Category: Scotland

Adventures in Brora

Posted in 2021 Trips, Camping and Caravan Club CS, Scotland3 Comments

Gandalf the VW is at his most motherly point of this trip. We’re parked up a stones throw from the sea, and it’s glorious. We can hear the waves crashing and smell the salty seaweed as we watch the Artic Turns overhead.

You could be forgiven for thinking that we’re actually in a prison camp with this huge fence and barbed wire; however the reason for the maximum security is that this campsite, a Camping and Caravanning Club Certified Site called SeaBreezes Caravan site, is a former World War 2 Listening Station. In fact it was so top secret that it doesn’t even appear on the map. 40 people from across the UK were stationed here and it was used throughout both World War 2 and the Cold War before being decommissioned in 1986.

The views to the sea are unrivalled and we fell in love with this place as soon as we drove onto our pitch.

Our journey here today was let’s say, stormy! The weather in Inverness as we passed through was so bad that the coop we tried to visit had closed as their roof caved in, B and M bargains had sewerage coming up under the store as the storm drains overflowed and Aldi was evacuated due to flooding inside! It was so bad I honestly thought “sod this, let’s go home!” But then my northern stubborn genes kicked into action and errands finally complete, we made our way north to Brora into more bad weather.

Apart from…. Unbelievably with just 10 mins of our journey remaining, someone switched off the rain tap above, sucked the grey and black clouds out of the sky and we rolled into Brora with not a cloud in the sky and blue skies above us. Absolutely insane and very lucky, as we were DREADING a wet set up!

We celebrated with an emergency bbq (always have meat in the freezer to knock up an unplanned BBQ) which was delicious and enjoyed some outdoor relaxing time after being cooped up inside yesterday. Honestly we could have been in Greece (perhaps the temperature was a touch lower!)

Sunday

Sunday dawned with a dodgy forecast but we were thrilled to wake up to bright blue skies. In fact it was really quite warm! We had a lazy morning enjoying the view before deciding to have a leg stretch around the village of Brora, following the Village Historical trail.

Brora is a really beautiful little spot on the very north east of Scotland. The river Brora meets the North Sea and as such Salmon fishing was once one of the main industries here.

We saw an old Ice House which used to be used to keep salmon cold, and the oldest house in the village, the oldHarbour master’s house which also included an original barometer on the outside dating from the late 1700s.

In the late 1800s, the arrival of the railway here and the beautiful beach brought holidaymakers and as such large villas were built.

We stopped for a drink in the Garden room, part of the hotel marine, one of the for-mentioned villas, and then went for a drink or two, including sampling the very local whisky, at the Sutherland Arms.

It was interesting sat outside there in the glorious sunshine watching the traffic (a lot of motorhomes and Campervans) travelling on the A9/NC500. There were loads and none were stopping here. Please do, it’s a lovely village with some nice little shops and a great pub. Don’t ignore this beautiful Stretch of coast!

We had an early dinner; the weather was sublime- and we enjoyed a smoked haddock and salmon lemony linguine with fish brought from Buckie on our journey yesterday. Ooph, it was delicious! Recipe here

We then did something that we’ve never ever done before! Used a campsite washing machine and washed our bed linen, towels and some underwear as we’re running short!

Keith made a makeshift washing line from bungies and we let the campsite name (Sea Breezes) work it’s magic!

What a lovely day we’ve had!

Monday

After crashing out quite early last night, we slept really well but Monday soon arrived, and we felt sad about it’s arrival. It’s our last full day here – and indeed in Scotland for a while.

We decided to have a cooked breakfast, and do a coastal walk to Golspie, a 6 mile walk that hugged the coastline all the way. We timed our walk with a return journey via either train or public bus – this is fiddly but manageable as they are quite sporadic (although more available than where we live in Norfolk!£

The first section of walk was slightly rocky underfoot and we found ourselves concentrating more on our step than the view. But we kept plodding along and it became an easier path the further we went.

Unlike the South West coastal path the gradient is very low, most of the path is on field edges and so no mass ascents to worry about.

The Sandy beach turns into pebbles and about 3 miles in we saw possibly 70 seals having a little sunbathe. What a remarkable sight- it was a joy to watch them from a far for some time.

Round the next bit of headland we went and were faced with a wonderful vista – the stunning Dunrobin Castle- which in our opinion transported us to Bavaria and then France.

Dunrobin Castle is the most northerly of Scotland’s great houses and the largest in the Northern Highlands with 189 rooms. Dunrobin Castle is also one of Britain’s oldest continuously inhabited houses dating back to the early 1300s, home to the Earls and later, the Dukes of Sutherland.

The coastal path goes right behind the castle so we were treated to amazing views. You can easily visit the castle from the path we were on however it doesn’t allow dogs into the grounds so we just enjoyed the view.

By now we were only 2 miles from Golspie, and as the weather was looking moody, we picked up our pace, arriving into Golspie just ahead of the rain.

We grabbed a quick drink at the Golspie Inn before making our way towards the train station, but instead Intercepting a bus heading our way for just £3pp.

By the time we reached Brora and Gandalf we looked like drowned rats as the rain had caught up with us, but it didn’t matter- we’d really enjoyed the walk – route found here.

We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening chilling and watching Breaking Bad which we are utterly hooked on! As the sun set (much later than down south- it’s still light at 10pm), we have enjoyed watching the lighthouse across the water wake up. The lighthouse is Tarbet Ness Lighthouse and looks like this

Not my picture – taken from Wikipedia

Isn’t it amazing how effective just one bulb and lots of reflectors is.

Tomorrow is our big journey home. In a bid to avoid traffic jams we are planning on leaving mid afternoon rather than first thing and travelling into the night.

So with some time to kill tomorrow we’ve hopefully got one more adventure up our sleeve!

Tuesday

Tuesday travel day dawned overcast but dry. Despite our long day ahead we decided to get up and on, Keith being keen to get the kit packed up on the dry. No rain was forecast but the second we’d closed the boot, the heavens opened. Top tip, never trust the weather forecast and if it’s dry on pack up day- just get on! We’d been having some issues with our bike cover – and which I’ll cover on a separate post when it’s resolved 😳 so that delayed our departure a touch but it felt good to be able to take our time and not rush to a time schedule of “oh we really should be on the road by now”.

We did however roll off the site at 10:30, waving goodbye to the very friendly and hard working owner of SeaBreezes. We made our way an hour and 20 mins south to the outskirts of Inverness- our destination to “hang out in” until later in the day was Chanory Point – on the Black Isle. Chanory Point is reportedly one of the best places in the world to see wild dolphins. Access is tight; as the name suggests it’s at the point of a rather slim bit of headland – the road leading to the car park is single track with a golf course on each side and with holiday traffic and the bin man causing havoc, getting there wasn’t quite as stress free as I’d have hoped. But- we persevered and we’re rewarded with bagging a car park space immediately. Which was good because the best time to see the dolphins, I’d read – was 2 hours before high tide, and the clock had just crossed that marker!

I’m not lying, I actually RAN from the van to the beach whilst Keith sorted paying etc out, and therefore couldn’t believe my eyes (through the binoculars which I’d hastily grabbed) when less than a minute after looking I could see a pod of dolphins about 100m out having the time of their lives.

Keith soon caught up and we spent a good twenty mins or so along with a significant number of others admiring these beautiful creatures playing blissfully in the Moray Firth.

