New Year - New Experiences

For some, the idea of haring down the side of a mountain at warp speed is the perfect day out, for others (like us!) it is a slightly intimidating prospect – but with Ben Bhraggie and the Highland Wildcat Mountain bike trails on our doorstep, it seems foolish not to have this at the top of our list for 2021.

Ticket to Ride Highlands offer mountain bike hire along with all the safety equipment, so there is no need to splash out on all the kit before you have given it a go. Plus it is another whole year until Santa comes again.

The wild swimming phenomenon seems to have come to the fore during the 2020 lockdown, and we are desperate to give it a go. We love an excuse to wear our favourite bobble hat, and this sounds like the perfect excuse to don it year-round. Our more experienced friends have suggested we may be better holding off until summer for our first dip, especially if we intend to go without a wetsuit and we think they may be right. Blessed with some beautiful beaches around the north of Scotland, we are spoilt for choice, but we think we might have to start close to home in Golspie so we can nip home quickly for a warm shower and a hot chocolate next to the open fire.

As we were born and raised in Scotland, our visitors often assume that we will be good golfers. Sometimes we often don’t have the heart to tell them we haven’t done more than a whirl around the ‘pitch and putt’. As one of the activities that has still been permitted during lockdown, we feel we may have missed a trick this year so in 2021 we will learn to play golf. I think it may be a while before we can confidently take to the greens of the Royal Dornoch Championship Course, but hopefully we can find someone to take us for a spin at Golspie Golf Course and teach us the basics. Any volunteers?