To bring in the bells this year, we headed to Portpatrick for a four-day getaway. It was the perfect setting to celebrate Hogmanay – a picturesque coastal village with stunning views and plenty of space for fun and relaxation.
Arriving
After finishing work on the 29th, I made the journey down the A77 to Portpatrick. The venue took me by surprise – a grand old converted church by the roadside, a huge step up from the hostels we’re used to! The church was warm, well-equipped, and spacious enough for the eleven of us staying. Arriving last, I drew the supposed short straw and ended up on the air mattress in my sleeping bag, but I actually loved my little corner of the church – which would later become the karaoke stage!
Two advance parties had gone up earlier in the afternoon to collect the keys and pick up the food shopping, so by the time I arrived, everyone was already well settled.
Dinner on the first night was a curry cooked by Mark, with both a veggie option and a lamb option – and both were delicious. After dinner, the drinks started flowing, and we ended the night with the shrinking crate game. Players take turns picking up a beer box with their teeth without touching the ground with their hands or knees – harder than it sounds!
Caitlin also explained the rules of Traitors, and we quickly found out who was faithful and who was a traitor. There were going to be some murders during our stay!
The front door of the church. I walked passed it first time seeing it because I thought it was too grand!
Liam, Ross and Carys throwing the ball around in the Church. Look at how nice it is!
Well done to the advance party for getting all the food. Looked like a tight squeeze!
Ross and Carys about to play some shopping Tetris.
Cairnsmore of Fleet
In the morning, Britton and I headed for Scotland’s most southern hill above 2000 ft - Cairnsmore of Fleet. It was a lovely sunny day, and we made quick work of it. We were fuelled by a lovely breakfast made by Sohaib: hash browns served with avocado, feta cheese, and honey
Lovely sunny day on the top of Cairnsmore of Fleet.
An alternative view.
Caitlin’s Organised Fun
Caitlin put together an excellent eighteen-round pub quiz that put all of our mental faculties (or lack thereof) to work. The quiz had a little of everything - from guessing alternative actors, a memory quiz (not easy after a few beers), a tower-building competition, and a very rowdy egg-and-spoon race. My personal highlight was the “find an object in the church and hand it to Caitlin” round. The winners of the quiz by a significant margin were team Jesus (Hannah, Sohaib, Liam and Thomas). Dinner that night was a lovely Moroccan chicken dish cooked by Liam.
Team Fore: Craig, Carys and Mark.
Team Jesus: Sohaib, Hannah, Liam and Thomas.
Team Four: Caitlin, Britton and Ross.
Auchenleck Four Hills
The next morning, I was walking solo. Britton was bound to the kitchen in the early afternoon, and I had failed to convince Thomas to come along. I arrived at Auchenleck at 10:00 and was instantly thrown into a really difficult forest bash to get onto the hills. A machete would have been really useful! It wasn’t much easier after getting onto the hills - everything was pathless, and there was a strong, relentless wind all day. I was relieved to come off the fourth hill and bump into a Forestry Commission man who offered me a lift back to my car!
Not quite as good a view today.
I have not seen a pack of goats in a long time.
The Roast Dinner
I got back to the church at about 17:00 after the hills. I was exhausted, but there was still lots to do, and I was banking on getting a second wind. I had a shower and changed into my suit, which was fitting a lot better than on its last outing! I told Liam I was flagging, so he prepared me a drink to wake me up. It was a mixture of coffee, Kahlúa, Baileys, whisky, and BuzzBall. It certainly perked me up a bit! Dinner was served at around 20:00, and it was fantastic - everything was well cooked, and the portion sizes were spot on.
Well dressed table, great effort!
Dinner is served, standing ovation to the chefs as they leave the building into their Range Rovers!
Caitlin’s well loaded plate.
Chefs hard at work!
Party Time
After dinner, I got my second wind and was ready for the night. We played many games, starting with the easy Pop-Up Pirate, the person who made the pirate pop up, of course, had to take a drink. We also played the not so easy for me “G’day Bruce” tongue-twister game.
We then had a karaoke competition. Teams took turns trying to impress the judges: Hannah, Caitlin, and Thomas. Liam and Ross performed 500 Miles, Carys and Caitlin sang Pink Pony Club, but Britton and I impressed the judges the most with our rendition of My Way.
Karaoke brought us right up to the bells, so we switched on the TV and watched the end of Hogmanay Live. After the handshakes and hugs, we had a ceilidh. After a few reels, some strangers looking for a party came into the church. We welcomed them into the ceilidh and even did some karaoke with them. They were very friendly and had come from Blackpool.
We went to bed at around 05:00 and slept for hours!
Caitlin, Hannah and Sohaib looking glam.
The pop up pirate game I won at Stewart’s birthday getting some use.
Ross, Caitlin and Carys.
Liam Barber bench press machine.
The team scrub up well.
Karaoke stage in action.
The guitar comes out. Blackbird on repeat by popular demand.
The Oban Marine Biologists.
Karaoke booth in action again.
Sohaib, Mark and Caitlin.
Dip in the Sea
The next morning, everyone looked quite rough. So, of course, the natural way to fix it was to head out for a dip in the sea on a winter’s day. We left the church at around 15:00 and stumbled upon an organised charity dip in the harbour at Portpatrick - the aptly named Looney Dip. We changed into our swimming gear and then stood around for what felt like ages, listening to the safety briefing and waiting to go. The water was freezing, but the rush of adrenaline afterwards made it so worth it.
We got back from the sea, had hot showers, and then spent the rest of the afternoon watching Shrek Two, The Hangover, and playing chess and pool. We even managed a few beers.
It was windy, look at those faces!
Nervously waiting what was about to come.
Standing around like emperour penguins.
Post dip pose. Look at how white I am!
Steak pie
After a few hours of chilling out, Ross took to the kitchen with the mission of making a steak pie completely from scratch: pastry and everything. I was a bit apprehensive, but he completely smashed it. The pie was amazing. Britton had also made great mashed potatoes infused with rosemary. We sat down to watch Traitors and enjoyed Caitlin’s amazing crème brûlée.
Some of the team waiting for dinner.
Table well set again.
Portpatrick Run Club
On our final morning, we went for a run and founded the Portpatrick Running Club. We went for a very relaxed 8 km run along the coastal path. When we got back, we had French toast prepared by Hannah and Sohaib. It was the sugar hit we all needed after the run.
Runners group 1.
Runners group 2.
Conclusion
We ended the trip by finding out who the traitors were. It turned out to be an all-girl team: Carys, Hannah, and Caitlin! We tidied up the church, packed our cars, and then said our goodbyes. It was a real shame for it to come to an end.
A big thank you to the organising committee: Caitlin for the food shopping and managing the finances, and Sohaib and Hannah for finding and booking the accommodation. Also, well done to everyone who cooked, prepared a meal, and washed dishes. We all worked really well together and made it a very memorable weekend!