I honestly could have stood there all day, and have already eyed up a caravan park for future reference to stay at along with a boat trip I want to take. Here’s a slightly bad video which doesn’t capture the moment properly but gives you an idea. (Look near the white boat)

Around 1pm we decided to make lunch in the car park – a large plate of spaghetti bol to keep us going through the night, and around 3pm we hit the road- stopping at Halfords Inverness to try and rectify our cover problem.

Our journey home took just over 10 hours with us taking 2.5 hour driving shifts. The roads moved freely and the journey was actually really pleasant indeed and rather scenic, passing through the Cairngorms and then the lowlands and the Pennines. We’d far rather this approach to a near 600 mile journey home.

We have had the most amazing trip- Scotland’s East Coast has been everything we could have hoped for and more. Stayed tuned for a debrief post with some hints, and a summary of our trip in a few days- but for now it’s time to get the washing on and get my “Bridesmaid” hat on as I’ve the honour of being a bridesmaid my best friend this weekend near Coventry.

Until next time

Lx

Adventures in Edinburgh

Posted in 2021 Trips, ScotlandLeave a comment

Thursday

Gandalf the VW has today crossed the Scottish border for the first time in our ownership. We love travelling to Scotland and always look forward to our annual pilgrimage “ooop north”.

Our first stop , and home for the next three nights is Mortonhall Caravan park on the outskirts of Edinburgh, a city which draws us in time and time again.

Following our three nights off grid in Whitby this site seems huge in comparison! We last stayed here 10 years ago and it looks like not much has changed apart from perhaps growing in size and now including glamping options such as shepherds huts etc. It’s a great location for visiting Edinburgh and beyond, but pricey at £35 pn. Having said that our pitch (although not all pitches) is large and fairly private, and we made full use of the hot showers and washing up block today! Endless hot water always is a treat after a few days of using the kettle for showers!

Our journey here was really smooth, helped by the decent weather which again wasn’t forecasted. Taking the A19 as far as Morpeth really cut out the nastiness of the A1 around Newcastle. We even went in the Tyne Tunnel, £1.90 and a first for us!

We stopped for provisions at Asda at Dunbar , confidently located directly on the A1, and our final stop was at a farm Shop at the gates of our campsite; Edinburgh Farm Shop situated in Mortonhall Garden Centre. The farm shop was well stocked and the owner was so knowledgeable about his local cheeses and meats. We stocked up before checking onto our pitch and setting up camp.

Tonight’s dinner was a delicious BBQ, which included the best sausages I’ve ever tasted, a pork and haggis sausage and buffalo beef burgers served with local potatoes and roasted courgettes and tomatoes. We had an after dinner cheese board, courtesy of Highland Fine Cheeses in Tain. These cheeses were exceptional!

We have a feeling it won’t be the quietist of sites here, there’s already been a fair amount of walking across our pitch and we can hear noise and ball games despite it being 9.35pm we shall see! However we are thrilled to be back in Scotland sampling her finest culinary delights.

Friday

Well last night wasn’t the quietist of nights, up until 11pm there was a constant hum of chitter chatter, kids screaming and balls being kicked. We had a number of pitch invaders too- one who got the sharp end of my tongue as they nearly demolished our sun canopy, almost tripping over our guy lines as they ran through across our pitch.

Having said that, it did quieten down after 11 and remained quiet until gone 07:30 this morning, so we did end up getting a decent nights sleep.

We enjoyed a cooked breakfast on the cadac before jumping on the bikes. Today’s plan was to see some hidden Edinburgh gems. We come to Edinburgh quite frequently as Keith’s cousin lives here, but this weekend he’s away cycling around the Hebrides so we’re on our own. This is the first time we’ve had bikes with us so we decided to cycle from Mortonhall to the Royal Observatory to enjoy the fine view over Edinburgh, before picking up the John Muir way, a 192 long distance path that runs from Falkirk to Berwick and through Edinburgh.

The first highlight of the trail for us was the tunnel which runs underneath Holyrood Park; the Innocent Railwaiy tunnel. The Innocent line, was a horse-drawn railway line connecting St Leonard’s and Dalkeith. Completed in 1831, it was Edinburgh’s debut railway, and its tunnel is one of the oldest in the United Kingdom. We really enjoyed our cycle through this!

Next up, the John Muir way exits Edinburgh through the subhurds, on a decent off road path skirting below Arthur’s Seat and out towards Musselburgh. We particularly enjoyed the section alongside Bruntstane Burn.

At Musselburgh, and it’s picturesque harbour, the JMW follows the sea all the way to Prestonpans.

It’s really beautiful and we saw seals along the seafront and beach. The weather was holding off – we’d had some drizzle as we left the Royal Observatory, and it had become a pleasant day.

We continued into Prestonpans, really enjoying the views and the smells of the sea, and paused for a refreshment stop at the Goths at Prestonpans. We shared a 2 course set lunch (we only really wanted a snack) but our haggis Bon bons and grilled local haddock was absolutely stunning- and a steal at just £10.95.

By this point we’d clocked up 15 miles from the campsite (10 from the centre of Edinburgh) so we turned back and retraced our steps until Musselburgh where we then broke away from the John Muir Way and followed quiet B roads back to Mortonhall Campsite. What a cracking day!

(Our route today in purple)

We stopped for a drink at the (almost) on-site Stables Bar which was really very nice and not like a clubhouse at all, before settling in for the evening on site.

You can tell it’s a Friday – lots of new arrivals today, the site is HEAVING. More people brings more noise, and therefore we would NOT recommend this site to anyone who wants some peace and quiet. It’s quite a contrast to where we stayed at the beginning of this trip and I’m itching to return to the tranquility of our beloved CLs (luckily the rest of the trip is made up of solely CLs!)! I’ve never heard a campsite so noisy – Keefy thinks some of the European sites were like this and perhaps he’s right but for UK campsites, this hands down is the most noisiest. Location however is excellent!

Here’s to hopefully silence at 11pm 🤞

Saturday

Saturday dawned damp and drizzly so we enjoyed a lie in, not getting out of bed til gone 10am. The campsite did quieten down around midnight last night but if you’re after peace this one perhaps isn’t for you!

We had a light breakfast before boarding the number 11 bus to Edinburgh City: conveniently situated right outside the gate to the campsite.

The location of Mortonhall campsite really is exceptional- 45 mins later and just £1.90pp each lighter (and dogs free!) we were disembarking in Edinburgh City centre. We’ve been to Edinburgh many times before, in fact I lived here for a month back in 2007 when I came up to play for a fringe show and Keith’s cousin lives here (although he’s currently cycling around the Hebrides) so today wasn’t really a tourist day as we’ve done most of the attractions this wonderful city has to offer. We did however enjoy a walk up Calton Hill for a lovely view of the city, and we also witnessed the daily 1pm canon fire from the castle (purely by fluke might I add!) – a historic event which happens daily to allow the sailors at Leith to synchronise their watches.

We took a leisurely walk to the bottom of the Royal Mile (cannon gate) and enjoyed a beer at Kilderkin and haggis neeps and tattles, which whilst being delicious had to be sent back because they were atone cold in the middle… twice!

We then had a drink at Holyrood 9c which has to be the most dog friendly place we’ve ever been- Jazz even got treats brought out on a silver platter!

We enjoyed a walk up the Mile, although it was much quieter than normal. The Fringe festival will run this year but doesn’t start til next week. The tattoo is cancelled. We felt it was much quieter than this time last summer which surprised us both.

We just love the architecture in central Edinburgh, and our favourite area is around the Grassmarket area in Old Town.

