Scotland 2022

WEEK 1: Oxfordshire to Galloway

Days 1 to 4:  Wednesday 29th March to Saturday 2nd April 2022

Our first port of call on our trip was Benson Waterfront in Oxfordshire.  A favourite site, only 20 minutes from where Jenni and family live in Drayton, near Abingdon, it made a great base for us to visit the boys every day, collecting them from school.  We also enjoyed a sunny Saturday when we had Hamish and Ethan to play in the caravan and to feed the ducks on the Thames, before catching the bus into Oxford where we met Jenni and Graham for lunch at Browns.  A walk around Oxford was rounded off by a stunning sunset over a peaceful river Thames.

Day 5:  Sunday 3^rd April 2022

Moving day – this time just as far as Penrith to meet up with Jo and Mac for a meal and a natter.  We packed up promptly and were all set to leave at 8am, but another disaster (following on from a broken glass hob cover yesterday!) was upon us – one of the motor movers had seized up, probably due to the sub zero temperatures over night.  Geoff tackled the problem with his toolbag and silicon spray and managed to make it work!

We stopped for a late breakfast on the M6 toll and a brief stop at Tebay services to stock up on cake and steak from the famous Farm Shop before arriving at Woodhead CL just north of Penrith.  Perfectly situated just off the motorway, and with lovely views across fields full of new lambs, we were the only ones on the site when we arrived, but were joined by just two others an hour or so later.

Jo and Mac called in on their way home from a barbecue, absolutely frozen as the temperatures were more arctic than tropical.  They gave us loads of great suggestions for places to visit on our tour and we enjoyed tea and cake with them.

Day 6:  Monday 4^th April 2022

An M&S ready meal which we enjoyed for supper yesterday clearly didn’t agree with me and I was quite poorly during the night, and not feeling much better this morning.  Instead of going for a walk in the Lake District, I went back to bed and Geoff went to Aldi!

We did manage to drive to Jo and Mac’s house in the afternoon, via the edge of Ullswater so we at least caught a glimpse of this lovely area.  The sun came out as we came over the hill down into the valley of Ullswater and we were reminded of our trip here last summer.

Day 7:  Tuesday 5^th April 2022

After a very windy night we had a leisurely start to the day, preparing to move on to our first campsite in Scotland.  As we left the site the rain started and it continued to rain all the way to Newton Stewart where the small CL site of Mains of Machermore was situated.  Following on from a series of disasters on Sunday, I tried to put the mover on the caravan and only one (of two)  engaged, we need them both to engage in order to drive it forward or backwards.  Geoff managed to wind it on manually and we were able to drive it onto the pitch.  He is definitely proving to be a hero when it comes to saving the day on caravan faults!  I proceeded to unpack and settle in, while Geoff saw to all the outside chores, in increasingly heavy rain.  He was determined to finish all that he normally did, and was completely soaked by the time he had finished.

After a welcome cuppa we drove into Newton Stewart, parked up and did some shopping in the local Co-Op before having a wander around the town.  The River Cree was racing through the bridge and over the weir and looked really full to us, there was evidence of sandbags in the town, so presumably the river does flood on occasion.

We returned to the caravan for some supper, and by the time we had finished the rain had stopped so we had a quick walk from the Farm around the lanes to top up our steps.  When we returned I realised just how filthy the caravan and camper were, so decided to wash them!  I think our 4 neighbours, who were all watching TV by now, thought I was bonkers!

WEEK 2: Galloway to Loch Lomond

Day 8:  Wednesday 6^th April 2022

More rain!  It seemed like it had rained all night and the view out of all the windows was dismal, grey and misty.  Undeterred, we had planned a day out in Colin today, so we packed coffee and a picnic and set off for Wigtown, apparently the Book Capital of Scotland!  The town itself was interesting, with a perfectly manicured crown bowling green at its heart, surrounded by interesting little shops, the majority of which were book shops.  We went into a couple, one purporting to be the biggest book shop in Scotland, which we can hardly refute, and the other a children’s book shop.

We had a wander around the town and glimpsed a lovely view down towards what a sign described as Wigtown Harbour.  As we were looking for somewhere interesting to park up for our coffee break we checked out the map and drove out onto what was originally a harbour which had been renovated in the early 1980’s.  The weather was clearing by now and the views across the river were opening up to reveal hills in the distance.

We had picked up a leaflet in the Tourist Office about the Mull of Galloway, being the most south western point of Scotland, so instead of continuing south from Wigtown and following the coast, we headed west and onto the promontory known as the Rhins of Galloway.  The drive was stunning with the weather improving at every turn revealing more and more in the way of mountains to the north and lovely beaches, albeit pebbly ones, en route to the point.  There was an amazing café at the end called Gallie Craig Coffee House where we sampled coffee and cake before walking around the Lighthouse, calling into a RSPB centre.  The views were amazing, including across to the Isle of Man due south of us, and a glimpse of Northern Ireland to the north west of us!

We decided to head to Stranraer for another wander, and within a short time of leaving the Lighthouse the rain started again, in earnest.  It absolutely threw it down and visibility reduced as the mist came in, we really thought that was it for the night, but we should have remembered it was April now – and true to form these little April showers cleared to reveal beautiful sunny vistas!  We walked along the sea front and were amazed to discover that the beach was made up almost entirely of shells, cockle shells I think.

Home for supper in the caravan through even more rain, but it cleared again to reveal the sun shortly before sunset.  A brilliant first proper day tour, with many more to come, we hope!

Day 9:  Thursday 7^th April 2022

Another wet and windy night gave way to a sunny morning, but not for long.  As we breakfasted the rain came back and the mist came down but we are made of strong stuff, so packing a picnic and a flask we set off for Galloway Forest.

The road up through the Forest took us first to a waterfall known as Grey Mare’s Tail, which was an obvious name when viewed, and apparently is applied to many waterfalls across Scotland.  It was pouring with rain and after viewing the waterfall as close as it was safe to do so, we decided to walk up to Murray’s Monument but gave up when the rain turned torrential.  Just along the road we passed a Wild Goat Reserve next door to a Red Deer Reserve.  We stopped at the latter and peered through a fence to see a herd of Deer feeding at a trough, they are usually fed at noon for tourists, but this appears to have been suspended due to Covid, sadly.

We carried on to Clatteringshaws Loch where we had coffee overlooking the lake, with waves whipped up by the wind.  Just a hundred metres up the road was the Visitor Centre and a walk to Bruces Stone.  Well, being a Strictly fan, you will understand that I was quite excited to see Bruce Forsyth’s stone, but it turned out to be that of Robert the Bruce after he defeated the English in 1307 (sorry Gordon!).  It was quite disappointing really, but at least we had added more steps to the days total. We then drove via a logging road to New Galloway, a small village with a large rather impressive Art and Craft Gallery, we had a wander round before returning to the aforementioned Loch for our picnic lunch.

We were still a couple of miles short of our desired daily total so we then drove to another visitor centre in Galloway Forest, that of Kirroughtree.  The centre was much bigger and the various walking and cycle routes very well laid out.  We enjoyed a lovely walk up through the forest to Anniversary Cairn, a stone monument marking 50 years of the designated Forest in 1997.

Home via Aldi to restock, and another lovely sunset rounded off another good day.

Day 10:  Friday 8^thApril 2022

We were delighted to wake up to brilliant sunshine this morning, in sub zero temperatures though!  The sky was blue and the sun pouring through the windows was almost too hot whilst we were eating our breakfast.

We headed west this morning, to Kirkudbright, recommended by Mac.  We approached the town over a long concrete bridge, which we thought was an old railway bridge (turned out not to be!) and we were then straight into the centre with lovely wide streets bustling with activity.  We parked up and set off to walk around St Mary’s Isle, a promontory south of the town which stretched out into the Solway Firth.  This was a designated 4 mile walk, initially on a tarmac road, then on a sometimes-muddy path through woodland fringing the estuary.  We were making for the furthest point south, Point of the Isle, overlooking the isle of Inch, where we stopped to drink our flask of coffee.

We had booked lunch today at the Selkirk Arms Hotel so we were watching the clock on the walk back into town.  The hotel was located in the oldest part of the town, and it was striking with many of the houses painted in pastel colours.  Our first impression of the hotel dining room was of a traditional Scottish room, decorated in plenty of tartan and dark red walls.   The room was full of locals and the quality of the food was probably the reason for its popularity and we enjoyed a lovely lunch.

After lunch we decided to walk around the town which was full of small independent shops, the windows of which were all very appealing.  After being warm before lunch and removing anoraks and jumpers, we needed them again as it started to hail, quite heavily at one point, but it was short lived, and the sun soon returned.

Home to the caravan where Geoff fitted the replacement mover cover which had been sent to us after losing one en route from Penrith the other day. 

Day 11:  Saturday 9^th April 2022

Another sunny morning and we had plans to return west along the coast today as there was more to see than we could fit in yesterday!  We packed a picnic but were a little late leaving as we managed to mend the sliding door to the bathroom, which had kept getting stuck.  So many things have gone wrong with this caravan since we had it serviced just a few weeks ago, we are wondering why we bothered to spend out all that money!

Our first port of call was the village of Gatehouse by Fleet, which we reached via a roundabout route up through part of the Galloway Forest again, alongside a dismantled railway, we could see a huge viaduct in the distance gone to waste, yet another courtesy of Mr Beeching, such a shame.  Then we had a rare treat – we saw a hare racing across a field alongside the car, poor thing was desperate to escape but there was a fence in the way. 

Mac had recommended we visit Gatehouse by Fleet and it did not disappoint.  We found a lovely coffee shop and treated ourselves to coffee and a scone/carrot cake, delicious, before walking back through Garries Park to the Visitor Centre.  This was sited in an old mill serving a cotton manufacturing centre established by James Murray in the latter part of the 18^th century.  He was also responsible for the building of the village, providing homes for his workers.  There was an amazing model of the village as it was in 1800, showing all the houses with their large gardens as they had to be pretty much self-sufficient.

Moving on, we headed to a scenic route running along the coast opposite Kirkudbright, where we could clearly see where we had walked yesterday.  The views were amazing, enhanced of course by the brilliant sunshine.  Whilst it was warm in the sun, it was still a cold wind.  We drove down to Brighouse Bay and found a great parking spot overlooking the beach for our picnic and a cuppa.  We had a brief wander on the beach and then continued along the coast road to Kirkandrews finding a parking spot on the edge of the road so we could walk along the coast opposite the two islands of Fleet, again as recommended by Mac.  Unfortunately, we didn’t follow his instructions very closely as we were supposed to go at low tide so we could walk over to the isles, but it was high tide! 

We walked along the beach and followed a man and his dog, thinking they were taking the path, they weren’t but he redirected us, and as he did so we got talking.  Only turned out that he used to be the Bishop of Stafford and lived in the Bishops House in Barlaston, opposite where I used to live as a child in Broughton Crescent!  What a small world.

Geoff had earlier bought some strawberries in Gatehouse, tempted by the smell!  So we stopped off at a farm called the Cream of Galloway, makers of Finlay’s ice cream, bought some luxury vanilla plus three different local cheeses, before heading home for supper and yet another lovely sunset.

Day 12:  Sunday 10^th April 2022

Our last day in Galloway and we decided to have a quieter day today after tearing around the countryside every day this week.  We left Colin at home and set off on foot for Newton Stewart, or more precisely, this side of the river, Minigaff.  We discovered that the River Cree separated the two settlements as we explored the older part of Minigaff.  We love being nosy and checking out gardens and house renovations, commenting to each other on colour schemes or quality of workmanship!  It is a good way of getting ideas of what to do, although we have probably gone past the point of attempting any major changes to our home!

Our walk took us across four bridges in total, 3 footbridges and one main vehicle bridge, all of which were different and interesting, criss crossing from Minigaff to Newton Stewart achieving a big figure of eight.  Geoff loves to play!

The initial destination was the Crown Hotel in Newton Stewart where we had booked a carvery Sunday lunch, good job we had booked as people were being turned away when we arrived.  We had a very good lunch, topped off with an indulgent dessert, which we felt duty bound to walk off with a further extension to our walk home.  In total we achieved 7 miles, smashing the steps target for the day, so we were well pleased with ourselves.

We returned to find we had new neighbours, 4 caravans on this site altogether, along with the many sheep and cows, notably the Belted Galloways!

Day 13:  Monday 11^th April 2022

Moving day.  We have really enjoyed our week in Galloway, but were up promptly this morning as we are keen to press north.  We left the site at 9.30, with no problems this time!  The movers both worked, though with a bit of a struggle on the gravel pitch and road.  We opted not to go the direct route, choosing instead to drive around the coast from Stranraer to Ayr, which turned out to be a great decision because the views across to Aran and beyond as well as the coastline itself were great.  We stopped at one of the many parking areas along the route for our coffee break, before turning inland and joining the M77 and then the M8 around Glasgow.

We arrived at Luss Campsite before 2pm, ahead of most arrivals.  We were allocated pitch 44, a wonderful large lochside pitch, and were soon set up.  Unfortunately there is no water or drainage on this pitch, nor any on this site, despite being the most expensive site of our whole trip!

We decided to use the laundry facilities straight away today, and we washed absolutely everything while we had the opportunity!  The drying took longer than expected, but Geoff took control while I enjoyed a video call with Jean and John!

After supper we had a walk around the village of Luss, checking out the bus stop and bus timetables for a trip we are planning later this week, and walking around by a lovely Church and onto a short promenade leading to Luss Pier.  The Loch Lomond Hotel looked a really traditional inviting hotel with a good menu, but we are not sure we are going to have time to take advantage of that this time!  On our return we counted the number of vans and of a total of 41, only 6 were caravans, and there were 23 motorhomes and 12 campers, mostly VW’s.  We feel a little decadent having a caravan AND a camper!

Day 14:  Tuesday 12^th April 2022

After a breakfast with the most amazing view, we set off for Glasgow.  Why may you ask were we heading south instead of touring or moving north, well a long story short, Geoff had been asked to take Colin into a VW Van specialist for a computer check.  I went with him and left him at the garage whilst I walked to M&S in a shopping centre nearby.  We were a little worried about the area as it was hardly salubrious, so Geoff decided to walk with me for part of the way before returning to the garage.  All was well until I walked under a motorway bridge and turned into what must have been the start of a housing estate, road network but no houses, I couldn’t see any houses nearby or people and suddenly felt very nervous, even more so when the path became a steep one sandwiched between some very high metal fences.  I virtually ran up the steps, emerging into a housing estate with the shopping centre visible!

Panic over, I continued to M&S, chatting to Jenni en route.  I had hardly been inside the shop for 5 minutes when Geoff appeared, the job was even quicker than we had been told, which was good news.  (For those of you who know Geoff well, he was handsomely recompensed for the inconvenience of having to take Colin to the garage, a full tank of fuel and a free service were his prize!).

After stocking up on foodstuffs from Marks, we drove out of Glasgow heading to the other side of Loch Lomond from our campsite, stopping en route for a sandwich lunch.  We drove through Balmaha, on the edge of the loch, past some very intimidating signs telling us not to stop or park, until we came to a parking area with excellent toilets (!) at Milarrochy.  We popped the kettle on and enjoyed a cuppa with cake right on the edge of the loch, with entertainment laid on in the form of two young men deciding to go wild swimming, or rather dipping their toes and heads in the water, and running out again shouting it was too cold!

By this time it was raining, although not too hard, so we decided to walk along part of the West Highland Way (well half a mile of it!) to the Camping and Caravanning campsite further along the loch.  This was way too busy for us, but we sneaked into the site to view the quay a little better.

Back to the car for a lovely video chat with Sue, before heading home for supper, courtesy of M&S, accompanied by a glass of something cold and refreshing!

WEEK 3: Loch Lomond to Argyll and Bute

Day 15:  Wednesday 13^th April 2022

Rained all blooming night again!  Never mind, by the time we had finished our breakfast and packed Colin for our day out, it had stopped, so we were happy when we set off first for Helensburgh.  This little town really surprised us, it was neat and well cared for with a wonderful long promenade overlooking the Clyde and Port Glasgow.  We drove all around the coast to Faslane, home of the Trident submarines.  The security was amazing, with extremely high fences topped with rolls of barbed wire, and men on the gate with big guns!  We then drove around to the other side of Gare Loch to look back on the naval base and Geoff was thrilled to see a submarine, he thought they would have all been well hidden.

After a coffee stop we continued driving around the coast to Kilcreggan, where we stopped for a walk along the coast road and inspected the jetty from which a passenger ferry operated regularly throughout the day, offering a good commute time into Glasgow.  We continued on past another naval base, Coulport.  The security was equally strong here too, and Geoff thought it was probably home to a storage facility. A brand new top quality road had been built across the hills to this base, which would suggest that there was something quite important going on here. (Google revealed it was an armaments depot storage and loading facility for nuclear warheads!)

From here we headed along the side of Loch Long to Arrochar and on to the Loch Fyne Oyster Bar.  It is 20 years since we were last here with the kids, and we have been great fans of their various smoked salmon offerings ever since, particularly at Christmas.  We ordered 4 ‘small plates’, Oysters, a smoked salmon selection, scallops and mussels with a side of fries.  Apart from the fact that all the plates hardly fitted on the table, we thoroughly enjoyed our lunch accompanied by a glass of bubbles.

We decided to include a visit to Inveraray, only another 10 minutes down the road, before heading home for a cup of tea and cake sat outside, for the first time this trip.  Mind you, we only managed half an hour before the cold sent us back inside!

Day 16:  Thursday 14^th April 2022

For a change we woke up to early morning sunshine, and a very still, calm Loch laid out in front of the caravan.  Sadly, the weather was not set to stay and by the time we had finished breakfast it had started to drizzle.  So, we decided, after a couple of long driving days, we would have a lazy day and give Colin a day off!  We had a walk around Luss, ending up in the Loch Lomond Arms Hotel for lunch, which was very nice.  A few long telephone calls took up much of the afternoon and we rounded the day off with another local walk along the shore of the Loch to top up the steps.

Day 17:  Good Friday 15^th April 2022

Moving day again, this time not far down the road to Lochgilphead.  We had a leisurely breakfast overlooking the loch, this time with the added entertainment of watching a dad of 3 bravely march down to the loch, and then, not so bravely, walk into the loch up to his waist, dip his head in the water and then run out! 

