I’ve always believed in the Loch Ness Monster. It doesn’t matter how many sightings have been proven to be hoaxes, I want to believe – and choose to believe – that in a body of water as vast as Loch Ness, there could be something magnificent lurking under there.

Big Foot, Kraken, Yetis, ALIENS – I have a lot of time for them. I do carry a heavy dose of scepticism with my will to believe – I’m well aware that since we’ve all become owners of camera equipped smart phones, sightings of all cryptids seem to have dwindled – but the world is huge and the range of living creatures is bonkers. Why couldn’t there be a mermaid out there? Or at the very least a coy panther living in Exmoor?

But let’s root ourselves firmly in proven reality for a minute, at TK Maxx in Wandsworth where I found myself buying this wonderful puffer jacket last week…

I’ve blogged about my intense admiration for puffers before, but this new one is particularly great. Really warm, proper fluffy down, a well thought out inside pocket, adjustable cuffs and hood – oh and it was just £24.99. I’m a bit in love. It’s also the perfect jacket for an adventure. THE PERFECT JACKET FOR FINDING THE LOCH NESS MONSTER.

I’d bought the jacket with this adventure in mind, as TK Maxx had invited me to celebrate their new Ridiculous Possibilities campaign in the best way: by making my own ridiculous adventure possible. I knew that I wanted to go to Scotland and search for Nessie, but I was pretty amazed when TK Maxx said that I could. (Proof that when you only spend £24.99 on your outfit there’s more cash leftover for FUN THINGS!).

And that’s how I found myself flying up to Scotland on Monday, new coat in tow and eyes on the prize. I was going to find the Loch Ness Monster.

I flew up to Inverness and picked up a hire car at the airport, heading straight for Drumnadrochit and The Loch Ness Centre & Exhibition. I wanted to be fully prepared for my Nessie search, so gathering all the facts was paramount.

What I hadn’t prepared myself for was the spectacularly pretty drive to get there. I’ve probably never driven anywhere quite so distracting. I was constantly pulling over to take photos (luckily there are designated lay-bys to do this) and whilst I was always surveying the loch to see if I could spot Nessie herself, I was equally enamoured by all the trees on the cliffs in their autumn colours. It was just the most stunning place.

I did eventually get to the exhibition centre though and having learned all there was to learn, I was ready to find my hotel, get some food and come up with a plan for finding Nessie in the morning.

I’d spent a lot of time on the Monday looking over the loch from the roadside viewing points, but I knew I needed to be down on the water properly if I really wanted to catch a glimpse of this elusive old girl. A boat was the only option and as the sun rose on Tuesday, I was waiting in the harbour ready to set sail.

Let me tell you right now, if I hadn’t had my jacket at this point I would have almost definitely had to give up my Nessie search. IT WAS FREEZING. It was the type of cold you feel right in your bones and even an emergency glove purchase wasn’t enough to save my hands from feeling like they might fall off. Thankfully I could do my jacket up to cover half my face, but my toes are still trying to remember what warmth feels like two days later.

I sailed to Urquhart Castle, constantly scanning the horizon for any Nessie-esque movements, and spent an hour exploring these ancient ruins before heading back on the boat. The castle’s history was fascinating and if I’d had more time I’d have definitely joined one of the guided tours, but I watched the film (really good by the way, make sure you do watch the film if you visit) and clambered around the old cellars, lookouts and prison cells, daydreaming about all the things this spot had seen over the past 1000 years.

It also made a great vantage point for looking for Nessie (oh trust me, I NEVER stopped looking for Nessie) and there were a number of times where I was convinced I’d seen *something* in the distance. Yes, it often turned out to be a swan or a wave…but some of my sightings weren’t so easily explained away.

Sailing back to the harbour, I was sad that my trip was already coming to an end. I never stopped looking for Nessie, staying on the top deck throughout despite the fact everyone inside was looking at me like I was completely mad (it really was freezing) but regardless of our shy monster, I just wanted to take in everything I was seeing. Words don’t do justice to a place as impressive as Loch Ness, it really is resplendent.

