GETTINGBEHINDTHEWHEELFORSOLOBREAK
courtyard at Scone Palace, surrounded by a fleet of MINI Countryman cars. This is the Flash Pack’s latest holiday: A road trip through the Highlands, played out over a long weekend.
After becoming acquainted with our fellow flashpackers – there are 12 of us in total – we’re shuffled into pairs and threes and helped to programme our sat navs. Then we’re off into the countryside.
Part of the success of this trip is that the driving itself becomes part of the fun, rather than simply a means to an end. Especially with Top Gear-style walkie-talkies in every glove compartment, ensuring the cars are in constant contact with each other and the Flash Pack’s co-founder Lee Thompson, bringing up the rear.
Our first destination is the Bridge of Orchy, spanning a picturesque gorge south of Loch Tulla. But we’re not here to admire the view from the bridge – we’re here to jump off it.
Activities like this are key to flashpacking’s central pillars; adventure, adrenaline and luxury. It’s a composite which continues in style that evening around a roaring campfire at the foot of Ben Nevis. Here, we’re served a mouthwatering dinner by a personal chef, before retiring to a cluster of cosy yurts and boutique log cabins for the night.
The rest of the weekend follows a similar pattern; physical challenges (add sea-kayaking and zip-lining), magnificent castles (add Ardverikie and Fonab – where we stay on the final night), incredible food (plus a whisky and chocolate tasting at Dalwhinnie, the UK’s highest distillery) and some frankly phenomenal driving through magnificent Highland scenery.
By Sunday afternoon, to be honest, we’re all rather upset to be handing back our car keys.
In many ways, it’s not surprising this trip was so much fun. We’ve been driving on some of the most incredible roads in Europe, tackling adventure sports and staying in extraordinary accommodation en route.
What is surprising is that this didn’t feel like a ‘solo’ holiday at all. Perhaps that’s the ultimate point of flashpacking – holidaying by yourself doesn’t have to mean holidaying alone.