Hi everyone and thank you for watching! Not the most positive of titles this week, eh?! Just a quick note on the slightly more out there (for us) than usual thumbnail (I can hear Stephen's voice saying you don't need to explain yourself, and he's right, but I wanted to say a few things 🤪). Normally we try to pick something that represents the main point or focus of the video, but this one felt like such a mishmash where things didn’t fully work out due to colds, weather etc. The waste we found on Loch Lomond, sadly, was sort of in the middle of all that and stood out as memorable, for the wrong reasons. We try not to be clickbaity, but equally it's very difficult to get the balance right creating a thumbnail that draws people in, whilst still representing what the video's about. Or, as Stephen would say, who really cares, it is what it is and hopefully you enjoy the video regardless 😉 ❤ Thank you for all your support as always! (P.S - next week is MUCH more fun and adventurous 😍)
The village of luss is a big attraction as it was also (apart from being so lovely) the setting for the TV prog Take The High Road. So very Dear to us scots.
You are saying Trossachs really well, but Loch Lomond wrong and Loch Katrine. Well the Katrine part was good but its not Lock its Loch. MIdges will eat you alive around there lol
Scotland is beautiful as you know we've visited many places and been lucky not to have witnessed filth! Why do people do that it's just outrageous. They do spoil it for others! We were going to park at Loch Lomond but was told needed a permit. Another great vlog thank you ❤
Hi guys, thank you! ❤ Yeah fortunately we've not seen it in many places there at all, I think Loch Lomond's popularity (and easiness to reach from Glasgow etc) has likely contributed to that. It's such a shame, but doesn't excuse it. Awful to see. As for permits, so some places do require it, some don't. There's usually a sign up at the spots that do. Our one didn't have that, maybe because it was on the side with the main road - the other side of the loch is arguably the prettiest, although all of it's lovely of course. We actually tried a few times getting those permits - they were about 4 or 5 quid I think, you had to do it online, but when we tried it said they were all "booked up", even though we arrived in spots that required them and no one was there? 🤷♂️ So very confusing, but I've read a lot of people struggle to make sense of them!
Hey there! 😊 Just watched your video exploring Loch Lomond and the surrounding areas. 🏞 It's a shame that some people don't respect the beauty of these places and leave rubbish behind. 😡 Love the scenic shots and the insights into your travels! 🚐 Looking forward to your next adventure. 🌟
Hey, thank you for watching 😊 Glad you enjoyed it - despite that incident we've found Scotland to be generally well looked after and of course absolutely stunning. Next week is definitely one for scenery as well 😍
As a family we lived near to Loch Lomond for 25 years & passed the Loch everyday on the A82. What you maybe didn’t experience when you were there was the volume of visitors. A lot of the time the loch side is mobbed with visitors. The sheer volume of people makes it impossible for the national park staff to keep up. There are bin collections most days through the holiday period.There are people who sadly don’t respect the area & don’t only leave their footprints, they are the ones who spoil it for others. As a family we always picked up others rubbish & put it into the bins provided. The most dangerous thing for the park is disposable barbecues I wish people wouldn’t use them in the park or anywhere for that matter,
Hello, yes we definitely noticed some parts of the Loch were busy, thing is despite being huge, obviously the shoreline is (relatively) small-spaced all around, so it can get crowded at the water easily I imagine. Still sad that people don't pick up after themselves and ultimately that might create stricter controls in the end which would be understandable 😟 Agree on the disposable barbecues! Definitely feels like something that needs to be banned already
I subbed your channel because you both are so genuine and Very funny 🤣 I'm a fulltimer of 8 yrs now. And to be honest I'm Sick of fake vanlife RU-vidrs who say everything is So amazing when it's not. Great video thanks 🙏🚐🚐🚐💯🤟🙏
Ah Stephen great to hear, thank you so much, that's really encouraging to us 😀 We try our best not to pretend or dress anything up, I mean it's not Wish You Were Here 😆 It's also our life so it means a lot of the other side of this lifestyle too. That said, we mostly film when we get the chance to travel somewhere and we do our best to showcase a place, but it doesn't always work out, and sometimes they're just not as good as they say on the label! Well done on 8 years in a van, blimey. It must suit you then, but I expect you've seen a lot of changes in 8 years. We've done two and still going strong. Maybe it's not forever but can't imagine stopping just yet! 🚐 (not that we've got anywhere to go if we did! 😂)
Absolutely love Scotland,, it's a beautiful place. My mum is from Motherwell. Also I was on a bike tour in Aviemore it was so beautiful. Have fun, and unfortunately there are liter louts everywhere😢❤