We didn’t have to leave till 11am but we were ready much earlier, striking camp is becoming much easier the more often we do it!  We headed off on the A82 towards Arrochar and Loch Fyne again, retracing our steps from a couple of days ago.  We knew that there were road works on the high part of this road, near the Rest and Be Thankful, so when a very impatient car overtook us we had a smile, as they were then held up at the traffic lights immediately in front of us. 

We stopped for coffee in a lay by alongside Loch Fyne for an hour, as we couldn’t arrive on site till 1pm.  A couple stopped behind us and they turned out to be from Maryland, USA, on a 10 day tour of Scotland, including distilleries and golf clubs!

The site was easy to find and access.  There are a few static caravans here, and some seasonal pitches, but only 10 touring pitches, all of which are huge with electric, water and drainage.  The other facilities, including a laundry, were excellent so we were well pleased.  After setting up we had our usual cuppa before heading into the small town for a wander and a shop at the Co-Op.  The town is lovely and worth another look tomorrow as some of the shops were closed for Good Friday.

We then decided to walk down the tow path of the Crinan Canal to Ardrishaig, it was just under 2 miles, and an easy walk on the flat!  It started to rain part way along, but we kept going and were glad that we did because the series of brand new electrically operated locks and canal basin just before the sea lock were very impressive.  The walk back was easier with the wind behind us, and why is it that the going back journey always seems much shorter than the outward one!

Home for supper and a full caravan site.

Day 18:  Easter Saturday 16^th April 2022

Today was Bus Walk day, an announcement which would, in years gone by, have struck dismay into the hearts of our children!  We wanted to walk the Crinan Canal from the opposite end to that we walked yesterday and we had checked the buses and the 425 served Crinan, but only from Lochgilphead at 0916 or 1331.  Well clearly 0916 was far too early for us, so we had our customary leisurely breakfast and went for another walk around the town, which was fully open this morning.  There were some really lovely touristy shops, but I decided not to venture in because we really don’t want to be buying anything and filling up the caravan this early in our trip!

We couldn’t find anywhere nice for coffee so returned to the caravan for coffee and cake and a few chores to fill up the time until the bus was due.

We were the only ones on the bus, and we enjoyed the ride as the route ran all along the canal and we had a taste of what to expect on the return journey.  Crinan itself was delightful, the canal basin, buildings and all the infrastructure was extremely well looked after and bustling with walkers and cyclists.  We had taken a picnic and sat and watched a large yacht come into the sea lock while we ate it.  The boat was called A&J Wanderlust and flew the stars and stripes.  It was sailed into the lock very smartly by an American lady and we enjoyed watching the lockkeeper open and close the electrically operated locks.

The canal itself was a remarkable feat of engineering, the idea was conceived in 1794 and completed in 1801, it was upgraded in 1811 with the help of Thomas Telford as they had experienced problems with leakages.  Today the towpath was immaculately maintained and the views across the estuary and moorlands to one side and the canal itself to the other were amazing.  Shortly after leaving Crinan we bumped into our neighbours from the caravan park who had walked from there and were then going to turn round and walk back!  We leapfrogged with the Wanderlust through a couple of locks, then left it far behind as the locks took ages to navigate. 

We stopped half way for a drink from Polly’s mobile coffee wagon and an Easter Egg which we had taken with us as a treat.  We continued on to lock 5 and the Cairnbaan Hotel where we stopped for a drink.  By the time we got back to the caravan, having had a great day, my fitbit had registered 10.49 miles for the day, over 25,000 steps, and Geoff’s showed the same number of steps but only 9.2 miles! 

Day 19:  Easter Sunday 17^th April 2022

Happy Easter!  We woke to even more rain this morning, having rained most of the night again.  We are sincerely hoping that we are receiving our quota for the next couple of months now!

We had a full day out planned today, so after breakfast we loaded up Colin with supplies and set off south onto the Kintyre Peninsula.  We haven’t been able to find much about this area in tourist literature and it is as if it is not quite up to scratch to not feature in local leaflets or the books we have bought.  Having toured pretty much all round it, we just cannot understand why as we thought it was fabulous. 

Our first port of call was Tarbert.  The tide was in and it looked delightful with mist rolling down the hills around it, several fishing boats alongside the quay and a row of interesting shops and eating places fronting the harbour.  We parked up and walked all round the harbour taking photos from all sides it was so lovely.  Having booked a Sunday lunch in a hotel in Campbeltown, we were on a deadline, so pressed on to Skipness and a coffee stop alongside the seaside, by a wee beach.  The sun even came out for a short while and we enjoyed our coffee and buns overlooking the Island of Arran.  

We continued down this single track coastal route to Campbeltown with amazing views all the way, calling in briefly at Carradale, which was slightly disappointing, before both of us exclaimed ‘wow’ as Campbeltown came into view.  To be fair it probably looked better from a distance, but the waterfront was pleasant as indeed was the Ardshiel Hotel where we had an excellent, if rather leisurely, Sunday lunch.  We were in need of a walk after 2 courses, so we walked along the seafront and back through the town including a small memorial garden for Lady Linda McCartney, the family had lived locally when the children were growing up.

There was still a lot of the peninsula to see and it was gone 4pm by this time, we would have liked to drive out to the Mull of Kintyre, but the rain had set in again by this time so we decided to head home along the western coast of the peninsula, detouring briefly via Campbeltown Airport, the site of RAF Machrihanish, making a big circular trip all told of 145 miles.  Visibility was very poor but we still enjoyed what we could see.

Home for a welcome cup of tea and another Easter Egg!

Day 20:  Easter Monday 18^th April 2022

We had intended to do some more washing this morning, simply because there was a laundry and it seemed wrong not to!  It was completed in record time and we were away by 10.30am heading to Crarae Garden.  This was a National Trust Scotland Garden, but the bonus was, English National Trust Members were free!  We decided to have a coffee before we went for a walk and the lady serving asked if we were on holiday, no surprise as we had just offered our English cards, and proceeded to give us a long list of local attractions which we absolutely must not miss.

Before we set off on our walk, we discovered that the garden was owned by the Campbells of Succoth and Lady Grace Campbell developed it through her love of rhododendrons.  We then followed the white walk arrows, which looked to be the longest walk, around the garden.  It was lovely, but had clearly suffered with storm damage, particularly to some beautiful magnolia trees, some known as Magnolia Campbellii.  There was a stream, interspersed with waterfalls criss crossed by several bridges and the woodland areas were lovely, with moss covered areas beneath and a huge variety of trees from all over the world.  We were particularly impressed with a rhododendron which reputedly had the largest leaves of any rhododendron and flowers the size of footballs, and also some Gum Trees, reportedly from the Australian Alps (not sure which part of Australia they are).  I was also taken by some bright yellow flowers which looked like giant Cuckoo Pint, they turned out to be called Skunk Lillies, and once I got close enough, I could understand why! 

We returned to Lochgilphead and the Co-op to stock up, as the fridge was looking very empty.  Geoff had downloaded his bonus discounts this morning so we couldn’t possibly have gone to Tescos.  Home for a quick lunch and a long chat with Jenni and the boys.  They are staying in Falmouth this week, and it seems most odd that they are down there and we are so far away.

Despite the suggestions from the lady in the café this morning, we opted to drive a circuit we didn’t have time for yesterday.  This was around the lower part of Knapdale via Kilbery.  What a fabulous decision that turned out to be, with blue sky and therefore a very blue sea/loch, the views were amazing.  We stopped along by the coast and made a cup of tea and took it onto the beach, it doesn’t get much better than that for us.  We walked back along the road to top up our steps and were surprised to see a local bus coming along what was a single track road with passing places!  We continued round the circuit returning home via a garage to top up with fuel for our journey tomorrow and to give Colin a good wash.  We actually had a sunset this evening, something we haven’t seen since we were in Newton Stewart, thank goodness, perhaps the weather is now turning.

Day 21:  Tuesday 19^th April 2022

Moving day today and the weather was better!  We had loads of time as it was only an hour and a half to our next site north of Oban and we couldn’t check in there till 12.30pm.  We took our time over breakfast and striking camp, but we were still ready just after 10.  I drove first and within a mile we were stuck in a queue waiting for an escort vehicle to escort the line of traffic through the roadworks.  This seemed rather bizarre here, but we remember that it was the norm in Norway.  From there it was plain sailing and there was very little traffic either in front or behind us.  I did pull over when a car came up behind, as we don’t like to be a nuisance if we can help it.

The road was superb, twisty and steep in parts, but with amazing views of hills and water at every turn.  We stopped for coffee in a layby next to Loch Feochan just south of Oban and had a lochside view from all the windows in the caravan, before pressing on into Oban, right through the town centre and along the promenade.  We arrived on site bang on 12.30 and were the first to check in on pitch 16. The site is that of an old station called Creagan, we are on what was the sidings and the old station looks as though it is in the midst of being refurbished as holiday accommodation.  We were really pleased with the pitch, with electric and water, the waste water being very close so the chores will be minimal.  From the front of the caravan we had a great view of Loch Creran and no other caravans or motorhomes – just as we like it.  We were soon settled and after a sandwich lunch we decided to drive back into Oban for a wander and to check out the ferry access for our trip tomorrow.

We parked a little way out of the town, along a sea front road leading to Ganavan.  It was a flat walk into the town along a very pretty route overlooking the harbour of Oban.  There was a Hurtigruten ship moored there, the Spitsbergen, and lots of other nautical activity in the form of Caledonian Macbrayne ferries, fishing boats and a rather posh looking passenger boat called the Lord of the Glens.

We enjoyed an ice cream on a park bench watching the world go by, in amazing warm sunshine, both the jumper and the anarak had to come off!  We stopped off to buy Geoff a pair of walking trousers and a visit to the Bus Company office before sampling a glass of something cold and alcoholic outside Wetherspoons of all places (!).  We walked back to the car, topping 5 miles, and just beat a rather heavy April shower which decided to make its presence felt after all that lovely sunshine.

By the time we got back to the caravan the sun had returned and we enjoyed an aperitif and some of our Loch Fyne smoked salmon sat outside, the first time we have been able to do so this trip.

WEEK 4: Argyll and Bute to The Highlands, Invergarry

Day 22:  Wednesday 20^th April 2022

We were up early this morning as we had a special trip planned.  We loaded Colin up with all our bedding and overnight kit, leaving lots of stuff in the caravan which we wont need for one overnight.  We left the caravan park just after 8 and headed back into Oban and the ferry for Mull.  We stopped off at Lidl for some fresh bread but we were still practically the first ones to check in and we were advised we could leave the van and pop into town for breakfast so long as we were back for 9.25am.

It was back to Wetherspoons for breakfast, Geoff tucking into a full Scottish and me on toast and marmalade.  The ferry left on time and was full of day trippers.  It was an absolutely amazing trip over, with clear blue skies and a calm, blue sea.  The visibility was incredible and we both said that all the rain thus far was worth it to finally achieve these views on this day. 

We turned left off the ferry at Craignure and our first stop was Duart Castle, which we had seen from the ferry.  We had coffee and hot cross buns and enjoyed the views back towards Oban as the ferry retraced its steps.  We walked around the outside of the castle before heading west again towards Fionnphort, stopping for lunch next to a small harbour just outside Bunessan.  Every step of the way we couldn’t believe the weather.  On almost any other day of our tour thus far, we would not have been able to see the mountains or the sea would have appeared grey, but today the colours were as vivid as they possibly could ever be.

From Fionnphort, we turned left and just a mile or so down the road was Fidden Farm Campsite.  Having seen it on the map, we thought it was OK for an overnight, we could not have been more wrong – it was absolutely perfect!  For £10 per person, we parked Colin on a grassy spot overlooking a beach with granite rocks looking just like Scilly! We could not believe how lucky we were.  We didn’t stop long, having bagged our pitch, we set off walking back to Fionnphort to catch the ferry to Iona.  We didn’t have long to wait when we got there and the journey itself was around 15 minutes.  We headed straight for the Abbey and were pleased to discover that our English Heritage cards gained us free admission!  We hadn’t realised that Historic Scotland had a reciprocal arrangement with them.  The Abbey was very tranquil and the cloisters especially were very peaceful.  We walked back to the Argyll Hotel and Geoff had a cup of tea and I had a prosecco as we watched the ferry come and go, before we boarded the 5.15pm ferry.  We still had a mile and a half walk back to the campsite, but it was a pleasant one, and we didn’t have to rush as we had done to catch the ferry.

Time to relax, we had a glass of prosecco, with some nibbles and just enjoyed the sun playing on the water, as the tide came in.  We then had mussels with bread for our dinner, which was delicious and very fitting, sited as we are next to the sea.

We enjoyed the most amazing sunset before settling down for our first night in Colin, I’ll let you know tomorrow how we got on!!

By the way – this was the best day of the tour so far – by miles!

Day 23:  Thursday 21^st April 2022

The morning after the night before always tells a story.  Sadly, this story didn’t end that well, neither of us slept much, in fact poor Geoff got out of bed at 3am to sleep in the passenger seat, he put all his jumpers, his gilet and his fleece on and managed to sleep reasonably well after being very uncomfortable.  Just to be clear, we weren’t roughing it, we had taken the tempura memory foam mattress and all our comfortable bedding from the caravan, but it just wasn’t enough.  Whilst we loved everything else about staying overnight in the camper, the views, the eating, the romance of it all, not being comfortable at night is a deal breaker.  We bought Colin to be a ‘day van’ for our long days out, and that is what it will be, no more overnighters for us!

Geoff was up just before 6 and whilst he went to the toilet block, I got the heating going and boiled the kettle for the first cuppa of the day as the sun rose and gave the campsite the most glorious wash of colour.  The beach looked even more amazing than the night before.  The four photos are taken in each direction around Colin.  

It was cold, so we breakfasted in Colin, porridge and toast for Geoff and toast and yoghurt for me, with the luxury of Nespresso coffee made with my portable manual machine!  This made us feel much better and we decided to get going to see as much of the rest of the island as possible.

It is difficult to describe the varied scenery of the remainder of the island without overdoing the superlatives.  It was made so much better by the most stunning weather, we really are lucky, bright blue skies and bright blue/turquoise sea lochs made for breathtaking scenes.  We stopped for tea and buns at another viewpoint recommended by Mac, another Mac moment, which was excellent overlooking the islands of Staffa, Little Colonsey and Ulva.

We headed for Tobermory for lunch and a wander.  The latter was brief and the former was an excellent seafood platter of oysters, mussels, langoustines, smoked salmon, roast salmon and smoked mackerel pate plus chips!  It was excellent and all served in an old Church on the sea front.

We had enjoyed the morning tour so much we decided to drive around the northern part of Mull via Dervaig and Calgary.  We didn’t think it possible but this drive was even more gob smacking than the morning, all single track with hairpin bends up and down and a hair raising section along steep cliffs.  The sat nav was programmed with the post code for the ferry port, and we made it with 15 minutes to spare before check in closed, just time for an ice cream in the queue.

We ended a perfect day doing very boring ordinary shopping at Aldi and M&S (for the meal deal) before heading home to the caravan to unpack and enjoy an aperitif in the setting sun. 

We are tired from not having much sleep last night but also from two exhausting driving days.  We didn’t do a lot of miles, but they were slow roads requiring heavy concentration as they were busy for single track and we were forever stopping in passing places.  Tomorrow we are planning a quieter day.

Day 24:  Friday 22^nd April 2022

After all the excitement of the past two days, we opted for a quiet domestic day today.  We had a long lie in and didn’t eat breakfast till 10am, but joy of joy, today we ate it outside in wonderful warm sunshine overlooking a blue loch – bliss!

I cleaned the inside of the caravan while Geoff sorted the camper out after our night away.  We discovered that the site had a laundry, so took advantage of a cheaper washing machine to wash the bedding.

I packed a picnic and we drove a little way down the edge of the loch to Port Appin, where a passenger ferry operated to Lismore Island.  We parked by the edge of a beach and carried our chairs down onto the beach for our picnic, it really was fabulous.  We had a walk around Appin point to Airds Bay, the point was a huge cliff punctuated with caves and a natural limestone arch, which must have been formed by the sea. Towards the end of the walk the path wound through some woodland and we were delighted to see two wild deer, they watched us for a while before wandering off into the wood.  Just before we got back to the car we stopped off for an ice cream from the local post office.

We had arranged a  video call with Graham and Julie at 4.30 so we rushed back towards the campsite, but found a car park overlooking Castle Stalker with good 4G reception so we chatted to them with a view!

Home to the caravan park for a steak supper, only when we got there we discovered there was a mobile chip van serving the site, there was no debate, Geoff went and got the fish and chips and we enjoyed a very good piece of fish with our Muscadet and that view!

Day 25:  Saturday 23^rd April 2022

Another beautiful blue day, with the sun pouring through the windows of the caravan as we had our morning tea.  We breakfasted outside again before packing Colin with the picnic and then heading off towards Glencoe.

Our route took us along the deep blue shores of Loch Linnhe before turning inland at Ballachulish to head up into Glencoe.  We stopped at the National Trust of Scotland’s Visitor Centre where we watched an excellent short film on the history and recent development of the Glen and viewed a turf house which had just been finished.  The shop was excellent and this time I could not resist buying a couple of things.

Further up the road we stopped at a small parking area overlooking Loch Achtriochtan and the towering mountains, including the first snow topped mountain we saw.  We sat outside and enjoyed our coffee and biscuits before a minibus arrived with a load of teenagers, then a coach, then another coach!  Hordes of holidaymakers swarmed onto the small bridge in front of us with their mobile phones to take their photos.  We quickly packed up and moved on as yet another coach came into the parking area!

The views as we drove through the Glen were amazing and we stopped several times en route to take more pictures.  The only downside was the volume of traffic in both directions, filling most of the parking spaces along the route.

We drove through to Tyndrum as we wanted to visit the upper station.  We are sure that we stopped at this station and got out to stretch our legs when we visited several years ago with David, touring the Highlands and Outer Hebrides on buses, trains and ferries, all in the space of a week!  Turning around, we drove back the way we had come, the return vistas seeming fresh and new as we viewed them from the opposite direction, and the position of the sun made it seem completely different.  An added bonus was that the traffic was much lighter on the return with no coaches.

