With its windswept beaches and fairytale castles, the striking scenery of the North Coast 500, Scotland’s answer to Route 66, is the road trip of dreams for Richard James, 42, and his fiancee Sam, 35.
The couple got engaged in February last year but, when they saw how the pandemic was throwing friends’ wedding plans into turmoil, they decided to delay their big day until May 2022. This may be later than they’d originally expected, but it has given them plenty of time to plan – and save for – their honeymoon, the road trip to visit some of Scotland’s most spectacular locations.
The couple from Somerset adore UK holidays and are looking forward to driving to Scotland next year for a 10-day trip through the remote and wild landscapes of the north-west Highlands. “We love driving around the English south coast exploring coves like Trevaunance Cove in St Agnes and Crackington Haven,” says James. “But we haven’t explored much of Scotland, so we thought we’d follow our passion of cove-hopping in a different part of the UK.”
Although it’s still more than a year away, the couple have already started plotting parts of the trip, with plans to start their holiday in St Andrews where they’ll catch up with family and friends.
“From there we will do what is considered the traditional North Coast 500 route, starting from Inverness,” says James. “Sam’s dad enjoys collecting whiskies so we’ll probably go to the Glen Ord distillery and see what they’ve got.”
The couple will make pit-stops at Cape Wrath, known for its craggy backdrop, and, of course, at the most north-westerly tip of mainland Britain. “As we’ve been to Land’s End a few times, we plan to go to John o’Groats, and we also want to explore the area around Tobermory, on the Isle of Mull.”
For them, most of the fun will come from the unknown. “When we travel in Cornwall and Devon, we go off down little side roads to the coast and follow our nose, and see what is there. We both have fairly high-pressure jobs and we prefer to just see where the day takes us. Usually it involves a walk, a picnic and an ice-cream.”
The couple, who plan to exchange vows in the church where Sam’s parents and grandparents married, expect to stay in a mixture of luxury hotels and quirkier accommodation, such as a coffee shop that has rooms.
With the average wedding costing in the region of £30,000, the couple have been saving regularly for their big day, as well as their trip, since June last year.
“Alongside saving several hundred pounds a month, we have managed to start paying off the wedding slowly, with deposits on things like the photography, cars and catering,” says James, who runs his own law firm.
“We’ve been quite good at chipping away at it rather than getting to three weeks before the wedding and suddenly having to pay it all, but obviously the regular amounts we’re saving will allow us to pay the bigger items when the time comes. We have a spreadsheet to keep track of the different elements.”
He says the couple planned the wedding with a rough budget in mind. “We had ballpark figures for different parts, which we stuck to unless we wanted to push the boat out on something in particular. Friends told us that costs can just run away and we don’t want that. We created what we thought was a sensible budget for the day we wanted.” One upshot of having more time at home was that the couple were able to spend more time thoroughly researching and scouting out the right suppliers.
While James admits that Sam is more of a natural saver, he says he has improved in recent years, and has different pots for travel, for their home and emergencies, spread across cash Isas, stocks and shares Isas and regular savings accounts. “For me it makes sense to have money in different places and earmarked for something.”
Jill Waters, NS&I’s retail director, says: “Saving for anything is like a road trip in itself. Decide your destination and then break it down into all the stages that will get you there. Before you know it you will have reached your destination and have a well-earned reward.”
Like most people, the past year hasn’t been without its challenges for the couple. “Sam has been shielding due to a long-term health condition, which had its own challenges. Her income was secure but I own my law firm and although we were impacted, the challenge was staying one step ahead. Like other business owners, we weren’t sure what would happen. At the beginning, certain areas of our work appeared almost to fall off a cliff but then we had some colleagues in property run off their feet.”
With a crazy year behind them, during which a trip to Italy had to be cancelled, there is much excitement for their plans in 2022.
“Generally we haven’t stopped because we’ve been in emergency mode, and when you own your own business there is a tendency to feel like you need to keep working. That’s not strictly the right approach but you do what you think you have to do. Our honeymoon road trip is something to look forward to, especially after the past year.”
Having something joyful to save towards can make putting money aside easier. Start saving for a sunny day with the help of NS&I. Visit nsandi.com for more information
