Sometimes the planets align, the gods smile on you and you find yourself in the exact right place at the exact right time.

After a wobbly start to our trip, being in Arisaig at the precise time Scotland was deciding to have its summer felt like some kind of act of divine fate.

We took a boat trip from nearby Mallaig and spotted seals and porpoises. Some hilarious confusion from the boat passengers ensued about what exactly a porpoise was. A whale? A turtle? A Nessie? All serious suggestions…

        
(To be honest, Milo was much more excited about the crisps being sold in the on-board shop than anything happening at sea. This was the ‘pleeeease can I have crisps’ face we saw for most of the trip. In one of my finer moments of mothering I may have threatened to throw him in the sea if he said ‘crisps’ one more time but we did try to take him on a fun educational experience and that’s what counts right?)

Other Arisaig Highlights:

• Variety Cereal Pack Hysteria – the excitement (and tense negotiations of who gets the Coco Pops) is still strong in the next generation.

• Made friends with a cool wee boy who was full of facts about the world’s deadliest sea creatures (while we were in the water) and was saving up his pocket money to buy a juicer.

• A freezing swim!

• Post-lunch naps returned, thanks Milo – I’ve missed those.

• We visited Glen Uig on Loch Moidart, near Morar, Sunart and Ardgour (all excellent Lord of the Rings style names!)

• Campsite people-watching. So fun. So many different camping styles.There was the high tech couple next door with electricity and all the mod cons in their tent; the drunken couple having highly entertaining rows; the old man with the face that has seen a thousand weathers sitting unmoving in his chair on top of the hill surveying everyone; the macho little boys who swam all day every day in the freezing sea, rain or shine. I know I’m totally nosey, but it’s so interesting the mixture of people you meet/spy on.

• BBQs (a very rare treat in Scotland and chance to laugh at Milo saying ‘key-bob’)

• And finally, the sunsets. I can’t put into words how much I love sunsets, I’m a big fan. Arisaig is the perfect sunset-watching place. Many, many sunset photos were taken. Look at the sunsets!

It was almost a good thing that a storm came in as we were due to leave or I’m not sure we could have done it! ‘Luckily’ we ended up wrestling with our awning in the wind and rain while Milo did some fishing out of the campervan door, as you do.

Life felt back to normal again. It sure was an amazing sunny, beachy dream for a while there though…