Wild camping in Scotland let me find the remote space that I'm used to, says Tim Peake

Scottish Sun

2 days ago

MAJOR Tim Peake has revealed that being in a remote corner of Scotland reminded him of his historic mission to space.
Ten years ago Tim became the first Brit to join the European Astronaut Corps, blasting off from Kazakhstan to spend a total of 185 days onboard the International Space Station.
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Major Tim Peake is heading to Scotland in September for a series of live dates
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Tim and his Scots wife Rebecca exploring the great outdoors in Scotland
He has been in demand ever since, reading a CBeebies bedtime story from 250 miles above the earth and was even recently quizzed about his time in orbit by Hollywood legend Tom Hanks.
But last year he and his Scots wife Rebecca decided to get away from it all when they went 'off grid' while touring the North Coast 500.
He says: 'We did kind of like the western part of the NC500. That was brilliant.
'We got this camper that looked like something out of Jurassic Park with this module stuck on the back of a Ford Ranger.
'We went completely off-grid - solar panel, hot water, outdoor shower, all that kind of stuff. And it was just great fun.'
When it's pointed out he will be used to being so remote and self-sufficient after his time onboard the Space Station, he added: 'I know, it was brilliant.
'It was wonderful just kind of having that freedom to be able to go everywhere.
'We spoke to a few farmers who were very kind and just said, 'Yeah, you can go out on our land and find a spot and camp up.'
However one thing Tim - who brings his live show Astronauts: The Quest To Explore to Scotland in September - wasn't plagued by in space were any pesky invaders like he experienced on his camping trip.
He laughs: 'Most of the time when I go to Scotland, the midges are not a problem.
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'But actually, last summer, they were quite bad, I have to admit. It was head nets on at least three nights.'
Tim from Chichester, Sussex, attended Sandhurst in 1990, becoming a fully qualified helicopter pilot in 1994.
But it was while posted to Germany he met his wife-to-be Rebecca, from Comrie, Perthshire - the couple married 27 years ago and went on to have two sons.
He says: 'Rebecca she was in the Royal Logistics Corps and I was in the Army Air Corps. We were both based out there, met there, and got married in St Andrews.'
But Tim's career really took off when he made the most of his time in space, conducting a crucial space walk to help carry out repairs to the ISS and even remotely running the London marathon.
That's why he had absolutely 'no concerns' when his NASA astronauts pals Suni Williams and Barry 'Butch' Wilmore ended up stranded on the station for nine months instead of just an eight day mission.
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Katy Perry faced international ridicule for her antics during an 11 minute space flight
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Tim played a track by Scots singer Amy Macdonald while he was in space
He says: 'Once they kind of made that mental adjustment to think, 'Okay we're up here for the long haul' then they would have absolutely loved it.
'I mean they both got to do spacewalks. They mucked in as an ordinary space station crew. They did so much science and maintenance. And as astronauts, that's what you train for.'
However, Tim is dubious about the benefits of space tourism, which in April saw Katy Perry and an all-female crew blast off in the Blue Horizon spacecraft owned by Amazon boss Jeff Bezos.
The pop star faced international ridicule when she kissed the ground following her 11-minute space flight.
But can Katy officially call herself an astronaut?
Tim says: 'Yes, because she's passed the Kármán line, which is a hundred kilometres away and that's the official boundary of space.
'But I think we're kind of approaching an era of career astronauts, who have trained for years to do what they do.
'Then you have a tourist spaceflight participant, with the bare minimum of training, who are just like passengers on an aircraft.'
He adds: 'I think every mission to space should be grounded in having some benefit for humanity.
'So right now, there's not a huge amount of benefit (to space tourism).'
Tim, 53, even got to spend Christmas Day in space, talking to his wife Rebecca and sons Thomas and Oliver back on earth.
He says: 'It was nice. I was kind of keeping an eye on them from up there.'
And he has been delighted to recount his experiences in space to thousands of schoolkids and space enthusiasts since returning to earth, including to Tom Hanks, 68, when they appeared on a Radio 2 show together.
He says: 'Tom wanted to know if the stars were brighter in space. They weren't actually but they don't twinkle up there. It's our atmosphere that makes them do that. So they are steady stars
'And of course there is zero light pollution up there so the Milky Way is amazing.'
Tim also took an extensive playlist into space including Amy Macdonald's 2007 single This is th Life.
He beams: 'That is a brilliant track. It's just got so much energy. It's one to be on the treadmill to or the bike machine.
'She's just an amazing artist and I love her music. I haven't met her but my playlist is out there. So maybe she knows that her track's been into space.'
But when he's not working, Tim and his activity-mad family are regular visitors to the Cairngorms in The Highlands where they take part in 'hill climbing, cycling and kayaking'.
However one thing he was unable to deliver during his months in space was a cloudless snap of Rebecca's home country.
He says: 'I got quite a few pictures of Scotland, actually. It is pretty difficult to photograph in the winter months, I'll grant you that.
'I was trying to get a nice picture of the whole of the UK cloudless. I don't think I ever achieved that.'
*Tim's live show Astronauts: The Quest To Explore Space will be at Eden Court, Inverness on Sept 1 and 2, Aberdeen's Music Hall Sept 3 and Dunfermline's Alhambra Theatre on Sept 4. For more info visit: nothird.co.uk/live-shows/tim-peake