Going north for winter

Scotland during my first visit in 1990

In a moment of madness we’ve organized a seven-day road tour of Northern England and Scotland to welcome in the New Year. We've decided that London is so bitterly cold at the moment that it matters little if we head north. Today we endured a high of 4 °C, with a low of 1 °C currently outside. Fort William, 500 miles north, had the same temperature range today.

Last night we booked hotels and planned highway routes to take us first to Liverpool for New Year’s Eve, then on to Blackpool and Hexham near Hadrian’s Wall, before heading into Scottish Highlands for several days.

We’ve booked a surprisingly cheap hotel near Fort Williams that offers spectacular lochside views. The location looks stunning online. The Ballachulish is an 18th Century listed building, considered one of Scotland’s finest hotels. However, given that its off-peak season, the rates are one-third the usual price. From this base we’re hoping to explore Loch Ness, see Ben Nevis in the snow and explore the highland’s spectacular scenery. We’ll then make our way back south via Edinburgh and York.

We’ll spend our first night of 2008 sleeping in a restored medieval castle, nestled in a huge four-poster bed. Langley Castle was built in 1350, during the reign of Edward III. It thrived for several hundred years until a series of owners fell out of favour with the king; one had the castle confiscated, while two were beheaded. The castle was abandoned in the 18th Century and left to decay until 1882. A former county sheriff then bought the property and set about restoring the premises to its former glory. The photos on the web look simply stunning.

In preparation for our travels I took the car in for a check-up today. The last of our hotel bookings were confirmed late this afternoon. After so many international holidays I'm looking forward to seeing a little more of our host nation. We're now praying for clear, ice-free driving weather.