Hi Patti, isn't it just wonderful, we've loved it every single time there, whatever the weather or colds and regardless of, unfortunately in this case, people spoiling the environment. We're used to seeing litter and often try to bag up what we can, but this was definitely something else 🤢😟 Oh a bike tour from Aviemore sounds sublime, where did you go? We loved the Cairngorms ❤
We decided to spend some time there because we felt, despite being a National Park, it was often just a place people drove through to get to the West coast! So we wanted to explore properly and so glad we did, absolutely stunning, I wish we could have squeezed more in. Yeah it was awful seeing that, and that wasn't the only place. Generally most people are pretty good though, I think
Lovely to see this area again, I used to live near Loch Lomond in the mid 80s and Loch Katrine was one of our favourite places for a Sunday walk.. there wasn’t much there then, just the boat, public loos and a little cafe.. Luss gets all the tourists because Scotland’s answer to Coronation St was filmed there.. it was called Take the high road and was very popular.. it’s a shame a few people want to spoil things for everyone.. Sue x
Hi Sue, oh what a place to live! 😍 If we were feeling more up to it I think we'd have walked a lot more of Loch Katrine, there was something magical that felt different to other lochs, you can see why it's inspired poets and artists etc. Of course all lochs have their own unique feel. We probably should have taken the boat that day in retrospect 😂 There's still the cafe down there (might be a different one now) and toilets, the gift shop and cycle hire were probably added later. Initially it felt like a lot of people were there, but once you get going around the loch everyone soon spreads out and you can enjoy the scenery in peace which was sublime. Take The High Road, haha yes I remember, makes a lot of sense now 😄 Think I'm going to end up youtubing episodes to watch just to see the locations, hopefully it's not too addictive 😮😆
Hi guys. Great vid as always. It’s sure is a shame people don’t respect their environment. One of the reasons Luss is such a popular place to visit, is it use to be used as the filming set of a very popular Scottish TV soap called Take The High Road - and it doubled as the fictional town of Glendarroch. Hence it overhyped popularity, and it’s tourist type attractions. RU-vid it, and you’ll probably recognise the very familiar theme of daytime TV back in the 80’s and 90’s. It was shown in England too. As you say, it’s nice enough but nothing spectacular. Stay safe on your travels!
Hello, thank you so much 🥰 Aaah now that definitely explains it! Wow we had no idea - and we do remember Take The High Road, to a point! I seem to recall it being shown in the afternoon a lot (on ITV?) in England. Back when soaps were a lot more popular and there were more of them. Interestingly though there was a lot of American and other overseas tourists, so I suspect that initial hype ended up pushing Luss as some sort of must-see village which has carried on beyond what it was originally famous for. Still a pretty place and we enjoy seeing anywhere, but there's definitely nicer villages to visit! Interestingly, the place featured in our next video someone pointed out was in the Take The High Road opening credits apparently, so look out for that 😆
Well that was a load of Trossachs 😂... It's been a very very long time since either of us visited Scotland and we will need to visit again, although we may have to save that one until the summer (too cold)... It really annoys us when humans don't look after the environments they visit. Another great video and keep this load of Trossachs coming 🤟♥️
Thanks guys, a lovely bit of trossachs to be had up there 😄 I think Scotland is meant to be very special in winter and lots of people do flock there in their vans/motorhomes - and not really any midges then I think! But definitely would be a shock after years in Spain! That said, September is a great time to visit we found, usually good weather and the school holidays are over. People are gonna people sadly 😟 But luckily I'd say most places there are looked after well. There's so much to see - you should definitely give it a go when you're travelling! 10 times easier in a motorhome than England, too 🤟
Thanks for the tip! 🥰 Will look into that. It's funny how we've generally been far less ill in the van than we ever were before. Most likely to do with coming into contact with the public much less 😂
Same on Loch Earn when I last there (March 2023), sadly. Human waste and dirty toilet paper. And food rubbish. Lots of vans parked in the lay by. Beyond failing to pack it out (or bury it) … it was right next to a large body of water, so actually a public health hazard.
Luss: lovely for an afternoon out. Two tourist shops and a decent, but stony beach and you could probably swim in the Loch. I think there are boat trips from the pier from there, but which will start at Balloch, away farther down the Loch. There is also a church to visit. I think the locals are quite annoyed at it being flooded by tourists and I get that. You may not know, but a Scottish Soap on TV in the 80s, called 'Garnock Way', was very popular and outside shots were largely filmed in Luss. That's one of the main ways that Luss became so popular. Plenty of parking and, of late, there is a new car park just outside Luss. Totally unsure re costs for overnight stays though.