I’ll let you watch the vlog below to see my conclusions on all things Nessie (clickbait much?! In my defence, it is a beautiful video) but I will say now that it was an amazing trip and I will definitely be going back to explore more of the Scottish Highlands.

It was just SO good.

As a side note, I really do love the ethos behind this TK Maxx campaign. Yes I’ve worked with them on this post but I am SUCH a big TK Maxx fan and no week goes by where I haven’t bought something from there, whether it’s something as simple as a pair of tights or as unexpected as a bedside table when I’d intended to buy a birthday present. I love the ‘treasure hunt’ experience of finding something special (can you tell I’m the type of person who would like looking for Nessie?!) and even more so when I end up finding things I never would have thought to look for.

Thank you TK Maxx for making my Ridiculous Possibility of finding the Loch Ness Monster possible – and for the awesome jacket! I’ll remember this trip forever and you made nine year old me (and 29 year old me, who am I kidding?!) very happy.

😀

x

This trip was sponsored by TK Maxx but the idea was mine and all enthusiasm is very much my own. You can read more about how I work with brands here. 

It was hard to leave The Scarlet, but once we saw the view from our bed at Bedruthan we were more than happy with our new home…

Bedruthan is the sister hotel to The Scarlet, sitting higher up the cliffside but essentially next door, and this is their family friendly hotel which has everything you could need to entertain little ones.

But whilst the babysitting services, daily childcare, entertainment, soft play, TRAMPOLINES (I could go on) are all brilliant things to have for those travelling with kids, you can still have a very nice time if travelling without any. There are adult only spaces and the “tranquillity room” really is very tranquil, I feel like more of my Mondays should involve roaring fires, leftover Sunday papers and nothing but the sound of the waves outside.

There’s also an adults only restaurant (you can even sit away from the kids at breakfast if you really want to get away from them!) and the spa is exclusively for adults except for a (rather lovely sounding) family session which runs for half an hour in the morning.

Bedruthan was opened in 1960 and thanks to the way it’s built into the cliffside, it can seem quite sprawling when you first arrive. We quickly got our bearings though and once we’d admired our room (again, lots of “LOOK AT THAT VIEW!” chatter) we headed down to the village for lunch at Catch…

We really enjoyed our meal and I’d def recommend you eat here if you find yourself in this very pretty corner of the world. I had a brilliant goats cheese and onion marmalade toasted sandwich and ST had the catch of the day (a whole roasted plaice, in this instance) with smashed minted peas and garlic and rosemary chips. I had to order my own chips once I’d seen his. THESE CHIPS ARE VERY SPECIAL.

After yet another walk across that lovely bay, we headed back to the hotel for a doze (did I mention that this was the most chilled weekend ever?) before getting into our robes for our Sensory Spa Garden booking.

The Sensory Spa Garden is an hour-long, seven-stage experience which takes you through various outdoor treatments with the aim of leaving you feeling refreshed and renewed. And let me tell you, it works.

There was scrubbing, saunaing, hot tubbing…but best of all was the icy cold water bucket drench after the 80 degree heat of the cedar wood sauna. I HAVE NEVER FELT SO ALIVE. I mean I yelped and made a face like I might die, but it was invigorating enough for me to proceed to have a further two buckets dumped on me. And yes, this is all in the great British outdoors in mid October!

The oil, seaweed and salt scrub at the end of the session was just heavenly and my skin still feels better for it now, but I also just really loved the final part of the Spa Garden experience where we sat in our robes and blankets by an open fire with a mug of cinnamon tea and our feet immersed in warm copper footbaths.

To say the whole experience was blissful is an understatement.

Post-spa, we headed back to the room to watch the sunset from bed…

Slightly bonkers, no?!