It was around here where we had a very strange experience this afternoon.

We were sat in Bow Bar, a pub in the old town that we’d picked because of its sheer dog friendly ness. Not long after we got our drinks, Jazz had a really funny turn. He usually is absolutely happy as Larry in pubs and will sit for hours either watching the world go by or sleeping under the table. But this afternoon, in this specific pub, he suddenly shot out of the way of the table and then started shaking extremely aggressively and uncontrollably. It was terrifying and no matter what we did to try to calm him he would not stop and kept trying to pull out of the bar.

We both started to panic, worrying he’s been poisoned or something awful, so left drinks and got the heck out of there. As soon as we got outside and off West Row, he calmed down and returned to normal. We were obviously relieved but decided to monitor him so sat elsewhere for sometime and he was absolutely fine. Something had clearly spooked him. A few hours later we were still trying to make sense of it and we learnt that West Row and that specific area that the bar was was once home to Major Tom Wier who was executed there for bestiality. Neither of us are sure what we make if that to be honest but it gave us goosebumps- even more so when hours later Jazz refused to walk back up West Row! Strange or what?!

Despite our strange turn of events we enjoyed our day pottering around Greenmarket – it’s always great to be in Edinburgh and we always like a city break when we can.

We caught the bus back from Princes street around 8pm and spent the rest of the night chilling. Happy to report Jazz is absolutely fine still.

Tomorrow it’s time to move on up north again! We’re always a bit sad to leave Edinburgh l, and whilst this campsite isn’t my favourite of our trips, the location is just superb, so if you are looking for a cheap way to enjoy a city break this is really a very convenient place to stay. Just bring ear plugs in the school holidays!

Adventures in Stonehaven

Posted in 2020 trips, Scotland, Seafood1 Comment

Adventures in Stonehaven 

Ruby the VW is parked up on the now dry Stonehaven Caravan and Motorhome club site. We’re just on the outskirts of Stonehaven, on the East Coast of Scotland underneath Aberdeen. The site is a standard C&MC Club site, although after the last few nights of being surrounded by terrific views, we can’t help but feel a bit ‘meh’!

The purpose of our visit here is to visit the quaint harbour and the hidden gem that is Dunnotter Caste. The campsite is ideally located for both of these – just a short walk to the harbour and a little further to the castle along the coast path.

As its Friday we decided to treat ourselves to a nice fish meal in one of the pubs here. Seeing as the campsite facilities were open we also decided to treat ourselves to a long hot shower beforehand so I decided to declare it a date night, and therefore I even put some make up on for the first time in over a week! 

We walked along the sea front to the harbour and enjoyed a nice meal in The Ship Inn. Cullen Skink to start and Haddock and chips for main, both of us enjoyed the meal and the view out to the harbour. 

After dinner we took a wander around the harbour and enjoyed looking at all the fishing boats before heading back to Ruby for an earlyish night; the weather had turned a bit cooler on the coast and all our excitement of the previous days had begun to catch up on me!

Saturday dawned not quite as bright as the weather forecast has suggested, but no rain which meant our 10th day with no rain during the day. Hurrah! First job was to extract a tick on Jazz’s eye lid. Thank goodness I had my tweezers! We donned our walking books and set off again back into the harbour area, stopping for lunch at The Seafood Bothy – which we’d eyed up last night. They are a converted horse trailer which sell posh seafood lunches for takeaway – and all the seafood comes off their own boat. We ordered two lobster wraps, for collection in half an hour; just time to nip and try a pint of lager in The Maine Hotel bar; 6 degrees north. They brew their own lagers and ales. In fact we’ve noticed more and more local lager becoming more of a thing on this trip. It was very nice and refreshing.

The lobster wraps were delicious. Whilst we were enjoying them the fisherman (and assuming husband of the lady in the trailer) asked us what we’d gone for, when we told him he said “good choice, I caught those lobsters less than 20 hours ago!” Great!! 

After lunch we set about our walk to Dunnottar Castle. The first bit out of the harbour was very very steep! But once up on the cliff top it was a fairly easy walk and we were rewarded with lovely views, especially when the castle came into view. 

On Wednesday, after all the rainfall, Dunnottar Castle suffered a landslide which resulted in them closing the castle. Saturday was its first day reopening and we could see the damage caused as we descended to the entrance of the castle. 

Dunnottar Castle is a hidden gem, let me tell you! We LOVED our visit so much. There is absolutely loads to see including some amazing bread ovens that have survived since the 1400s, an original cistern, brewery! Also some of the walls and chimneys that have survived all these years were just incredible, considering their position on the coastline and the years and years of battering they must have endured.

The Scottish Crown Jewels were hidden here from Oliver Cromwell’s army in the 17th Century. We spent a good few hours here exploring the nooks and crannies, before making our way back along the coast path to Stonehaven. It took about 45 minutes the way each way from the harbour.

We stopped for one last beer on the front before walking back to Ruby via what should have been the Coop. Although. We got distracted by the Carron Fish Bar and its huge sign saying that it had ‘won the best fish and chip shop in Scotland award 2020’ and also ‘top 10 in UK’. I’m sure that it will come as no surprise that we changed our meal plans and went for our second haddock and chips in 24hours! The Carron Fish Bar was also the birthplace of the deep fried Mars bar but Keefy drew the line at me having one of those. We had a very quick walk back to Ruby to be able to enjoy our fish and chip supper with a nice glass of white at Ruby. 

All too soon our trip had come to an end. We’d covered lochs, mountains, city and seaside in 10 days and we have had an incredible time! We can’t believe that just 4 weeks ago we were feeling flat and wondering what we could do/where we could go for Summer that wouldn’t just feel like we were doing a 2nd best trip (We’re supposed to be in Yellowstone right now) This reignited our love of Scotland (the weather helped) and we are excited to plan a return sometime soon we hope. 

Until Next time

(which won’t be long as we’re off again this weekend) 

Lx 

Adventures in the Cairngorms

Posted in 2020 trips, Scotland3 Comments

Tuesday 

Ruby the VW Campervan is parked up on the side of Cairngorm mountain, at the ski centre just near to Aviemore. We made our departure from the Loch Tummel campsite this morning reluctantly; where else will we get a pitch with a view like this?! We needn’t have worried, we followed the road toward Tummel Bridge which was stunning, huge line trees lined the road and every now and again the trees would break away leaving stunning loch views for us to enjoy. 

We made a stop at Tunnel Bridge to see the old picturesque Pack Horse bridge, dating from the 1700s and sites on the old Military Road.

We followed the Old Military toad over Glen Garry towards the A9. The scenery was just spectacular and I was giddy with excitement, I’ve REALLY missed the mountains during lockdown!

We followed the A9 all the way to Aviemore where we made a quick stop to refuel with both diesel and food and drink. We soon found the deli and got ourselves local cheeses, scotch eggs, sauce rolls, all the Cairngorm gin I could find and fit in!

We then, with the help of the Search for sites app, found our way up to the Cairngorm Ski area car park, sat almost at the top of Cairngorm mountain in the UK’s highest car park, which was to be our home for the night.

Luckily for us the weather had held out up until this point despite a  terrible forecast and we enjoyed the scenery immensely on our ascent. 

