16th September
15th September.
We are in a CAMpRA aire overlooking the Firth of Forth. We can just see the Forth road bridge a few miles away.
We awoke this morning to the sun rising over the loch. Last night’s blustery wind has completely died down.
After breakfast we set off heading south as the the next part of the adventure is to be in Northumberland. So off on a winding route through the Highlands, down valleys and up over passes. An Elevensies stop was taken alongside Loch Lubnaig, then on to Falkirk. We couldn’t pass this way without checking out the iconic ‘Falkirk Wheel’. Getting there wasn’t easy they seem to be digging up most of the roads around here. But it was worth it.
We have one last night in Scotland and hadn’t decided where. Over lunch in the Wheel’s car park we called a little ‘aire’ near Linlithgow, they had space, so this is where we are.
14th September
We are parked up for the night in a layby alongside Loch Creran. There is a loop in the road here that goes up one side and down the other. There are various laybys most of which are occupied by one or more motorhome/campervans. It is VERY windy, we are being buffeted about
We woke up this morning to bright sunshine, probably the best weather we have had. Unfortunately it didn’t last all day. But it was long enough for us to go on a walk out along the peninsular to the end. Where there were some fine views across the loch.
Our ferry back to the mainland was booked for 14:45, so we headed back towards the port at Mallaig. On the way we stopped for another walk alongside a river we had seen earlier in the week.
We caught the ferry back to Mallaig, the sea was calmer than before, but there was a cold wind blowing. A stop in Fort William for some food shopping then on to here for the night.
13th September
A lot of today has been spent driving round narrow, windy, twisty, steep, precipitous roads! To leave last night’s spot involved probably the windiest, twistiest, bumpiest, steepest road that we have taken Bertie on! We had been told of a walk in the north of the island called “The Quiraing” so we set off. Skye is quite big, I never realised how big. It’s over 50 miles by road from top to bottom, and those 50+ miles are sometimes steep and winding, so it takes a bit of time. After negotiating a very steep winding road we arrived at Quiraing at about 11:30.
Up until now the weather had been good, some of the best of the trip. But as soon as we got out to do the walk the mists came down and the rain poured. So we went back to Bertie for an early lunch and wait for the weather to improve. One thing we have learnt about the Western Isles is that whatever the weather is now, it will be different in 15 minutes time! We set off again with the sun shining, but it was clear that wouldn’t last so we only went as far as the viewpoint. We weren’t properly equiped to tackle the whole walk in the weather conditions. The views up there were stunning, but slightly spoilt by being mired in mist.
Our site for the night is a CAMC CL near Carbost. After we had set up we went for a short walk and founfd this waterfall.
The view from our back window:
12th September
Now on the Isle of Skye. Shortly after leaving this morning we came past ‘Neptunes Staircase’. This is a flight of five locks taking the Caledonian Canal back down to sea level. We stopped and took a walk up the locks. At the top we met a boat coming down with an American family on board. They are 3 years into an 8 year trip around the world. They started out from San Diago. Having completed the Caledonian they are off round the British coast to London for Christmas!
We headed off along the stunningly impressive road to the ferry port at Mallaig. It was difficult to stop and get pictures on the road, but here are some.
We arrived at the ferry port to Skye in plenty of time. Once boarded we went outside upstairs at the front for a good view. The PA system announcer warned to be careful due to “heavy seas”. It did roll about a bit, but we were fine.
We had previously identified a suitable stop for tonight. It’s just a pull in on a narrow road by a beach. The road to get here was about 5 miles of windy, twisty, steep bumpy and full of potholes. But it was worth it because we are at this beautiful wild spot.
11th September
We are at “Glen Nevis Campsite”. This is a large organised site with over 200 pitches. We dont usually go for this type of site, but we needed somewhere with electric hook up as the battery was getting low due to the lack of sunshine on the solar panel. Also we needed somewhere with a laundry as we were in danger of running out of underwear!
We left this morning just before 7:00 am and went for about an hour or so and then stopped for breakfast in a layby alongside Loch Leven. On then to Fort William for a bit of shopping. There must be more scarves in Fort William than in the all the rest of the world put together!
