3 Happy Campers have a Highland Fling - day one

[purple myra]

DAY 1...AUGUST 2ND

We are up pretty early and do the usual things. Max is getting packed off to his granny’s so we do a bit of car shuffling as Billy wants to leave his car parked in our drive…we are travelling in Jakes car so that means Max and his mucky paws has to be transported round to the outlaws in MY car. So after a lot of tooing and froing everyone is happy, we manage to get the boot shut and Billy shoe horned into the back of the car with the fishing gear and off we go.
Now for the record, it had been a lovely morning until Jake was into 3rd gear and then the rain started L but we weren’t too concerned as we were heading towards blue skies. There was no real rush to get to Loch Tay, the confirmation thingy said we couldn’t get into our Tepee till 4pm so we stopped in Callander…….yes I know….a whole 40 minutes up the road! We park down by the river and watch some guys fishing, we are surprised to see a dog the spitting image of our Max except he only has 3 legs (Max is an all black long haired GSD …not that common!) we also have a browse around the shops. Since Billy has become a ‘mountain man’ ( 3 Munros bagged so far) we have been dragged into various ‘Outdoorsy’ type shops! To be honest there is little in Callander that we haven’t seen a thousand times so we find a wee out of the way café and get some rolls for our breakfast…. suitably fed we squeeze back into the car and continue heading North.
Because of the previously ... ahem…..inclement weather Billy wants to get some pics of the Falls of Dochart, so we make our 2nd pit stop in Killin and we try our best not to get knocked down by all the camper vans and caravans navigating the tiny bridge as we ( and loads of other ‘tourists’ ) try to take photos.




A quick nosey round the shops and we buy some milk for our first cup of tepee tea, ten minutes later we are at the Tepee.
Now considering it was me that found the aforementioned tepees, I was still slightly ‘surprised’ when I actually SAW it! There are various ones… some are just basic with bunks and a toilet, some have a double bed and a set of bunks and ours….which had 2 sets of bunks, a sofa, a wee TV, a shower room and a wee fully equipped kitchen ( 2 hot plates, kettle, toaster, microwave and full sized fridge ). The site also has lots of proper cabins, the very posh Loch Tay house and a Mongolian yurt!

Ok so it looks like a garden shed….but what a view!









We have our own bench set out the front and although the photos don’t do it justice we had a fantastic view. We unpack and head off down towards the loch for a look around. This is when we encounter what would turn out to be the only real problem with our accommodation . . . . its half way up a mountain and everything else is at the bottom! We pass by all the cabins ( which admittedly cost an awful lot more than £14 per night ) and head for the wee marina, there are some nice looking boats tied up we cast an admiring eye over them and their rich looking owners before we settle down for a wee drink from the Boathouse bar





We get some info on hiring a boat to do a spot of fishing the next day, check out the menu in the restaurant and book a table and then make the long hike back to the top!



Now I know I am by no means fit…..but it’s a killer! A decision is made to take the car back down later when we go for dinner….and no one objects!

Jake and Billy both opt for the Garlic mushrooms



I have the Thai fishcake

[purple myra]

Then for main course,
Jake has meatballs



Billy has Prawn Linguini in chilli and garlic



And I ordered Pollo Pancake ( chicken in a pancake and baked in a cheese sauce ) what I actually got was Cannelloni with absolutely no sign of chicken or pancakes!



It wouldn’t have mattered what I ordered as I had to swap with Billy, he NEVER reads a menu properly and as he doesn’t eat ‘nippy’ then his linguini was unpalatable for him….I thought it was gorgeous though!

Desserts were ….eh…. Can’t remember but they were tasty….so tasty we were nearly finished them before I remembered to take any pics




I had 2 or 3 of those dinky wee bottles of wine, Jake had a Budweiser and a coke, Billy had a couple of Coronas and the bill was £75.20*
We headed back up to the tepee soon after the ‘entertainment’ started….an old guy in a tartan waistcoat….enough said!
I was on a bottom bunk as I’d never be able to get up the wee ladder, Jake was on the bunk above me for no other reason than Billy had bagsied the other bottom bunk 1st! And we settled in for our first night.**

* Prices quoted to give some kind of comparison to eating out in Florida
** why can’t men hold their water? Jake got up for a pee once and Billy got up twice!

[voddygirl]

Your tepee looks great for the money Myra
The food looks yum

[ely3857]

Lovely pics



Jodie

[disney owl]

lovely photos

[Guest]

I love going to Callander... it's one of my fav places to go when we ever get nice weather days here... your desserts look yummy...lol what's left of them... I bet the three of you had a right laugh tucked up in your bunks for the night

[SnapperJohn]

Great report and pictures Myra - The Falls of Dochart bring back some many memories from my childhood, everyone has had there picture taken there! In fact a good few years ago I did some pictures of Jim Kerr of Simple Minds underneath that bridge. They have a recording studio nor far away from Killin and during the afternoon when I was doing my pictures I suggested taking some down at the Falls and Jim was happy to oblige.

Your garden shed look great fun and for £14 per night its a bargain. However the prices in the restaurant do make you wince when you think what you would pay in Florida - shame we don't have a shot at their prices and weather for a couple of months a year eh!

[purple myra]

Originally Posted by SnapperJohn

Your garden shed look great fun and for £14 per night its a bargain. However the prices in the restaurant do make you wince when you think what you would pay in Florida - shame we don't have a shot at their prices and weather for a couple of months a year eh!

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John, that was the reason for posting the prices, we were pretty much paying in £££ what we would normally pay in $$$ so effectively we were paying double for our meals, it did make a significant dent in our budget

[luxorsun71]

I don't think I've ever seen so much water at the Falls of Dochart! A lovely part of the world round by Loch Tay etc.Food looks delish

[shirley]

beautiful views, never been up that way good report shirley