Orkney Family Road Trip – Part 5: Homeward Bound, via Loch Ness.

The final day of our family road trip to Orkney had dawned! That morning we enjoyed a breakfast in Muir of Ord at The Bad Girls Bakery. It was a lovely place with delicious breakfast options and the most wonderful looking cakes. It looks like these girls have gone from strength to strength since our visit, judging by their Facebook page! I highly recommend a visit!

Loch Ness Museum

After our delicious breakfast, we hit the road and headed out to the last of our booked visits – the Loch Ness museum. We had booked a tour here mostly for our boys, but who doesnt want to find out more about Nessie?

Sadly I didn’t get any photos, or if I did I can’t find them, but it was an enjoyable couple of hours at the museum, and the boys walked away with a cuddly Nessie each, that they still love to this day! Also sadly, it was raining heavily and we still had a good few hours travelling ahead, so we jumped into the car and drove the scenic route around Loch Ness instead, before heading toward the Borders. I WILL come back and explore this, and more, of the beautiful Scottish lochs out there!

The Final Leg

And that’s a wrap! Other than a stop over for some dinner in Edinburgh, we hit the road and ploughed on back to my parents in the Borders.

Final Thoughts

Can you visit Orkney in 2 days?

You sure can! But would I recommend you did that? Absolutely not! The island is small, but it’s filled with so many interesting things. From its archaeological sites, to museums dedicated to preserving Orkney artefacts, its rich war history to gorgeous beaches, and its beautiful, walkable landscapes to its surrounding islands. There is so much to see and do, and I don’t think you’d even cover it all in a weeks visit!

Did We Enjoy Our Trip to Orkney?

Yes we did! So much so that we started planning trip 2 around their next motor show as soon as we’d arrived back from this trip. Unfortunately everything we’d booked got cancelled (COVID!) but once restrictions were lifted, we did eventually get back! And I’ll tell you all about that at a later date.

Suggestions for Driving Long Distances with Children

When planning a long car trip with children, my strongest suggestion is to break the journey up! I’m terrible at wanting to just get into a car and drive until I get to where I’m going, but that’s not fun (or often possible) with children. Frequent stops do two things: 1 – it stops children from getting bored from being in the same place for a long time, which leads to distractions for the driver, arguments with siblings and an unhappy atmosphere, and 2 – by stopping frequently you can ensure they’re fed, watered and have used the loo, preventing emergency loo stops, which usually happen at the most in opportune times! We stopped every couple of hours at roadside cafe locations but also threw in a couple of activity stops, such as visiting Whaligoe Steps on the way up, and the Loch Ness museum on the way down. Keeping children entertained in the car isn’t too difficult either. For many, cars with TV screens can work a treat (grab those favourite movies), you could bring your favourite book, or if you have handheld consoles these work well also! Unfortunately one of mine can be prone to travel sickness when we’ve tried books and screens, so we’ve come up with 9 Fun (and Free!) Road Trip Activities to Keep Kids Entertained – Without Resorting to Electronics!!

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about our first trip Orkney. I’ll be back with more soon!

Orkney Family Road Trip – Part 1: Whaligoe Steps, Struie Viewpoint and John o’Groats

Orkney Family Road Trip – Part 2: Arriving at Orkney, The Italian Chapel and Scapa Beach

Orkney Family Road Trip – Part 3: The Orkney Motor Show, St. Magnus Cathedral and The Ring of Brodgar

Orkney Family Road Trip – Part 4: John o’Groats, Wick and Muir of Ord.