Well, at the time of writing there are two weeks to go, all being well. Two weeks until we relocate from the South East of England, to the country I call home: Scotland.

It's not something I've written about much - at all even - even though it's been in the works a good while. And the back story is long and winding. So, for now, I'll spare all that. This is a project, and it will unfold, and there will be plenty time for all that.

So, the grand plan is to build our own house, for which the wheels are in motion; and while that happens we are moving to temporary rental accommodation. We secured that earlier this month after looking for a suitable property for almost 6 months. I can tell you, I jumped on it! It's only about 5 miles from where we plan to build, so it will be handy as our build unfolds.

temporary home while our new one is built

Our chosen destination is just inside the border of Scotland, a few miles from Gretna Green. This is Dumfries and Galloway, near the Solway firth. Those that know me might wonder why we didn't venture as far as my childhood homeland in the Highlands; but in the end, practicalities around transport, access to my work etc. had to be part of the balance.

Nonetheless, it's a quiet rural spot with good access to transport links, Glasgow, Edinburgh and the North of England. (Carlisle, The Lake District, Newcastle, Manchester even). In fact Dumfries and Galloway is a bit of an unsung gem of Scotland - the countryside is unspoilt and rolling, the Solway coast edges the region with some decent beaches, and life is fairly rural. This is just what we want for baba as he grows up.

I'm certain we'll adapt to this way of life very easily - we are not really city folk :) and we both love Scotland. And we'll certainly relish being in striking distance of Edinburgh - our favourite city - as well as within striking distance of our relatives. The clean air and soft water, the wide open spaces and quiet surroundings, the cooler weather! All part of what we consider an improvement in quality of life.

Let the adventure begin!

I'm often asked about driving to Scotland - since I do the journey myself pretty often. There are fewer main roads in Scotland which simplifies the choices, but there are still options for distance versus scenery. My main recommendations are presented below, based on a journey from Cambridge to Inverness - which raises the question: do I go East or West?

Option 1: Head West

The most scenic route in my opinion (for the scottish part) is the west - through GLENCOE- i.e. A82...

My recommended way to take that from is: (524 miles)

A1 north -> A66 at scotch corner to cut west -> M6/M74 north -> M8 round glasgow -> Erskine bridge -> (A82) Glencoe -> Fort William -> Inverness

Route Map

At the scottish end this is the more interesting route as it goes through Glencoe and past Loch Ness. The English end is basically just motoroway.

Option 2: A9 East Scotland

The M6 is the main motorway up the west of the country - and surprisingly it costs very little in extra miles to cut across to the west then back again.

Via M6 / A9 (510 Miles)

Route Map

Google suggests this route - which is basically simplest, but also arguably most boring.. The English and lowland Scotland stretch is the same as option 1, but then it takes the A9 (i.e. the eastern side of the highlands) up to Inverness, so is more direct... saves about 15 miles - (amazingly you'd think it would be a lot more.. )

Option 3: Stay entirely East

499 miles

The natural inclination might be to stay East for the whole journey and head towards Edinburgh. Instead of doing that all the way up the A1, it is shorter and quicker and more scenic to cut across country from Newcastle. You CAN go through Northumberland National park which is a very scenic, but quite twisty route... so I tend to skirt round the edge on this route through COLDSTREAM:

Route Map

As you can see - this misses out Glencoe on the west and uses the A9 - i.e. stays East for the whole journey. Consequently it is the shortest route, but still by less than 30 miles... this is the route I would take if pressed for time and wanting "just to get there" without being too bothered about scenery..

Option 4: The tourist route

535 miles

This is option is if you really want to go past Edinburgh and also do the scenic route through glencoe... so overall, it probably is THE most scenic route..

This is longest - but picks up Edinburgh, Glencoe and Loch Ness

Route Map

As you can see, timewise and distance wise there is not a whole load in it..

[photos: Nik Sargent]