Also luckily for us, that weather changed immediately after we had set up and the heavens opened literally to the second that we’d finished swivelling the seats and unloading food boxes etc off the end onto the front seat. We batterned the hatches down and spent the next 15 hours being battered by a terrific and absolutely TERRIFYING thunderstorm. There was a slight lull about 9pm where we got some nice pics (above), but the rest of the night was absolutely terrifying. I was awake the entire night with Jazz- Keith managed to sleep through the majority. 😂Our neighbours kept their pop top up and survived somehow?Ive never heard such loud bangs and the light show was just incredible even if I was peeking out the side of the duvet whilst reading about Faraday cages. Eventually I fell asleep at 6am for two whole hours and 8am we had a phone call from our next site, Stonehaven. They’d flooded overnight and basically had to close. What on earth would we do next? Our battery was almost flat after a night wilding, running the fridge cool box and lights most of the night; it was 40 degrees in the van and only just 9am yet we couldn’t open the door or windows due to swarms of wee beasties; yes, the after the storm came the Great Scottish Midge. Argh! 

Wednesday 

So what did we do!? Well; after a slight panic and a brief “that’s it, shall we go home?” we pulled ourselves together, hit the phones and asked for some recommendations on the wonderful VW CamperChicks FB page. Who am I kidding,  before all of that we literally abandoned our side of mountain retreat in 5 minutes flat! Ruby was covered in midges inside and out, so my answer was to drive downhill as fast as possible with all the windows open and hope they get blown out! It worked. Boom! In doing this we nearly lost our food boxes too but happily they and us survived to tell the tale and eventually (2 minutes later!) we found lower ground with NO midges and were able to have a sneaky freshen up shower and then a regroup over a midge free bacon sarnie.

Now I’ve recounted the sorry saga it doesn’t sound anywhere near as dramatic as it felt at the time but at the time we were stressed, tired and fed up. Once we sat down with our cuppa we learned that a terrible train accident had happened in Stonehaven, leaving 3 families mourning loved ones; that also helped us find some perspective.

Plan B was hastily formed; and thankfully the local Covid lockdown in Aberdeen made the Ballater Caravan Park have some available pitches for that night. Plan for the night sorted, we cracked on, we would sort tomorrow out later. 

We had a stop at Carrbridge, just about 15 minutes out of Aviemore to see the amazing pack horse bridge, said to be the oldest surviving in the highlands, before grabbing a coffee and taking the scenic route across through Tomintoul and over to Ballater. The drive was just incredible- we had awesome weather and the views were just magnificent. 

The striking purple heather was prominent for as far as the eye could see. It was Heather so nice to see (sorry!!) The Cairngorms really put on a spectacular show for us.

We made a stop at the grounds of Corgarff Castle; an interesting medieval tower house with a varied past- originally used in the 16th century as a noble residence which turned into an army base for Jacobite sympathisers and then went on to be used by whiskey smugglers. 

From here we continued along the very pretty River Dee and made our way into Ballater to Ballater Caravan Park. We were so thankful that they could accommodate us at such last minute that we forgot to double check about pitches and as such found ourselves trying to peg our tailgate awning into hard standing with normal (Poundland) tent pegs! Face palm alert right there! Much to his credit, I think it was the thought of no shower (the facilities were closed at BCP), Keefy achieved the unachievable and got the blasted things in eventually, and peace and order was restored in Ruby the VW after a turbulent 24 hours. 

After a shower and a beer, we took a short wander into the town. Ballater immediately stole our hearts with its pretty riverside location, quirky high end shops, 3 delis, a butchers and a lovely looking beer garden. Ballater, being so close to the Royal estate of Balmoral, has a number of shops holding Royal Warrants. If it’s good enough for the Queen, it’s good enough for me, and we set about sampling as much food from the local butchers, delis and bakery as possible. 

We ended up eating out at the Balmoral Inn, in their beer garden and enjoyed a very nice meal here, which handily was included on the half price eat out for August scheme. 5 pints between us, a starter and a 2 mains for £34 was impressive, especially given the portion sizes and quality. 

We had a quiet night (after the 10:30pm cut off- before that was a bit noisy but we are anti social campers remember 😂) at Ballater Caravan Park .

Thursday dawned a glorious day once again, we couldn’t believe our luck! We packed away, moved Ruby off the pitch into the town car park and headed for the Royal Station. This was once used by Queen Victoria as she arrived for her time at Balmoral. Whilst the building still remains and they have a reconstruction carriage ( we couldn’t see it due to Covid) the station area was very disappointing. We are lucky as here in Norfolk we have the marvellous Wolferton Station situated near to Sandringham. Here though they’d built a housing estate around the platform and other than the concrete platform there was not sign of it previously being a Royal Station. They could have made the whole thing a feature but it sadly hasn’t happened. There is a disused railway line turned into a cycle track and we’ve made a mental note to bring our bikes and give it a go next time.

On our way back to Ruby we managed to pick up rock pegs which was good as we ended up needed them at every site that followed. Phew!

From Ballater we travelled along the Dee, waved at HRH at Balmoral, stopped for a couple of pics at Braemar Castle and arrived at our next site, Braemar Caravan Site. We managed to again secure a last minute pitch here and move our Stonehaven booking forward to the weekend, letting them dry out hopefully. 

Braemar Caravan Park is LOVELY. One of favourite sites we’ve been too. Yes, we had marvellous weather which helped, but the pitches were big and nicely manicured, the views were splendid. It’s a bit pricier than we would normally pay but the location was walkable to Braemar and many walks (not all high and steep one either)

We took a wander into Braemar after our lunch and enjoyed a walk down the high street. The views of the River Dee were great, the water cascading under the bridge on the high street.

We did a circular walk taking in the site of the Highland Games, eerily quiet, and a couple of miles down the river. It honestly was spectacular. 

After our walk we called in for a drink in a cool bar next to the old station, before heading back to Ruby to discover we had new neighbours.

Click the video to see our neighbours, it’s well worth a watch.

New Neighbours at Braemar Caravan Park

As you can imagine we were giddy with excitement by this point. Keith cooked a phenomenal bbq, dubbed our Royal barbie as it was Angus steaks and steak and haggis sausages from the Royal butchers accompanied by coleslaw, potato salad and Wardolf salad from the Royal Deli. Royal or not, those steaks were hands down the best I’ve ever eaten! 

Friday soon came round, and we were up and about fairly early (for us anyway!) as we wanted to do the Queen’s Drive walk from the site before picking Ruby up. The Queen’s Drive can just about be seen from the campsite half way up the hills across the road. It’s a carriage route that Queen Victoria used to enjoy, and we can certainly see why. The views were lovely, and we once again enjoyed walking amongst the purple heather and being alongside the tall pine trees.  The scent was delightful.

We also saw two red squirrels during our time in Braemar.

I honestly felt quite sad as we packed up to leave. I could have done a few more days here easily and we both agreed we will definitely make a return sometime – but whether we’ll be as lucky with the weather again, who knows?! Thank you to the camper chick who recommended these places to visit. 

Before we left Braemar and the Cairngorms, we wanted to visit the Linn o’Dee, just 7 miles down a dead end road along the River Dee.

The Linn o’Dee is a famous beauty spot managed by National Trust for Scotland. There is a Victorian bridge and the cascading water of the river Dee has carved through to a steep and narrow gauge before spreading out into a shallow section ideal for bathing. Keith remembers visiting here as a child: his Aunty and cousins lived in Banchory for some time and for many years Keith came up and spent summers here during his youth. 

It really is a magical place. Apparently Queen Victoria used to come here for picnics and as chance would have it, we also brought a picnic, so we were able to continue our accidental homage to Queen Victoria by raising our (Royal Butcher) scotch eggs to her!

