Travelodge with a dog

In January, we decided on an impromptu a trip to the Highlands, incorporating a Travelodge stay.  Those of you who keep up with us through these ramblings will know that we have always preferred Premier Inns to Travelodges.  A bit more expensive, but generally more reliable.  We used to do Travelodges a lot but then after a couple of poor experiences a few years ago, we went over to Premier.  However, Premier don’t allow dogs while Travelodges do.  Indeed Travelodge make life very easy for dog owners and although they charge, it’s well worth the extra cost.  But we weren’t sure how Tara would take to hotel living ... nor, to be frank, how we would cope.   

So we booked Perth, which is about half way up, working on the principle that if it didn’t work we could simply turn around and come home ... in the middle of the night if necessary.  In fact it worked brilliantly.  Tara slept for two hours in the back until we got to Annandale Water services – which is fantastic because the lake and grounds give loads and loads of space to walk and cavort in.  She then slept for two further hours asleep until we got to Perth.  The room was terrific – they’ve clearly upped their game a lot since we last stayed in a Travelodge – the cage fitted perfectly under the desk and there was a McDonalds within a short walk ... what’s not to like?  Having said that, a big dog turning round in a relatively small cage in the middle of the night can be quite disconcerting!
 
We decided to bite the bullet and the following day went the other four hours to Wester Ross which, again, was uneventful.  The marvellous Ralia Cafe providing the mid-journey relief.   

We had a nice few days up there, although the wind and horizontal rain that we suffered for half of our stay made for eventful and difficult “necessary” walks!   It wasn't all bad weather, and the picture on the right shows.  This is Tara enjoying Wester Ross scenery.  That's Tara looking out over Loch Gairloch from the top of Flowerdale Glen on a lovely January day.  As you can see from her arctic coat, which is quilted and backed with silver foil, it was chilly though!



We came  back in one hop, stopping at Ralia, Stirling and Annandale Water, each being a couple of hours apart.  Hound slept for the driving and enjoyed the cavorting at the stops.  As did we, enjoying also some good coffee and excellent picnics!  We arrived home much more refreshed than usual.  All good.