On the way out we had noticed the Glencoe Ski Resort including a chair lift, as we drove nearer to it Geoff suggested we go up it.  We hadn’t thought of this before, so on the spur of the moment we turned in and took advantage of this amazingly clear day to see the whole area from a very high vantage point.  We absolutely loved it!  Just like Switzerland AND there was snow! Admittedly, not much snow, but further up from where the chair lift stopped there was a ski lift and we watched lots of skiers taking the opportunity of probably a last ski before it all melted.  We had a brief walk, again taking far too many photographs before boarding the chair lift back down.  It was very cold going down as we were straight into the wind, but we had both really enjoyed this unexpected treat.

Lunch time, rather belatedly was enjoyed in Glen Etive, a turn off from the main road onto a now familiar single track road with passing places.  We found a quiet spot to enjoy our picnic, but inside Colin as it was much windier and colder by now. 

Back to Glencoe village to fuel up, we are determined to keep the tank as full as possible, just in case there is a problem with availability, a brief stop at the Co-op for milk and then back to Appin, where we stopped for a walk to top up the steps and then home for the steak supper!

Day 26:  Sunday 24^th April 2022

Moving day again!  The slick operation which is us striking camp saw us leaving half an hour ahead of our planned time.  We drove just a few miles up the road first to a large layby next to Loch Linnhe where we had a walk on the beach in bright sunshine before pressing on another 25 miles where we stopped in another layby for coffee overlooking the same Loch Linnhe.   We continued up to Fort William on the A82, passing the station which we were last at with David a few years ago when we connected with the Jacobite Steam Train to Mallaig. Then via Spean Bridge to Invergarry and the Invergarry Hotel where we stayed on that same trip.  Faichemard Farm Campsite was just a mile or so further up the road from that hotel. 

This site is amazing.  It reminds us of a similar one we stayed at in Balestrand in Norway.  All the pitches were very spread out and the limited number of caravans were all facing in different directions all with different views.  We were pitched quite quickly and easily, what took the time was fetching the water, which was a long walk away either uphill or down.  Geoff chose uphill as he was able to wheel the heavy aqua roll back down hill!

Geoff had a wander around the site finding some wild deer, while I did some washing before we went for a walk down into the valley to the River Garry.  We walked alongside the river and saw lots of waterfalls, it was really pretty and worth the uphill hike, seeing another deer silhouetted against the sky on the way back.

Home to the caravan, for supper and our first night in this lovely place.

Day 27:  Monday 25^th April 2022

After the wonderful sunshine of the last few days we woke to a cloudy morning, but we are very grateful, especially as it was dry.  We enjoyed breakfast with our view, but from inside the caravan as it was much colder again this morning.  Then we had a lovely long video call with Jenni and Ethan before packing the coffee and the picnic and heading off to find the Caledonian Canal.

We found the canal, but there was a lot of work being done, so we didn’t stop but carried on to the small town of Fort Augustus at the foot of Loch Ness where the Caledonian Canal joined it.  This was a bustling place with a huge car park which we found a corner of to enjoy our coffee overlooking the river and the old railway bridge.

We walked down the to the Loch first, in a biting cold wind, viewing the rather impressive Scenic Cruises boat, Spirit of Loch Ness.  It was far too cold today, but we decided if it warmed up later in the week we would go on it for a 50 minute cruise.

The flight of 5 locks looked huge, with all but the top lock overflowing there was so much water, we didn’t see any boats go through and discovered later in the afternoon that a bridge was being repaired between here and Laggan which has had a massive impact on traffic up and down the canal, at the start of their busy period.  We walked up one side and down the other, appreciating this little town, which by the time we left was brimming with tourists, and we counted 7 coaches when we returned to the car park – definitely time for us to move on!

We drove a little way down Loch Ness where we found a pull in right by the loch with a slipway.  We enjoyed our picnic lunch before heading back south to Laggan Locks for a walk along the Caledonian Canal.  As we approached the lock we saw a Le Boat cruiser, and realised that we were right next to their marina, this is the same company that operates on the Thames out of Benson where we stay in Oxfordshire!  We walked along the canal but turned back when we saw a large barge coming towards us, this turned out to be the Ros Crana, a Caledonian Canal holiday barge offering activities on the canal/lochs such as canoeing, sailing, walking and cycling.  We walked alongside it back to the lock where it moored for the night. Jon called us on his way home and we had a lovely chat with him.

Back to the caravan for supper and the promise of a lovely sunset as the sun finally came out today.

PS:  Maddy – thank you so much for my pink hat! It’s been a godsend against the cold!

Day 28:  Tuesday 26^th April 2022

For anyone who may be reading this diary – a health warning – we have enjoyed these next two days so much, I have probably gone overboard in writing about it!

We were up really early this morning and left at 7am on an overcast dull day.  We drove through Glen Shiel as the sky lightened in the distance, reassuringly in the direction we were travelling, towards the Isle of Skye and beyond to the Outer Hebrides and the island of Uist.  At the highest point of the Glen, I felt quite tearful, it was simply beautiful.  We saw many deer, but at a turn in the road, overlooking a river I saw two stags, with full antlers, the first we had seen.  Unfortunately Geoff didn’t see them, so we are hopeful for the return journey as we have to retrace our steps tomorrow night.

Further along the Glen the road to the Isles ran along the edge of Loch Duich and we came around a bend to see the Castle of Eilean Donan.  Reached by a small bridge and perched on a tiny island, this amazing castle was familiar and I am sure it has been used in many films, it certainly ought to feature on any romantic tour of the highlands!

By this time we were starting to feel hungry and started looking for breakfast.  Every other time we have not needed a café or restaurant they were everywhere, but not today.  We stopped briefly in the Kyle of Lochalsh, next to the railway station, but no café, then we drove over the stunning  Skye Bridge and turned left down to Kyleakin, a superb spot to view the bridge, but no café.  We ended up stopping in the small village of Broadford and went into a coaching hotel for a buffet breakfast overlooking the mainland, and part of the NC500 which we expect to be driving over next week.

Adequately fed and watered we drove on towards Uig, taking the longer route to the west of Skye via Dunvegan Castle, this was a great road with stunning views.  We had planned to stop for coffee at Dunvegan, and drove out beyond the castle down a narrow road, managing to pull off the road and enjoy our coffee overlooking the very attractive Loch Dunvegan and back to the castle which looked quite uninspiring.  We sat outside in lovely warm sunshine, taking the opportunity while we can. Shortly after this, driving to Uig, a deer ran out in front of Colin, fortunately Geoff braked in time and she jumped, very elegantly over a fence!

We had programmed the port of Uig into our sat nav, so arrived in good time.  We collected the tickets from the office for the remainder of the ferry journeys we had planned over these two days before finding a tea room for a sandwich lunch.  The ferry journey was excellent, with bright blue views in every direction.  After getting up so early and a rather disturbed night, we were both tired and nodded off on the deck!

Revitalised by our snooze, when we got off the boat at Loch Maddy (!) we turned left and headed south to the foot of Uist.  At every turn we loved what we saw.  The island was covered with water, either sea inlets and lochs or freshwater pools of which there were loads.  We lost count of the number of causeways we drove over, the number of miles on a switch back single track road and smiled at the warning signs for Otters crossing!  By this time it was approaching 5pm, and whilst we wanted to get to the hotel, we made one more diversion to the Island of Eriskay, joined to the bottom of Uist by another fabulous causeway.  On the return journey, I spotted a seal sat on a rock  right by the causeway, quite oblivious to us driving by!  By this time, quite honestly, we were both suffering from ‘sensory overload’. All this blue sea, blue lochs, blue sky – we loved it.

The hotel, the Pollachar Inn, was perched on a promontory, literally at the end of the Island!  We checked into a small but very functional and well equipped room, quickly got washed and changed and sat outside in warm sunshine having an aperitif before a very welcome dinner of scallops, salmon and, for Geoff, fish and chips!

The perfect end to a perfect day could for us only mean a sunset and we were not disappointed.  We enjoyed a lovely walk on the beach, accompanied by a very friendly hotel dog, and took far too many photographs of a stunning sunset, which still stained the sky at 10pm!  Absolute heaven.

WEEK 5:  The Highlands, Invergarry to Ullapool

Day 29:  Wednesday 27^th April 2022

We both had a really good nights sleep in a huge comfortable bed, followed by a long hot shower, without worrying about using too much water!  Breakfast was also a delight, Geoff had porridge followed by a full Scottish and I had pancakes with bacon and maple syrup, the latter was absolutely delicious.

Fuelled for our second Hebridean day, we left the hotel just after 9, and headed back the way we had driven yesterday, but turning off part way to walk out to the coast.  We walked up a track and as we walked over the crest, the beach opened up before us, making us both catch our breath.  The beaches were amazing, so like Scilly, but seemingly on a much larger, grander scale.  The fairly flat landscape, punctuated as it was with water, either sea or fresh, and the accompanying huge skies was enchanting to me.   Moving on to Benebecula, we stopped at a Gin Distillery as Geoff had sampled their offering the night before and I was taken by a small gallery attached to it.  I got talking to one of the artists, who had produced some wonderful sculptures from detritus he had collected on the Uist beaches, we were very tempted to buy one piece but resisted!

Over another causeway to North Uist and some more lovely beaches, this time similar to the large tidal estuaries of Brittany, and a stop for coffee and cake at a lovely little spot near Sollas, Traigh Ear.  We had to watch the time as we were due to check in for the Isle of Harrris ferry at 1310 and we made it with a couple of minutes to spare!

This ferry was much smaller and we remembered it from our bus tour with David.  We were amazed at the very tight channel the boat had to follow, weaving its way from Uist to Harris between what seemed like hundreds of tiny islands or rocks.  We could see both directions through the main cabin and we were watching fore and aft to take advantage of views all around.

We arrived on Harris and the impression was so different to that of Uist, suddenly everything seemed to be in 3D.  The mountains of this island seemed to alter the perspective somehow.  Then we saw the beaches, which were very different.  High mountains made for steeper beaches and the white sand fringed a turquoise sea, turning to light then dark blue close to shore.  The beaches were gorgeous but seemingly more manicured than the rugged haphazard nature of the beaches on Uist.  The houses too, seemed grander and more affluent on this island.  Unfortunately, time was against us and we could only stop a few times for photographs before heading straight to the port for the ferry back to Uig. 

Whilst on this ferry we sat in the café and had a cheeky sandwich I had made on Colin with a cuppa and a scone we bought in the café.  I plugged in my computer and caught up on the diary thus far, before we arrived in Uig bathed in golden evening sunshine.

That sun accompanied us pretty much all the way home.  We stopped briefly in Broadford for fuel and shopping in the Co-op and Geoff popped into the hotel we had stopped at for breakfast yesterday.  He had lost one of his hearing aids when he removed his mask in the hotel, and, amazingly, they had found it and put it to one side in an envelope for him!

As we approached the bridge we saw a huge moorland fire over on the mainland.  The plume of smoke was visible for ages both in front of us before we went over the bridge and behind us as we drove up Glen Shiel.  We stopped again at Eilean Donan castle as it looked amazing in the evening light, and then again at the top of the Glen.

We finally got back to the caravan after 9pm to discover several deer foraging and drinking from the pool in front of the van, a perfect end to another perfect day.

One thing is certain – we will definitely be back to Uist, for a longer more lingering visit next time.

Day 30:  Thursday 28^th April 2022

After all the excitement of the past two days we felt a quieter day was called for.  It was a lovely morning, cool but with bright sunshine which soon warmed everything up.  We spent the morning around the caravan, Geoff did the washing and I caught up with Sue on video call.

We had booked a short cruise on Loch Ness at 1pm so drove over to Fort Augustus to board the boat with rather a lot of other people.  We managed to find a quieter space at the back of the boat on the lower deck to enjoy the scenery and take numerous photographs.  The water of the loch had a black, shiny, lazy feel to it like liquid silk, at one point we noted the depth was almost 200 metres, no wonder Nessie has hardly ever been seen! 

After our cruise, which was excellent, we drove back to the Bridge of Oich, where we had stopped earlier in the week and walked along part of the Caledonian Canal and the old railway line which fringed Loch Oich.  It was a lovely walk, as far as an old tunnel which had ensured its future protection with the installation of bat boxes!

We had booked an afternoon tea at the Glengarry Castle Hotel in Invergarry, somewhere we had driven past a few times.  You couldn’t see it from the road at all so when we drove down the rather impressive drive and past the crumbling ruin which was Invergarry Castle and turned a corner to face the hotel we were delighted with what we found.  A real traditional hotel, very tastefully and elegantly decorated, understated and genteel.  The hallway was adorned with Stags heads, which would not appeal to our children!  We were the only ones there for tea and we were invited to choose where we would like to take it, so we checked out the sitting room, the library and the dining room, choosing the library with a lovely sofa overlooking the loch.

Tea was amazing: sandwiches, Cornish splits, and cakes, the latter we could not manage so had them boxed to take away.  I also had a small bottle of prosecco, of course!  After we had enjoyed our tea we walked through the hotel grounds to the castle, stopping en route to assist a couple, who turned up in a le boat hire boat, moor up on the hotel pontoon.

We have had a brilliant few days based here in what has proved to be one of the most picturesque campsites we have ever stayed on.

Day 31:  Friday 29^th April 2022

Moving day again, this time to Ullapool, actually on the North Coast 500, so we really feel as though we are a long way north now.

The journey took us along the length of Loch Ness, all 23 miles of it, into Inverness.  This surprised us as being much bigger than we expected.  We will be back as Inverness will now be like the hub of a wheel for us and we will be visit it a few times over the next 4 weeks.

From Inverness, the road wound through very different country to that we had been used to, and we both thought it reminded us of Norway!  Presumably, had we come here first we would have said the opposite.  We arrived at Ardmair Caravan and Camping site bang on 2pm, in a queue behind 2 camper vans.  The first pitch we were allocated was being overlapped quite badly by an adjacent caravan, so I went back to reception and asked to be moved and we ended up on pitch 9 which we think is actually much better.  Fantastic views through the front window, but camper vans either side of us rather too close for us really, but we can close the blinds and focus on the front.

After pitching and a light lunch sat outside overlooking the loch, we decided to drive back into Ullapool.  It is a lovely village, with some interesting shops and a wonderful harbour front .  We parked next to Tescos and walked around the coast into the village, spending some time in the tourist information office where the lady was very helpful.  We sat outside a pub, the Arch Inn, with a glass of something refreshing watching the Caledonian Macbrayne ferry which was bound for Stornaway.

Back to the caravan for prosecco and smoked salmon, sat outside enjoying warm evening sunshine.  A walk before dinner finished off another lovely day, to the sound of the cuckoo in the distance.

Day 32:  Saturday 30^th April 2022

Having heard rain during the night, we woke to persistent rain, which looked set to remain all day.  We decided to make the most of down time and stayed at home.  I updated the diary, emailed and telephoned family and washed down the outside of the caravan, much easier in the rain! Geoff watched Newcastle be beaten 1-0 by Liverpool.  

Mid afternoon, the rain seemed to lessen slightly so we drove into Ullapool for another wander and to get a good look at the Viking Venus, a Norwegian cruise ship which had moored in the loch off Ullapool for the day.  The village was full of tourists, some on organised walks and others just wandering around like us.  We popped into the Arch Inn for drinks again, hoping to book for supper, but they were fully booked, as were another couple of restaurants, so we called into Tescos and picked up a ready meal, an easy option to enjoy in the caravan. 

No sunset tonight, just a farewell to the cruise ship and the CalMac ferry to Stornaway.

Day 33:  Sunday 1^st May 2022

We woke to glorious sunshine and a bright blue sky which was a wonderful surprise as the weather forecast had predicted a dull day.  We decided to make the most of the sun and we did not loiter after breakfast, heading off to visit the Achiltibuie peninsula, and, as recommended by Jo and Mac, the road to the Summer Isles.  This also turned out to be the start of the UNESCO North West Highlands Geopark, similar to one we went through in Norway.

It was a wonderful drive along the edge of Loch Lurgainn, fringed with bright yellow gorse bushes, looking even more yellow in the sun.  The road was the usual single track with passing places which we have become used to over the past weeks.  As we drove up the hill before the viewpoint towards the Summer Isles, it was with some anticipation we topped the hill and appreciated the amazing vista which lay in front of us.  The Summer Isles, looked so like the Scillies, and set against a brilliant blue sea, it really was breathtaking.  We took time out to walk up to the viewpoint and the cairn before driving along the road towards the north of the promontory and finding a perfect spot to park up for a coffee break.

We then walked to the end of the road in a small hamlet called Reiff.  It seemed that more than half of the cottages were holiday lets and what a perfect spot for a holiday.  In the distance the Outer Hebrides were clearly visible and to the south we could see Skye and the mainland, part of the NC500, which we intend to drive later this week.  There was an old crumbling quay which we walked over rather gingerly, before walking along the beach back to the road we had come down, back to Colin.

We drove back the way we had come and on to Altandhu, here we found a wonderful campsite (Port a Bhaigh) with an excellent shop and facilities, definitely one to consider should we come again.  Opposite was the pub, the Fuaran Bar where, after our experience in Ullapool last night, we had booked a table for lunch.  We sat outside on a wonderful balcony overlooking a gorgeous beach.  There was no wind and it was very warm, I was very glad of my peaked cap!  We enjoyed an excellent lunch, I had scallops followed by homemade scampi with new potatoes and Geoff had oysters followed by haddock and chips.  It really was superb food and the wine was delicious too.  Feeling replete and ready for a nap, we drove further on, stopping briefly to visit a craft studio and buy a jug, before finding a suitable spot overlooking a pier and Tannara More Island, one of the largest Summer Isles, where we both had a snooze in the sun!

A final drive down to the southern end of the island took us through the metropolis which was the main settlement of Achiltibuie.   We stopped for a cup of tea and cake overlooking the isles towards the end of the afternoon and the sun on the water turned it silver.  We drove home marveling at the colours which are so intense in the evening sun.  We ended the day with the sun setting behind the Isle Martin, right in front of our caravan.  Fingers crossed we get more sun tomorrow!