We had a paddle in the river, the temperature was lovely with it being a hot day, in fact  I was extremely cross with myself for not having my cossie. I never in a million years thought to pack it. What a wally as that was my opportunity for a wild swim. Instead I rolled my shorts up as high as physically possible and made do with a lovely paddle instead but then sulked all the way to Stonehaven for not thinking to shove some dirty clothes on to swim in. 

Keith had to pretty much drag me away from the Linn O’Dee as time was ticking on and we had a 2 hour journey to get to Stonehaven via the very pretty Glenshee ski area. 

We both felt quite sad leaving, we’d really had such a brilliant time. It far exceeded any previous trips we’ve made to the East – we know the weather definitely helped, but the food, drink, scenery and wildlife really reminded us of our beloved America. More so than anywhere else in Scotland. We felt proud of ourselves for finding a corner of Scotland that was new to us – we’ve done lots of Scotland trips previously and wondered after our last time whether we’d done it to death. Cairngorms National Park, as Arnie says “we’ll be back”

For now though it was onto Stonehaven. 

Until next time 

Lx 

Adventures in Edinburgh

Posted in 2020 trips, City Break, Scotland, SightseeingLeave a comment

Having had a wonderful night at Fletchers Farm, we hit the road north, Ruby’s wheels heading for Edinburgh. Unfortunately it seemed the rest of the world were also heading north and our 3 hour journey turned into a 5 hour journey. We did however manage to stop off at Carter Bar for lunch and we found the journey along the A66 very picturesque- we normally are on this stretch at midnight!

We arrived at Keith’s cousin Simon’s house in Leith late afternoon and embarked on a lovely couple of days in the sunshine enjoying one of our favourite cities.

We like Leith and as the Proclaimers sang, the sun really DID shine on Leith during our stay. The shore

area is particularly lovely and dotted with bars with outside seating. It felt very continental.

We stocked up on Haggis too- enjoying a full Scottish breakfast and also some Haggis Scotch eggs from the market.

Despite the Fringe festival and the Tattoo being cancelled due to Covid, the centre of Edinburgh was busier than I expected- I mean not as busy as a normal August by far, but still plenty out and about.

The Royal Mile – a bit emptier than a normal August day

We had a nice meal on Grassmarket and did a great 10+ mile walk taking in the sites.

It was lovely to see Simon again too.

Anyone recognise which film was filmed here?

Tomorrow we venture further north again; heading for the Cairngorms.

Until next time

Lx

Our Annual Scotland Pilgrimage – May 2018 Part 2: The Isle Of Harris, Outer Hebrides

Posted in 2018 trips, Attractions, Local Food, Scotland, Seafood, Waterside Pitches, Watersports, Wild Camping5 Comments

Sunday Continued – on the Isle of Harris, Outer Hebrides.

After disembarkation we pulled into the Isle of Harris distillery carpark to meet Rodney from Surf Lewis. We had hired some wetsuits and snorkelling equipment for the duration of our stay, and he very kindly agreed to meet us off the ferry to give us the equipment. Wetsuits, fins, snorkels etc in hand, we waved bye to Rodney – we are meeting him again on Wednesday as we have booked a Stand Up Paddleboarding session with him. Next stop was Huishnish Beach. I was worried about this as our ETA was 5pm – when we visited in 2012 it was very quiet and we stayed here fore two days and barely saw another soul. Now though, toruism has well and truly hit, and I knew Huishnish was a popular spot. To get there you drive for 40 mins over a mountain pass for 14 miles and Huishnish is the dead end. If we got there and there was no space, I’d have been very disappointed and we’d have to retrace our steps. 

Thankfully the luck of the Irish was on our side and there was a small space for Ruby to squeeze in to. As we turned the corner and saw Huishnish for the first time in 6 years, it literally took my breath away. It is absolutely BREATHTAKING. The beach is just stunning.  We wasted no time and got straight into the wetsuits – this is our first time in wetsuits and I’m sure we caused a lot of amusement to our fellow campers. It was honestly like trying to truss a chicken! 

Our first experience in a 5mm wetsuit in the Hebrides was just amazing! Rodney had sorted us with the whole kit- hood, gloves, shoes, fins etc. I adored being in the sea, it looked so inviting and now we were able to enjoy a swim. We got our snorkels on and had a little look around the rocks. 

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After our swim the prime spot had become available! We wasted no time, so still in wetsuits, we moved Ruby and vowed to stay there for at least 2 nights. We used the shower facilities (£1) and got on with dinner, overlooking the beach and sea – a salmon and prawn risotto washed down with a lovely white wine. 

We didn’t get the chairs out because our side door was facing the view and to embrace the view from our pitch meant we struggled to open the boot with the bikes on- so we used Ruby’s step for seating which worked really well! We felt like proper Veedubbers now! 

Monday dawned another beautiful sunny and hot day. We couldn’t believe our luck! We enjoyed sausage sandwiches before donning the wetsuits and snorkelling gear and trying some snorkelling out on the other side of the bay (the right hand side) As it was so uncharacteristically hot, we couldn’t leave Jazz in the van – it was mid 20s and just way too hot to leave a dog in a vehicle, so he came down to the beach with us and we took it in turns to snorkel.

I’m not sure what Jazz made of the wetsuits! Exploring the underwater world was really fun – we saw lots of colourful sea-weed and plants, sand eels, pollock, crabs etc. We used following underwater camera

【Upgraded】Action Camera,Campark ACT68 Sport Cam Wifi 4K/1080P Full HD Underwater Camera with 170° Wide-Angle 2 Inch LCD Display with 2 Rechargeable Batteries and Mounting Accessories Kit

It cost only £25 and was absolutely amazing!! Would highly recommend. It came with all the fittings needed to attached to helmets, bikes, surfboards, arms, legs – you name it. 

Snorkelling Highlights Video here

After ham and cheese paninis for lunch we spent the rest of the afternoon on the beach on our inflatable sofas, chilling. I don’t think I can remember such a relaxing campervan trip. It felt like we were on a beach holiday!

For dinner, Keith knocked up an amazing bbq, we’d picked up some venison steaks from the Amhuinnsuidhe Castle Stable shop that you pass on the road to Huishnish. This along with some sausages and chicken and a rice salad was yummy. 

We walked up the hill to the 5 campervan with electric spaces to watch the sun go down and I tried to use my drone but it didn’t have enough battery (we were off grid and with the heat and the coolbox, the battery was struggling a touch so we didn’t want to charge anything non essential) That was a shame cos I bet it would have been a good view. 

Our solar panel is doing well, Keith’s placed it on the roof and it’s soaking up the sun from 7am to 9pm!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B013VVUQM6/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=advinamot-21&camp=1634&creative=6738&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B013VVUQM6&linkId=3f554e22dcfacad0b676fa9c1c4e699a
Tuesday

With a bit of a lump in our throats we bid Huishnish a fond farewell. Before leaving we used the motorhome service point to empty the loo and refill the water tank for just £3. Considering the parking was free, and showers available for just £1 this is excellent value. We actually shoved a fiver in a donation box to say thanks. Up the hill is a 5 space campervan site with electric for £5 a night but you have to time it well to get a space during peak sunshine I imagine!

On the way we stopped and watched a golden eagle through the binoculars- what a special moment that was, neither of us has seen one in the wild.

We popped into Tarbet to pick up some local gin. On the way we tried to stop off at two more snorkel trail locations but sadly we could not for the life of us find the correct place. In our opinion – North Harris Wildlife trust could probably do with signposts at the locations and visible parking as at one point we drove 2 miles down a farm track trying to find the place and could not find it!

