Day 669: Skyfall

25/05/2023

After a good night’s sleep in Hotel FIK the kids were bounding down the stairs with the compulsory 06:00 wake-up call, free of charge, part of the package. Lachlan was enthusiastically shouting at them while Eloise went straight to packing up the bed, she knows the drill.

In the morning, Grandpa DAVE had transformed from the Purple Wiggle into the Green Wiggle and was ready to face the day. Eloise and Lachlan showed Nali and Grandpa DAVE around Bearsden, Lachlan was keen to show them his agility on his playground, the Bath House.

Lachlan’s day was made early as he discovered a friendly bumble bee.

Just after midday, there were more hugs before Nali and Grandpa DAVE set off, leading the charge, heading north, onwards and upwards.

As soon as the clock ticked to 14:30 we were in hot pursuit with a packed car. Eloise was concerned it would not all fit and that bags would fall on Lachlan.

Super Mum had been doing her best to keep Lachlan awake up till this point, he was out for the count after three corners. Eloise was quick to follow. Super Mum knows best.

We made it up past Loch Lomond and Falls of Falloch with the kids fast asleep. We could not have picked a better day for a road trip.

The mountains were impressive, they kept growing and growing.

We were not far from rendezvousing with Nali and Grandpa DAVE but first decided to take a sneaky detour. We had heard amazing things about what has informally been called Skyfall Road and thought it was time for another 007 re-enactment. It did not disappoint! “A film crew were awestruck by Scotland’s scenery while shooting new Bond movie Skyfall on National Trust for Scotland (NTS) land. Scenes with stars Daniel Craig and Dame Judi Dench were shot on trust property in Glencoe in the Highlands”.

We could not think of a better place to release Darryl, it had been too long.

Fun fact: The romantic man I am, the first date that Sophie and I went on was to the cinemas to watch James Bond Skyfall. Sophie was obviously thrilled and swept away by Bond and I and has been obsessed with both ever since. Check out the start of the below clip. It was surreal being there in real life.

We actually ended up driving the whole length of Skyfall Road both ways, it was a great stretch, crazy to think we are still nowhere near the Highlands.

It was getting late so we jumped back onto the A32, with the Postman Pat theme song blaring on repeat. The kids then realised that the car responds to “okay Google” commands and continued to shout “okay Google” like a broken record for the final half hour, making us all chuckle. Lachlan was getting quite furious that it was not recognising his Glaswegian accent, “okay Giggle, Goo, Goole, Gooogooo, AHHHHH!”

The view from the train was just as spectacular. Nali and Grandpa DAVE made the most of the picturesque journey learning all about Scotland from their new Scottish mate, Norie?

Nali and Grandpa DAVE had beaten us by a couple of hours. Liam dropped Super Mum and the kids off at our apartment and went to rescue the Aussies from the pub and find some dinner.

As we pulled up, Lachlan came sprinting in hot to greet Nali and Grandpa Dave

By this point, Eloise had already sussed out the apartment and darted about showing Nali the quirks of the place. Lachlan had already found the toys.

We eventually got the kids to bed around 22:00, the sunlight was a problem. Let us hope this transcends to at least a 07:00 sleep-in. We will all need full energy for the magical day planned for tomorrow.