Tuesday 24 July 2012

Anniversary Celebrations on the Cheap and very Cheerful!

It was my second wedding Anniversary the other day, what better excuse for a celebration?  But, anniversaries can be expensive occasions.  We seem to be influenced more and more by the media, advertisements and shops, to dig deep on significant dates, to show our loved ones just how much we care.  After all, how on earth will your partner know how important they are to you, if you don't buy them a watch/silk tie/slap-up dinner/bunch of flowers?  Well, I say, bah-humbug to that!

Paris: Fabulous, but too Expensive this year
This time last year I surprised JW with a long weekend in Paris.  Now don't get me wrong, Paris was fabulous, but it just wasn't going to fit into our budget this time around. So, this year, we did something a bit different! 

JW got diddly squat as an anniversary present and I got zero in return.  Just the way we now like it!  Instead of wasteful gifts, we decided that JW would take the Monday off work and we would just spend some time together instead.  But as the rain poured down, and having done the local art galleries and indoor activities, I got itchy feet.  Inspiration struck when I looked at the weather forecast and saw that the sun was shinning over Fort William.

I have always wanted to climb Ben Nevis (the highest peak in the UK) and decided that we should just go for it and have an adventure for our anniversary.  Shockingly, we have only used our little tent once in the 12 years we've been together! So, I thought it was about time it saw the light of day again.

I won't bore you with the details but, just to say that we pitched up at Lochy Holiday Park to a very friendly welcome and a great £15.00 a night fee. We also stumbled upon the most delicious Thai restaurant in town called The Cafe Mango The food was so good!  If you're ever in Fort William, you should check it out!

Our night at the campsite was spot on.  Funnily enough, I have just finished reading Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig.  If you've read it you'll know that he spends a lot of time tuning his motorbike very early in the morning.  So, it was rather fitting that we (and the rest of the campsite I'm sure), got woken up by a group of bikers doing exactly that at 6.30am!  But, it was all to the good, as the noise of the engines revving got us up and going and climbing Ben Nevis before we knew where we were.



The climb up was long, but the path was good, making it much easier than it might have otherwise been.  Walking up through the cloud layer was amazing.  It's probably the closest thing to heaven that there is.  And the views?  Well they were spectacular!  You can't really get a much better feeling, than being at the top of the very highest point in your country.  What else could you want on your wedding anniversary?  I don't think a box of chocolates even comes close!










2 comments:

  1. This is such a great post :) have been inspired by doing holidays on the cheap since I saw Superscrimpers £50 challenges and a couple had a romantic weekend away for £50 and a family had a holiday for the same amount.

    I have been away camping in Whitby this year, had a BBQ and wandered around the free sights as well as spending time on the beach, it was so simple and lovely. Really confirmed to me that spending less makes your life so much richer!

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    1. Thanks Zoe :O) Yes, I am definitely a camping convert now!!

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