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7 Days in the Isle of Skye

Over the next week, I will be sharing with you our adventures and tales of how we filled our 7 days on the Isle of Skye!

Now, for anyone who has never heard of Skye, where have you been for the last few years?

For those that have heard of Skye but just need a little more persuasion as to why you should visit then this is going to be the blog for you!

Before I start, I thought I would share with…

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The Concrete Jungle

Where dreams are made of. We’ve booked New York for New year! And we could not be more excited about it! What started out as trying to find a weekend break in September ended up being a slightly more expensive week in New York… ooops! You’re probably wondering how this happened? It’s quite simple really, if I go on sky scanner to find one holiday, I quite often get carried away looking at the…

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Disney Day!

We had our quiet and peaceful night in Malham, it was now time to turn it around and head off out for Disney on Ice in Leeds and mix things up a little. Personally, I think it was a well balanced weekend! When it came to finding a camp spot, we had a quick look on google maps and came across a few parks, we decided these could be good places to try park the van as they quite often have hidden…

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Harry and Hermoine definitely got a helicopter lift up here….

Harry and Hermoine definitely got a helicopter lift up here….

I’m aware we’ve been a little bit quiet recently at Little Vanventures but its only because we’ve been busy having so much fun and now it’s time to report to you what mischief we have gotten ourselves into these past few weekends, starting with Malham Cove and Leeds. Tom bought me tickets for Disney on Ice for my birthday earlier this year in Leeds. We decided to stay in the van and have some…

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Now, I probably won’t cover everything but here’s a few key points which stuck in my mind…

Locals

The locals are some of the friendliest people you will ever meet.

The problem for us British?

They are far too friendly for our liking, well until we get used to it anyway.

They will try and sell you stuff you don’t want. They will try and invite you into their ‘bar’ which is actually just a seat on a beach with a local selling drinks from the back of his car, if youre lucky he may even have a coconut for you!

Barbadians will never be rude or ignorant towards you. They must be the most relaxed people I have ever met, the word ‘quickly’ does not exist.

However, don’t feel pressured into buying anything from them or even allowing them to be your tour guide, which leaves me on to my next point…

Car Hire

I would recommend hiring a jeep and doing a tour of the Island. You can easily do it in 1-2 days!

I loved my jeep, I felt like Barbie driving around in my little 4×4 automatic soft top!

However, don’t be fooled!

Cars which are hired to tourists have a different registration plate to other cars so you can be spotted easily. We were asked if we could provide a lift to the top of the hill by a local, which we agreed too. On the way up he started telling us all kinds of facts, it was a really interesting insight to the little island but it wasn’t long before we started to think hmmm… how much is this going to cost us?

When we got to the top, he hopped out and explained he was a tour guide and if we wanted to go any further with him we would have to pay around $40. We immediately said no, told him we shouldn’t be paying him as we didn’t ask for this service, he just ‘wanted a lift’. We became soft and gave him a small tip but we learned our lesson pretty quick!

Don’t fancy driving?

Try the….

  Boogie Bus

Boogie buses are the smaller buses which only fit around 20 people on them. They are generally crammed with people but have some serious TUNES blasting out. All the locals on the bus will be bopping away, if not dancing. It’s a real experience compared to your normal bus!

And when you get to Bridgetown?

  Street Food

Do it.

Don’t be scared of it, or the after effects of it…. You know what I mean.

If the locals eat it, you can eat it. (Personally, this rule applies everywhere for me and some of the BEST meals I’ve tasted have been street food)

And oh my, is it tasty! Fish, Chicken and Curries all cooked with some of the most beautiful spices. And not to forget the Macaroni Pie which is a speciality! You can eat in a restaurant catered to tourists everywhere so why not try some real Barbadian street food cuisine. You will not be disappointed and you’ll still have a pocket full of pennies left for….

Rum

Even if you’re a hard-core beer drinker with an oath to never stray away from the golden ale, you HAVE to try rum.

Rum cocktails are delicious and to be honest, they’re hard to avoid! Rum is everywhere especially at happy hour and you know what? EVERY hour is happy hour in Barbados!

  ** Disclaimer for and on behalf of Little Vanventures – Do not try to swim with turtles after a few too many rum punches **

    Barbados tips for first timers! Now, I probably won’t cover everything but here’s a few key points which stuck in my mind…

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First, I was like WOAH, then I was like WOAH!

First, I was like WOAH, then I was like WOAH!

  Please tell me you all got the finding Nemo reference in there? If not, this is a state of emergency -please educate yourself on the joys of Finding Nemo as soon as possible! I imagine if you’re heading to Barbados, swimming with the turtles will most likely be very near the top of your bucket list, if not at the top. You will be able to find numerous Catamaran rides which offer you this…

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First, I was like WOAH, then I was like WOAH!

First, I was like WOAH, then I was like WOAH!

  Please tell me you all got the finding Nemo reference in there? If not, this is a state of emergency -please educate yourself on the joys of Finding Nemo as soon as possible! I imagine if you’re heading to Barbados, swimming with the turtles will most likely be very near the top of your bucket list, if not at the top. You will be able to find numerous Catamaran rides which offer you this…

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Woah, I went to Barbados!

Woah, I went to Barbados!

Woah, I wanna go back to the island Woah, We swam with the turtles in the deep blue sea I’m having a week of playing catch up, as at the moment we have quite a quiet schedule with spending our weekends working on #Betsysfacelift. This isn’t a bad thing for me as it has given me some time to reflect on my pre-blog trips and remind me of the places and experiences I would like to share with you.…

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You want me to strip an engine?

You want me to strip an engine?

