Well we were worried about whether the ferry will still be sailing to Shetland on Monday, but this afternoon as we drive up to Loch Tay we started to wonder if we would actually make it that far!

The rain was lashing down and there was lots of flooding and water just running off the roads. However, we made it here and are now super relaxed after a dip in the hot tub and sauna. Now ready to heat up the Indian take-away we bought yesterday for tonight’s dinner.

Here’s a few photos…

What a stunning day we awoke to! There was frost on the ground, but the sun was fully out and stayed that way all day! We had a pretty good sleep all in all. The air bed seems to have a slow puncture, so it needed topped up a couple of times throughout the night, but with the electric blanket, sleeping bags and duvet we stayed pretty warm.

Bacon (and for Yvonne quorn bacon) butties for breakfast and we were good to go.

Our Hogmanay hike was up Walla Crag, just stunning! Then on towards Ashness Bridge, a quick side trip up to Surprise View, then down to the lakeshore to walk back through the town and up to the campsite. Our fitness (and ageing joints) are not what they used to be, so by the time we were going uphill back to the campsite we were well and truly knackered! But it was all well worth it. See the photos below – do you agree?

Once back it was so nice to have a hot shower, especially with the underfloor heating! Showered up in time to see the last of the sunset colours fading over the mountains, then an early dinner at the Hayloft, also with a very nice complimentary toffee vodka liqueur.

We are now back in our tent chilling out (thankfully not literally!) We may possibly venture into the campers room later on if there is anyone there to chat to, though we have the tent nice and warm just now, so we will see. Also we might possibly head just outside the campsite for “the bells” to see if we can see any fireworks going off while looking down towards the village, but again, we shall just wait and see when the time comes. For now we are cosy, we have put our fan heater under our picnic table with the sleeping bags draped over both the table and ourselves to trap the heat in, it well toasty!

This has been such a great way so far to spend the run up to the new year, and hopefully also the new year itself, I think we will definitely do something like this again!

SHORT UPDATE: Firstly, Happy New Year! To transition from 2019 to 2020 we first had a wee sleep, then got up and opened our Prosecco, which we took with us for a short stroll out, glasses in hand, to see if we could see any fireworks. We didn’t want to walk far, so our vantage point was limited, but we did see some, not so much from Keswick as from one of the towns further away. Sorry no photos as they are really bad! We can still hear some going off now.

Coming back to the campsite, we could see the head torches of a couple of people who were coming down from Walla Crag – now they would have had an amazing display and we would have loved to do that, but we were wary of hiking in the dark especially after a few drinks. To our surprise the campers room was empty, so it was back to the tent for a wee dram of Drambuie and shortly off to bed, ready to wake up tomorrow to a new decade….

Well, it seems that Paul has won the bet. Unless there are loads of people still to arrive we are one of only 2 tents! There are quite a few camper vans though. However, it is only 2pm, so that could change. And maybe it will be busier tomorrow for Hogmanay. We are staying at Castlerigg Farm Campsite, just up on a hill overlooking Derwentwater and only 30mins walk from Keswick.

It’s a bit dreicht but not that cold, however we are glad to have the electric hook up for our heater and electric blanket.

As it’s drizzling we abandoned our plans for a walk and are now sitting having a cuppa in the tent. The forecast on all 3 websites we checked is for sunshine tomorrow, so fingers crossed!

Excellent shower and toilet block with underfloor heating

Later… a lovely meal at the Hayloft the on-site cafe/restaurant and then back to our tent for a wee wine and before bed a wee Drambuie… bliss

A wee trip down south to visit Glynis and Tony after Xmas, then heading to the Lakes camping tomorrow. A nice catch up with family and some strolls in the countryside.

Today we only managed a short walk along the Kelvin Walkway before heading home to make Xmas dinner for the family… Merry Xmas everyone!

We got lucky with the weather and took a short paddle over to Port Bawn on Inch Cailloch. Have never seen the loch (or island) so deserted, just idyllic, we had it to ourselves apart from a jet skier who appeared as we were setting off back to Balmaha. Would have loved to stay overnight but have Xmas dinner to make tomorrow… Maybe next year a wee wild camp…

To see details in the Intex Canoe follow this links https://amzn.to/30UzSvu

Here are some pics…