Showing posts with label dumfries & galloway. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dumfries & galloway. Show all posts

Sunday 21 May 2023

Craig Croft Aire, Laurieston

Nido's parked on a lovely little 'aire' (more of a very small campsite really) with 4 pitches (3 hardstanding and one grass), called Craig Croft (///collapsed.cadet.backers).  It's a lovely peaceful spot just on the edge of the Galloway Forest Park, close to the village of Laurieston.  The owner - Pauline - is very welcoming and told us all about the birdlife and wildlife here; she feeds the birds and the species visiting are too many for us to count!  I found it on the Search for Sites app and the reviews speak for themselves. It's £10 per night with electricity charged separately on a meter.  We hadn't planned to use EHU as we have plenty of leisure battery power and a full-up Ecoflow, but this afternoon I noticed the van fridge had stopped working on gas and all the frozen food had defrosted; it was fine yesterday.  So I hooked up the electric and the fridge is now cooling down and the freezer is doing it's thing again.  There are no error codes being displayed, so a quick read of the user manual and a Google would seem to suggest a problem with the burner or thermocoupler (whatever that is - I don't touch electrical or gas systems!).  Luckily the remaining nights of our trip are all on EHU, so at least I won't be forced to drink warm beer!  I've emailed the company - CMS North Wales - I use for van maintenance and repairs (a husband and wife team based in Conwy, to ask Paul to come out and take a look when we get home.  The fridge is only 6 years old and we've had a few issues with it in the past.  Top tip - avoid Thetford motorhome fridges!

Our night in the Mull of Galloway Lighthouse car park was extremely quiet and peaceful.  There were only two other vans staying, plus there was no wind at this highpoint so we all slept well.  I was up at about 0630 and took Salty for a good walk around the circular path that runs on the clifftops and alongside the lighthouse and attached buildings. It was cloudy and still and a little cool. After a lovely hot shower (I'll never get over the novelty of showering in a car park!) and breakfast, we made our way back down the single track road, making use of the regular passing places to allow oncoming traffic to pass.

After a brief stop in the Red Deer Range car park (///rock.feasting.areas) for a cuppa (we were in tea deficit again!), we arrived at this place. Pauline had emailed to explain the road up was signed as closed, due to a bike race (not any old bike race - it was a qualifying event for the UCI World Gravel Bike championships!), but we could carry on up as the road has been closed after the site entrance.  It's a cosy little aire and again very quiet with no artificial light.  The sun came out when we arrived so we took her advice and followed a circular walk that took us through the forest, which is mainly temperate rainforest, as seen by the beautiful green mosses everywhere. We stopped off at a bird hide where the locals feed the many species of birds.  We didn't spot any of the red squirrels, pine martens, adders (thankfully!), slow worms or deer, although Salty did try to roll in a few patches of fox poo!  Luckily I was on the ball and got him away in time.  But just in case we carry a tube of Fox Poo shampoo for dogs, plus the aire had a fresh water hose and I wasn't afraid to use it on him - he had a lucky escape!

Apart from a couple of walks we've not done much here.  There's no mobile or internet signal, so we've both been reading and after a simple meal, we walked the circular walk again, only anti-clockwise this time.  It's cooled down a little and there are a few spots of rain, but nothing to worry about.  We've been very lucky with the weather over the past week.

Tomorrow we leave Scotland and head for the Lake District to meet up with old friends for a few nights on two different campsites.  We've loved our time in Dumfries and Galloway and I've no doubt we'll return in the future to visit some of the areas we missed this time.  Initial thoughts are to return to Scotland in July for a tour based on the Heart 200 and North East 250 routes.  It's my 60th birthday (eek!) in mid-July and it would be nice to be away in the van...so long as the fridge can be fixed in time.  


Temperate rainforest - there's not much of this left in the UK

Craig Croft aire






Friday 19 May 2023

Mull of Galloway Lighthouse

Nido's in the car park at the most southerly point in Scotland at the Mull of Galloway Lighthouse (///flattery.seatbelt.iceberg).  It was very hot and sunny when we arrived but it's now cloudy and has cooled down quite a bit.  Despite that, the 360' views from this highpoint are stunning.  There was just us and another van for most of the evening, although one more has just turned up.

After about half an hour of rain last night, it was warm and sunny as I took Salty for a walk at Whithorn at 0700 this morning.  We'd had a recommendation from Carol Kubicki to visit the Logan Botanical Garden on our way to the lighthouse.  She'd kindly sent us a link to one of her blogs listing some gardens she'd visited in Scotland.  I had Logan on my list and was happy to take her advice - diolch Carol!

It was about an hour's drive to get there and the drive up to the gardens was lined on both sides of the road with hundreds of palm trees (///catching.exists.acquaint); we thought we'd been transported to Spain or Morocco!  The garden's aren't too big to walk around and the entry fee is reasonable at £8 each.  We really enjoyed our tour, admiring the many specimens of trees and shrubs from as far afield as Chile and New Zealand.  It's definitely worth a visit.