Unfortunately the weather hasn’t improved, it’s rained on and off, sometimes heavily, all day. Everything is getting a bit damp, but we have used the tumble dryer at the site to dry a few things.
On the plus side we are parked up within site of Ben Nevis.
10th September
We are spending tonight parked up in a cul de sac behind “Argyll College”. There is a lamentable lack of facilities for campervans/motorhomes in Oban. This is ridiculous as there is a constant stream of `vans going across on the ferry to Mull. The Mull economy relies on it. But there is nowhere ‘official’ to spend the night parked up in Oban. Almost everywhere else around here caters for the demand, but not Oban. Come on Oban Town Council, pull your finger out and get it sorted!
The ‘Park4thenight’ app suggested a carpark by the leisure centre, but when we got there it was already full by 5:30pm. The ‘search4sites’ app suggested a space near where we are now, but we found somewhere we were happier with just round the corner.
Today was mostly spent drving on Mull’s single track roads! The weather overnight was pretty bad, very windy and rainy. So after breakfast we decided to drive to Tobermory. Partly because of the Wombles, and partly because of Katie Morag. It took nearly two hours to get there from Fidden, and it was still raining there. After wandering around the various tourist/craft shops we went back to Bertie and warmed ourselves up with a pasty from a local bakery.
It was then a case of sitting watching the rain come down in Tobermory, or watching it come down in the ferry queue in the hope of getting an earlier crossing. Wisely, we chose the latter. So instead of our booked 19:25 ferry we caught the 15:40! This meant all the various shopping stuff we had planned for tomorrow we have already done today.
Tomorow we are bound to Loch Ness and Fort William.
9th September
It was very windy and overcast when we awoke. The forecast had said sun! We stayed in Bertie for most of the morning. Then, after lunch, we walked to Fionnphort to catch the ferry to Iona.
On the island we investigated the ruined Nunnery and mooched around the various shops and visitor centre.
By now the weather had got quite a bit worse as the storm blew in. So, reluctantly, we made our way back to the ferry slipway and caught the next one back to Mull. On the almost 2 mile walk back to the campsite we got completely drenched. But a nice glass of red wine soon warmed us up again.
8th September
Now at Fidden Farm on Mull.
This morning we left Port Nan Gael after topping up the water, emptying the loo etc and made our way along the narrow roads towards Fionnphort. This is where the ferrry over to the Isle of Iona goes from. We wandered around a bit, watched the ferry then made our way to the Columba Arts & Craft centre. It’s closed Mondays, so we’ll return tomorrow.
Then on to Fidden farm. We have heard so much about this camp site and it’s wonderful location. The reports weren’t exagerated! The location is truly wonderful.
We spent a really splendid afternoon climbing and scrambling over rocks and exploring the beach.
7th September
We are at Port Nan Gael on the Isle of Mull.
It was a bit windy and rainy this morning so we just sat in Bertie reading etc until about 10:30, when it cleared a little so we went for a walk. Along the way we happened upon an ancient burial site of the McDougal clan. There were lots going back hundreds of years.
So then off to Oban to catch the ferry to Mull. We were booked on the 17:05. We tried to get an earlier one but it was fully booked. We also tried to change our return booking from Wednesday to Thursday, but that was fully booked too. So our time waiting for the ferry was spent having a wander around the town of Oban.
In case there was space on the 16:00 sailing we went round to the ferry port and joined the “standby” queue, but no luck.
Our ferry left slightly earlier than scheduled and we arrived in Craignure at 18:00. Luckily we were right at the front and were first off the boat. By now the weather had deteriorated and it was heavy rain with poor visibility. The drive to the camp site at Port Nan Gael was very impressive. The heavy rains had swelled all the streams into raging torrents.. Not long after we arrived the weather inproved greatly and we had a really lovely evening.
6th September
The weather this morning when we awoke was not too good, lots of wind and occasional squalls of rain. We had breakfast and used the site showers and then just read books etc until it was time to go at 11:00.
Yesterday we booked the ferry over to the Isle of Mull for Sunday, so today we needed our stop for the night to be nearer to Oban. On consulting “Search4Sites” we chose Cologin. It’s a CAMpRA site at a farm down a long single track road. It’s a bit odd because the farm also has a pub/restaurant in one of the barns.
