Sarah’s Summer 2022 Travels

Senior Administrator, Sarah Willis, has been on her travels again.

Her previous trips have included climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and Mount Elbrus, the highest and most prominent peak in Russia, whilst in 2021 she walked the coast to coast route between St Bees in Cumbria to Robin Hood’s Bay near Whitby.

This summer travelled in comfort(?) undertaking a 1,750 mile trip on 2 wheels (her sturdy Honda CB1000R naked sports bike) touring the the well-known NC500 route followed by a tour around Cornwall on 4 wheels whilst taking in one of her many hobbies – lighthouse spotting!

Here’s Sarah’s story about her experience.

“I’ve been on my travels again and spent a week in June motorbike touring and camping around Scotland.

The first stop was Kirkcudbright in the south west. I then worked my way up the west coast on part of the famous NC500 route, visiting several lighthouses, which is another of my passions on the way. I passed through Stranraer, visited Ardnamurchan, travelled through the beautiful Glencoe valley, and camped near Fort William within sight of Ben Nevis.

I was blessed with glorious weather and gorgeous views as I made my way north as far as Ullapool where I spent a night wild camping, then east over the Cairngorms on the highest road in Scotland, where I was glad of my thermals! I ended the trip with a visit to a friend near to Edinburgh who was good enough to take me out in his yacht on the Firth of Forth.

I covered over 1750 miles in total, and the weather only caught up with me on one day, with some showers and strong winds.

Here are some of the photos taken during my trip.

Sarah crosses the English border
Sarah made a pit stop at the famous Loch Ness – but no sign of Nessie!
Lighthouse spotting is another of Sarah’s hobbies.

 

The infamous Loch Ness.
Sarah takes a pitstop at Applecross Pass in Strathcarron.

Trip 2 – The South of England

I took another trip in July to the opposite end of the UK, in my car this time, with a week’s camping in Cornwall a few miles from the pretty village of Polperro at a quiet farm campsite. Again, the weather was good – warm and dry with a couple of scorchers. I visited the Eden Project, went to Land’s End, and saw Lizard Point, the southern-most point of the UK.

The sea in some of the beautiful coves I went to was turquoise and crystal clear and I couldn’t resist a swim, although despite the hot sun, the water was chilly. Some of the other places I took in were St Ives, Looe and Bude, and I slipped over the county border into Devon to see Hartland Point lighthouse on the north coast. Of course, I had to sample the local delicacies, with Cornish pasties, clotted cream scones, and rich fudge, not to mention some of the best fish and chips I’d tasted!

Our country is truly beautiful and as you can gather I love exploring it.

Here are some of the photos capturing memories of Sarah’s trip touring the south of England.

Trevose Head lighthouse is located on the north, west extremity of Cornwall.
Looe harbour one of the major fishing ports on the south coast of Cornwall.
Hartland Point Lighthouse is a Grade II listed building located in Devon.
Sarah taking a quick break during her climb of Rough Tor on Bodmin Moor.