Bonnie Scotland

Saturday 5th- Thurs 17th September

A stopover at Padside with Annie and her mum gave us a great start to our trip oop North.

We dined, had a Zoom chat with the gang and went for a lovely walk with Annie and the dogs up in the Dales.

Our first stop in Scotland was New Lanark, the site of an 18C mill village built by Arkwright and David Dale and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

We were able to P4Night in their car park and we joined 4 other vans spread out over the vast space and enjoyed a really peaceful night.

We took a walk up to the Falls of Clyde and fortunately found a break in the weather to enjoy it in its full splendour.

Onto Luss situated on the shore of Loch Lomond which was our designated meeting point and campsite with Debbie for the next 2 nights. The campsite, situated on the Lochside is a beautiful spot.

Debs was somewhat delayed as her camper was showing a transmission fault and she had to wait a few hours for the RAC to arrive, only to inform her that they couldn't find a fault.

Dinner in our van on her arrival and a much needed gin and tonic.

Tuesday was our day to explore Luss, with a stroll around the very pretty village and along the river.

Dinner tonight was in Debs van with a very tasty confit of duck on the menu washed down with a glass or two and a few laughs.

On Wednesday we had the challenge of taking our vans aboard the ferry to the Isle of Gigha. The highlight of the day was watching Debs squeeze her van past a lorry on a single track road. I was so transfixed I failed to take a photo. However, I do have a picture of her rather large motorhome.

A picture of her safely parked aboard the ferry ready for the 20 minute crossing as this most southern of the Hebridean islands is situated just 3 miles off the west coast of Kintyre. The island is 7 miles long and a mile and a half wide and the main settlement is Ardminish.

We arrived at The Boathouse car park which was to be our home for the next two nights. Despite having sent an e mail to check our places to camp in the car park, it was organised chaos on our arrival. Luckily Mark jumped to the rescue and liaised with other campers to arrange parking to accommodate all of us. Our spaces were near the bins and not the best view from the RHS and we had a bet with Debs that the bin men would arrive in the morning. Watch this space....

The view from the LHS was much more pleasant and we could watch the ferries coming and going from the island and the little yachts mooring at the pontoon.

We were booked in for dinner at The Boathouse. This was the first time Mark and I had dined out since lockdown commenced back in March. We were naturally a little concerned but there were several COVID measures in place such as anti bacterial by foot pump as we entered the premises and the tables were suitably spaced and the door was left open and the staff were wearing masks. It was enough to make us feel relaxed and we enjoyed a good meal and plenty of vino and staggered the few metres back to our vans.

WE WON THE BET.....the bin men arrived in the morning with much clanking and banging. So now we are awake we decided to walk to the village, which took no time at all and then Mark and I continued on to the coast and to visit the community owned wind farm and the Ardminish Gardens.

It appears that most of the fish is farmed. The young ladies working in The Boathouse were islanders and their father was a fish farmer and had loved on the island all of his life.

The windfarm consisted of 3 wind turbines which the islands call the Dancing Sisters and known as Faith, Hope and Charity.

The gardens are a little over run but have many species of trees and plants and made for a pleasant stroll.

We also found the graveyard set amongst the ruins of the old church and the day we set sail from the island we saw a hearse and funeral party arriving . A lovely spot to be put to rest.

After lunch, Mark and I set off to the north of the island to visit the Twin Beaches.

As you can see from the hats and gloves, it was rather on the cool side but totally worth the short drive and the boggy walk to get there. Also, note to self, this would be a brilliant spot to Park4night as a couple of vehicles were obviously doing.

Dinner at The Boathouse again this evening and once again it was good, if not the fresh catch that we had envisaged.

Following the problems that Debs was having with her van she made the decision to curtail her holiday by a week so we said our goodbyes the next morning as she was going to return via the Isle of Aran and we were set to travel to Falkirk. We too, changed our plans slightly, so instead of spending a bit longer in the Trossachs, we headed straight towards Falkirk and Edinburgh.

We found an excellent Park4Night on the way which gave us the opportunity to take a great walk up Dumyat Hill.

The next morning a walk around White Hill and the reservoir.

Next stop Falkirk to visit the Wheel and the Kelpies. A couple of facts:

Falkirk Wheel was opened on 24/5/2002 as part of Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee. It is a rotating boat lift connecting the Forth and Clyde and Grand Union Canals. Its design represents a double headed Celtic Axe.

The Kelpies were designed by Andy Scott and were opened to the public in April 2014. They stand 30m high and are a 'monument to horse powered heritage across Scotland'. The Kelpie is a Celtic legend and is a shape-shifting water spirit inhabiting the pools and lochs of Scotland.

The grey sky and the rain did not steal their magnificence!

Next stop was Fife and in particular to grab a taste of the coastal path. This had been recommended to us by some travelling companions. Our small taster left us wanting more but our time was limited. Our Park4Night was in LimeKilns and we could see the Forth Bridge lit up by night and hear the waves rolling into the beach in front of us.

We took a walk around Limekilns and then along to Charlestown the neighbouring village (which is actually the home of the limekilns!).

Once again, the grey sky does not do the pretty little cottages and the coastline full justice, but very pretty it was. We were now suitably relaxed to take on our next pit stop in Edinburgh to see Katy and Mark and to meet their two lovely boisterous boys. Exhausting but real fun catching up on news whilst playing and drinking tea and eating cake.

Enough of these grey skies. Let's head of south of the border to Northumberland where the forecast was looking better. Quick nights rest at Park4Night.

An brisk morning walk up the Law (hill to you and me) which is an old fort and in which was found a hoard of 250 silver objects. Whod'd of thought it?

https://www.nms.ac.uk/explore-our-collections/stories/scottish-history-and-archaeology/traprain-law-treasure/

A dive down the beautiful coast into Northumberland and some much desired blue skies.

We stayed overlooking Budle Bay in a field with water and disposal for £10 per night with fantastic views, lots of birdlife and that's Lindisfarne in the distance.

The most usual walk from here is along the coast to Bamburgh so we partook travelling along the beach and following the coast until the castle came into view.

There has been a fortification at Bamburgh since Anglo Saxon times, the Normans built the core of the present castle , has been used as a film and TV location on various occasions and is currently owned by the Armstrong family (of Cragside fame).

The town of Bamburgh was quite busy so we scuttled quickly through and then followed an inland path to give us a circuitous route back to Budle Bay. We had worked up an appetite so time for nibbles and drinks whilst watching the bird life.