caught a bus back to the lorry park and settled in for a quiet night.

The next day we headed into the city again with a long list of things to do but after chatting to everyone who came up to see the Mog in the morning we didn’t manage to leave until 11am.

When we finally arrived in the heart of the city, the gorgeous architecture kept us captivated – I couldn’t stop taking photos…

The Walter Scott monument was big

St Giles Church was spectacular

Parliament Square and the multitude of statues were beautiful

We visited the Museum on the Mount all about the history of money

And had a lovely lunch at a café dedicated to Deacon Brodie who was hanged for theft in the 18^th century and is said to be the inspiration for Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. I also had my third scone of the trip…

We wiled away the afternoon in the National Museum of Scotland which is so enormous and packed full of so much eclectic stuff that we would have needed to put three days or more aside to do it justice

As it was we got thrown out at 5pm feeling as though we had barely scratched the surface.

Our third day was spent visiting the Palace of Holyrood House which is the official residence of the monarch when they are in town

Most parts of the exterior were quite grand

And the old, ruined chapel was interesting to see

But again, the inside struck me as a little shabby – faded glory would be a polite way of describing it. James pointed out that it is a historic building both inside and out with a host of old tapestries, furniture and royal collections that they are maintaining for the country. So I guess it’s not supposed to be as gleaming and perfect as Alnwick Castle.

This was our last stop in Edinburgh and we returned to the lorry park to reclaim BigMog and set off for quieter parts.

We drove ten miles out of the city to Rosslyn Chapel, a breath-takingly beautiful chapel made famous in the last few years by Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code where it is mentioned in the book and actually appears in the film

We didn’t know this until we arrived and the guide seemed pleased to find she had visitors who had come for the architecture and the history rather than a Hollywood movie.

The carvings both inside and out were amazing

There is not an inch that is not intricately detailed and each panel has its own story

And the crypt, whilst much less ornate, has a fascinatingly eery atmosphere

We got on so well with our guide that she invited us to stay the night parked up at the end of her road by her house. We didn’t have a lot of other options in the area so thought it would be a safe option.

When we arrived we found we were staying in a turning circle at the end of a housing estate right by a busy roundabout! But it was fine and the next morning as I was doing my training on the pavement I met a number of the locals walking their dogs and they were all very friendly.

We had originally planned to drive up the east coast and back down the west coast but a number of factors made us change our minds and start on the west coast – not least the seasons and avoidance of midges. Scotland is very narrow around Edinburgh so we took the opportunity of switching coasts and started heading west, following the line of the Roman Antonine Wall from Edinburgh to Glasgow.

This made our next destination Kinneil House, built by the powerful Hamilton family in the 16^th Century on the site of a Roman fortress. It is famous for its long history as well as for some unique wall paintings

The tour of the house and paintings only took place on Saturdays and today was Friday. So we parked up and walked around the estate following the signs guiding us to the Roman ruins

It was a beautiful walk on a warm and sunny day

We even found the ruin of the workshop occupied by James Watt when he was busy inventing the steam engine

There was a small museum which we spent half an hour or so in before heading back to the truck. It was so quiet that we hoped we might be able to stay overnight ready for the tour in the morning

But we discovered a sign saying no overnight camping allowed. So we headed into the next village of Linlithgow where we found a very busy car park overlooking the sea that was free to camp in. We had to wait a while for the day visitors to leave but eventually it was a quiet, if cold and windy, spot for the night.

The next morning we walked up to Linlithgow Palace and church

Before heading back to Kinneil House for our tour

Up until now we had had fantastic weather with hot, sunny days and cloudless skies but today the sun had disappeared and it was bitterly cold. We were bundled up in our woolly hats and down jackets as wandered around the draughty house but it was well worth it

Some of these wall paintings date back to the 16^th Century, others are a hundred years older and were simply painted over the originals.

The house was bought by the local authority in 1979 in order to demolish it but they had to change their plans when the wall paintings were discovered. Today Historic Scotland care for it but are only looking after the historic artwork, the rest of the house is left in ruins. James wanted to buy it and renovate it properly but we weren’t getting any enthusiasm for that idea from our guide!

From there it was a short drive to the famous Dunmore Pineapple

Now converted into holiday lets by the National Trust but the grounds are open to the public

We left the Mog in the woodland car park

And walked through the trees to Dunmore House – an eery and atmospheric ruin hidden deep in the forest.

On the way we found the huge stables which we initially thought was the house itself

Before spotting the old ruin further in the distance

It must have been an enormous house in its day

Built around 1820 by the 5^th Earl of Dunmore it was turned into a girls school in 1961 before being abandoned altogether in 1964

Even James decided this renovation would be a step too far…

As we returned to the Mog for some lunch we met an Australian couple visiting Scotland on a trip to uncover their family history. They were fascinated by the truck and we chatted to them for ages.

It was getting late in the day so we headed into Falkirk to a lovely little pub that welcomed motorhomes to stay in their car park overnight. I had spoken to them on the phone earlier in the day and they warned us to arrive early as the car park fills up quickly with customers and they were right – by the time we arrived we had to shoe-horn ourselves into the last remaining spot and wait until the car next to us left before we could put our steps out and actually get into the living quarters.