I must admit, we weren't bowled over by Luss. This is all relative of course, it was still pretty, but the tagline "most beautiful in Scotland" or something similar meant it had a lot to live up to! The day was quite grim on our visit but I can see that the loch had some gorgeous views. We would have liked to have visited one of the islands if possible. Now I'd never heard of that soap, I thought it was Take The High Road that was filmed there! Quite the popular setting then it seems!
Another place to visit would be Inveraray. It's a nice town and of course there's the big Castle, owned by the Duke of Argyll. Can go walks there too. However, from Loch Lomond, it's away up past the Loch and then you have to drive over the 'Rest and be Thankful' road which is often closed for repairs due to incessant rain and falling rocks. There is some sort of plan drawn up about a better, quicker, safer route, but is to cost £Ms. FROM Inveraray, you can travel down the Mull of Kintyre and on to Campbeltown. However, we last visited this place in the 70s and many would say that it's a town that 'time's forgotten', but the scenery should still be good.
Thank you, we realised how little we've seen of Scotland (although comparatively a lot compared to many, so we feel very lucky), and much of that west coast is unknown to us. We definitely want to visit Mull of Kintyre and quite curious about Campbeltown! It certainly looks much more affordable to live there but I wonder what it's really like.
We are in Scotland now and loving the stunning scenery. Lovely video and such a shame that our beautiful country is spoiled be selfish people who can’t cherish and look after it the way we expect. 😢
Hi ladies, really glad you're enjoying it in Scotland! Looking forward to catching up on your vlogs to see where you go 😁😍 Yeah it was very disheartening to witness, but luckily most places seem to be in good condition. I think it's Loch Lomond's popularity that increases the chances of waste being left (not that that's an excuse!)
Hi there, thank you, do you mean moving on from the loch? If so, yes I think walking there and back we'd have been eaten alive 😬 Sometimes it's bearable but not in this case...
@comealongdear yes sorry,if you have a gut feeling, something, or someone is making you feel uncomfortable. There is a reason .Your intuition will never.ever lie to you. Save yourself!!
Oh absolutely, we've done it a few times and said we've got nothing to lose by moving - but everything to lose if we ignore our instincts and they turn out to be right 😬
It's a difficult one, while normally we agree, some places that would be awkward, as the Loch has so many nooks and crannies and isolated shorelines, toilets probably wouldn't be practical, but maybe at the busiest parts. Bins, that could work, if there was a system in place to empty them regularly.
@@comealongdear tbh dull chance of bins being available especially if theirs no shops around to drag the money in even household bins don’t get emptied until every 3 weeks in Scotland it’s pretty ridiculous
We know your not pish heeds…honestly 😂 Another cracking video! I think your right that Trossachs is just one of those words that roll off the 🤪 It’s rubbish that selfish people act in the way they do because it spoils it for everyone else 😢
Thanks Jo, yep nothing but clean living here in this van🤥🤪 To be fair we've worked it out a bit better lately, and when we're at work we can't touch a drop for 2 weeks minimum anyway, so it's an improvement on the years before 🤣 Trossachs is a great word and should be in everyone's vocabulary I think 😁
Sorry, that's it Take the High Road, sorry. Yes, not prettiest. Scenery is fab, yes. Been on some of the islands years ago by family hiring boat for a week and mooring up for night. Unsure if you can still do this.
Trossachs pronunciation - YES, Loch is a sound as if you were about to spit, so it's not 'lock', but that's quite forgivable actually. Katrine (Loch Katrine) is pronounced Katrin, - as in inn, not Katreen, but again forgivable. Oh yes, another is the Ochil Hills (Oakill pronunciation, so NOT Ochills as in Choice). Another howler is Buchlyvie near Stirling (it's pronounced Bucklivy as in the word lively), NOT Booklavee. Mind you there's not a lot to see there, but you were pretty near it when you were at Aberfoyle or Callander.
Thank you, we always get it wrong! 😳 I really appreciate hearing how places are supposed to be said. Never would've guessed about Loch Katrine - amusingly, I don't think we saw a single Scots person there, it was all tourists 😂
@@comealongdear I can well imagine there were many tourists, as the locals would want to be somewhere warm and sunny for their mental health and getting a tan. Weather here is very often 'sxxt'!
cute as always guys but for god sake your morning rutine....you are gonna give poor Stevie a hart attack.............he must have a great life insurance for you to push him like that.....
