It's a disappointment, but the Orkney part of next year's Scottish holiday in April, May and June will have to be abandoned.
It's like this. There are two big Orkney costs. A pitch at the Stromness camping site for two weeks - say £550. And of course the return ferry from Scrabster to Stromness, and then back again, for a car and caravan - say £300. That's £850 altogether. And it all has to be paid up front in advance, and long before going. In fact to be quite sure of getting a place on the right ferry, and a good caravan pitch at Stromness, I should be booking about now. Certainly not later than the end of November.
The snag is of course money. I have a cashflow problem that I can't get around. It's all about the interaction of my bank balance, my savings account balance and the credit card direct debit (I pay off the entire balance due every month). When my savings are at a decent level, I can easily cover the credit card repayment and more besides. But I severely depleted my savings last January, when buying the new caravan, and paying for the new hardstanding. They have never recovered, because all through 2026 I have been hit with a succession of big bills - some foreseen and planned for, many others quite unexpected. I've had to raid my savings as necessary. They have flatlined. The long and short of it is that I can't find the cash for that £850 this side of Christmas, which in turn means I'll have to wait until January, when it will surely be too late to book the Orkney ferry and caravan pitch.
I had so much looked forward to that fortnight on Orkney! But if I don't have the money for the bookings, I can't go. I can still have a long and satisfying Scottish holiday in 2027, but it will now be two weeks shorter than originally intended. It will also be £850 cheaper. Well, I suppose that's some consolation.
So instead of travelling all the way to the far north, I'll go no further than Fife. I'll see my friends as already planned, although sadly there will now be no little presents from Orkney to give them.
Still, I can adapt my Scottish holiday to include other places. On the way to Fife, I'm already thinking of spending a week and a half, or maybe two weeks, in south-west Scotland - Galloway and Ayrshire, not visited since 2014. Ayrshire gives access to the Firth of Clyde, and the possibility of a quick voyage to the Isle of Arran, not seen since Easter 1969 when I went there on an A-Level Geography field trip. The crossing from Ardrossan takes only an hour, so I'd have ample time to explore Brodick and see its castle. Brodick is no Rothesay, of course. But I can go to Rothesay too if I want. There's a thirty-five minute ferry from Wemyss Bay.
It'll be all right. Orkney can wait for another year.