Day 34:  Monday 2^nd May 2022

Whilst our wish didn’t come true for more sunshine today, we were lucky it was a dry day with a high cloud base.  We had a boat trip booked this morning in Lochinver, so we were up and off earlier today.  We retraced some of our steps from yesterday but carried on further north, skirting the edge of Loch Assynt with the ruins of Ardvreck Castle sited attractively on a gassy promontory protruding into the loch.  We stopped to photograph it and to have a brief wander onto a lovely beach next to another ruin, that of Calda House.

We continued by the rather lovely River Inver, apparently a good salmon river, into Lochinver which appeared to be a thriving little centre with a large harbour complete with a fuel tanker moored alongside.  We found the boat but had to park a little way away so walked smartly back to board the Keltic Lady operated by Tony from North Coast Sea Tours.  There were 12 passengers and we were treated to a 90 minute cruise during which we saw lots of seals, 2 deer on the hills and either one porpoise that swam by 6 times or half a dozen porpoises!  Apparently the latter are very shy and avoid the tripper boats whereas dolphins will come and perform.  We were assured the dolphins would be around inside a month!

When we returned we drove into the village and picked up a few things at the Spar Shop, including a couple of pies from Lochinver pie shop, then Geoff filled Colin up at the petrol station, surprisingly no more expensive than Ullapool.  After a coffee we continued on our way south on a single track road again via Inverkirkaig.  We stopped at a car park and walked back to have our picnic overlooking this gorgeous beach.

This road, which wound its way tightly between cliffs and the sea edge and then over moorland and more gorse, eventually joined the road from Achiltibuie.  We stopped for another walk to top up our steps and found a lovely red sand beach alongside the freshwater Loch Lurgainn.

Home to the caravan and the clouds lifted to reveal blue sky!

Day 35:  Tuesday 3^rd May 2022

We had been looking forward to today as the first full day driving the NC500.  We were up early and away by 7, driving some 70 miles to Loch Carron before we started looking for somewhere to stop to have breakfast.

We found a superb spot by a stream at the start of the road to Applecross, known as the Bealach Na Ba.  The sign at the start of this stretch comes with a health warning!  Caravans are strictly forbidden and motorhomes are not advised, but Campers like Colin are fine.  Having said that we came across quite a few motorhomes, and some of the drivers definitely should not have been driving that road!

Breakfast over, we started up the mountain, it reminded us of the Trollstigen in Norway and the Hardknot Pass in the Lake District with some very windy steep sections, but at every turn the views were stunning.  As we got closer to the highest point of 2060 feet, we drove into cloud, but it gave the whole scene a dramatic atmospheric feel, which we loved.  We came across several cyclists, motor cyclists and a few other cars, but nowhere near the number we expected.  We think the fact that we started the climb before 10am was to our advantage, but we had long periods where we didn’t see another vehicle.

The road dropped over the mountain into Applecross, a small pretty village opposite the Isle of Raasey, just off the Isle of Skye.  We stopped to have a walk, but were beaten back to the car by the rain, so we drove down to the shop instead and bought the necessary fridge magnet and some beer!

Pressing on, the road ran along the sea front, above cliffs and pretty beaches, again opposite the Isle of Skye, we stopped for coffee and some Selkirk Bannock, with butter, purchased in aforesaid shop, it was delicious.

Carrying on down the NC500 and we were almost blasé, another mountain, another gorgeous loch view!  We stopped to buy some smoked salmon at a small smokehouse en route, and then stopped on the outskirts of Shieldaig, on the Loch of the same name.  We walked through the village and were delighted that the sun started to push through the clouds, only a little, but it was enough!  We had a smoked salmon sandwich for lunch at Nanny’s café and had a lovely chat with the owner before continuing our journey.

The next stop was Torridon.  We parked at a Countryside Centre on the outskirts of the village, and followed a circular walk through the village and back along the shore of Loch Torridon.  The village was dwarfed by huge mountains immediately behind the houses, covered in a grey scree, gneiss. We saw lots of deer in a small park next to the Centre and shortly after we passed close by to a wild deer at the side of the road.

A final stop of the day, this time for tea and cake (my, what a life we lead!) was by Loch Maree, a very pretty loch fringed with conifers and very reminiscent of the Lake District.  We finally arrived at our Guest House, Muldoanich, in Gairloch at 5.30pm.  We were delighted with the room and facilities, and after leaving our bags we set off again in Colin to find somewhere to have dinner.  We found the best restaurant with the most amazing view of the Outer Hebrides and Skye, it was called Colin’s diner, where I cooked steak burgers followed by lime cheesecake!

A final walk along Gairloch Charlestown harbour, which had been lovingly decorated with pots of bulbs all along the quay side, ended what has been a fabulous day, 175 miles up and down mountains, all made for wonderful memories.

WEEK 6:  The Highlands, Ullapool to Scourie

Day 36:  Wednesday 4^th May 2022

We were more leisurely this morning having spent a comfortable night in a big airy bedroom, served by a luxurious shower room.  The breakfast lived up to the quality of the accommodation, Geoff enjoyed his porridge and full Scottish, while I enjoyed smoked salmon and scrambled egg.  Breakfast was also a social affair as we enjoyed a lengthy conversation with 2 fellow guests, who hailed from Wiltshire and were en route to Thurso and Orkney.

The day started dull, but we didn’t really mind as we were more about visiting places today.  After a brief stop at the tourist information office in Gairloch and a farm shop next door, we headed to Inverewe Garden.  This was a National Trust venue so we were pleased to have free entry here.  The garden was brilliant, starting with an excellent walled garden containing, fruit, vegetables and cut flowers in very neat terraces overlooking the bay of Loch Ewe.  The pathways then wound up towards the house, a wonderful 1930’s building which replaced the original traditional house which was destroyed by fire.  We had a look around the ground floor which was open to the public, of a sitting room, library, dining room and kitchen.  The garden was originally planned by Osgood Mackenzie and his daughter, Mairi, took it over, filling it with plants from all over the world.  It was gifted to the National Trust in the 1950’s. 

A quick coffee from the bothy and then we wandered along paths between huge redwood trees in one section and colourful rhododendrons and azaleas all over the place.  There were some good viewing points across the Loch, including a jetty where we hoped to see some sea otters, but no joy.

What we did see was a Heron, swooping across the treetops and landing on a nest built at the top of a huge tree immediately above us.  We thought we could hear the babies!

Moving on along the NC500 we then stopped in Aultbea and the Arctic Convoy Museum where Geoff spent half an hour browsing the exhibits.  The drive then took us along the shores of the Little Loch Broom, where we saw lots of seals sat on rocks at the edge of the beach, and up a pass alongside the Dundonnel river, which was littered with waterfalls.  This road was the second highest pass we have been on at over 1100 feet, and was unexpectedly lovely

The final stop was the Corrieshalloch Gorge National Nature reserve and the Falls of Measach.  These were reached down a long winding path where a small suspension bridge spanned the gorge.  This was really impressive and what our grandsons would call a wibbly wobbly bridge! 

Home for a chat with the family, Jenni and the boys first followed by Jonathan.

Day 37:  Thursday 5^th May 2022

A boring domestic day today.  Washing, cleaning, and Perran Teddy story writing in the morning and Tesco shopping and another wander around Ullapool in the afternoon.

But to make up for the lack of excitement, I have included a few pics of the caravan in this amazing setting.  The first was taken earlier in the week when the sun was shining and the other two were taken this afternoon, when in one direction the sun was shining and the other it wasn’t!

Day 38:  Friday 6^th May 2022

Moving day again!  This time we were only moving another 40 miles, pretty much the furthest north we could go with the caravan, on this coast in any event.  We enjoyed our usual breakfast before preparing to leave.  It was a dull but dry morning, after an horrendous night of heavy rain and wind.  Fortunately, everything worked just as it should and we had no dramas!

We stopped at the same layby as we had on Monday overlooking Ardvreck Castle.  The weather was quite good, with good visibility, and a deep blue sea loch by the side of us.  Once we set off again though, the rain started, but only drizzle at this stage.  We arrived at Scorbie Caravan and Camping Site bang on 12 noon and were the first to check in.  We had been allocated pitch 4 and we were delighted to be in a fabulous position overlooking the sea, with no one in front of us.  We pitched quite quickly, despite a few issues with the water taps and we sat to have our tea and sandwiches overlooking the amazing view in front of us.  Within minutes the view was almost completely obscured by the rain and mist, it was awful!  The forecast suggested this would clear by 5pm and after a video call with Sue, it did just that.

We enjoyed a walk around the beaches and the village of Scorbie before Geoff had fish and chips from a local van for supper and I had my favourite salmon salad! We sat outside in the sun for a while until the cold sent us inside to keep warm, but still admiring a stunning sunset.

Day 39:  Saturday 7^th May 2022

We woke to a stunning morning, blue sky with not a cloud in sight and calm sea in front of us.  After breakfast, which we ate inside, sunshine did not necessarily mean warmth, we set off for Tarbet, just 6 miles down the road.  From here we caught the passenger ferry to Handa Island, well known for its plethora of bird life. 

When we arrived in Tarbet, Geoff went to buy the tickets and I organised coffee on a picnic table before we were able to board.  The ferry was a rib, but with a calm sea we did not get wet, nor need the rather heavy duty life savers we were all given to wear.

The view across to the island, and indeed of the mainland we left, was fabulous and we were both very excited about what lay ahead.  We landed on a gorgeous beach, reminiscent of Scilly, and were met by two volunteer female rangers who gave all 12 of the ferry riders a brief summary of what to expect on the island and instructed us all to stick to the paths.  This was a joy actually as the paths, for the most part were boardwalk or gravel, very easy to walk on, save for the many inclines!

We followed a route around the island anticlockwise, to the points of the remains of an old village, Puffin Bay, where there were no puffins, Great Stack, where there were some puffins (so cute) as well as Razorbills and lots of others I could not name.  Then on to Poll Ghulp and Boulder Bay, returning via the village to the beach where we landed.

We stopped for our picnic on what proved to be a raised beach, it was very comfortable and afforded us a spectacular view out to sea (next stop Canada) and also the coast to the south of us.

What absolutely made the day was the weather.  The photographs show non stop blue sky and sunshine, and we were both glad of our caps to protect our heads from the intensity of the sun.  When we returned to the mainland, we stopped briefly for a cuppa in Colin before heading back to the caravan where we sat outside with a glass of something cool in the setting sun.  A wonderful chat with Jenni, Graham and the boys completed what had been a very special day.

Day 40:  Sunday 8^th May 2022

I had been looking forward to today with a mixture of anticipation and dread!  Jo and Mac had recommended walking to Sandwood Bay, apparently the most beautiful beach in Britain.  Having checked the map and read various accounts, both the distance involved and the suitability of the path were questionable.

Still, we knew we couldn’t meet them again with any lame excuses, so we packed up the picnic and headed to Blairmore, a few miles north of Kinlochbervie, where the John Muir Trust had thoughtfully provided a car park and toilets at the start of the walk.  We had our coffee sat in Colin before setting off bang on 11am.  The path was infinitely better than we had expected, at least the first 80%, initially with a wide gravel path, turning into a more rugged but well defined and well maintained path further on.  The path wound past several small lochs, some with lovely sandy beaches, but we were aiming for a much bigger beach with a lot more sand.

It was a dull start, but the visibility was excellent, with fabulous far reaching views to the mountains around.  We had read that the area was described as a wild wildnerness and that is exactly how it felt.  When we eventually rounded a hill and got our first glimpse of the sea fringing the bay, although we couldn’t see the sand to begin with, when we did there was tonnes of it!  Huge sand dunes were between us and the beach.  We seemed to go up and down loads of them until we finally made our way on to a stunning beach.  We enjoyed our picnic at the southern end of the beach, with hardly anyone else in sight before walking down to the waters edge and signing our names in the sand as we are want to do.  The walk along the beach revealed the stack which had been just around the cliffs from where we had sat for our lunch.

The walk back to the car seemed to be entirely uphill, although we could not recall it being all downhill to get there!  The first bit was undoubtedly the worst, a vertical pull up from the dunes and then up a damp, peaty hill to get back onto the proper path.  We stopped briefly for a chocolate and water break and were very glad to eventually get back to Colin.  My fitbit registered 10.75 miles!

We drove down to Droman Pier afterwards for tea and cake as a reward for completing this marathon and the sun came out.  It was definitely worth the effort, Sandwood Bay is indeed a wonderful wild remote place.

Day 41:  Monday 9^th May 2022

Rain again today.  The view from the front of the caravan was the same sea, but the rain on the window made it look very sad.

Nevertheless, undaunted, we packed the picnic and the coffee and set out from the caravan park, turning right and back to Kylescue bridge and another section of the NC500 which was unsuitable for caravans.  We stopped briefly at the bridge and then in Kylescue itself with stunning views up the lochs of Glendhu and Glencoul.  There was a really nice looking small hotel here, right on top of the small harbour, one to return to we think.  Further down the road we stopped at the Rock Stop, run by the Geopark, I sat in the car and read my book and Geoff enjoyed a short video on the geology of the region supported by lots of information boards. 

The route itself was another single-track road with passing places.  It was extremely twisty and up and down, with several arrows on the OS map, denoting very steep bits.  The views at every turn, even in the rain were good and worth a return trip.  We stopped at Drumbeg for coffee at a viewpoint and took a photo, and although visibility was quite poor, we could still see Handa Island further up the coast.  Next stop was a deviation from the route down to a jetty at Culkein Drumbeg, this was charming, not at all touristy, and looked as though it was used by fish farmers.

Pressing on, we stopped at Clashnessie.  It was raining quite heavily here, but we wanted to see the waterfall, so we donned our waterproof trousers and went for it!  We passed several people walking back from it and they all looked soaked, even in their waterproof trousers, but we carried on until we had a reasonable view from a distance.  We had been warned by those returning that it was very boggy nearer to the fall itself, so we used that as a good excuse to turn around!

The next stop was Stoer lighthouse which Geoff wanted to visit.  This was down the end of a long detour and neither of us got out of Colin as it was persisting!  We took advantage of the parking with a view, albeit nearly obscured by the rain on the window, for our lunch.

There was one place on this route I really wanted to see and that was the beach at Achmelvich.  This was another deviation, but definitely worth it.  The beach had the white sand and turquoise sea I was looking for and even without sun, it looked amazing.  We climbed up onto the hill overlooking the beach for a better look.

On to Lochinvar to shop at the Spar, there really isn’t much choice in this part of the world, but we were able to buy milk, bread, cake and twix bars! By this time we had pretty much had enough of the rain, so we drove the direct route back to the caravan, where we were fooled into thinking the weather was improving, and it did, but not for long!

Day 42:  Tuesday 10^th May 2022

What a night!  The wind was buffeting the caravan to the extent that we were both worried we would be blown over the cliff in front of us!  The rain was equally intense, and we were surrounded by puddles in the morning.

We were up early, breakfasted, coffee and picnic packed, as well as our overnight bag and driving out of the caravan site by 9am.  Our destination was Tongue on the north coast, further along the NC500, but we intended to take our time and take in the sights en route, weather permitting.  The forecast indicated sun and showers, and that was a very accurate reflection of the weather throughout the day.  We were very lucky on most of our walks to avoid heavy bouts of rain, but we did get damp on occasions.

Our first stop was Balnakeil just west of Durness.  Here we parked next to a lovely beach and walked the length of it, intending to walk around Faraid Head, but the heavens opened, and we retreated to the car, not wishing to get wet at the start of the day.  We then drove into Durness, stopping above the beach to admire Sango Bay and enjoying our coffee.  There was a large campsite on the cliffs here and whilst most of the occupants were motorhomes, there were two caravans of a similar size to ours, and we were amazed to think they had driven over the single-track road with passing places hardly big enough to accommodate the tow car, never mind the caravan as well.

We stopped briefly at the shop to top up on provisions and were very impressed with the Spar.  We then stopped just a mile along the road at Smoo Cave.  This necessitated a long walk down steps to the gorge and enormous cave, with a huge waterfall, followed by a long walk up again the other side.  We then followed signs to the coast to see some natural arches, but we couldn’t see any, they must have been small and only visible at sea level, and no one was brave enough to venture down the cliffs.

Our lunch stop was overlooking Traigh Allt Chailgeag, a beautiful beach with a zip wire strung across it!  Sadly, it was closed so we were unable to fly today.  The road then followed the edge of Loch Eriboll, with lime kilns on a small island, before crossing A’Mhoine moor with stunning views of Ben Hope and Ben Loyal to the south.  We arrived in Tongue and crossed a bridge and a causeway across the Kyle of Tongue, stopping for tea and cake with wonderful views both out to sea and up to the mountains.  We checked into the Tigh nan ubhal Guest House and were delighted with our room equipped with easy chairs, king size bed and luxurious shower room, all looking out over the ruined Castle Varrich.

We left our bags and set off in Colin for a mooch about to find somewhere nice to have our supper.  We drove around the Kyle of Tongue on a very minor road, which was delightful but with no suitable parking spots.  Then we drove down towards the coast via Midfield and Talmine, both of which had superb beaches.  We stopped and walked on the latter with the shell of an old boat and a seal bobbing up in the sea and were delighted to see a full rainbow arch across the sea in front of us.

We feasted in Colin on crab pate, steak burgers and chocolate profiteroles!  All in all, another fabulous day, which the mixed weather did not spoil for one moment.

WEEK 7:  The Highlands, Scourie to Bonar Bridge

Day 43:  Wednesday 11^th May 2022

We both had a good nights sleep in the enormous bed at the B&B, unfortunately the downside to this place was the shower, it was an electric one with no real power, we both said the shower in the caravan was much better!  The breakfast however, was excellent and we both took full advantage, viewing it as our main meal of the day!

We had intended to walk up to Castle Varrich this morning, but as we left the house, the rain came on with a vengeance and we would have been soaked.  We drove past the lime kilns on Loch Eriboll again, this time in brilliant sunshine, and then on to one of the beaches we saw yesterday.  The OS map called it Traigh Allt Chailgeag and Google marked it as Ceannabeinne Beach, well it was the one with the zip wire!  We parked above it and had our coffee, then walked down and explored its full extent before the rain sent us scurrying back to Colin.  We were amazed when we were on the beach to see two huge twin axle caravans being towed along the road towards Durness – bonkers!

