One of my favourite mantras of all time is
“Fill your life with experiences, not things. Have stories to tell, not stuff to show”
My mum’s best friend, my Godmother for my mum’s birthday treated her (and I and my Godmother’s 12-year-old daughter) to a trip to Falkirk, Scotland to see the Kelpies. A stay in a gorgeous lodge and a trip to go on the Segways at the Falkirk Wheel.
Off we went one Friday afternoon our journey up to Scotland was full of excitement and laughter. We chatted and joked and within no time at all we arrived at our lodge. Which we’d call home for the weekend, yet, all be it in the dark.
Scottish Segway Safari & why you’ve got to love a weekend away
The lodge from hell
Fortunately, we were in the Land Rover as a normal car would never have been able to get up the banks that led us to Tantouri. We arrived and there were no lights on in the lodge. I hopped out of the car to try and open the door, it had been very frosty and as one knee-high leather Michael Kors boot stepped onto the veranda it slipped. I lost my footing and consequently found myself on the floor. Queue the full car laughing, well that’s what I thought they’d be doing, instead, they sat in shock.
After what seemed like an eternity, 3 iPhone torches and frantic phone calls we entered the lodge. It was cold and in absolute darkness. We put the lights on and had a look around. The sauna advertised didn’t turn on, the kitchen was grubby and on both of the beds both upstairs and down, there were mouse droppings everywhere.
Related Read: Staycations, the best ways to see the UK
Our faces were a picture. Both my mum and I are absolutely petrified of mice. I’d say mine is a full-blown phobia, I can’t even watch them on I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here without panicking.
We calmed our nerves over a buffet and 4 bottles of prosecco and decided to call it a night. We trundled upstairs and I tucked my onesie into my socks and got into the single bed. My mum went to the en-suite and came back, unbeknown to her there were mouse droppings between the pillows of her bed. That was it the next thing I had a 51-year-old woman hopping into a single bed with me sleeping top to toe. If that wasn’t bad enough every time through the night I moved she flung her arms about, swatted my legs and screamed.
Enough is enough
Safe to say we were all awake very very early the next morning and decided that enough was enough. We packed our cases and left. What felt like an eternity we finally headed to the Falkirk Wheel which was a spectacle in itself. We had a light breakfast before we headed over to the Segway area.
We were all really looking forward to the Segway adventure. As we helmeted up and got prepared the instructor showed us the basics and we all climbed on our Segways.
Off we went up a steep hill shaky as we got to grips with it and onto some open grassland where we zipped about in and out of each other before we headed up through a forest to overlook the wheel.
Is was beautiful scenery, the air was clean and crisp. The Segways were really easy to control and we were all laughing and smiling again after our traumatic evening the night before.
Selfie Safari
With the Segways being heavy duty rough terrain we went up uneven banks through the forest, up and down very steep hills and even over ice and through puddles. We even got that sure of ourselves at one point we were taking selfies on the go!
The instructor was a lovely lad studying at University who being the Segway tour guide was his Saturday job. Can you imagine how cool that is? Such a better gig than folding jeans in a clothes shop like my first Saturday job was.
Find Segway deals on Groupon here.
The hour flew over and after we had managed to get our sea legs back from getting off the Segways. We headed over to see the Kelpies. They were fabulous. Towering over us they were a fabulously impressive piece of art.
See now what I mean about buying experiences instead of objects. A bouquet of flowers wouldn’t have told the same story.
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