Dorrell in Devon

I left Roskhill at 4.00am yesterday morning for the trek south. My favoured route is up Glen Shiel, then past Loch Garry and Loch Lochy to Fort William. This is all wonderful scenery, on this occasion with mostly blue skies and cloud skimming the tops of the mountains. I was tempted to stop to take photos, but I had a long way to go...

I filled up with diesel in Fort William at £1.31.9 - it's 7p per litre dearer on Skye... I then take the A82 down through eye-achingly beautiful Glen Coe and across Rannoch Moor to Crianlarich. I avoid the A82 south to Glasgow, as it is narrow and often choked with slow moving caravans. I prefer to go east to Callander and then join the A9 at Dunblane.

This part of the journey was virtually traffic free, is about 215 miles, and took almost exactly four hours. From here, it's motorway and dual carriageway all the way to Torquay, so another 485 miles later, I was here! We might moan about traffic congestion and the state of our roads, but yesterday, everything was flowing smoothly, and I was in Torquay by 5.30pm - not bad going in a VW van!

Here's the view from where I am sitting writing this -

- quite a contrast to Skye!

More to follow as the week goes on...