When we arrived in Durness, it was still raining so we thought we would visit a craft village in Balnakeil that was advertised en route, this was an ex RAF early warning base from the 1950’s.  We were not impressed with the exterior of any of the buildings and one message on the door of one read ‘we do not respect the use of masks in this shop’ which put us off even crossing the threshold!  A huge queue in Cocoa Mountain, a coffee shop, put us off that too so we got back in the van and drove off!

We found a lovely place to park up overlooking the Kyle of Durness and walked along the edge of the water to the slipway for the ferry used for the trip to Cape Wrath.  No ferries today, as it was so windy, but enjoyed the walk, avoiding the rain.  We had our lunch watching the seashore carefully for sea otters but no joy, before driving back home to our caravan, which fortunately had not blown over the cliff!

The return journey was basically the outward in reverse, simply because there is no other choice up here!  Having said that, the views looked completely different and I drove today so Geoff could do a lot more looking around.  When we returned the weather improved considerably and the sun and blue sky were very welcome.

Day 44:  Thursday 12^th May 2022

Not much to say today, we were due a rest day and used another wet, windy day to attend to matters domestic.  Geoff did the washing in rather a smart looking set up with 2 large washing machines and a commercial dryer, sited outside, and I cleaned the inside of the caravan and, more importantly, finished my book, Death and Croissants by Ian Moore.  I am swapping my books as I go so am reading an eclectic mix!

We managed a couple of walks in between the bouts of rain, hence a few photos to show, including one of a rather interesting war memorial which we hadn’t seen before today.

Day 45:  Friday 13^th May 2022

Today was supposed to be a moving day, but the weather forecast was horrendous with winds in excess of 40mph forecast.  We decided to stay an extra night and we moved to a more sheltered pitch to avoid the fear of being blown over the cliff! 

Boring day, so few pics and no story to tell, apart from a lovely final sunset.

Day 46:  Saturday 14^th May 2022

So today was the actual moving day and we were both glad to leave after a rather wet week.  We were also fed up with being on such a busy site and today we were heading for a CL, with only 5 pitches we knew we were going to our preferred sort of site.

We were away before 9.30am and we had decided to avoid the direct route to Bonar Bridge, the nearest village to Drumbhan CL, which was via a long section of single track road with passing places.  Our experience of these over the past few weeks has shown us that there is huge potential for damaging the caravan in pot holes around short passing places, so we opted to stick to main roads, ie, those with a white line in the middle!

We stopped en route by Loch Glascarnoch for our coffee, and it was a lovely spot in the sunshine.  The route took us along the edge of the Cromarty Firth and the Dornoch Firth before we arrived on site at 1.30pm.

It was literally a back garden with five hard standing places, but we loved it.  There was only one caravan sited and we picked a lovely pitch, facing south and overlooking Loch Migdale and the hills around.  A motorhome arrived a few minutes after us, and typically they were sat having their cup of tea and sandwiches long before us!  The pitch was sloping so it took us a while to level the van, but we were soon settled and eating our sandwiches!

We decided to head off into Tain to do some shopping, stopping at a caravan supplies shop for a few things first.  They were shut when we got there but Geoff had a chat with the owner who was stood outside and he let him in to choose what he wanted!  We had a lovely walk around Tain, along the river with its suspension bridge built in 1902 and Museum which looked like a castle.  Tesco was next on the list and we stocked up on diesel and food before heading back for Geoff to watch the FA Cup and me to sit in the sunshine with my book and a glass of wine!

What a difference 24 hours can make, yesterday we were feeling a bit fed up, but all back on track now with our lovely view (we are the middle caravan in the photo) and the sun back again.

Day 47:  Sunday 15^th May 2022

An absolutely stunning morning to wake up to, warm sunshine, no wind and a fabulous view encouraged us to have breakfast outside with boiled eggs from our host and his free range chickens.  We pottered about this morning, Geoff sorted stuff out in Colin and I cleaned the outside of the caravan before enjoying our coffee in front of that view!

We eventually left around midday and headed towards Tain, stopping at Ardgay station to check it out for a trip we are planning later in the week, and on to Tarbat Ness which was a promontory between Dornoch Firth to the north west and the Moray Firth to the south.  The lighthouse was 41m high, designed by Robert Stevenson in 1830, and apparently the second highest land based lighthouse in Scotland.  It was certainly very well maintained and dominated the landscape.  We had a walk around it and down to the end of the promontory before taking our picnic down on to the beach of Wilkhaven.

We then drove into the seaside village of Portmahomack on the west side of the promontory for a walk around.  It was charming with a stunning long sandy beach.  The houses fringing the beach were all different colours, and from the look of it, many were holiday lets.  We discovered that the local shop was still open so we had an ice cream and enjoyed it overlooking the beach in sunshine.

Our next stop was Balintore, to the south, famous for the Mermaid of the North.  I was keen to see this as it had featured in the NC500 virtual walk I completed.  We expected to be disappointed because the Little Mermaid in Copenhagen was much smaller than we had expected (funnily enough it was 2 years ago, almost to the day that we saw it).  The opposite was true today!  The statue was bigger and more impressive than we had hoped for and we enjoyed the walk to find it and the cool beverages supplied by the Balintore Inn and enjoyed sitting outside in the warm sun.

By this time it was 6pm so we drove back to the caravan for supper, sadly it was a bit too breezy to sit outside for this, but maybe tomorrow!

Day 48:  Monday 16^th May 2022

Geoff was up very early this morning at 3am to watch the Lunar eclipse but not for long!

We had checked the weather forecast for today and knew that we were in for rain again, but we had planned our day accordingly.  After an earlier breakfast we headed off first to cover part of the NC500 route around Inverness which we had not managed to do before now.  We drove up into country which was more familiar to us having toured the northern tip of Scotland, moorland and rocky hills, which was unusual after the manicured arable land of the lower levels around the Moray Firth.

We were taken with Strathpeffer, a spa town, with several very large hotels and some lovely Victorian architecture, and then with Beauly, which was full of pretty houses and classy looking tourist shops.  We didn’t stop in either as we were conscious of the time today as we wanted to fit a lot in.

Our first destination was Urquhart Castle on the banks of Loch Ness.  We stopped in the village of Drumnadrochit and the Visitor Centre where we had our coffee sat in Colin in the pouring rain.  In fact the rain looked set for the day now, with low cloud and poor visibility, so it was with some reluctance that we drove into the car park for the Castle.  We didn’t want to pay to get wet and not really enjoy the walk, but Geoff was convinced the weather was clearing so we went into the ticket office.  After my initial dismay at being considered over 65 and qualifying for a Senior ticket, I was then delighted to discover that English Heritage members could go in for free! 

The visitor centre and shop were superb and by the time we emerged from those, it had stopped raining!  We thoroughly enjoyed our walk around the ruined castle, despite hundreds of steps, and the location, right on the edge of Loch Ness was amazing, sad that we couldn’t appreciate it in better weather, but at least we were dry!

On to Inverness, stopping for lunch en route in Colin and arriving in Inverness right by Aldi!  We had an Aldi shopping list all ready and stocked up, particularly on kitchen roll, which for some reason we seem to go through at an alarming rate!

We had tickets booked to see Downton Abbey 2 at the cinema.  We had just enough time to enjoy a Costa coffee before the time on our ticket, but it wouldn’t have mattered if we had been late as there were 20 minutes of adverts and trailers!  We really enjoyed this feel good, if rather twee, film.  This was definitely my choice, and Geoff’s is Top Gun 2 which we will see in a few weeks time when it is released.

Home in pouring rain, stopping at Tesco’s in Tain to top up the fuel tank.  We have seen several garages with no fuel, so we are not taking any risks of running out.

Day 49:  Tuesday 17^th May 2022

A blue sky morning! We had planned a day with less driving today.  Our first port of call was Dornoch, which our neighbours on the site had recommended.  It was a lovely little village, clearly famous for its Royal Dornoch Golf Links, not that we realised that till we got there.  We actually drove across the course before we did so!

We parked in a beach car park and then walked back into and around the village.  It had an old jail, which had been turned into a suite of very nice shops, in which we bought a couple of bits and pieces, and an old castle which had been converted into a hotel.  These were opposite the cathedral, which was rather a grand title for a large Church.

We called into a hardware store for a browse, these always seem like Aladdins Caves to us, with all sorts of things you never realised you needed!  We bought a hanging plant pot, rather odd you may think, but it made an ideal rubbish bin for Colin!  We also spied a wonderful postbox knitted topper, celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

Our visit ended with a coffee and a chat with Jenni on a seat overlooking the beach where we had parked, the weather was superb at this point and we had a great vantage point.

The main destination of the day was Dunrobin Castle, which turned out to be a fairy tale castle, with turrets!  We had hoped to use the train today, but were shocked at the price, so opted to use Colin and we are glad we did otherwise we wouldn’t have been able to visit Dornoch en route.  The castle car park was full, including two coaches, but we didn’t experience any problems getting in or around.  We opted to have lunch first as they had some attractive lunch options, Geoff had steak and ale pie and I had macaroni cheese, eaten in a room dedicated to a very old fire engine and all sorts of fire apparel, including 24 shiny firemens helmets!

The castle reportedly had 189 rooms, but only 18 were open to the public, but they were a very interesting 18 rooms and we thoroughly enjoyed the visit, especially the views from the windows across the formal gardens to the sea.  We walked down to see these, including a Museum, which was actually a trophy room, full of stuffed heads of all sorts of animals shot by the former Dukes of Sutherland on their various world tours, as well as numerous stag heads.  It was all a bit much for me and we discovered that it had been a bit much for a former Duchess of Sutherland who insisted they all be removed from the castle!

After walking around and appreciating the amazing formal gardens, particularly the pyramid garden, we started to watch a falconry display, having seen all the falcons and hawks lined up beforehand, but it started to rain partway through what was a rather boring talk, so we beat a hasty retreat.

We stopped for tea and cake in Golspie, in our chairs on the beach!  The rain had stopped and the sun came out so we had a wander along the shore before driving home via Lairg.  Jon called for a chat, so it was lovely to catch up with him today, as well as Jenni this morning.

WEEK 8:  The Highlands, Bonar Bridge to Thurso

Day 50:  Wednesday 18^th May 2022T

Today was destined to be a different sort of day to those we have enjoyed thus far.  This morning at 11am we watched a live broadcast from Truro Methodist Church of the funeral of my dear friend Jean Margaret Jelliffe.  The name is significant, because I had no idea until today that Jean’s middle name was the same as mine!  Jean had lived a good life and clearly had impacted lots of people in the same way she had me, by showing love, care and genuine interest in my life and family.  I miss her.

After the funeral we drove down into Bonar Bridge village, parking by the bridge in a picnic area  overlooking the Dornoch Firth, and had a wander around.  We took a parcel to the post office but there was very little else to see, so we returned to the car and enjoyed our picnic sat on a bench overlooking the river.

Geoff had booked a tour of Glenmorangie distillery at 2pm.  The distillery itself, located on the banks of the Dornoch Firth, just outside Tain, was an impressive building, much extended with modern facilities to complement the traditional.  The tour itself was well presented and demonstrated the process and Geoff was impressed with the scale of production and the amazing stills, tallest in Scotland.  The young lady who led the tour, was very knowledgeable with lots of statistics and information.  They have half a million barrels in their warehouses going through the aging process and have recently built a new mini distillery known as the Lightening to test and develop new limited editions.  They are also leading a new programme to introduce oysters into the Firth as a means of purifying the waters with over 4 million oysters, none of which will be harvested.  Geoff especially enjoyed the wee drams!  I sat in Colin and finished my book while all this was going on, meeting Geoff in the shop at the end of the tour.

While we were so near to the town we took advantage of a Jet wash to give Colin a good clean, before popping in to Lidl for things we had forgotten yesterday.  Then we drove down onto the Ness of Portnaculter, a very narrow strip of land extending into the Firth, parallel with the new bridge.  It used to be the site of the Meikle Ferry, pre the arrival of the new bridge. We had a cup of tea enjoying the view, while some cows enjoyed the view of us!

Home for supper and a walk from the site to top up our steps finished the day.

Day 51:  Thursday 19^th May 2022

I think that another health warning may be due for today as we have had another long amazing day out!

We left the caravan site before 8am and headed first for the Falls of Shin.  These waterfalls are known for their leaping salmon, but sadly not usually at this time of year.  Having said that, they were very impressive, more so for the fact that no one else was around at this time of the morning, despite an enormous car park, and excellent visitor facilities.

We drove through Lairg and shortly after leaving this small town, the A836 narrowed from a normal 2 carriageway road to a single track road with passing places.  Whilst the passing places were numerous, they were not very long so trying to attempt such a road with a caravan on the back would have been tortuous.  We found a superb place to stop for breakfast just before 9.30 overlooking a wide valley, having travelled across moorland interspersed with lots of streams and woodland.  Geoff cooked bacon on the stove outside and we enjoyed our sandwiches with tea in the sunshine!

We turned right at Altnaharra onto the B873, a delightful road running up the edge of Loch Naver.  There was a Caravan and Motorhome campsite on the banks of this loch which I had debated booking but was deterred from doing so by the single track roads.  We had a walk along the road and around the site, which reminded us of some we had stayed on in Norway.  If we ever visit in the future then pitch 5 is the best!  By this time it was way past coffee time, and we found a lovely spot by the River Naver where we were able to get right down by the river for some photos.  This river was clearly a favourite for fishermen as we saw several with their fishing rods stored on their car bonnets when driving!  Checking on google, we found that the Naver is arguably the best salmon river in Scotland.

Our main aim today was to drive a little more of the NC500 and we joined the route at Bettyhill.  This had more significance for us as we had discovered that Gordon’s Great Grandfather had been the minister at the local Free Church.  We found the Church and walked around this lovely village, appreciating the bays of Torrisdale to the west and Farr Bay to the east.  We walked right down and along the latter and had it entirely to ourselves for a while.  It was stunning, with powder fine white sand, which was being blown in waves across the hard sand.  We had an ice cream on our walk back to Colin, but were appalled to discover that it was from Devon!

I had noticed on the map a detour from the main route, via a small hamlet called Skerray.  The narrow road, even narrower and with less passing places than earlier in the day was fabulous, taking us into even more remote territory, just up our street!  We found our way to Skerray harbour, and Skerray Bay with high cliffs curving around it and a rocky shore before us.  We had tea and cake sat outside again, and I managed to do a small painting while Geoff went off for a walk around to the harbour.

We continued our journey along the NC500 back to Tongue, which is as far as we got last Tuesday.  We stopped briefly to admire Coldbackie beach from above and then parked on Tongue causeway for a short while before topping up with diesel at the local pump and then heading back south towards our caravan.

We stopped alongside Loch Loyal, near a boat house, and Geoff cooked a couple of burgers for our tea, with a glass of rosé, they went down a treat!  We have just had a wonderful day in wonderful weather.  The photos reveal what lovely sunshine we have had and the visibility was incredible.  I must say that all the rain we have been having certainly makes you appreciate the sun when it shines!

Day 52:  Friday 20^th May 2022

A much quieter day was on the cards after the 139 miles of yesterday.  After a leisurely breakfast and a video chat with Sue, I packed a picnic and we set off with our rucksacks for a walk around the locale.  As we were sited at the top of a hill, it followed that to walk anywhere we had to go down, and what goes down …….

The area around where we are staying is covered in gorse, bright vivid yellow gorse, interspersed with some equally bright yellow broom.  It really was lovely and injected strong colour into every view.  We walked down to Bonar Bridge school and then turned to head towards Loch Migdale, which we had been looking at every day this week, but had not actually seen it up close and personal.

It looked even more lovely close by, but it was quite windy by the water, so we moved on to find a more sheltered spot for our picnic lunch.  We met some very inquisitive handsome cows with their calves, and then I disturbed a lady pheasant by the edge of the road, it was a debate as to who was the more scared, she or me!

We passed a large yard, the premises of Migdale Transport Company, which had a fleet of rather smart looking blue lorries.  We realised that they were equipped with special tanks and advertised the fact that they were for the transport of live fish from farmer to farmer.  

As we knew would be the case, it was a long pull back up to the caravan site, past a very strange wooden house which we have been intrigued by all week, it looks as though it is built around a tree trunk.  The fabulous views helped but the lure of tea and cake helped more!  We had earned the cake achieving over 7 miles.

A lazy afternoon and evening were then on the cards, prior to our moving on again tomorrow.

Day 53:  Saturday 21^st May 2022

Moving day again and we were lucky that it was a lovely sunny morning so we had no trouble striking camp and were away by 9.15am.  Whilst we were having breakfast, I was blown away by a young man next door to us in a very small caravan with his partner and 2 children, probably 6 months and 3/4 years.  We had watched him do a load of washing in a small bowl and bucket last night, rinsing in cold water, he did the same again this morning and then he and the little boy hung it all out to dry on the fence!  Amazing!

We had a relatively easy drive up the A9 to Wick and then on to our caravan site.  We started looking for a flatish layby to stop in for our coffee break, but having passed loads earlier, we went miles and miles without seeing any.  We finally found one several miles north of Wick, only about 25 minutes from our site, but we were too early to check in there so enjoyed our coffee and slice of Selkirk Bannock for elevenses.

The caravan site, a small CL but with excellent fully serviced hard standing pitches is our favourite sort of site.  To add to this, a fabulous view across the sea to Orkney and this definitely ticks the box as the best site so far.

It took us quite a while to set up as Geoff struggled to get the waste water pipe working properly, it took several lengths which needed to be fixed together and the gaffa tape was required!  We had lunch and then drove into Thurso for a look around.

We stopped at Dunnet Bay for a walk along the beach but were beaten back by a very heavy rain storm.  We continued into Thurso and parked by the beach there and walked around the town, calling in at the post office.  It was a pretty drab place really but it had a Co-op and a Tesco, so useful.

When we got back to our car a man came up to us and said he hoped we didn’t mind him pointing out that one of our tyres was damaged and needed replacing.  We were freaked by this, but Geoff had been concerned about the tyres, despite a clean bill of health when we had Colin serviced before our trip.  We drove straight to Halfords, but they had closed, due to reopen on Monday.  So we drove very carefully home, parked up, with no intention of using the car tomorrow, and will return to Halfords at 8am on Monday!