Were back tracking a bit here as we need to catch up. Time flies when you’re having fun! This is the progress of operation #Betsysfacelift We spent the weekend stripping down the engine and cleaning up as many parts as possible. Its not that the engine particularly needs a lot of work doing on it, it just needs cleaning up and a few bits welding but we thought it would be best to do it now than…

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I'm 26 - I can't be running wrong?

I’m 26 – I can’t be running wrong?

Ever wondered why your shoes are also more worn in and scuffed on one side than the other? Well, it could be your gait. What do I mean by gait? Gait is the way your body works to create motion. A gait analysis is pretty self explanatory, it analyses the way your limbs move to check they are doing so in a way which is non detrimental to your posture and feet. I took a trip to Foot Traffic…

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This is why brands really need to work with bloggers Phoebe Lee from Little Grey Box explains the importance of bloggers and why brands need us.

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A glutton for punishment

A glutton for punishment

Is a term that suits me quite well I believe! I’ve been toying with the idea for a while, mainly because those couple of winter pounds is starting to become a spring stone. I think I’ll always be a little bit chunky. I’ve never had the ballerina build. As one of my colleagues calls it, I’m ‘Chunky but Funky’. Anyway, this time last year after training really hard for about 18 months I hit my…

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Daily Prompt: Noise

via Daily Prompt: Noise Noise, is a funny thing. That old song that brings back a quaint memory from the past which you can’t help but smile about. The sounds of the birds reminding you that nature is all around. That one noise tick tick tick that always drives you insane and you’re not quite sure why tick tick tick. That’s the one sound I hate the most. Tick Tick Tick If I can hear it, it…

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Commando Memorial at Fort William

Commando Memorial at Fort William

The Commando Memorial is a Category A listed monument in Scotland, dedicated to the men of the original British Commando Forces raised during World War II. Situated around a mile from Spean Bridge village, it overlooks the training areas of the Commando Training Depot established in 1942 at Achnacarry Castle. Unveiled in 1952 by the Queen Mother, it has become one of Scotland’s best-known…

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You don’t have to travel far to grasp the opportunity to find a beautiful place.

Quite often we have weekends where we only have a few hours free which means we can’t utilise the van as much as we would like to and I’m sure you have weekends like that too.

But, were here to remind you that you are always surrounded by beautiful places, we just fail to see them as we consider them the norm.

This was something I noticed the last time I visited Manchester. To me, Manchester is just a City close by which is good for shopping and nightlife. Its easily accessible and even though I’ve been loads of times, have I ever really seen it?

Some of the buildings there are equally as ornate as some of the buildings I would take numerous pictures of if I was in a European City somewhere.

With that in mind, we have spent the last few weekends at home spending time working on Betsy. So, I’m going to share with you some of the beautiful places around where we live that have been the setting for a nice evening stroll, or an adventurous afternoon.

Haslam Park

Haslam park is situated a 5 minute walk from where I live and generally it is somewhere I go at least once a week on dog walking duties. On this particular night, we were hoping to get some picture for my post ‘Can technology really advance as much in the next 50 years as it has in the last 50?’ and it was only when we were looking for a good spot and carrying the camera with us that myself and Tom realised most areas of the park were ‘Good Spots’. The sun was setting and we had a lovely view of Tulketh Mill. We wandered down to the duck pond and admired the swans swimming gracefully and the reflection of the tress in the water. If you ever visit Haslam park, count how many different trees you see – I think you will be quite surprised that there are very few trees the same.

  Preston Docklands

I love it here. Especially at night, without a doubt it is one of my favourite places. The reflection of the lights into the water really makes it special along with the multitude of different boats moored there. I’ve always loved being by the water. I must admit, it’s a shame it has been developed to be the home of Morrisons, McDonald’s and numerous sofa specialists. I personally think it had so much more potential to be the social hub of Preston. The walk around the Docks is exactly 2.5km and incredibly popular with runners including myself (When I get a slight kick of motivation!).

Rivington Pike

This was our Friday afternoon jaunt last week. I had never been before but Tom has spent a lot of time here whilst growing up, mainly riding his bike. He was showing me the kind of jumps he would do, I have decided that there are Some things I would rather not know when it relates to his adrenaline junkie side! Rivington Pike overlooks the village of Rivington in Lancashire. The closest town to it is Horwich. The Pike is 363 meters high and is quite a steady uphill walk we came up and down in around an hour and 15, which does include spending some time taking pictures. The tower at the top is a grade 2 listed building and was originally built as a hunting lodge in 1733. As you take the walk from the car park to the top, you can bear off to the right and see the gardens which were once referred to as being like the Chinese gardens. A lot of work is currently being done to try and preserve them. We were lucky enough to see some wild deer in the trees as we were walking up. Not something you see every day!

    So now, I challenge you to find something beautiful close to where you are.

Remember, everybody looks, but not everybody sees.

Please, feel free to tag us in any of your responses so we too can see the beauty around you!

via Daily Prompt: Grasp

Everybody looks, but not everybody sees. You don’t have to travel far to grasp the opportunity to find a beautiful place. Quite often we have weekends where we only have a few hours free which means we can’t utilise the van as much as we would like to and I’m sure you have weekends like that too.

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Only the Scotch can make Scotch proper Scotch... Right?

Only the Scotch can make Scotch proper Scotch… Right?

This is a must for anyone who likes a wee dram of whiskey **In best Scottish accent** Even if you’re not too partial to whiskey I’d still say it’s worth a visit! Set in the quiet yet picturesque town of Fort William at the foot of Ben Nevis lies the distillery. It opened it 1825, a lot of the building is new however, there is one room which is part of the original distillery building. Firstly,…

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How to build your travel blog into a successful brand  A really interesting read from one of my favourite travel bloggers. lots of hints, tips and tricks on here. Really provided myself and Tom with some food for thought!