And then we got ready to head down to The Herring – Bedruthan’s main restaurant – for dinner.

I’ve got to say, this meal was our favourite of the whole trip. I was in my absolute element, especially as they let you order from their extensive Wild Cafe menu too. I had the best cheese of the weekend (yes, I was keeping a cheese tally) as part of my Cornish Blue, fig, walnut and chicory salad. And then there was the sticky toffee pudding of course…

Oh the pudding! I never thought I’d find a sticky toffee which I’d like more than the infamous Cartmel version but I did in the form of this slab of deliciousness.

I should mention how good the wine was too…

I wanted to try a Cornish wine (admittedly more for the novelty factor) and didn’t really expect it to be especially good, yet this Bacchus Dry from the nearby Camel Valley vineyard was one of the nicest wines I’ve had in a long time. It was described as being like a Sancerre but it was nicer than any Sancerre I’ve ever had and almost water-clear in the glass. I’ll definitely be buying some more bottles online.

After a great night’s sleep it was time for more food (woo!) and I have to say once again, we were really impressed. There was a hot and cold breakfast buffet which I always prefer to a la carte anyway (a nice insight into how greedy I am) but the standard was really high. You could get your eggs cooked to order if you wanted, but everything was so fresh in the hot buffet that I didn’t feel the need to order anything bespoke. Other hotels take note, gloriously yolky fried eggs ARE possible to achieve on breakfast buffets! You also don’t need to faff about with a breakfast buffet’s worst nemesis – The Communal Toast Machine – as the staff bring you all the toast you could ever need directly to your table. The dream!

I like how I got the top of my head in this pic, good one!

Just like at The Scarlet, there were so many nice touches everywhere at Bedruthan. Of course it’s a more informal vibe – it’s a family hotel with kids seemingly having the times of their lives – but there were lots of little things like having fresh local milk in the room fridge for making tea and coffee or finding books like this in your bedside drawer…

It was just a really nice place to be.

As I said in yesterday’s post, we’ll definitely be coming back to Mawgan Porth and I know a trip to Bedruthan will feature – whether that’s to stay, eat or just be drenched in icy water in the Sensory Spa Garden 😀

I’ll be blogging about our surf lesson experience tomorrow and there’ll be a vlog this weekend so you can see the hotels and beach properly, but this was basically our fave weekend in a long time.

And the perfect wedding anniversary <3

x

B&B rates at Bedruthan for the type of room we stayed in – a “Sea View Double” room – start at £140 per night. The Sensory Spa Garden experience is £45 if staying in the hotel, £55 if not as part of a half day spa access package.

We were incredibly lucky to be guests of Bedruthan. You can read more about how I work with brands here.

I think I have a new favourite place for a staycation – The Scarlet Hotel in Mawgan Porth…

I wasn’t sure what to expect when we headed to Cornwall this weekend for our second wedding anniversary, but I definitely didn’t expect it to be quite so perfect.

The last time I’d been to Cornwall was when I was 17, staying at the infamous Sunnyside campsite (now derelict, long may she rest in peace) and living off 50p “test tube” shots and fried egg sandwiches. It was as brilliant a holiday as a 17 year old could wish for, complete with romance, sunburn and AS results celebrations, but I never forgot that it took us eight hours to get there. The seemingly never-ending journey is why I hadn’t returned.

This weekend though, we decided to fly from Gatwick. And my goodness, it was SO easy. Less than an hour in the air and then our taxi from Newquay airport to The Scarlet took seven minutes. Seven minutes of gazing out the window and realising just how ruddy beautiful our home for the weekend was going to be…

It’s obvious as soon as you enter The Scarlet that you’re staying somewhere very special. Huge windows wherever you are mean that you’re nearly always able to see the sea and there’s invariably a member of staff around should you need anything, despite the fact that the usual hotel facilities like “a reception desk” have been completely done away with.