Home for supper and a fabulous sunset which popped out from the cloud at the last minute to end the day.

Day 54:  Sunday 22^nd May 2022

Having checked the weather forecast for the day we decided to go out straight after breakfast and make the most of a predicted dry morning.  We walked from the caravan site along the coast to Wester Haven Beach and Harrow harbour.  This was via a man-made valley, to access the harbour, created by the Earl of Caithness in the 19^th century.  We were amazed to see 30 or more seals, sitting on the rocks or swimming in the sea, the most seals we have seen this trip.

We watched a fishing boat retrieving and unloading lobster pots before the rain encouraged us to move on to Castle Mey.  We had sandwiches and a cream tea in the delightful café, designed with advice from Prince Charles.  The castle, formerly the seat of the Earl of Caithness, was home to the Queen Mother.  She bought it just a few months after King George VI died in 1952 and it was full of her personality and humour.  We enjoyed the tour around the house, but found the guides, of which there was one in every room, a little too earnest for our liking.  Indeed, when we tried to move on from the Drawing Room to the Dining Room, the guide insisted we return until he had finished his script, we felt like we had been reprimanded like naughty schoolchildren!

The gardens were equally lovely, sadly it was raining quite hard by the time we got to see them, and we were probably just a month too early to enjoy the colour which was going to be evident in poppies, peonies, roses, fuschias, astilbe and numerous other plants I could name and lots more I couldn’t!  The alliums were starting to open up though, so I snapped a couple of those.

We donned our waterproof trousers for the walk back to the caravan as it was raining heavily by now.  Geoff was keen to listen to the football being the last day of the premiership and I decided to get the paints out again. 

Day 55:  Monday 23^rd May 2022

We were up early today as we knew we had to get the tyre sorted on Colin.  Geoff rang Halfords at 8am in Thurso and they said they were able to source the correct tyres and would check them all if we brought Colin in asap.  They would need to keep the car until Wednesday so Geoff then rang a local car hire company and spoke to a lovely man called Alistair who said he would drive the car down and meet us at Halfords at 9am.  We couldn’t believe how simple it all was.

All went according to plan and Alistair was a real hoot.  He waved a piece of paper at me and said we have to fill this in, but apart from copying down our credit card number, there was none of the red tape we normally have to go through for car hire!  A lovely bright blue Citroen C1 was ours for a couple of days, we were delighted!

We drove back to the caravan for a belated breakfast and then drove to John O’Groats.  It had to be done, the classic photo in front of the signpost, showing Lands End 874 miles away.  There were lots of people milling about so we walked out to the Ness of Duncansby, a headland about 1.5 miles east of John O’Groats.  We only passed two couples, one of which pointed out an Oyster Catcher which had laid a couple of eggs on the beach and was squawking like mad at us to keep away.  There were some lovely shells on the beach so I picked up a few before the rain started and made us very wet by the time we got back to the centre.  We called in at a lovely café, the Northern Point, run by the Lunchbox boys, for coffee to dry out.

We drove on to Duncansby Lighthouse where we sat in the car and had our picnic while the rain lashed on the window.  There was nothing for it but to don our waterproofs again and walk down to view Duncansby Stacks, conical stacks which looked to be Scotland’s equivalent of Bedruthan Steps.

There did not appear to be any let up in the weather, but as it was only mid afternoon, we decided to drive to Wick.  Geoff hoped to visit the Heritage Centre, but sadly it was closed. David had told us that this was a boring town, and so it turned out to be, still we were dry in the car!  By the time we got back it had stopped raining and we enjoyed our supper watching the sky clear from the west.  We are hoping for a better day tomorrow.

Day 56:  Tuesday 24^th May 2022

Red sky at night …. Well it turned out to be true!  After a stunning sunset last night we woke to a bright blue sky and fabulous sunshine!  We were breakfasted, packed and away smartly, to drive 5 minutes down the road to Gills Ferry then onto St Margaret’s Hope on Orkney.  Pentland ferries, with their bright red catamaran, came steaming around the corner with thick black smoke billowing from its funnel.  This only happened when it was docking, but still did not appear very environmentally friendly!

While we were watching it arrive we got chatting to a couple who were clearly on the lookout for Orcas and it would appear that there have been numerous sightings both here and near Fraserburgh where we will be heading next week.  As we drove on board, it started to rain!  We couldn’t believe it as we hadn’t even seen that cloud coming!  We went straight up on deck, but found a viewing room to watch in the dry.  We didn’t have to wait long before it stopped and we spent the rest of the journey outside enjoying the vistas, including the meeting of different currents causing rapids and whirlpools and viewing the Islands of Stroma, Swona and Flotta before arriving on South Ronaldsay.

We drove a short distance to the Sands of Wright and Hoxa for our coffee break.  We sat looking over the lovely beach before we noticed a herd of cows which we had seen being walked along a beach, the Oyce of Quindry, coming along the road towards us.  They were accompanied by a rather large intimidating bull!

After a wander on the beach we drove down to the foot of South Ronaldsay and the harbour to which the John O’Groats ferry sails, it was rather boring so we drove back towards the south mainland of Orkney over four causeways known as Churchill’s barriers.  These were built during the war to protect the Scapa Flow where the Naval fleet was stationed.

Our next stop was Sheila Fleet’s workshop and café.  I had seen this jewellery range several times travelling across Scotland, but wanted to buy something in Orkney where she lived and worked.  They had converted an old chapel and built a café to the side and it was superb.  We enjoyed a light lunch before selecting some ear rings as my souvenir which were designed to reflect the pebbles of Orkney.

We drove via a circuitous route into Kirkwall, including a bay called the Taing of Rumbles, unfortunately we couldn’t walk to it, so no pictures.  We did however have a good walk in Kirkwall, parking a long way out along the sea shore and walking back and around the town.  The shops were amazing, all geared for Cruise passengers, which are here nearly every day, but not today.  We had a look around the cathedral and the Bishop’s and Earl’s Palaces and enjoyed an ice cream in an ice cream parlour.

On the way to our hotel, we drove to the top of Wideford Hill and had the most amazing 360 degree view of the whole of Orkney!  The visibility all day today has been amazing, bright vivid colours: blue sea, green fields and wonderful blue sky have been everywhere we turned.  We really have been very lucky. 

The Foveran is a restaurant with rooms, recommended by Andrew Seedhouse. We had booked a standard double room, but it was very nicely appointed and we had some time before dinner was booked at 7.30pm to recover from a busy day.

Dinner was fabulous in a wonderful restaurant setting overlooking Scapa Flow.  We both had scallops followed by monkfish in lemon and parsley butter, with cheesecake/sorbet to finish, absolutely amazing.  We went outside after dinner to see a wonderful flash of colour in the sky to end what has been a wonderful day.

WEEK 9:  The Highlands, Thurso to Banff

Day 57:  Wednesday 25^th May 2022

We woke in the hotel expecting not to see anything out of the window as the forecast had been for rain and hence poor visibility, but we could see the sea!  It was overcast, but dry and we were thrilled!  Breakfast was excellent and we enjoyed it to the full before leaving the hotel around 10am.

We had decided to drive around the west part of mainland Orkney today and started by visiting the Standing Stones of Stenness.  These were an impressive start to our archaeological tour of Orkney, closely followed by the Ring of Brodgar.  We walked all round the latter which was very well managed by Historic Scotland before moving on to the prehistoric village of Skara Brae.  There was a very smart visitor centre fronting this attraction and we could easily understand why when we saw three coachloads of cruise passengers!  Fortunately, they were all in the process of leaving when we arrived and we asked at reception when the next were due and it wasn’t till the afternoon!  We watched a short video explaining the history of the discovery of the village and its story and then outside was a recreation of what one of the houses would have looked like accessed through an underground tunnel.  Then we walked down to the village itself.  The rain started as we started to walk so we donned our waterproof trousers (Geoff had some new ones acquired in Kirkwall yesterday) and we were very glad that we did as within minutes the rain was lashing down.

The village itself looked like a peeled back Tele Tubby land, with stone beds and other furniture still evident.  It was discovered after a major storm in the late nineteenth century blew away the sand dunes and exposed the remains of the village occupied by over 100 people.  The owner of the nearby Skaill House, took on the responsibility of managing the find.  We visited the house and it was a delight to discover that the Queen Mother had also visited and dined there when staying at Castle Mey.

We had coffee and cake in the café before turning our attention to some puffin hunting.  We drove first to Marwick Head and walked up to the cliffs near to Kitchener Monument (needed those waterproofs again!), which marked the point where the ship on which he was travelling sunk off the coast in 1916 with all lives lost, the ship hit a german mine.  Sadly we didn’t see any puffins, only razorbills and lots of gulls.  The latter were funny when trying to land against the wind on their precarious nests.

We then drove to the Brough of Birsay, an island joined to the mainland by a causeway which was only accessible at low tide, in fact some people only just managed to get back by paddling across as the sea started to cover the causeway very quickly.  Again, we saw no puffins.

The NorthLink ferry was due to leave Stromness at 1645 so we were on a schedule but according to Google Maps we had time to drive all round the island which we did.  The view across to the northern Orkney isles was fantastic and we couldn’t believe how lucky we were to see it so clearly and in bright sunshine.  We arrived at the ferry check in at 1545, a whole 15 minutes before final check in, so no panic!

The ferry was infinitely better appointed than the Pentland ferry, but slower.  We enjoyed an early supper on board before it set off and we went outside (in the rain!) to watch the coast of Hoy, with its sheer cliffs and the Old Man of Hoy which was very impressive, even partially obscured by the cloud and rain.

We arrived back in Thurso, drove to Halfords, picked up Colin and took the C1 back to the garage – simple! 

On our way back to the caravan the sun was shining and the sea and sky were blue so we decided to drive to Dunnet Head, the most northerly point on mainland Britain.  So very glad that we did, the views both to and fro and from the lighthouse at the end were amazing, including looking east along the coast to Mey and our caravan.  We could also see the cruise ship, the Seven Seas Splendour, which had left Kirkwall this afternoon, as it headed west towards Ullapool.

Another incredible day, with varied weather, which actually added to the drama and interest of the different places we have visited.

Day 58:  Thursday 26^th May 2022

Our mission today was to complete the NC500!  We had one section left to do, so we were up and away early in lovely bright sunshine, picking up fresh croissants and bread from Lidl for breakfast.  We stopped to have this overlooking Sandside Bay near Reay, just a few miles along the coast from Thurso.  This is the Reay of Dounreay Nuclear Power Station, or Development Establishment, as it says on the OS Map!  Geoff had a perfect view of this as we ate our breakfast, inside the van of course because it was raining again!

From here we had planned to drive direct to Bettyhill, which is as far as we got last week when on our day out from Bonar Bridge.  The road gave many vantage points across the sea and we were surprised at just how good the weather was, methinks we thought too soon! 

In Bettyhill we had a coffee at the Storehouse, where we had treated ourselves to an ice cream last week.  Geoff added a bacon sandwich and I had toast, so we had two breakfasts this morning.  We needed a walk after this, so driving to Strathy Point, we parked up and walked the last mile or so to view the lighthouse.  Apparently various Cetacean (a new word for us), which is collective for dolphins, porpoises and whales, could be seen from here, but we couldn’t see anything as it was lashing down with rain (thank goodness for these waterproof trousers!) and blowing a 40mph gale!

We then stopped again at Melvich, first at Portskerra Pier and then behind the beach itself.  We walked to both, but hastened back from the beach anticipating more rain!

Back to Thurso for a quick Co-op shop and a refuel, when a warning message on Colin alerted us to a pressure problem with a rear tyre, so we went back to Halfords where a very nice man called Brian checked it and fixed it all for us, no charge.  Home to the caravan as we were both tired after some very hectic days this week and the treat of a rainbow over the van.

NC500 ….. tick!

Day 59:  Friday 27^th May 2022

Moving day again, and another beautiful blue day means we leave with a lovely final impression of this part of the world which we have grown to like more and more.

Having had several successful uses of the motor mover over the past few caravan sites, it was almost inevitable that our luck would run out.  Neither of the motor movers would engage to begin with and Geoff turned into Superman again by fixing them.  We have since arranged for a service engineer to come out to us later in the trip.

That was the first thing that went wrong today, the second was a warning light coming on the dash about the tyre again.  We stopped, checked the pressure and pumped it up, Geoff just happened to have packed an electric pump!  When we got to site, Geoff rang Halfords in Inverness to book Colin in again tomorrow.

The third thing that went wrong was the washing machine door stuck and we couldn’t get our washing out!  Fortunately, the site warden came to our aid and the washing was rescued and dried.

A relatively quiet day otherwise, we are now installed on a Caravan and Motorhome Club site near Inverness, Culloden Moor, for two nights only, basically to do the washing!

The highlight of the day for Geoff was a walk around Culloden Battlefield after supper.

Day 60:  Saturday 28^th May 2022

Geoff had booked Colin in for a check at Halfords at 9.30am so we were up and off early this morning.  We had a walk around the block while we were waiting but were given the all clear after 20 minutes or so, with the advice that VW’s often have this problem and there was nothing to worry about!

We parked in a long stay car park and set off on a walk I had planned, taking us first to the Nature Reserve at South Kessock, and then onto the Caledonian Canal near to the point where it joined the Beauly Firth and the sea.  We walked to the first flight of locks and enjoyed a coffee and shared a piece of cake at a canalside café.  By this point we had walked 4 miles.  We carried on along the tow path by the canal to the Botanic Garden, which we had seen recommended.  Entry was free and we were really impressed with the Tropical house and the formal gardens.  There was a lovely café, Café Botanics, so we had a panini and a drink overlooking the gardens.

The walk continued alongside the River Ness, crossing onto an island in the middle of it, where the path wound between some huge trees before continuing into Inverness Town Centre, opposite the cathedral and under the castle, which we could view from the bridge.

We wandered around the city, exploring the Victorian market hall and ending up in M&S to buy some socks and enjoy a Jubilee Tea. By this stage we had walked over 10 miles. The treat of the day was next on the agenda, tickets to see Top Gun Maverick at the Vue cinema.  It was brilliant!

We had been lucky all day to enjoy dry weather, a little overcast most of the morning, but with flashes of sun in the afternoon.  It was still dry when we came out of the cinema, so we decided to drive to Fort George to see some dolphins.  Fort George was an eighteenth century fort and what we could see looked impressive, but that visit will have to wait for another day.  No dolphins except a couple of models!

Home to the caravan where Geoff had another treat – the Champions League final on BT Sport.

Day 61:  Sunday 29^th May 2022

Moving day!  We took our time this morning as we only had a couple of hours to drive further along the east coast to our next caravan site at Gamrie Bay.  We eventually left Inverness around 10.15am and had an uneventful journey, stopping just after Elgin for a coffee break surrounded by woodland.

From this point the scenery changed and we both commented that it felt more like Northumberland.  The towns of Cullen, Portsoy and Banff and Macduff were lovely, fabulous beaches with rolling surf as the sea was quite rough today.  We had interludes of rain, but not much sun, and it actually got duller as the day wore on.  The most noticeable difference was the temperature, it was much much colder today, with the temperature diving to 8, feeling like 6 degrees.

We took our time setting up as the hardstanding pitch was sloping side to side, and it required all our wood, and more to level the caravan.  We also gave it a good clean, as the journey had been  a mucky one.  By the time we were settled and enjoying our cuppa, it was 2.15pm, but we were in no rush today. 

We went out around 4.30 for a tootle around Gardenstown, which is the closest community to us here and looked delightful nestled at the bottom of very steep cliffs and then onto Macduff and Banff, both of which we liked very much.  We had a brief walk along the sea side in Banff, but the wind and cold drove us back to Colin.

Dinner was booked at the Knowes Hotel and Restaurant and our hostess, Linda, at the caravan site applauded our choice and she was not wrong!  We had an excellent Sunday roast before heading home, to get cosy in our little home while the wind and rain did its worst outside.

Day 62:  Monday 30^th May 2022

We had a busy day planned today.  First destination was RAF Lossiemouth.  Geoff had joined a Facebook group which gave him all the unofficial viewing points around the airfield, so I drove while he checked them all out.  There was absolutely no one around ‘spotting’ and it became clear why – there were no planes flying!  Despondent, we found a parking spot by the beach and had our coffee.  While we were sat in Colin we both looked at each other having heard a sound – it was a plane!  Geoff stepped outside to see a Typhoon fly off the sea onto the airfield.  The plane didn’t land but took off again and did a few circuits and bumps before parking up.  Such a relief!   Geoff also saw some Poseidons parked up, these have replaced the Nimrods, but he was surprised to see that they were parked up in plain sight.

Our next stop was the Dolphin Centre at Spey Bay, this was the point at which the River Spey met the sea, and is a favourite spot for viewing dolphins.  Sadly there were none visible today, but we enjoyed the centre and had a walk around and our lunch while parked there.

Then onto the next important mission for the day, that of tracking down Rumbles’ in the cemeteries of Cullen and Deskford.  Geoff’s Grandad (Andrew) was born in 1873 in Deskford and Granny (Elizabeth or Elspeth) in 1875 in Cullen, so we walked all round Cullen old cemetery and found William (1830-1922) and Helen Rumbles (1826-1880) and their children and then in Deskford we discovered Francis (1868-1936) and Helen Rumbles (1868-1946) and Alexander (1859-1925) and Helen Rumbles (1867-1955).  How strange that all the wives were named Helen.  We’re not sure what the connections are but the dates fit, so we need to do some more research.

We also drove through Buckie and Portsoy and took photographs of the Methodist Churches where Sandra and Gordon’s relatives were Ministers at the end of the 19^th century.  So, the amazing thing is that Hamish and Ethan’s families, going back to that period, may have known each other in this part of Scotland!

The weather which had started off very wet and miserable, started to brighten up this afternoon and warm up a little too.  By the time we got to Portsoy where we parked up for a cuppa, it was warm enough to be able to sit outside overlooking the harbour. Home for supper via the Co-op and the promise of a fabulous sunset out of the front caravan window.

Day 63:  Tuesday 31^st May 2022

We had decided on a quieter day today after all the rushing around of yesterday.  We had a leisurely breakfast and pottered about, enjoying coffee at home and a lovely chat with Jenni and the boys before finally setting off around midday. 