During this period of time, my phone went nuts (without me realising) and decided to emergency call 112. I had no idea about this and because there is absolutely no phone signal I was blissfully unaware that my phone had not only rang 112, but had also text my dad, my mum and Keith (who also had no phone signal!) to tell them I was sending an emergency SOS message and where my location was. 

Once buying the gin, we carried on towards Luskentyre beach – which is regarded as one of the best beaches in the world. Again we’ve been before, but it still doesn’t fail to impress.

The size of the beach is just overwhelming! We managed to get a great spot overnight spot overlooking part of the beach – provided by the West Harris trust and only £5 a night.

We set our stall out and enjoyed steak and stilton wraps for lunch before taking a walk on the beach with our wetsuits and trying some more snorkelling.

This time we snorkelled in with the tide all the way back to Ruby, taking it in turns again to stay with Jazz and always keeping one step ahead of the tide. We saw lots of crabs and had a lovely time. It’s just so nice to be underwater where you wouldn’t normally be as the water despite being crystal clear is blooming cold!

 

We both had a solar shower to wash the salt water off when we returned to Ruby and enjoyed some gins, before cooking with meat another wonderful seaview, chicken fajitas.

Yellowstone Camping Shower – 20 Litre

 

What a cracking spot. 

Wednesday arrived and it was time to set an alarm as we had to leave at 9am to get to Scalpay for our 10am Stand up Paddleboarding Lesson (SUP) I have fancied giving this a whirl since we saw people giving lessons on the Norfolk Broads. Just as we arrived on Scalplay i received many worried messages from Dad and Jenny asking if we were ok. It was at this point we realised what had happened with my phone – they had received an emergency message from us and then couldn’t get hold of us for almost 24hurs due to no phone signal. Quite understandably they were going out of their minds with worry!! Sorry Dad and Jenny! Mum on the other hand, had replied – “glad your having a good time!” It turns out that Apple to Apple (which is what our emergency SOS message was to mums phone) just sends a map link to your location. Apple to Samsung which is what it was me to Dad sends an upscaled “THIS IS AN EMERGENCY SOS MESSAGE”! Whoops! A quick phone call to say we are fine cleared the air and put Dad and jenny’s mind at rest!

Back to the paddle boarding . The weather couldn’t have been any better. We met Rodney again at the designated place and along with 6 others donned our wetsuits, and took our boards to the water. Luckily the wife of someone also taking a lesson wasn’t taking part, and had her own dog, so offered to look after Jazz too, as the heat (which was totally not expected when we booked it) was too intense to leave him. God knows what we would have done had Ruth not been there to Jazz sit! 

The SUP lesson was FAB!!! We are complete beginners and have no balance, so our hopes were not high that we would achieve the end result of standing up. However, we both managed it and it was exhilarating, exciting and quite hard work. I can’t think of a more lovely way to experience the coast line of this stunning island.

 

Lessons are £40 and Rodney was just a brilliant and patient teacher. I can’t recommend the experience enough! See our video highlights here

Feeling completely exhilarated and little sad that our Hebridean adventure was nearly over we handed our wetsuits back to Rodney and waved goodbye.

We made use of the spotlessly clean and FREE showers at Scalpay Community Centre before booking a table for evening meal at the Anchorage Restaurant, Leverburgh, the opposite end of the island. If we had any criticism of the Isle of Harris it would be that despite fishing being a huge part of life here, we found it impossible to find some fresh seafood to buy and cook. We were both craving a seafood meal so decided to splash out on an evening meal. We visited the Anchorage when we last visited and had a fab meal, so table booked, we jumped in Ruby and made our way to the south of the Island. 

The restaurant were happy for us to stay overnight in their carpark, right next to the ferry to North Uist, so we made use of the time before our reservation by having a HUGE tidy – wetsuits and snorkelling equipment had put a serious strain on our storage – we managed, but we had half of Luskentyre beach gathered on the floor!  As the weather has been so good we haven’t packed Ruby’s bed away since Saturday so we’ve effectively had a fixed bed which has been nice.

 

Ruby with the Cal Mac ferry behind

Ruby soon was sparkling clean and organised again, so we went for a couple of drinks in the restaurant garden – I enjoyed the Barra Gin, before dinner. We even managed a celebrity spot – we only sat next to THE Billy Connelly! Amazing – such a gent (sorry no pic as I didn’t fully realise it was him – I said to Keefy he looks and sounds like Billy Connelly, then later on instagram I saw someone down the road at an art studio had posted a pic of him!) 

We had a brilliant meal, it really is a spot to visit if you like fresh fish and seafood. We both had identical meals – hand dived scallops to start, fresh cod with chive mash and pak choi, and chocolate fondue. It was FABULOUS.

 

Read our next instalment here

 

Until Next Time

Lx 

Our Annual Scotland Pilgrimage – May 2018 Part 1, Norfolk to Arisaig

Posted in 2018 trips, Ale, Campervan Cooking, Drone Photography, Glen Coe, Local Food, Scotland, Seafood, Skye, Waterside Pitches1 Comment

Thursday

Is it me, or has this half term just flown by?! It only seems like last week that we were returning from China, but in fact we’ve been home for 6 weeks now and therefore it’s surely time for another road trip. May Half Term for the last few years has been earmarked as our annual jaunt up to our most favourite travel location of them all, Bonny Scotland. Thursday is our mad busy day at work and we don’t finish in Thetford until 7pm. We parked a fully loaded Ruby the Campervan at school, then Mum delivered Jazz the pampered pooch to the school gates at 7pm, and by 7.10pm we were on  A14 heading towards Carter Bar border crossing near to Jedburgh. 

This year we were particularly excited as the weather forecast was looking amazing! I think this excitement and the fact that we avoided every traffic jam going, helped us pitch up just after midnight at the large lay-by at the Border Crossing on the A68 Jedburgh road (Carter Bar) 

Friday dawned disappointedly cloudy, but this enabled us to make a very quick exit from Carter Bar as we weren’t distracted by the view. We shared our space with a traditional romany gypsy cart and horse, but for the first time ever, no other motorhomes. We had quite a drive today as we were skipping through our normal stopovers of Loch Lomond and Black Mount in order to get to Silversands Arisaig in one day. We did however make exception for the Loch Lomond Farm shop, a traditional stop for us to line Ruby’s fridge full of local fresh meat and ale and cider. 

We had a quick picnic “on the Bonny Bonny banks of Loch Lomond…..” before carrying on the A82 up past the Bridge of Orchy, Black Mountain, Glencoe and then Fort William.

We were noticing that the traffic was a lot heavier than other years, in fact we were nearly unable to get parked at the Glencoe viewpoint, definitely no cuppa this time, so instead we stopped at the Glenfinnan monument for a cuppa and a quick leg strech before arriving at Arisaig Silversands campsite at 5pm. 

We’ve been to this site several times previously. In our opinion, its one of the best beachside campsites in the UK. Especially if you book early and manage to get one of the beach front pitches. The showers and loos are basic but clean. And just look at our view!

We got the gas grill out and set about cooking a burger feast from our farm shop haul for dinner before enjoying a sensational sunset and a wee dram.  We couldn’t believe when we looked at the clock, expecting it to be near to 9pm – it was actually nearly 11pm and still pretty light.

