The Journey Continues…

Saying Goodbye to the Lakes

Last Friday, we set off on our journey from the Lake District to Scotland and what a journey it has been!

We ended our stay in the Lakes with another visit to Castlerigg. It’s such an amazing place to experience and a great way to say goodbye. We loved our time in the Lakes.

Twenty miles up the road, the dreaded engine error showed again. Again, we found ourselves waiting for a recovery van at a service station…

Recovery

When the recovery guy arrived, he told us that the AdBlue sensors weren’t working. We asked if we could be taken to a local garage to have the van checked but he said that all garages were booked up for at least two weeks. He reassured us that the van was safe to drive and that we could continue our journey. So off we went driving up to Scotland with our engine error flashing every now and then…

Fully Booked

As we were driving up the M6, Auto Aid rung us to say that we needed to take the van to a local garage otherwise they wouldn’t help us if we broke down with the same issue. So, we rang garage after garage only to be told that they were fully booked. This was now Friday afternoon and the likelihood of finding a garage was very slight. We phoned Auto Aid to explain we couldn’t find a local garage and could they help us find a garage but she said they don’t do that and it was up to us. We were unlucky to get a really unhelpful woman who must have been having a bad day….

Count Down…

The engine error then changed to a count down. In 750 miles the van would not start again! Stress levels rising, we ring Vauxhall in Glasgow as we were about to pass there. They said they were fully booked but according to Google, there was a place in Fort William that fixed Vauxhalls and was open on Saturdays. Maybe they could help… So, we continued on our journey to Dalmally, our bed for the night.

Fort Willaim

We had a terrible night’s sleep in a very uncomfortable bed. So, now we were exhausted as well as stressed. The van continued its countdown… 750….700….650.…600… We reached Fort William to find the Vauxhall garage was not a garage but instead sold Vauxhalls and hired cars!

We ring Auto Aid to update them. We’ve tried everything that we can do and now we really need help. Could they find a local garage? It was the same woman we spoke to the day before and she again said there was nothing more they could do and was even more unhelpful. Maybe she was having yet another bad day? They didn’t look for local garages, it was up to us. The only thing they could do now was relay us home but because we had not found a local garage, the relay would be at our expense, estimated £2000!

What to do now…

Wow, could this get any worse. At this point, we just wanted to go home and abandon our journey to Callanish but to get home was going to be extremely expensive and we’ve looked forward to this journey for a long time… We felt vulnerable and helpless and now it was pouring with rain!

Way Forward

The only way forward was to abandon the van and hire a car but where could we leave the van where it would be safe? The only choice now was to ring a woman who we’d met last year at Glastonbury Festival at our Major Lunar Standstill workshop. She had given us her number and said we were welcome to visit on our way up to Callanish.

Faith Restored in the Human Race

When we rang her, she was extremely supportive which was exactly what we needed – an absolute angel! She agreed to look after our van until we returned from our journey and even offered to put us up if needed and use her house even though she wasn’t at home.

We were then incredibly lucky to be able to hire the last car in the shop. In the pouring rain, we packed what we could into the tiniest hire car you’ve ever seen and left our van in Fort William. This was quite a mission as the wind and rain was lashing down and soaking all our stuff.

Torridon

Four hours later, we arrived absolutely exhausted at our next destination on the west coast of Scotland on a tiny peninsula above Skye. Tucked away in the trees on the edge of the land looking over the sea is a fantastic place to recover from a nightmare van journey.

On the Case

First thing Monday morning, we rang Auto Aid again as we find ourselves in an impossible situation and feeling quite upset with how we’ve been treated by them. Putting us back on the road twice then saying they couldn’t help us is really not okay! This time we spoke to someone who was really helpful and supportive.

Wrong Advice

Apparently, we were given the wrong advice. If we had tried to be seen by a local garage but not been successful, it was up to Auto Aid to find a local garage. If they couldn’t, they would relay us home at their expense… This was quite the opposite to what we’d been advised on Saturday.

Getting There…

Finally, we were getting some help. We agreed with Auto Aid that we would ring Vauxhall in Inverness, now they were open, to see if they could look at our van. If not, Auto Aid would try finding another local garage. We rang Vauxhall and they agreed to check our van in 10 days time. So Auto Aid organised for our van to be recovered and taken to Inverness which is where our van is now!

What a journey!

We were exhausted before we started and really needed a good break… but sometimes life sends a curve ball to test our resilience! What doesn’t break us makes us stronger but we haven’t enjoyed coming uncomfortably close to breaking point.

Time to Rest

Now we have a way forward, we can relax and enjoy our time tucked away in this stunning place with our ever so patient dog who doesn’t really enjoy the car but has spent a lot of time in it!

Local Area

It is absolutely beautiful and very wild here. We’ve met a few people who live here full time including the local sauna woman. How amazing to find a mobile sauna out here!!!

Ticks

Due to the very warm spring and the huge amount of deer, the area is infested with ticks. Dear fences line the roads and tracks. Poor Undle has had quite a few ticks which jumped on him when we went on a lovely walk through the woods – bad move!

Eagle Spotting

Yesterday, we went out eagle spotting at Sheildag. Didn’t see eagles but had a nice walk. It’s too windy to go out now so we’re forced to rest which is what we really need.

The Moon

The weather is wild and stormy with very strong winds and rough sea. There seems no chance of seeing the Moon. We’ve been away nearly two weeks and not one clear night!

Harris & Lewis

We’re here until Saturday when we’ll be sailing over to Harris from Skye and driving to our next destination in Lewis where we meet up with our friends again. It’s only a week away until we’ll be at Callanish to witness the Major Lunar Standstill so we’re really hoping the weather clears…

Onwards and upwards…

Ceri, Tina and Undle, the very patient dog xxx

PS never buy a vehicle that has AdBlue!