Our destination today was Fraserburgh, but we tootled along the coast, stopping at Pennan first, which was a delightful tiny village reached by a very steep windy road, definitely unsuitable for caravans.  The houses were all located in a narrow strip between the cliff and the sea.  We walked along the esplanade or sea wall, onto the harbour to view the village from the end.  We searched in vain for dolphins, but no luck.

We continued along the coast to Rosehearty, Pittulie and Sandhaven.  These lovely villages, full of classic little cottages, were a treat to drive through, and deserved more time and attention really, but we had a plan, so needed to press on.

We parked off the road on the low cliff edge just outside Fraserburgh and had a quick bite for lunch before setting off on our walk all around the edge of the town, first on a coastal path and then on a very well managed path in the town itself.  We visited the Museum of Lighthouses, but only to take advantage of the facilities and enjoy a lovely coffee/tea and cake from a splendid vantage point overlooking the sea!

We were really impressed with the scale of the boats in the harbour, huge fishing trawlers which clearly fish on an industrial scale.  We walked back to the car through the town centre, noting the number of charity shops and closed premises, it was all rather depressing.  The number of churches was amazing, but again, several of those were closed or converted to residential.

Jonathan rang as we were approaching the car and we enjoyed a long chat with him before we completed our 6.5 mile walk!  Home to the caravan via Asda for fuel and the promise of another sunset after a day of quite acceptable weather!

WEEK 10:  Banff to Perth

Day 64:  Wednesday 1^st June 2022

We enjoyed our lazy morning so much yesterday that we thought we would do the same today.  As we sat having our breakfast, the weather looked to be getting a little better and Geoff suggested we go on a boat trip.  We hadn’t seen any advertised so he had a look on Facebook and found the SeaCat, operating a wildlife tour out of Macduff this afternoon.  It seemed perfect, so we rang up and booked our places.

After coffee we drove down into Macduff and parked near the harbour, before walking the couple of miles into Banff along the coastal road to withdraw some cash from the machine.  The weather was getting better and better, we just couldn’t believe the colour of the sea and the cloudless blue sky above us.  We had our picnic lunch overlooking the harbour and were in plenty of time for the 2pm departure.  A delightful lady was assisting Harold the boat owner, he was the captain and she was the knowledgeable guide.  There were 9 other tourists and within minutes of us leaving the harbour one of them shouted ‘dolphins!’.  We absolutely couldn’t believe our luck as a pod of dolphins, we’re not sure how many, but at least a dozen, swam up to and around us for a good 20 minutes.  They swam up under the front of the boat and I kept taking photos in the hope that I would capture some.  They played in the wake and raced the boat for some time, it was magical.

The boat followed the coast down to Gardenstown and Crovie, then onto Troup Head where a colony of thousands of Gannets covered the cliffs.  They were interspersed with Guillemots and we also saw a few Razorbills.  Further on, past Pennan, where we had visited yesterday, we saw Kittiwakes nesting and finally we found the Puffins!  Not many, but I could see them on the cliff face and also flying around and some were bobbing around in the water.  Cormorants and Shags were added to the list of birds seen today so the return journey, after a 3 hour trip, saw 11 very happy visitors.

When we got back we decided to drive down to a cove we had seen from the boat just along the coast from Macduff.  It turned out to be the location of a 1930’s swimming pool, now dilapidated and apparently not been used for at least 20 or 30 years.  A man told us that there was a planned refurbishment costing in the region of £350,000.  We enjoyed a cup of tea sat in the sunshine overlooking the bay and a walk around the pool, including viewing a bizarre triangular rock with a hole in it, before Geoff went to pick up some fish and chips for his supper.

We actually got to sit outside this evening, amazing!

Day 65:  Thursday 2^nd June 2022 – Platinum Jubilee Day

Another treat today, we were up and off before 8am en route to Balmoral Castle!

Our first stop was in Aberlour, which was where Geoff’s Grandparents lived before they moved south.  It was a charming little town with its own distillery, which we stopped and duly admired before looking for somewhere to have our breakfast.  We found a perfect spot by the side of the River Livet for Geoff to cook up the bacon on the stove outside for our bacon butties, while I made the tea!  From there we drove up to the Glenlivet distillery, which was a very impressive set up and Geoff enjoyed perusing the shop and purchasing a nice bottle of limited edition Glenlivet whisky.

We continued on south and the terrain became more mountainous as we entered the Cairngorms national park.  We stopped briefly in Tomintoul, which was centred on a lovely square where a man was playing well known Scottish tunes on an accordion in readiness for a celebration later this afternoon.  The road over to Balmoral from Tomintoul was spectacular and we suddenly realised that we were over 2000 feet, twice as high as we had been before.  The views were amazing because, like yesterday, the weather was stunning. We stopped by some modern sculptures which turned out to be chairs called the Watchers!

We arrived at Balmoral around 12.30 and parked up in the overflow car park.  Clearly Balmoral was a destination of choice by lots of people today to celebrate the jubilee.  We approached the castle by walking around the riverside path and then followed the sound of a pipe band which was playing in front of the castle, surrounded by a crowd of visitors.  We were blown away by the castle which was in the most beautiful surroundings.  We walked around the vegetable garden, designed by the Duke of Edinburgh, Queen Mary’s Garden, a water garden and the sunken rose garden before visiting the Ballroom, which was stunning and had a small exhibition documenting the royal usage of Balmoral.

We wandered around the shop and bought the prescribed fridge magnet and tea towel but when we emerged from the shop it was raining!  Despite the weather forecast giving a 7% chance of rain, it was pouring!  We should have expected it after all our experience of Scottish weather thus far, fortunately I had my brolly, but we didn’t have very far to walk to the coffee shop which was where they were serving the Jubilee Afternoon Teas. 

Our tea was superb, it contained the usual elements, plus haggis balls!  We couldn’t manage all of it but we were able to take the leftovers with us in a box for supper tonight!  We enjoyed it all very much and it was a perfect end to our visit and made a lovely memory.  As we walked back to the car we enjoyed a lovely video chat with Jenni before driving alongside the River Dee to Braemar, home of the Royal Highland Games, for a brief wander.

We were booked into the Loch Kinord hotel for the night, a traditional hotel a few miles away from Balmoral.  We got a real surprise when we checked into our room as we found a four poster bed!

Day 66:  Friday 3^rd June 2022

We both slept well and then enjoyed an excellent Scottish breakfast in a very traditional dining room, with tartan fabric on the walls!  We were away from the hotel before 10am and following the River Dee, coast bound.

The sat nav, aided by me, guided us over some lovely narrow roads.  We thought we had left the moorlands behind us, but we found some more to enjoy before we arrived in Stonehaven.  We parked up in the town square and picked up a coffee from Greggs and took it onto the beach.  The view was lovely, especially with blue skies and sea and warm sunshine!

Our first main destination was Dunnottar Castle, just a few minutes south of Stonehaven.  We had to park on the road because the car park was full, but we didn’t have far to walk to the top of the cliff to view the castle, seemingly on an island close by.  The island was joined to the mainland, and it required a steep climb down and up to access it.  We assessed the situation and decided that the best views of the castle were from up above and along the cliff, rather than within it, so we saved ourselves £17 into the bargain!

We viewed the castle from every which way, and ended up following a route along the top of the cliff back towards Stonehaven.  We chatted with a man who had wild camped next to a huge bonfire, set as a beacon the night before.  He was walking all around the coast of Scotland, having started in Newcastle.  He was a real character, and we enjoyed our chat with him.

We stopped off at a very impressive war memorial overlooking both Stonehaven and the Castle, and then viewed Stonehaven harbour from up above before walking back to Colin. 

From Stonehaven we had another 60-70 miles to drive back to the caravan and we followed the coastal route via Aberdeen and Peterhead.  Aberdeen was huge!  Caught us by surprise after the largely uninhabited areas we have spent the last month or so in.  We drove around the docks, where we saw a Fugro ship and viewed the new harbour from Girdle Ness.  There were too many people around for us to stop and make tea, we prefer seclusion, so we carried on, hoping for a perfect spot, but we just couldn’t find one that was not blocked by a height barrier!  We stopped briefly in Cruden Bay to view some very clever crochet models celebrating the Jubilee, and then managed to find an OK tea spot near Slains Castle.

Watching the clock we continued to Peterhead where we could see some large fishing boats and Rig support vessels in the harbour, before shopping at Aldi and then home.

We wanted to get back before 7pm as we knew the site owners had planned a fish and chip van for guests to enjoy as part of their jubilee celebrations.  It was worth doing so as the fish and chip supper was excellent, as was the lovely sunshine we sat outside enjoying while eating our supper.

Day 67:  Saturday 4^th June 2022

After all the activity of the past two days, we opted for a quieter day today, and the weather decided to reflect that choice.  The sky was blue and the temperatures soared to an amazing 20 degrees!  We had a leisurely breakfast – outside, which I love, before enjoying a video chat with Sue.

I made coffee and we drove over to Troup Head which was only a 10 minute drive from the caravan site.  We enjoyed our coffee overlooking the coast before walking out to the Head, an RSPB site protecting a Gannet colony.  We had seen this from the boat trip on Wednesday, but it was wonderful to get up close and personal with these amazing birds.  The views too both up and down the coast were amazing and we really enjoyed walking along the cliff paths, although me more than Geoff, as he was a tad concerned at the very steep drops!

We returned to the caravan site as the site owners, Linda and Michael, had arranged a Jubilee tea (at lunch time) for the guests.  I was a little apprehensive as tea had been formally laid in the marquee with the best china and wonderful sandwiches, sausage rolls, scones and cakes.  Clearly Linda and her sister in law had gone to a great deal of trouble and it was enjoyed by at least 25 people.  We sat with a lovely couple who live locally and use the site regularly.  He had been a fisherman before he retired and had worked in Kinlochbervie, up on the north west coast, which we had visited.  It was fascinating to hear his stories and we enjoyed our celebration tea.

We spent a lazy afternoon in the sun, me reading my book and Geoff watching football and cricket on his iPad.  So unusual for us not to be rushing around, but it was a nice change.  We ended the afternoon with a video chat with Jean and John before our supper.

To finish our stay in this part of Scotland in style, we drove down into Gardenstown after supper to walk along the beach and coast path to Covie.  Both of these villages were originally fishing villages, built on narrow flat strips of land between the sea and the cliffs.  Gardenstown had grown up the hill, but Covie was still confined to that thin strip.  The walk was amazing and with the sun setting into the sea, left a lasting memory.

Day 68:  Sunday 5^th June 2022

Moving day again and we were up and away before 9am this morning.  We had decided to ignore the sat nav and instead of going the most direct route south, we drove west first and then south on the A9, driving past Grantown on Spey and Aviemore, then past Pitlochry to Perth.  The total journey time was only marginally more than driving down the coast past Aberdeen, but it meant we saw more of the Cairngorm mountains in glorious sunshine.

We are really lucky with the weather right now as we are aware that it is raining and very cold further south.  Our CL is at Broadslap Fruit Farm, small but nicely formed. We pitched fairly easily, apart from one of the movers not engaging, again, we now know what to do, but it is annoying that it is not working properly every time.  Hopefully the engineer, who is due to be here on Friday this week, will solve the problem.

We had a lazy afternoon before deciding to walk to the nearby village, Dunning, where we had booked dinner at 6pm.  We walked up the drive, which was a challenge in itself but when we got to the public road, it turned out to be far busier than we had anticipated, and with no footpath, so we returned to the caravan to collect Colin.  So glad that we did as there was a steep hill into the village, which was further away than we thought, so it would have been a killer of a walk home!

Roast beef again, which was very good, then home to watch some of the Platinum Party at the Palace (on iPlayer), with strawberries from the farm for pudding.

Day 69:  Monday 6^th June 2022

We were expecting another sunny day today, but it was a little overcast early on, so the breakfast I had hoped to eat outside was taken inside.  We took our time this morning, I did some washing and Geoff pottered around doing the normal chores and we eventually left just before 11am.

Our plan was to drive the Trossachs Trail.  We started by popping into Glen Eagles station to check out the parking for later in the week, before driving into Dunblane for a look and a brief wander.  We parked next to the cathedral and enjoyed our coffee before finding a snicket which took us through to a viewing area above the rather impressive looking Community Garden with the station in the background.

We were keen to press on as we had a lot of ground to cover.  The next stop was Doune, where Geoff popped into the Co-op to pick up some bread rolls, then we drove on through Callandar and onto Aberfoyle.  Here we stopped to check out the tourist information and watched a demonstration of a sheepdog herding ducks around an obstacle course!

We had been told about cruise boats on Loch Katrine by the lady at the Tourist office, so we drove over Duke’s Pass, through Queen Elizabeth Forest Park and along by Loch Achray to the end of Loch Katrine.  We enjoyed an hour long cruise on the Lady of the Loch.  Sadly the steam driven boat, Sir Walter Scott, was out of commission but we were on the open top deck and had wonderful views, interesting commentary and saw an Osprey!

It was gone 3.30pm when we disembarked, so we were ready for something to eat.  We continued on the Trail, firstly along Loch Achray, then Loch Venachar, where we found a lovely spot by the Loch.  Geoff cooked up some burgers and we enjoyed a late lunch/early supper overlooking the water.

Our drive home took us through the Pass of Leny along Loch Lubnaig and Loch Earn to St Fillans.  This was a charming village at the end of Loch Earn where we stopped for a walk, by the loch and the River Earn and through the village. 

We have enjoyed another lovely day, and we felt as though we had gone full circle, having started off in the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park, some 8 weeks ago.

Day 70:  Tuesday 7^th June 2022

Edinburgh day!

We left early this morning, with the intention of having our breakfast out.  By that I mean cooked by Geoff outside!  We drove straight to the Falkirk Wheel for which we had a 10am boat trip booking.  We parked in the car park and enjoyed bacon sandwiches and cups of tea in the sunshine before walking around the site enjoying the vista of the wheel itself before boarding with a coach group.  Despite the horrendous repartee of the guide, we enjoyed the ride, up and down on the wheel, which is properly known as a rotating boat lift, and through the Roughcastle tunnel.

After taking lots of photos inside and out, we moved on to view the Kelpies, via Tescos to fill up with diesel.  The Kelpies are 30 metre high sculptures of canal ponies which straddle the canal and are visible from miles around and were definitely worth a visit.

Our main destination today though was Edinburgh so from Falkirk we drove direct to Edinburgh Park Premier Inn, where we parked up, checked in and then caught the train into Edinburgh.  Yes, I got that right – we caught the train.  We were supposed to catch the tram, but we were so excited, we went straight to the first ticket machine we saw and paid for our tickets before we realised that we had paid for train tickets not tram tickets! (Geoff wants me to point out that the tickets were cheaper than the tram)…..  And we are supposed to be public transport buffs!!!

The train journey was excellent, direct to Waverley which is a station we love.  We came out onto Princes Street and were rather overwhelmed by the number of people milling about.  The place was buzzing.  It seemed to be full of all different nationalities and, with the gorgeous weather, everyone was in good spirits. The only negative was the fact that so many shops were either closed or up for let.  We discovered later in the day that it was largely due to the opening of a new modern shopping centre which had attracted a lot of shops away from the high street.

We walked up and down New Town, buying a couple of pac a macs, before finding our way to Princes Street Gardens, under the castle for ice cream and a sit in the sun, which was a welcome break.  We realised that every day we rush around seeing as much as we can, with very little time to just sit and enjoy life.

After the ice cream we walked through the gardens, appreciating the Jubilee flower clock, and then back into New Town and Cote Brasserie where we had booked an early dinner.  We enjoyed an aperitif in a bar next door first, sat outside in the sunshine, before a lovely dinner with our favourite Muscadet.  We caught the tram back to the hotel from St Andrews Square on which we had a nice chat with the ticket inspector, Chris, who gave us lots of tips on what to see tomorrow.

WEEK 11:  Perth and Kinross to Scottish Borders, Eyemouth

Day 71:  Wednesday 8^th June 2022

We both had a really good nights sleep, as promised by Premier Inns!  Breakfast was also very good in the hotel, so together with an excellent shower, we were very impressed with our Edinburgh hotel.

We bought day tickets for the tram this morning and zoomed into the city centre, straight to St Andrews square and our first port of call, as recommended by Chris last night, was the Royal Bank of Scotland’s HQ.  This amazing building was first built as a private house and then taken over by the Excise Office, and subsequently the bank.  The decoration on the walls and ceilings was lovely and well worth a visit.  It was pouring with rain, so we thought it best to stay undercover, so we continued with Chris’s next suggestion, St James’ shopping centre.  This undercover arcade on 3 levels included John Lewis, so we had a lovely browse of lots of things we might buy one day, but not today.  We ended up in their café on the top floor, which we are sure should have had a lovely view but for the rain and the low cloud.

We decided to pursue plan A and walk to Holyrood House and up the Royal Mile, when we got outside we soon came to the view that was a daft idea as we would get soaked.  Instead we committed a cardinal sin and boarded a hop on hop off open top bus for a tour in the dry!  We discovered that Holyrood House was closed on a Wednesday, so we got off the bus at the National Museum for Scotland, which, with free admission, was an absolute bargain. It was a fascinating place with all sorts from fashion to animals, looms to aeroplanes and we really enjoyed it.  We were there for over 2 hours so had a sandwich in the balcony café for lunch.  When we came out the rain had stopped so we walked, first by Greyfriars Bobby statue, a dog who was said to have sat by his masters grave for 14 years, and then to Grassmarket and it made for a superb view of the castle above all the old buildings. 

We hopped back on the bus on the Royal Mile and completed the circuit back to St Andrews Square where we caught the tram back to the hotel to collect Colin.  Our journey back to the caravan took us over the spectacular Queensferry bridge on the M90, the old suspension bridge is closed to all traffic except buses and taxis.  Sadly our view of the other bridges was impeded by the low cloud and rain so we drove down into North Queensferry to gain a closer look at the all the bridges, parking underneath the railway bridge.

Rain or no rain, we enjoyed Edinburgh very much.  We think this was our 5^th visit over the years, and it certainly warrants return visits.

Day 72:  Thursday 9^th June 2022

Raining this morning so we took our time getting up.  We spent some domestic time changing beds and cleaning as well as cutting Geoff’s hair!  We eventually left the caravan around midday and headed east to Scotland’s Secret bunker.