There’s a real sense of calm (it’s adults only, which certainly helps!) and as an eco hotel, there are lots of quirky touches which act as a constant reminder that sustainability and luxury can in fact go hand in hand – whether it’s the slippers made from recycled plastic bottles or the local handmade soap which you’re encouraged to take home in an organic cotton bag. (Side note: you will not need to be encouraged to smuggle home the toiletries, they’re the nicest hotel toiletries I’ve ever had the pleasure of using and they smell DIVINE).

Luckily our room was available when we arrived despite the fact we were early, so we were able to get settled straight away (read: stand on the balcony and say “CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS VIEW?!” over and over again) and get our things together for a walk along the shore.

Mawgan Porth is a particularly lovely beach, situated between Padstow and Newquay and complete with huge crashing waves, rugged coastal paths and seemingly endless golden sand. It regularly features in the “best beaches” type spreads you see in the Sunday papers, yet still manages to be quieter than the neighbouring bays. It wasn’t hard to fall in love with it.

Obviously I managed to get completely soaked on the beach whilst trying to save a fish (of course), so it was nice to get back to The Scarlet in the afternoon to warm up in their cedar wood sauna. No need to forgo the sea view here either, as the portholes mean you never have to stop watching the waves…

The indoor pool

The outdoor pool

After a luxurious swim indoors and a brave swim outdoors (an unheated reed-filtered natural pool is a test in October, but I promise it’s worth it!) we were ready to head to the hot tubs and watch the stars come out…

With a G&T in hand and nothing but the sound of the wind and the waves, this was a very nice way to warm up.

We dined in The Scarlet’s restaurant on the Saturday night, enjoying all sorts of treats (ST won’t stop talking about the trout and I will happily bore you for hours about the cheeseboard) and generally relaxing into the stay even more. The big booth tables enable you to spread out and the atmosphere was really relaxed despite the high quality of the food. It never felt stuffy and I didn’t feel under-dressed in jeans and a shirt.

The food and drinks were good throughout the stay and it was nice to try so much local produce. Obviously I’ve already mentioned the cheese (THE CHEESE!) but the drinks were especially good: ST really liked the local lager – Korev – and I became a big fan of both the local apple juice by Polgoon and the Tarquin’s gin, especially when mixed together.

I can’t not mention the boozy chilli hot chocolate, either. It was quite something! The best part though? You could get your drinks and food delivered to wherever you were in the hotel at no extra charge, so if you wanted to relax on your private balcony but still essentially have waiter service then everything was just a phone call away.

On the Sunday morning we had an early breakfast (EGGS FLORENTINE, GET IN MY FACE) as ST had a surfing lesson booked with Nick at The Surf Club, but I’m going to blog about the surfing separately as this was a real highlight of the trip.

We checked out of The Scarlet after breakfast, heading over to their sister hotel Bedruthan for our second night. We weren’t gone for long though, spending most of Monday afternoon back at The Scarlet playing pool, sunbathing on the terrace (albeit in a coat!) and enjoying one last meal in the restaurant before it was time to fly home.

I’m going to blog about our Bedruthan stay tomorrow, as our bedroom there had quite possibly the best view of any hotel I’ve ever stayed in and our time at their garden spa was just idyllic.

Until then though, I’ll sum up by saying that The Scarlet is a really wonderful place and we have been talking non-stop about going back.

I was really ill in the run-up to this weekend away and was slightly terrified I wouldn’t be able to fully enjoy it, but I really needn’t have worried. It seems almost impossible to feel anything but relaxed when you’re somewhere as idyllic as The Scarlet and we both rated this trip as one of the best holidays we’ve ever had.

Stay tuned for part two tomorrow and yep, there’ll be a vlog soon 🙂

x

B&B rates at The Scarlet for the type of room we stayed in – a “Just Right” room – start at £210 per night. 

We were incredibly lucky to be guests of The Scarlet hotel. You can read more about how I work with brands here.