So here we are, staring down the barrel of one of the most challenging and unusual holidays we have ever embarked on: three weeks wild camping in Scotland, the country famous for it's bad weather and voracious insect population.

For those not familiar with the concept, wild camping is the art of rocking up to a wood or glen and staying there with only the stuff you brought with you - no swimming pool, no bar, no shop, no shower, no toilet. All of these vital accoutrements to modern life are sacrificed for the privilege of spending time in some of the most beautiful, unspoiled and awe-inspiring landscapes the UK has to offer. The only price is to leave it as you found it. Three weeks shitting in a hole? Why would someone give up their precious summer holiday to such deprivation?

Well, the reason is simple: adventure. If anyone can think of a better way for a family of five to find adventure on a shoestring in the UK than to go wild camping in Scotland, I'd like to hear it. This is not the potted Center Parcs or PGL adventure that can be switched off as soon as the sun is over the yard arm. We will be, quite literally, living on the edge. It may be that some of the best memories our kids have of childhood will be forged on this trip. Or, quite possibly, the worst. For this is the essence of adventure: it is the risks that must be undertaken that make the rewards so great.

Risks, however, can be mitigated by obsessive and meticulous planning backed by hard work in the preparation, tasks we have thrown ourselves into with gusto in recent weeks. How to protect our children from the dreaded Highland midge? How to shield our makeshift dunny from prying eyes? Every detail considered, weighed. For a life currently bereft of other challenges, I have revelled in this aspect of our trip.

So tomorrow we set off.