We were the only van here when we arrived, but after a lovely walk through the local woods, there was another one here too. By the evening there were seven vans even though the limit is four.
5th September
We are now on the west coast of the Kintyre peninsular, we can see Ireland from here! Last night at the site by the lock was very quiet, we got a really good night’s sleep. We booked tonight’s stop in advance as the sites are still quite busy even though it’s the end of the season. It meant we had a bit of time to kill as we couldn’t arrive until 13:00. So we went down to Campbeltown. The sun came out and we had a wander around the town and the harbour area. It would have been good to go right down to the Mull of Kintyre, but it’s a 5 mile long bumpy single track road. So we chickened out.
We are now right on the Atlantic coast, with the sea only a few yards away.
4th September
The campsite at the Secret Glen backs on to the Argyll Forest Park. Louise had told us about some walks that we could do straight from the site. So, after showers and breakfast, we set off on the “Black Gates Trail”. This took us up a steep track into the forest through giant Douglas Firs and Sequoas.
There was lots of evidence of the recent storms that blew down many of the trees. There used to be a walk through “Pucks Glen”, that has been closed due to the storm damage.
On the way to the next stop we called in briefly at Inverary and had a wander round the shops. Mostly the same tourist stuff we had seen previously. Then on the Crarae gardens, a National Trust place. We didnt stay long as it was raining.
Tonight’s stop is alongside the Crinan Canal by lock 10. Our satnav took us the wrong way, effectively up the towpath. I had to turn Bertie round in a very tight space!
3rd September
We spent a really peaceful night in this beautiful spot. After breakfast we drove the couple of miles down to Benmore Botanical Gardens, this is a huge estate run by Edinburgh Botanic gardens. We went on a long walk all around the really interesting site. It’s mostly trees laid out in sections e.g. Chile, Japan, Bhutan etc. It’s on a hillside so there was quite a lot of up and down!
After lunch we took a drive to Dunoon to find a supermarket to top up the fridge. Morrisons provided enough stuff for several meals quite cheaply! Dunoon shoreline and harbour area is quite attractive, but sadly Dunoon town looked rather sad and run down.
Then back to the site we had previously booked, The Secret Glen, it’s a fairly new site for about 15 motorhomes/campervans. On arrival we were met by the friendly and helpful Louise. She said “would we like to park up by the squirrels” – what we diddn’t realise then was that they were red squirrels.
It’s a bit more expensive here than we usually pay, but worth it for the squirrels.
2nd September
It was a not a good night. The relentelss rain and wind coupled with the passing trains meant we didnt get the best night’s sleep. So after breakfast we topped up the drinking water, emptied the loo and grey water and set off about 8:30. The weather was not the best with intermittant heavy down pours. The route to Glasgow was along the A74(M) which was busy with lorries, but not many cars. I didn’t enjoy tackling Glasgow’s complicated motorway system, but we got through ok and, after a stop for fuel (Bertie is quite thirsty), we stopped at Geilston Gardens, a National Trust for Scotland property. We really enjoyed it, small but peaceful and quiet.
Lunch was taken in a small layby on the shore of the bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomond.
Then on to Loch Eck where we had planned to spend the night. The route took us high up over the “rest and be thankful” pass. Unfortunately there had been a landslip the day before caused by the heavy rainfall, so we were delayed for quite a while. We arrived at ‘Jubilee Point’ a facility provided by Forestry Scotland for campervans/motorhomes alongside the beautiful Lock Eck
1st September
We started off yesterday and drove up as far as Droitwich as we needed to pick some stuff up from the boat. So last night was spent of JH. This reduces today’s journey by an hour.
Up and away by 6:30. About an hour later we stopped briefly at Hilton Park services for breakfast, in Bertie not in the services! Another stop at Tebay services to stretch the legs, we bought a rather nice sausage roll and a Scotch pie for lunch.
The ‘Motorhome Aire’ was reached at 11:45. After settling in and topping up the water we had lunch. We are just outside Gretna Green. So we walked in the afternoon to see the famous Blacksmith’s Shop. It is now large tourist centre with various shops. You cant see in the actual forge unless you are booked for a wedding ceremony. There were three ‘weddings’ going on whilst we were there.