We decided to treat ourselves to a meal in the pub that evening and found out why it was so popular – the food was amazing. I had hanging chicken skewers and churros, James had a curry followed by a sundae and a hot chocolate. He was feeling a little sick by the time we went to bed!

There are two main things to see in Falkirk – the Kelpies and the Falkirk Wheel, both amazing feats of engineering.

When we arrived at the Kelpies the following morning we again had to be patient before we could actually get in to see them as numerous people came over to chat to us. But when we did finally get there the scale of the demon horses was impressive

We wandered around for a while, seeing them from every angle

And even saw the original mock-ups created by the artist to test out the concept – the real ones behind are just a long way away!

But we decided against the guided tour inside as that somehow didn’t seem the most exciting angle to view them from.

Before crossing the city to the Wheel we stopped off at another historic building – Callendar House

The house itself was beautiful

But it’s location was not. Sandwiched inside a housing estate with roads everywhere and 1960s high rise flats towering over, it seemed such a shame that a once grand estate was now nothing more than a white elephant in amongst a busy and rather run down part of the town.

Originally built over 600 years ago for the Livingstone family who later became the Earls of Callendar, it has hosted Mary Queen of Scots, Oliver Cromwell and Bonnie Prince Charlie.

I had to be careful with the angle of my shots to try and edit out the worst of the surroundings – in this one you can see a tower block behind the trees to the left

It is now owned by the local authority and used for conferences and events. Most of the rooms were closed to the public and with most of the original features gone, the whole thing seemed to lack soul – all apart from the basement in which they had recreated an old Victorian kitchen

We read a little about the history of the house on information boards and its surroundings seemed even more ironic when we found out that the later owners, the Forbes family, had objected to the building of the Union Canal through their estate as it would ruin their view. The authorities therefore built the Falkirk Tunnel to hide the canal and safeguard the setting of Callendar House – it’s probably a good thing they can’t see it now.

We spent some time reading an exhibition about the history of the whole area which was fascinating and then jumped back into BigMog to see the Falkirk Wheel

It’s big!

We watched, fascinated, as the wheel turned and little boats were brought up form the lower Forth and Clyde canal to the higher Union canal

I took a video of it to show you but it moves so slowly it wouldn’t have been the most exciting five minutes of your life!

We then tried to walk to the ruins of the Roman Rough Castle but the signage kept taking us round in circles. So we tried to drive there only to find our way barred by a low bridge. After a bit of exasperated route planning we gave up and drove to a nearby village where a small car park overlooked a football pitch. It was a lovely and quiet spot to spend the night.

So far, our journey through Scotland was proving to be very successful. We are so self-sufficient that most nights we had been able to park up in random car parks, laybys or very cheap aires. Bigmog was already earning his keep. We may have had flexibility and freedom travelling in Henry but this was on the next level.

We were also finding that power was no problem at all. The solar panels on the roof were amazing, it didn’t take much sun to keep the batteries charging up. And the new, larger alternator James had fitted was managing to charge them faster than we had hoped whilst we were driving.

Having an onboard shower and toilet was a game-changer and emptying the black and the grey water tanks was so simple we could do it quickly and easily whenever we needed.

But I was having difficulty getting used to life in a large overland truck. There are definite downsides. One or other of us regularly leaves something in the cab when we are in the living quarters overnight, or worse still leave something in the living quarters when we have packed the steps away and locked up. Often we want to simply pop back into the living quarters during the day – to retrieve a forgotten purse, check something on the laptop or put some shopping away – and it is a mission getting the steps out or trying to haul ourselves in with one foot on the fuel tank

Once I managed to get in that way but the fuel tank was so slippery in the rain I couldn’t get back out again and James had to get the steps out after all. I haven’t tried again since.

We have also discovered that making a quick lunch stop on the side of the road is not as easy as it is in Henry as we need vastly more space to pull over, especially as the steps need a lot of space to the side, and more time to set everything up.

I can’t put the steps out at all as they are too heavy for me to lift, and as yet I can’t drive the Mog with any degree of confidence. So I feel a little dependent on James which is not a happy place to be.

But this journey through Scotland is intended as a test-run and we are working things out as we go. Plans are afoot to attach lightweight steps to the fuel tank for occasional use. I will get the hang of driving it eventually…hopefully! And there were plenty of frustrations living in Henry that we just got used to and found a routine that ironed things out – we will find a routine to make sense of living in BigMog, it will just take time.

As we progress around the world, the luxury of having a fixed bed, an inside toilet, a warm shower, a comfortable place to sit inside and the ability to cook indoors will, I am sure, become invaluable. The whole point to the Mog is to allow us to travel to colder, wetter and less comfortable places than the warmth of Africa. Our lives may be very different these days but leaving Africa was going to be bring big changes whatever we did and maybe, just maybe, the Mog is going to be what smooths the way and keeps us trucking on….