Hi and welcome to Full Stop Next Chapter, a Scottish travel blog. My name is Mel and I am deeply passionate about Scotland. I wanted to share a bit about us. Introduce ourselves properly and to become friends with you.
Meet Mel
I am a photographer, blogger and wild swimmer who loves to plan our next adventure.
My love for the outdoors began as a child, helping with the sheep and riding ponies. Camping holidays were carefree with the freedom to explore rock pools and make new friends. It’s fair to say I’ve never been a girly girl.
In 2019 I discovered a love for cold water swimming. Getting a totally new perspective of Scotland and affording me wildlife encounters I’ve never had before. I am super proud of myself for completing several winters of swimming in just a swimsuit (known as skins). Most of my friends think I’m bonkers but that’s okay, because in their heart’s I know they already knew this.
It’s very rare that I venture outside without my camera. As a photographer there is always something that catches my eye. This usually means that going for a walk can take a long time as I always want to stop and take photos.
Meet Jamie – aka Dude
This is Jamie, aka Dude. My affectionate name for my partner of nearly 17 years. Don’t ask me how the name came about because I’m not sure, but it’s stuck now.
His love for adventure and the great outdoors was nurtured as a youngster in the Scouts. With trips to Canada, France and Scotland and tales of “big days out” in the mountains, canoeing, white water rafting and bungee jumping. I think it’s fair to say he liked the adrenaline.
These days he much prefers a round of golf or a hike in the hills followed by a craft ale or a single malt whisky. Whenever we are planning a road trip he always scopes out potential local golf courses to play on.
He is always up for a road trip and an adventure.
About us
We moved to Scotland for a change of lifestyle and we are still very much moulding what we would like it to become. It helps that in the main, we enjoy pretty much the same things but of course it’s always nice to have our own thing too.
Together, our travels are made up of culinary hotspots, wildlife wonders, slow travel and plenty of walks. We also enjoy a day out at Murrayfield to watch Scotland play rugby.
A few years ago we both spent a whole year celebrating our big birthdays. We created a “forty things at 40” list. Forty things we wanted to do, places we wanted to visit and new activities to try. We had an absolute ball completing our birthday bucket list! That was some way to celebrate.
Of course this wasn’t the end of our Scotland wish list, that grows all the time.
I shall continue to share our adventures right here on the blog, but if you fancy a daily fix the head over to my Instagram.
That’s enough about us for now, go check out some of our travels across Scotland and plan your very own trip.