Clearly it’s not that secret as it was well sign posted, albeit a very long drive from where we are staying.  We extended the drive by first going over the Ochill Hills which lie just to the east of where we are staying, which were lovely, up to 1050 feet, which we had thought was high when we were in the West Highlands!

Then we stopped at Falkland, a charming little town which had been a filming location for an early episode of Outlander.  I recognised it, but it did look very different with lots of people sat outside the pub, which was a Guest House in the episode.

There were only a few cars parked at the Secret Bunker, so it wasn’t busy.  I elected to stay in the car and read my book while Geoff enjoyed reading everything without me nagging him to move on!  He has had some experience of these places, having been to one in Oban with his Dad and also in Denmark.  The entrance was disguised as a house and then a long corridor descended into the bunker area through massive blast protective doors with access to two floors.  Geoff saw the main control rooms, the area where the Government Minister and senior staff worked, dormitories, mess room, telephone exchange and a computer room linked to the Defence computer.  Despite the old technology, it felt as if it were still operational.

It was a short drive down into Crail, a pretty little village by the sea.  We drove through and parked in a car park next to the Fife coastal path where we had a cuppa and some very late lunch before walking back into Crail.  The walk took us through a very tidy holiday park with large lodges overlooking the sea, then into a park area before the harbour.  Jonathan called on his drive home so we retreated to a seat and enjoyed a long chat with him.

Time was marching on so we headed for home via St Andrews, which looked lovely, and Dundee, where we drove by a new V&A museum, we think we will return to that on Saturday.

Day 73:  Friday 10^th June 2022

Bright blue sky greeted me through the skylight when Geoff brought me my morning cup of tea, which boded well!  We were confined to barracks this morning as the Powrtouch mover engineer was booked to visit us to hopefully cure our motor mover problems.  He tried to convince us it was operator error, which considering it is always me that uses the mover, I was none too pleased about.  However, he watched me operate it several times and eventually conceded and replaced a part which he had been sent by HQ.  We will wait and see if the problem recurs!

After he had gone we had coffee before driving into Perth to catch the park and ride fully electric bus into the city.  We visited the excellent Tourist Office and picked up some maps before following a walk along the River Tay and then across it on the railway bridge, on a path alongside the railway.  We very much hoped a train would come by but it didn’t while we were crossing it, only about 20 minutes later.  The walk then took us through Riverside gardens and back over Smeaton’s bridge (same one that designed the tower on Plymouth Hoe).  We had a light lunch in M&S café before walking over to the cathedral, which was less than inspiring and in a less salubrious part of the city, before catching the bus back to Colin.

An aside here, I lost my favourite Lofoten hat on the journey into town and thought I must have dropped it at the bus stop.  As we were getting off the bus I thought I would just check whether it was under the seat where I had sat, in case it was the same bus, and it was there!  I was thrilled, as I am very fond of this particular hat!

We returned to the caravan via M&S Simply Food, to pick up supplies, and then to buy some strawberries at the farm where we are staying.  Whilst we had driven through some horrendous rain, by the time we got home the sun was shining.  Whilst we haven’t done much today we have enjoyed the fact that it was slightly more restful.

By way of a PS, the heavy rain, which returned in the evening, parted to reveal the most incredible rainbow.

Day 74:  Saturday 11^th June 2022

We didn’t loiter this morning as we had a train to catch.  We had booked tickets online from Glen Eagles (yes, that one) to Dundee.  The sun was shining but it was very windy, and with rain forecast we wore our anoraks in anticipation!

We enjoyed the train journey, and especially viewing our caravan on its site from the train.  We are very close to the line, and love the trains going by so it was a treat to be on one of them.  We arrived in Dundee, after a picturesque journey, and got off the train with hordes of others, tis obviously a popular place.  We walked over the road intending to go straight to the V&A museum which we had seen the other day, but decided instead to go into the Discovery centre, so named after the ship, built in Dundee which Scott captained to the Antarctic in the early 1900’s.  After coffee we wandered into the exhibition hall and were both (even me!) fascinated by the films and information boards about the building and equipping of the ship and the expedition itself.  This was followed by an exploration of the ship itself, and having read about it, to see where the crew actually lived and worked was amazing.

From here we went into the V&A museum and whilst we were blown away by the architecture and design of the building and interior, there was very little else to interest us and we stayed a matter of minutes really before leaving to find some lunch.  We settled on a pizza restaurant and enjoyed excellent home made pizzas and a glass of wine in Tony Macaronis!

After all that pizza, we needed a walk, so we followed a heritage route down to the quay and back along the riverside pathway.  This is when it decided to start to rain, heavily.  We sheltered under the V&A museum with its unusual exterior shapes, and then decided to catch the tour bus for a trip around the city in the dry!  After leaving the station, the bus drove past some University buildings and the commentary referred to its world renowned medical school! It wasn’t a long tour, but long enough to see the rain stop and to take us to the top of Dundee Law, a hill top with a viewing point across the city and the River Tay.  We got off the bus at the McManus Art Gallery and Museum, which had reportedly reference to the Beano which was born in Dundee, sadly there wasn’t much to see about that but what we did see of the Museum was very good.  We walked back to the station via Caird Hall in the city centre, with its Desperate Dan statue!

By now it was nearly time for our train so we stopped in the station café for a quick drink before the Inter city train back to Glen Eagles.  Another lovely day out, and a nice change to not drive.

Day 75:  Sunday 12^th June 2022

Moving day again and this time we were moving just 100 miles along the coast within the Scottish Borders to a CL near Eyemouth called Bee Edge.  It was a lovely day, still windy but bright blue sky with fluffy white clouds and sunshine so the drive was a pleasant one.  M90, across the Queensferry bridge, M9, M8 and then around Edinburgh by pass and onto the A1.  Once we were on the A1 we started looking for a layby to stop for a coffee break, but they were all emergency laybys, and no matter how desperate we were for coffee, it didn’t feel like an emergency!

We finally found a parking bay and enjoyed our coffee and cake, whiling away an hour so that we didn’t arrive at the site ahead of the recommended arrival time.  We eventually arrived bang on time at 1pm and set up in record time on a lovely fully serviced pitch overlooking the sea.  A quick lunch and we set off to Berwick to collect Geoff’s prescription which had been sent to Tescos, and to do a bit more shopping.  We crossed the border to get there and we crossed it coming home!

We drove back to Eyemouth and parked overlooking the sea for a cup of tea near the new harbour before driving back to the caravan for supper.  We went out for a walk before bed, just down the road and through a wood, where a few trees had come down in the storms and a field full of cows decided to come and say hello! A much quieter day today, but still enjoyable.

Day 76:  Monday 13^th June 2022

Bus Walk day.  We had a domestic morning, washing and cleaning, before driving into St Abbs, just a couple of miles away on the coast.  We parked at a Visitor Centre and walked into the village to catch the bus to Eyemouth.  The Border bus was on time and we were surprised to see so many people board it.  By the time it left Eyemouth, it was quite full and heading to Berwick.

We walked along the prom to the old harbour but it all had a rather down market feel compared to many of the places we have visited over the past weeks.  The highspot was watching the feeding of a couple of seals in the harbour.  A lady was doing this by means of a long fishing pole and the seals were jumping out of the water to catch the fish!  There was an interesting and emotive artwork on the prom, a bronze sculpture of women and children looking out to sea called Widows and Bairns.  On 14^th October 1881, 189 fishermen were lost in a huge storm and the sculpture reflected the anguish suffered by all those families who lost husbands, fathers and sons.

The coast path left the village across the beach and up a steep path.  Half way up was a very conveniently placed seat, out of the wind, so we stopped there for our picnic with a lovely view back over the village. 

Whilst the walk was a lovely one (with hindsight), at the time it felt much longer than it was with many ups and downs, just like the Cornish coastal footpath.  By the time we got back to Colin we had walked 6.5 miles and it felt like 10!  We had walked over a few beaches and climbed a few steep cliff paths and seen lots of lovely wild purple orchids.

Home to the caravan for a very welcome cup of tea and some supper.  We spotted a couple of hares in the field in front of us, only to then see a dog give chase and they ran like ….. hares!

Day 77:  Tuesday 14^th June 2022

Lovely morning, so we were able to enjoy breakfast outside in the sunshine overlooking the sea.

When we were at Broadslap Farm CL last week, a very nice man in the caravan opposite got chatting with Geoff and kindly gave us a little note when they left of suggested places to visit and restaurants to sample in this area.  So today we set off towards North Berwick stopping en route at the National Museum of Flight.  This was a treat for Geoff, and I stayed in Colin to read my book and enjoy an hour on my own, while Geoff revelled in the history of Concorde and the Vulcan which was one of three Vulcans which took part in the raids on Port Stanley airport and was based at RAF Waddington when his Dad was stationed there.

Geoff finished his tour by 12.30pm and I rang the restaurant Osteria in North Berwick, as recommended.  Geoff had called last night but they were full for lunch, however, I thought I would try in case they had a cancellation.  I was asked to call back in 15 minutes in case some people didn’t show up.  We raced into the town and parked up before I called again, and we were incredibly lucky to be offered the table.  What a treat that turned out to be.  It was a Michelin rated Italian restaurant with only 8 tables, offering 20-25 covers, and the food was amazing.  We thoroughly enjoyed a 3 course lunch with coffee and wine (for me!), undoubtedly the best food we have had over the whole 3 months.

How to follow that!  We walked around the small but very nicely presented town, with some attractive shops and scenic sea front before finding the harbour which was a delight with great views across to Bass Rock, white with bird poo from the colony of Gannets!  We wandered into the Scottish Seabird Centre and browsed in the shop, but we have had rather a lot of experiences with seabirds this trip, so gave the exhibits a miss.  We walked back to the car via the East Beach, on which I had my first paddle of the holiday.

Home via Asda for fuel and the coastal road, while listening to the final day of the test match at Trent Bridge, where England won the series in style!  Then we caught up with David after his cruise to the North Cape.

WEEK 12:  Scottish Borders, Eyemouth to Oxfordshire, Benson

Day 78:  Wednesday 15^th June 2022

Another glorious morning so another breakfast outside under a bright blue sky with lovely warm sunshine.  It really is a novelty for us, so I need to keep shouting about it!

We had planned a walk near to home today.  We drove back to the Visitor Centre in St Abbs and parked up before enjoying coffee and cake in the Smiddy Coffee shop, owned by our caravan site.  We sat outside and marvelled at the weather!  The walk was around St Abbs Head Nature Reserve, up to the Lighthouse and then back via Loch Mire.  Sounds easy!  However, the ups went on and on and the downs were vertical!  Having said that, the views were amazing and we absolutely loved the coast. 

There were colonies of Guillemots on the cliffs, which were covered in white poo, just like Bass Rock which we saw yesterday.  Clearly the birds were an attraction for lots of walkers like us, and the pathways were much busier than when we walked from Eyemouth to St Abbs on Monday.  We had our picnic at the very top, just beyond the lighthouse, with views back down the coast towards North Berwick.  After lunch the sky clouded over a little, which to be honest was rather welcome as we had got very hot walking up the steep bits in the full sun.

We walked back to Colin and then home to the caravan to enjoy a well earned cup of tea.  We had walked about 4.5 miles today, but it felt much harder than Monday.

After finishing my book, and Geoff reorganising the camper van (again!) we drove into Coldingham for a wander around the Priory and then drove into Eyemouth to pick up a few things from the Co-op.

This was our last full day in Scotland and it was a fitting end to a wonderful tour.  The weather was kind to us, which cannot be said for the entire trip!  But it is strange how you only remember the sunshine, and the very special moments!

Day 79:  Thursday 16^th June 2022

Moving day again, this time en route for home, but with 2 stops in England.  We left shortly after 9.30am in lovely weather, which got warmer as we drove south.  We were interested to see the parts of the A1 we got to know well last year around Bamburgh, Alnwick and Berwick but were pleased to find that the road wasn’t as busy as we had expected.  We stopped for coffee in a layby shortly before Newcastle and then crossed the River Tyne and past the Angel of the North.  We arrived on site at Dyke Bottom CL near Harrogate before 2pm and were soon set up.  This is a nicely kept site, only one other caravan on it when we arrived, and it stayed like that for the rest of the day.  It is not fully serviced, but we can manage for 3 nights!

After some lunch and a cuppa sat outside in the very warm sunshine, but under the shade of Colin’s awning, we decided to drive into Harrogate and check out the Tourist Information office.  We found a parking spot on the side of the road, round the corner from the TIC and a very helpful lady gave us everything we wanted to plan our 2 days here.  She recommended we visit Knaresborough, so we have added that to our plan for Saturday.

We had a walk around the town, passing the Pump Room and Betty’s tea room.  The latter was showing it was full for afternoon teas on Saturday, so we may be out of luck.  A quick visit to the bus station completed our walking tour for today, saving the rest for Saturday. We returned to the caravan via the Co-op fuel station (193.9 per litre!) and cooked and ate supper outside.  We can count on the fingers of one hand how many times we have done that this holiday!

Day 80:  Friday 17^th June 2022

Breakfast outside this morning, not in bright sunshine, rather overcast, but lovely and warm.  We packed Colin and completed all the chores before heading off towards Skipton.  The lady in the TIC had referred to Skipton as the gateway to the Dales, and we wanted to see the canal, so it was a good starting point.  Even better, when we arrived it was market day and the sun had properly emerged.  We parked in the centre and walked through the market stalls, buying Geoff another hat for the bargain price of £3 because he had left his in the caravan.

We found the canal at the point where the Springs Branch, also known as the Thanet canal, joins the Leeds and Liverpool.  It was packed with very colourful hire boats which we thought was odd, we would have expected them to be out and about on the canal at this time of year.  We walked up the Branch to the next bridge where Geoff was chuffed to find a pork pie shop! 

We had been looking out for a suitable coffee shop, but none really impressed us so we decided to head onto the moors and make our own.  We found a lovely spot overlooking the Haw Beck valley with Skipton beyond, just inside the Yorkshire Dales national park.  My portable Nespresso machine worked its magic and we enjoyed lovely coffees and cakes on the hillside.

The next stop was Grassington, but the drive there was amazing over Halton Moor and down into Wharfedale and through the delightful village of Burnsall, where lots of people were taking advantage of the weather and picnicking alongside the river.  We parked by the Visitor centre in Grassington and walked around the village in lovely sunshine, enjoying an ice cream in the village square, before following a walk down to the river and along to Linton Falls and its bridge.  The effect of the water on the rocks, scouring out basins was very marked as the water level was quite low, this didn’t stop some boys leaping into some pools!

Moving on, we headed east towards Pateley Bridge and a small reservoir for a cup of tea.  Unfortunately, we missed the turning and it was too busy to try and turn round so we kept going!  We drove along Nidderdale, alongside Gouthwaite reservoir, but couldn’t find anywhere to stop, finally found a perfect spot overlooking Middlesmoor and Ramsgill Moor in the distance.  As we were drinking our tea, we realised that we were looking at a very threatening sky and it looked as though it was going to rain.  As we drove off, climbing to over 1500 feet, the rain came over like a heavy mist.

The road eventually dropped into Masham, a lovely little town centred on a huge square around which were the Kings Arms, Harry’s fish and chips and the Church.  We had a drink in the first (Geoff had a Black Sheep, brewed in Masham), supper from the second and looked at the third!

Back to the caravan through the picture postcard villages of Grewelthorpe, Kirkby Malzeard, Sawley and Hampsthwaite.  A lovely day!

Day 81:  Saturday 18^th June 2022

Today was a very special day, it was the last full day of our holiday before we return to Oxfordshire to see our gorgeous family.  The weather forecast was good and we decided to make the very most of the sunshine and the scenery and go for a long walk rather than go back to Harrogate and Knaresborough.

We set off to Wharfedale again, we had loved it so much yesterday and had worked out a route involving a Dales bus, service 74!  We drove through Bolton Abbey which looked really nice, but also really busy.  The road took us through an incredibly narrow arch, which the bus would have to negotiate later.  We parked next to the bridge over the River Wharfe at Barden Tower, we had just 10 minutes before the bus was due and a walk up a steep hill to get to the bus stop.  Safe to say we were exhausted after those 10 minutes, fortunately the bus was 5 minutes late so we had time to recover!  Barden Tower was a ruined priory, but the restaurant adjacent was busy setting up a wedding with outside tables, it looked idyllic.

The bus was quite full, which was good to see.  We got off in Burnsall, which we thought looked delightful yesterday when we drove through on our way to Grassington.  We had coffee in the tea rooms before walking over the impressive bridge to start the walk.

This was when disaster struck.  A young girl followed us over the bridge, but we didn’t realise she was right behind us and we both were surprised by her, then Geoff, having taken his eyes off the road in front of him, went flying.  Scraped knees, elbow and hand resulted, as well as a very dazed Geoff.  We found a seat and covered him in plasters and took time to recover before carrying on, we had another 4.5 miles to walk at this stage.  Fortunately, there was no major damage, but for it to happen on the last day of the holiday was good timing!

The first mile of the walk was spent standing to one side to allow large families to pass us going the other way.  We soon realised that they were all coming from a huge campsite further down the river.  Once we passed the site, the numbers of other walkers dramatically reduced.  The views around every turn were wonderful, with sections of fast flowing water over and between steep rocks, and then sections of slower flowing water with ducks to amuse us.  We enjoyed our picnic sat on the riverbank just enjoying the peace and beauty of this valley.

Once we got back to Colin, we headed south towards Ilkley, stopping for a cup of tea on a moor overlooking the town and Ilkley Moor beyond it.  Home via the co-op to top up the fuel for our journey tomorrow to Benson.

The last week of our trip will be spent with Jenni, Graham, Hamish and Ethan, based in Benson, near Wallingford.  We have missed them very much and are delighted that in a few weeks they will be moving to Probus in Cornwall, so we will hopefully see much more of them.

We have had the most amazing trip.  Beyond our expectations in terms of scenery and the places we have visited.  Scotland, and in particular the far northwest, will remain a very special place for us, and we would love to think we could return one day.  However, our thoughts will now turn to the next trip, and to complete the UK theme, we want to tour Ireland next year, north and south.

Until then, thank you for reading and see you next time!

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