This week we, and our fridge, needed a bit of a hand.

Our travels have taken us on a national parks tour across Scotland from the Trossachs to the Cairngorms.

Fridge issues meant that we had to change plans and find somewhere with an electric hook up and after the emotional ups and downs of the last few days, we needed to find a comfortable base to regather our energy.

Luckily, we found a place to do both at a lovely little Perthshire campsite called Islabank, just outside the town of Auchterarder. (It took me longer than it should have done to figure out how to pronounce that).

After settling in, we got busy with me working on the fridge chimney while Sally took to the phone to try and find us somewhere to get a repair/replacement. After a few hours of working and flushed with the joint successes of a working fridge and a date in the diary to make a proper fix, we decided to celebrate with a Friday afternoon visit to a sunny wine bar in town.

It’s been a long time since we were out on a Friday after work…. We stayed for a couple!

After the weekend, we journeyed past Perth to the even smaller site of Fernlea. We were staggered with the amount of traffic on the small local roads which all seemed to be visiting the Errol Sunday market. Unfortunately we didn’t get chance to check it out ourselves.

The purpose for our unexpected stop overs was to make sure we had an electric hook up to keep the fridge cool but now, with enough confidence that we were ‘cooling on gas’, we decided to head up into the Cairngorms to stop over at the Glenshee Ski resort.

On the way, we dropped in to check out the Palace of Scone.

Now one of the reassuring things we’ve discovered about touring in Scotland is that there is a lot of American tourists here.

This will doubtless need further explanation.

Recently, one of our local friends explained to us that there are more people of Scottish descent in America than there are in Scotland.

What this means is a lot of tourism, which is great for Scotland as there’s a plethora of charming castles and cosy lodges to visit in addition to the fabulous scenery.

It’s great for us because it means literally everywhere has access and parking for coaches. I can’t tell you how reassuring this is when you’re driving a bigger motorhome. Just a little helping hand.

The Scone Palace site, which agreeably complied with the ‘coach rule’, has a long history and is actually quite magnificent.

Through the middle ages it was an important place to the mysterious Picts and from the 9th century it has been the crowning place for the Kings of Scotland. Most famously, Robert the Bruce was crowned here in 1306.

Scone was also the original home of the Stone of Destiny. Although its origins are perhaps more legend than fact, the Stone is traditionally used as part of the crowning and was indeed used during the coronation of King Charles this year.

The English robbed the Stone in 1296 and when it was eventually returned in 1996 it ended up at Edinburgh Castle meaning that a none-to-realistic replica can now be found at Scone.

After a pleasant, if slightly confusing, wander around the palace rooms, we settled outside to enjoy the sunshine in the gardens for a picnic.

It’s a stunning drive up into the Cairngorms and there’s lots of space to stop over at the Glenshee ski resort for a couple of days whilst Sally has a work day. Wanting to get out for a walk, I checked the map and found that there’s a Munro very close by.

In case you’ve not heard of the term, a Munro is defined as a mountain peak in Scotland over 3000ft (914m), named after the chap that created the first list of them, and there are some 282 of them to ‘bag’.

The Cairnwell stands at a significant 933m and I thought I’d see if I could pop up and down before breakfast. Now, I had a bit of leg up with this one too as we’re parked at 650m so it’s not as big a task as I like to make out, although it did mean I deserved the bacon and sausage bap once I’d come down.

After a couple of peaceful days, we head down the Dee valley towards Aberdeen.

With the sun out, the drive down the A93 through Braemar, Balmoral and Ballater must be one of the most beautiful drives anywhere. Each bend opens out revealing another picture postcard view of river and valley which feels like the place that flyfishing must have been invented.

After just the helping hand we needed from Perthshire, we’re off to see our friends Clare, Chris, Isla and Finn.

See you next week,

Sally, Toby and Merlin

Useful links

The Palace of Scone : Scone Palace Website

Munro website and maps : Walk Highlands Munros