[Pappers]

It was 3:30 o'clock in the morning when my family and I climbed into the car and set off for an 11 hour drive to Scotland. It may sounds crazy but it has become a bit of a tradition to get up at this time, and thankfully for us we can sleep in the car, although I do feel slightly sorry for my dad who doesn't get to sleep at all! We arrived mid-afternoon with aching legs and numb bottoms, but soon sorted ourselves out and met the rest of the family. My grandpa is a bit of a fishing fanatic and has passed the bug onto my dad and his 4 brothers, so each year my grandpa rents a house for a week and they all go fishing while the rest of us are left to entertain ourselves. You would think this would be a bit of a challenge given the typical never-ending rainfall, but with a 7 year old cousin constantly rushing around, we were never bored!

[Pappers]

We seemed to be blessed on Tuesday afternoon as my mum, brother, sister and I had booked to go pony trekking, and it seemed to be just about the only afternoon that was warm and sunny. We arrived at the stables (which were situated down a 4 mile dirt track!) and got geared up in boots and hats, before making our way to our horses. I was slightly cautious when they asked who was the most confident rider, as for some reason I got picked and was therefore given Roamer; suggesting he was a bit of a wild one! However he turned out to be lovely and caused no problem at all. We all went for a nice stroll on our horses; as we where so far away from anywhere the countryside was beautiful, and the guides made sure the horses behaved, making the whole time very relaxing!

[Pappers]

Thick black clouds covered the sky on wednesday and the rain plummeted down non-stop. Typically, we had picked that day to go white water rafting, however it turned out to be pretty good as we got very wet anyway! Each raft had 6 people and a guide, meaning not too much responsibility was put on any one person, which was very good as I don't think any of us would have made it out alive if we had! The rapids were crazy; we had to listen out to the guide's instructions and managed to expertly navigate our way through the rapids to get the best 'line' (a good experience without getting caught on the rocks). We had wetsuits on to keep us as warm as possible; it was still pretty nippy but I didn't really notice it after a while, possibly because I was numb! Due to the rain the river began to rise and got quicker, which only added to the excitement and the adrenaline didn't stop pumping throughout!

[Pappers]

As you can tell, it was a bit of a wet ride!

[Pappers]