We’ve been rattling around the UK a fair bit since the start of October. We started with a bus journey from our home in Haddington, East Lothian, to Alyth in Perthshire, for a week of housesitting. Home for a couple of days, then another bus to Carlisle in Cumbria, where we spent a few days exploring. Thereafter, the train to Rugby in Warwickshire to meet up with John for a week on his narrowboat on the Oxford Canal. Then there was another rail journey back north to Stockport, Manchester for a house-sit. Next, we travelled by bicycle back to Oxford for another sit, and thence to the environs of Bath in Somerset for another, also by bike. The journey home was somewhat complicated by Storm Arwen, but involved bike, train and bus, and an unscheduled overnight stop. Three nights at home, and we were on the road again, on the bus to Tain, in Ross-shire.

It’s all very different to the kind of journeys we’ve been undertaking up to the beginning of last year. But they are journeys nonetheless. We’ve visited new places, met new friends, experienced different ways of living – and culture shock – all within this crowded little island we call home.

Throughout this journey, we’ve had our Brompton folding bicycles with us. In theory it is possible to take normal bicycles on trains in the UK, and in some instances, on buses too. The reality is more complicated, requiring a good deal of planning, booking and angst. Having a booking doesn’t mean that the appointed bike spaces won’t be stuffed with luggage or bodies, or that your standard-sized bike will actually fit into that space. We decided to avoid as much angst as possible by using the Bromptons, which fold up to the size of a medium suitcase and can be taken aboard trains and buses as such. Folded, they fit neatly into IKEA’s ‘Dimpa’ bags, reducing the chance of officialdom taking exception to them, and allowing us to take them with us into hotel rooms without leaving mucky evidence.

The wee bikes give us tremendous freedom; we can ride between destinations, or we can take a bus or train. If we run out of time when riding, we can bail on to public transport. They expand our horizons, allowing us to explore further afield from our sit location, or to accept sits where a car would otherwise be required.

They’re not touring bikes – 80km days would not be fun. But for the short days of the Scottish winter, they’re a great option.

We’re not camping right now, so we’re not carrying camping kit. Winter camping has its place, but for us, for now, not what we want to do. Sunset tonight is 15:31; sunrise tomorrow is 08:44. It’s not the cold that’s the issue, it’s the long, long nights.

So, hotels it is, and a whole different adventure. Where once we would have sought out hostels for sociability and self-catering, these bonuses have disappeared due to the restrictions of life right now. As we’re past the age when shared dorms were a fun idea, we’ve discovered that we can be far more comfortable at a lower price in a hotel. It’s fun to find the old, small-town places when we can; when all else fails, the Travelodge is generally there. Occasionally we pick up something really cool, like the Royal Highland Hotel in Inverness, that fine Victorian pile at the railway station. At £34, cheaper than the SYHA hostel and the Travelodge, and they gave us free Wi-Fi. Just don’t try and find a room in a fashionable city on a Christmas Market weekend; prices are 5 or 6 times that – including the Youth Hostel. Yup.