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Barely a week has passed since I left Cádiz and I’ve had precious little time to process the events of my Spanish travels. After spending a night at home in my own bed I took another bus journey, this time to Málaga, in readiness for a flight over to the UK for the next part of my extended holiday. There was only enough time to unpack, tip the sand out of my suitcase, wash a few things, water my plants, re-pack and then engage a different mindset for the coming trip.

On arrival at Liverpool’s John Lennon airport I was to pick up a hire car. I hadn’t driven a vehicle of any sort for over six years and over the previous weeks I had noticed a little bit of anxiety at the back of my mind as to how difficult driving again might be. I needn’t have worried. As soon as I sat in the vehicle it was as if a switch was thrown and I magically ‘had the knowledge’. After driving half a mile or so I was pleasantly reminded of how much fun driving is.

So, after a blissful couple of days of grey miserable rain and catching up with family and friends in Liverpool I was on the road again. First stop was Glasgow and another catch-up with friends I hadn’t seen for too long. I continued north and drove on up to Rannoch Moor and through the Glencoe pass and beyond. Kinlochewe may not be the most well-known part of the Scottish Highlands but it’s a great base to explore the sparsely populated Wester Ross region. But I’d really come here to visit the Isle of Skye. I had spent three days on the island in 1995 and have always since referred to the place as my most favourite on Earth. Was this a case of romanticizing a fading memory?

One way to find out.

On that earlier visit the bridge connecting the island to the mainland had yet to be opened. It was still a few days from completion and we had made the final few hundred metres over from the Kyle of Lochalsh by boat. Now, it was a genuine thrill guiding my hire car over the bridge and finally making my return after 21 years.

Perpetuum Mobile, Penguin Cafe Orchestra

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvbCV6E0Wro