Saturday

The weather was just glorious! Our plan was to unload the bikes and cycle round to nearby Camusdarach Beach which is where Local Hero was filmed, just like we did last year. However, the weather was just so gorgeous, and the beach in front of Ruby looked so inviting, we decided that we would stay at the campsite all day and enjoy the campsite beach and have a chill.

Out came the self inflating sofas and we made the long (10 metre) walk to the beach which is where we stayed ALL DAY!

We’ve never ever done this on a camping trip – we always try and cram in some cycling or walking or exploring. Jazz loved it as because the beach was empty he got to do lots of off leading which we normally can’t do as he’s not the most obedient pup in the world!

 

 

We actually managed to get sunburn – this is a first for us in Scotland. We felt like we were in Greece on a beach holiday. It was perfect. A perfect day has to end in a perfect BBQ, and Keefy did not let us down on this.

After another incredible sunset we hit the sack. A lovely relaxing day.

Sunday

We had a relatively early start today as it was time to wave goodbye to our stay at SilverSands. We waved a sad goodbye to owner Jim, around 9am and drove the short distance on the coast road to Camusdarach Sands. As the beach was quiet I had a play with my drone and Keith pretended he was Peter Reigert (Mac in Local Hero) and went for a long walk along the shoreline.

See drone video here

The weather was just beautiful again. Around 10am, we set off to Mallaig, and after stocking up on some supplies at the Coop we boarded our first of two ferries that day – Mallaig to Armadale (Skye). 

The journey was smooth and enjoyable, we had the binoculars out looking for wildlife. We were first off the ferry which was handy as we had to drive across Skye from Armadale to Uigg for our next ferry to the Isle of Harris. Skye was looking wonderfully green against the bright blue sky. We were desperately looking for some local fresh fish to take with us to cook as we were fairly sure we were going to be on the sea again tonight, but as it was Sunday there was nowhere other than the coop open. I managed to get some Hebridean salmon, but that was it. The Sunday closing also prevented us spending a sizeable amount in Uigg at the Isle Of Skye Brewery shop! If you are passing through, we highly recommend the Skye Red and Skye Gold Ales. 

After a quick ploughmans lunch in Ruby whilst queuing for the ferry, we loaded onto the slightly larger ferry, the CalMac Hebrides Ferry. We were so excited, its been a plan to revisit Harris after our last visit in 2012 and the weather was just incredible and looked set for the week. The ferry journey was a lovely and smooth 90 minute journey. We sat on the top deck looking for whales and dolphins and enjoyed an Isle of Skye red. It got so hot we actually needed to move to the shade! 

You can read our next instalment here

Until Next Time 

Lx 

Edinburgh Military Tattoo, Aug 5th 2017

Posted in 2017 Trips, Attractions, Historical places, Local Food, Mini Break, Scotland, Seafood, Sightseeing, WhiskeyLeave a comment

Ever since Keith and I got together 7 years ago- one (along with many others!) mutual bucket list adventure we wanted to achieve was attending The Royal Military Tattoo in Edinburgh. 10 years ago I spent an entire summer up in Edinburgh playing in a Fringe Show, and Keith's dousing has lived up here for years and years, yet still we've never been able to make it happen. 7 years ago we made a pact that we would and this year is the year it finally was able to happen!

We dropped Jazz with my mum and Alec and boarded our Virgin East coast train on Friday morning. Unsurprisingly, as not only was the Tattoo starting on Friday but so was the Fringe Festival, the train was packed and quite uncomfortable so we settled ourselves in and watched some catch up on the iPads, and actually before we knew it we were rolling into Edinburgh Waverley Station.

Simon couldn't meet us until after work so we had an hour or so to kill- naturally we headed for the pub, one of our favourites the Ensign Ewitt for the first of many gins, beers and drams!

Our very good friend Mark is a sound engineer for the Tattoo and was busy at the castle in his super duper recording van prepping to record that nights show – his job is to record it, edit it and have the official CD on the shelf for Monday's performance. He contacted us and said although he couldn't get away we were welcome to pop up and see his office for the weekend which was exciting, and as always, lovely to see him for ten mins.

It was 4pm and time to meet Simon so we bid Mark a farewell and headed to the Malt Shovel on Cockburn St. The Royal Mile is always a fun place to be at this time of year- lots of people doing publicity for their shows and a really happy, exciting if not slightly nutty vibe all the way!

Once we'd met Simon, Friday night followed in a big catch up, naturally involving a few bars and refreshments! Simon once again showed us some really cool places in Leith and we enjoyed our dinner of Shetland Mussels and beef and Haggis burgers at Nobles.

Saturday dawned brighter than the BBC had indicated, despite a few foggy heads in the O'Gorman/Williams clan! 🤣
Nothing a good sausage and haggis roll, super charged espresso, a pork and Haggis scotch egg and a Bloody Mary, or in Keith's case a Bloody Scotsman (replaced vodka with whiskey!!) can't sort out!

After a lazy morning we took the bus from Leith up to Princes Street where I deposited the boys in John Lewis Gadget section whilst I went off for a shop for an hour. Big mistake- Keith, inspired by Simon's "Smart Flat" has brought a Amazon Echo Dot and subsequently has spent every available minute researching what we can link up to it in our house!
Boys and their toys eh?!

Edinburgh is always such a special place for me, I had a little moment as I dragged myself away from the shops- look at the view from Princes Street- lovely architecture, Arthur's seat- and check out the blue sky!

We opted for lunch at Wagamama's, a treat for me as usually when we go I'm driving- so today I could indulge in my other favourite alcoholic drink, SAKE! KANPAI!

Trying to be sensible (!) we decided to head back to the flat for a nap ready for the excitement of the evening to come.

We made our way back into town 6ish and had a couple of drinks, including one on the mile so we could indulge in some people watching before a delicious curry at Gurkha Restaurant- definitely recommend it there, it's our second visit!

It was now time to head to the castle, I e never seen so many people queuing to get in either! Mark had texted us to make sure we gave ourselves lots of time, he said at the 7:30 showing people were arriving once the show had started. At 9:00 when we were wandering up, we had he previous audience departing and the current audience arriving- so 18000 people and the top end of the mile is rather narrow. Still, the organisation was with military precision, what else would you expect, this is the 68th year!

We were in within 20 mins of he doors opening at 9:45- exceptional!

To show was simply SENSATIONAL. Everything that I hoped it would be and a million times more. The special effects and projectors (all 12 of them according to Mark) casting phenomenal images and patterns onto the castle backdrop, the music obviously, the choreography, THE WEATHER!- everything was just awesome. I will never forget our night there!








We walked all the way home to Leith and to took me about an hour to get to sleep- I had so much adrenaline!
Today has dawned sunny again, hurrah! So we will head back into town. Plans are to try and see the Jacobites exhibition and perhaps see some Jazz.

Then back south tomorrow to see Dad and Jenny, pick up Ruby and Jazz and get some adventures going in our campervan!

Until next time
Lx

Our annual Pilgrimage to Scotland Part 3: A quick stopover at the Lake District 

Posted in 2017 Trips, Ale, Attractions, Lake District, Scotland, Sightseeing, Whiskey5 Comments

Ruby the campervan is parked up alongside  Gillside Beck- we arrived here yesterday, Friday, after a fairly longish journey from our Loch Ness Brit Stop. The reason for departing Scotland a day early is stood proudly behind us, and frankly looks scary as hell- perhaps that’s where the name Helvellyn comes from! For a couple of years now, Keith and I have talked about how we’d like to tackle Helvellyn and Striding Edge. For both of us, it’s a personal challenge. Neither of us particularly like hill walking, and I’m terrified of drops, yet I have spent hours marvelling at people’s instagram pics of Striding Edge. I just knew I had to go and give it my best foot forward. Luckily, my husband is also crazy so despite his hatred of walking up hills agreed to attempt it with me, if he weather looked ok on or way home from Scotland. 

