Im a big believer in drawing inspiration from those around and I’m lucky to have a career and network that inspires every day. This moment was a ‘first’ though…
A holiday born from a meeting discussing the ins and outs of risk management. Perhaps in a bid to liven up the meeting, the client flashed a picture of a landrover with a roof tent in the Highlands of Scotland with a beaming smile on their face. I was sold.
Now of course for the intricate matter of trying to onward sell to my husband. We’ve been glamping once together. A bed, a yurt, some electricity and that beautiful morning dew… “Ew, everything’s damp!”. This was a challenge for even a professional salesperson.
First step. The books. I have a highly amusing habit of impulsive book purchases. They sit on my bedside table, collect dust and every day I commit and fail to reading them. The children would flick through the pages gravitating to the beautifully shaggy highland cows. The books are in my cabin bag, I’m sure I’ll read them at some point.
Second step. The occasional reference to the genuine dream I’ve always had to spend time in Scotland. Testing the water some might say. And this is where the BBC played a blinder. I’d heard about this programme called Traitors but had never watched. Well, we are now hooked. And of course the greatest advertisement for the stunning highlands.
The third step and perhaps the most critical. The purpose. This took a while. If we were going to go to Scotland, what would our family of four do there? Dom and I went hiking and mountain biking in Pitlochry at the infancy of our relationship. It goes down in history as one of my (our?) favourites. But of course, life’s different now and there’s no way that the little legs in our family would endure. Other adventures had included an RV around the west coast of Canada and the ‘ring of fire’ in Iceland. It turns out Scotlands equivalent was the North Coast 500 (NC500). Bingo. Too early to vocalise. Now I needed the lure…
The fourth step. How do design such my husband, would actually enjoy. Really genuinely love. It needed something that would make it stand out. Google had a role to play. The roads are too windy for a campervan. The idea of having to pre plan hotels, stressful. Overland Adventures came to the rescue. One old fashioned landrover, two roof tents with ladders, a campfire and the ‘lux package’ of fairy lights (essential) and a telescope. Hooray.
Step 5. The approach. Thus far the planning had been broadly covert. Nothing booked, just the harnessing of ideas. Before the big conversation, the final checks. Those that have followed our previous adventures will know that mozzies and midges LOVE me. They are synonymous with the Lochs and Munroes. It was all about timing. May half term seemed to give us the best shot at being insect-less. Now for the final “Darling, how would you feel if…”
Marriage is about compromise right? This moment was about negotiation. And it went a little like this ‘yes, we can do a long and luxurious, all-inclusive summer holiday…with a sprinkling of the rustic in May’. Before there was any risk of minds being changed, it was booked. They both were.
The funny thing though is that as our excitement has grown, so has this client’s trepidation.
Anyway, we’ve just touched down in Edinburgh and are about to start living the dream.
Grim (on tour) up North 