Recently on my Instagram, I asked people what they wanted to know about living in the Scottish Highlands. One question which came up through that, and then again later when I spent the weekends with some friends recently, was what I do to survive long car journeys.
I think I just accept it as part of living in the Scottish Highlands but I do spend a lot of time in the passenger seat of our car, especially at this time of year. Because my husband and I run a small business, most of November and early December is spend at Christmas Fairs and on delivery runs to wholesale customers. So far this November, we've already clocked up over 1,000 miles of driving across Scotland and we still have a few big journeys to go this month.
So, in a slightly different type of blogpost, I thought I'd share some of the things we do in order to break up our long car journeys.
Podcasts, Podcasts, Podcasts!
Our favourite way to pass time on our long journeys is by catching up on some of our favourite podcasts. Over the years, we've listened and relistened to a number of different podcasts, covering topics such as movies and tv, theology and church life. So I thought I'd share some of my recommendations below. It's a wide and varied list, so hopefully there's something for everyone.
The West Wing Weekly: probably my all time favourite. An episode by episode run down of my favourite TV show, The West Wing. I have a rewatch of this show most years, so normally I listen to this alongside my watch.
Disniversity: another great movie podcast, where a film journalist and animation lecturer go into detail about every animated Disney movie. If you love Disney animation as much as I do, you'll love this podcast
Sentimental Garbage: another pop culture podcast, talking about the films/TV shows/books that women love that we often feel ashamed of loving as much as we do.
Making an Effort with Gabby and Mel: this is the cosy comfort listen I love to hear as soon as it comes out on a Monday.
Help me Teach the Bible: a podcast we've listened to for years by one of our favourite Christian authors, Nancy Guthrie. It's really helped me gain a greater understanding of my own biblical knowledge.
Jesus Today: a recent discovery, this podcast features two Free Church of Scotland ministers discussing big topics in the Christian faith. This is a great jumping off point for us to discuss our own views on these big topics.
Audiobooks
As well as listening to new episodes of our favourite podcasts, we love to use the hours we spend in the car to listen to audiobooks. Finlay has always loved listening to audiobooks, but it's only in the last few years that I've really started to love them as well. The one's I enjoy most have been Christian books and autobiographies, but my favourites have definitely been
Becoming by Michelle Obama
Unveiling Grace by Lynn K. Wilder
The Gospel Comes with a Housekey by Rosaria Butterfield
Even Better Than Eden by Nancy Guthrie
Stop off to Break up the Journey
One of the ways we try to break up our long journeys is by stopping off along the way. I don't need to tell you that stopping and having a break is one of the most important things you can do on long car journeys, and we love having a reason to stop along the journey and enjoy some delicious food or a wander in the woods. Most of our journeys end up going through Fort William and our favourite stops there are Rain Bakery (which I've written about here) and The Highland Larder, which serves delicious food as well as having a fantastic gift shop.
Recently, on a trip down to Edinburgh, we stopped somewhere that's been on my bucket list for years: visit Aran Bakery in Dunkeld. I've been so excited to visit here for years and the pastry I tried (a spiced plum and ginger danish) really did not disappoint.
Have a Chat
This may sound obvious, but I really believe that we have our best conversations during long car journeys. We often start listening to a podcast or audiobook and end up pausing it for a few hours and chat about what we've listened to. We've had hour long conversations about our views on certain big issues that have been in the news that week, or about how we might interpret a certain part of the Bible.
Long journeys are a necessity in our lives but we now often look forward to them, making them special events, with nice food, interesting listens and great conversations. It also helps that our journeys are through some of the most beautiful places in Scotland.
If you ever find yourself visiting the Scottish Highlands, you might end up having to take a really long car journey like we do. I hope this Scottish Highland long journey survival guide helps to make the journey a little more entertaining!
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