So back in February we booked our pitch at Gillside Farm, knowing there was a hefty chance we’d cancel if weather looked bad. We’d been about internet for well over 24 hours and finally picked up 4g as passed through Fort William. Keith as driving and I checked Patterdale – well il be blowed it was only showing full sun for tomorrow. “Off we go then”, I said, feeling the colour draining from my chops! 

Gillside Farm is nestled right at the bottom of the main path from Glenriding up to Helvellyn- so on arrival we decided to check where our oath started, before prepping our rucksacks, making a packed lunch and enjoying a simply cook Murgh Kari curry for tea. The mood in the Ruby was certainly of apprehension! We watched the live election debate before calling it a night. I dreamt that we got stuck on Helvellyn! What a great dream- not! 

Saturday dawned as promised, absolutely glorious. There really is nowhere as beautiful as the Lakes in this weather! Apprehension was again strife! We moved around our daily routine almost in silence- I chucked some venison and a few bits of stray veg into the slow cooker to bubble away ready for our return. Keith packed, double packed and triple checked the rucksacks. By 09:15 we’d had our porridge and cereal bars and were ready to go. I was BRICKING it. 


The first mile is literally uphill. There is no relief from it – it is hard. Really really hard. Loads of people passed us, we were both puffing like a steam train and I was almost ready to chuck the towel in. However-the  views were stunning and that really kept us going. The views to Ullswater were sensational. 

 

After over an hour and exactly a mile- the uphillness became easier! I thought I’d suddenly become super fit but Keith declared “hurray, we are now following the contours rather than crossing them” We were rewarded with great views of Helvellyn and red tarn and actually started enjoying ourselves! 

Before we knew it we were reaching the start of Striding Edge. I gave myself one last talking to and before I know it we were across! Striding Edge if you are not familiar, is a ridge that leads to Helvellyn, England’s 3rd  highest behind Scafell and Sca. It was really, really hard- in fact a man in front of us stopped and turned round- he said he couldn’t cope with it any more- so was going to find the easier path. Keith and I (and jazz!) kept our heads down,took it very slowly and carefully and stopped regularly for photos – AND I DIDNT HAVE A PANIC ATTACK! 

I still can’t believe we walked across that ridge!!!

Getting to the other side my legs were like Jelly. Then we realised we had nasty scramble ahead to get to the summit. It wasn’t a scramble it it literally was rock climbing. Omg. 😳 However the camoradory between all the walkers was fantastic – and as we crossed the last ridge before the summit I had a tear in my eye! We’d done it! Bucket list ticked ✅




After a cheese roll or three we discovered it was as steep if not worse on the way down! Off we set, taking so much care- we even had to carry Jazz over a couple of bits as he refused and dug his claws in! Slowly we descended and 3 hours later we were back at Ruby feeling immensely proud of ourselves! 


We had a swift dram before continuing to the pub for a couple( including a Lake District Gin!!) and returning to Ruby for our venison stew.


Tomorrow we head home (sad face!) we have had a blast and couldn’t have wished for an sweet finish today. We’ve survived 10 whole days in our downsized campervan with no pop top. Ruby is working for us! Hurrah! 

Until next time 

Lx 

Our annual pilgrimage to Scotland, May 2017. Part 2. Wester Ross

Posted in 2017 Trips, Ale, Drone Photography, Scotland, Sightseeing1 Comment

Tuesday

 We had such a peaceful night at the foot of the Cuillin Hills and slept like logs! Unfortunately when we woke up it was still not great weather wise, so we wasted no time in packing up and hitting the road. We made a quick stop at the Spar shop in Broadford before taking the Kyle Bridge back over to the mainland. We had a brilliant time shopping in the Spar, it was crammed full of local food and drink- our major weakness! We popped in for some potatoes and some rice, and came out with over £60 worth of goodies, including some local frozen venison, sausages, veg, a bottle of Misty Isle Gin (whoops, that slipped in the basket!) cheeses, chutney, ales etc. Whoops!


Back on mainland and we took the Wester Ross Coastal route, which was beautiful despite the wet weather. We pulled over for some toast and marmalade overlooking Loch Caron, and carried on towards Gairloch. We really enjoyed this route and can’t recall taking it before. We will definitely return to this area, and hope for some better weather next time. Talking of the weather, just as we were pulling up at our home for the next two nights, Gruinard Bay Caravan Park, the rain stopped, hurrah! 
The pitches at Gruinard Bay Caravan Park have a super view, they are right on the beach front. We however managed to be assigned the pitch closest to the neighbouring graveyard… so we decided to park on sidewards so our door was directly facing the sea. Not sure if we were meant to, but no one challenged us, and it wasn’t particularly busy there. Otherwise our door would have been directly facing the graves! It was a nice enough site, but needed a bit of TLC to say the least. Showers were clean, but very small, and actually only one of each sex, and situated in a rickety portacabin. We enjoyed a chill overlooking the sea for the remainder of the afternoon, and a hearty Spag Bol for tea before having an early night. 


Wednesday arrives and still no sign of rain, so we enjoyed a full cooked breakfast outside before driving off pitch 8 miles down the road to visit National Trust for Scotland’s Inverewe Gardens.


 We enjoyed their pinewood trail first with Jazz, then left him to sleep in the van whilst we wandered round the gardens. They are billed to be the best botanical gardens in Europe. We enjoyed our visit although I think we were perhaps a couple of days late to enjoy the best of the rhodedendrums. Still worth a visit. 



On our way back to the campsite we followed signs for “The Food emporium”, which turned out to be a little smokehouse where we picked up some delicious smoked cod and smoked cheddar cheese.


 By now the sun was back out in force so we scuttled back to the campsite and set up base again. Tonight we enjoyed a lovely BBQ, this time on the gas one as it was bit drafty, consisting of our smoked cod and couscous for starter then steak and chips for main. Yum! Keith washed his down with some very local ales from a small craft brewery down the road, one of which he said was the best he’d had! I also managed to get the drone up a couple of times. A happy afternoon and evening. 


Thursday 
We decided to make an earlyish start as we’d got a few miles to cover today. We skipped our morning cuppa and breakfast, choosing to stop at viewpoint further into our journey to enjoy those. 

Somehow, despite a breakfast stop and a top up Tesco shop, we managed to arrived at our Brit Stop location almost an hour before our first eta! We are now at BritStop no. 841, a tea room and farm shop situated on the quiet side of Loch Ness. We’d never taken the B852 road on the other side of Loch Ness before, and Keith tells me the road is called General Waide’s Military Road. It was a lovely alternative to the much busier A82 . After introducing ourselves, we had a quick bite to eat and set off for a little walk down the road to the Falls of Foyer. What we didn’t realise was that Robert Burns based his poem “Waterfall” on these falls, and they are set within a most spectacular gorge. 

It really was a lovely walk, and we worked up a good appetite to enjoy a nice afternoon cream time on arrival back at the tea rooms. 
The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent chilling, tomorrow we have a longer drive towards the Lake District as we have a date with Hellvelln and Striding edge (weather permitting!) on Saturday. Dinner tonight was a very very tasty Simply Cook Haddock risotto. Yum! 

Until next time 

Lx