Mess in the Ness is on the move

If you are one of my Instagram followers, you may have seen my news a couple of weeks ago, that Mr B and I are on the move!

We’re moving north from Inverness – 100 miles to Wick, which one of the bigger settlements in the ‘county’ of Caithness. Caithness is famous for big skies to spy the northern lights, that John O’Groats lamp-post and Rock Rose Gin (one of my favourites). We’re moving for Mr B to take up a new Rev post in the town but I’m also able to keep my job too which gives me a sense of familiarity within a sea of other changes.

Wick itself has a population of around 8,500 so it’s definitely an adjustment for us to move to a smaller place. But, there’s local producers and places to support (If you are a foodie or tourism business based in Caithness and would like to be featured on the blog, please get in touch), an independent cinema in Thurso, a brand new swimming pool ten minutes away from our new home, the north coast 500, and sprawling beaches to explore with the pup on our days off. And, we can make use of a air discount scheme for flights down to Edinburgh if we need a city fix, or hop on the ferry to Orkney for our holidays!

There will be things to get used to. A new accent and phrases to familiarise with.  That brisk east coast wind in the winter months, and even more hours of daylight in the summer. Those postal charges that businesses charge due to us living in a more remote place.  Using a day off to travel to Inverness if we need something that we can’t get in Wick or Thurso. This is less of a issue for us as it’s a beautiful drive (if the snow gates aren’t closed!) and the thought of travelling for 2 hours doesn’t majorly bother us (Don’t ever get me started on my ‘central belt mentality’ theory when it comes to travelling around Scotland). – a sign that we are definitely getting to be true highlanders!

We will definitely miss our friends and church in Inverness as it holds particularly special memories being Mr B’s first Rev post for almost 5 years , but we feel it’s the right time for us to move on. I will also miss Let’s Bake Inverness!  Leaving any place where you’ve established a home and  built up friendships is hard, alongside when you are doing a lot of planning and organising for the future! This is why the blog has been quieter in recent months, as there’s been a lot to deal with practically and emotionally and regular writing has seemed a bit harder to knuckle down to. Once we’ve settled in, I do intend to carry on with Mess in the Ness, possibly with a name change afoot!