Just a few minutes down the road is Port Logan (///roadblock.taken.trying).  We parked up for lunch, before walking along the beach to the old harbour, with a quay and bell tower designed by Thomas Telford.  Salty enjoyed being back on the beach, with lots of zoomies into the surf and sand.  If you ever watched the BBC series 'Two Thousand Acres of Sky', starring Michelle Collins and Paul Kaye, it was filmed in Port Logan.

Once parked up in a level spot at the Lighthouse, Cathy had a snooze while I sat on the van step enjoying the heat of the sun.  Dinner tonight was a chicken madras, followed by a short walk around the cliff tops and up to the lighthouse.  It's weird to think that from here John o' Groats is almost as far as London - Scotland is a BIG country!

Now enjoying the peace of the evening, in the warm of the van and after a hot cup of tea. it's time to settle down for the night.  Tomorrow we move on to a pre-booked aire close to Galloway Forest, which will be our last night in Scotland (for now), before we head for a campsite in Glenridding in the Lake District to meet up with old and very dear friends.











Port Logan






Thursday 18 May 2023

Isle of Whithorn

Nido's in free parking in a field looking over the Isle of Whithorn harbour (///dabbing.anchorman.cookers), with the Isle of Man visible on the horizon; O2 sent me a 'Welcome to the Isle of Man' SMS, telling me I'm now on my Roam from Home package!  It's quite sloping so we're on the levellers.  Thankfully it's still dry as I don't think we'd get on (or off) here if it was wet.  Just outside the field is a portacabin toilet, with a free motorhome service point, which I've taken advantage of.  We've stayed here before - back in September 2018 - but then we parked on the harbour front, which is no longer allowed.

Joanne from Trundlebus Travels contacted us on Twitter and asked if we could put the What3Words link on my blog posts.  I have used W3W in the past, but hadn't thought about using it on the blog; I thought it's a really good idea to help others identify the location and navigate to it.  So in these and future posts you'll see the hyper-linked W3W, rather than a link to Google Maps.

Wigtown Harbour was very quiet overnight.  I woke at about 0615, so was up and walking the dog nice and early.  We walked up to the bird hide where I sat and watched a heron and lapwing in the mud of the empty river, with about ten mute swans higher up on the salt marsh.  We had a naughty breakfast today - haggis and a fried egg in a Scottish morning roll; naughty but so nice!

Cathy had her online Welsh lesson on Zoom this morning, starting at 1030, so I took Salty off for a good walk, following the path we took yesterday all the way up to the road, then turning left up the hill towards the town.  On the way we passed the Parish Church and I popped in to take a look at the graves of the martyrs, who were tried and sentenced to be tied to a stake at low tide, then drowned as it flowed in; what a horrible way to go.  The war memorial was just outside the churchyard and it was sad to see so many names from the First World War, especially several with the same surname.

We wandered into town and did a couple of circuits before sitting outside Cafe Rendezvous for coffee and lemon meringue pie. At least that's what I had; Salty had three small gravy bones!  As we sat there I heard the beautiful and joyous sound of swifts and looking up, saw a group of about six flying around the rooftops.  I just love these birds.  I hardly get to hear them unless we're in France in the summer; their call just lifts my spirits. I also bought a slice of the pie to take away for Cathy.  Back at the van she was still 'siarad Cymraeg', so I sat outside watching the tide ebb.

The drive to the Isle of Whithorn took about half an hour and after choosing a spot to get as level as possible, we walked onto the headland before taking a turn around the harbour.  On arrival I'd walked to The Steam Packet Inn (2 minutes away!) and booked a table for tonight.  The rest of the afternoon was spent chilling, before we walked to the pub for an extremely delicious meal; highly recommended.

All's quiet now.  Salty's been walked and we're letting our lovely meals digest as the tide rolls back in.










Wednesday 17 May 2023

Wigtown - National Book Town of Scotland

Nido's parked up at Wigtown Harbour (///visions.punters.salad), with expansive views over the muddy banks of the tidal river, salt marsh and the hills in the distance.  It's very quiet and peaceful here; it's a theme running through our time in Dumfries and Galloway. There are two other vans here and I'm watching the swans, egrets and herons making the most of this safe, food-filled environment.  

True to form, the ravens woke us early this morning at Dundrennan Abbey. It's a sound we're used to at home, with a rookery in the trees outside our bedroom window.  In the early hours we heard the owls and they spooked Salty so much that he jumped on to our bed like a big black flea to escape the big birds! I was up at 7am  and took Salty out.  A large hare was watching us as we walked towards the field; Salty spotted it too and was off - or at least he would have been if I didn't have a good hold of his lead!

It was a still and warm, sunny morning and I cooked breakfast with the door open.  A car pulled up alongside us and a lady in an official uniform got out of the car, ready to open the Abbey to visitors.  In England I'd be worried now about being moved on, but she couldn't have been kinder, stopping to ask us if we were having a good trip - I like Scotland!

It was about an hour's drive to Newton Stewart where we filled up with diesel and food, before driving six miles to our current park up at Wigtown Harbour.  After walking Salty, we left him to enjoy some 'me time' and wandered up to the town.  Wigtown is the National Book Town of Scotland; yesterday was the 25th anniversary of Wigtown earning this title and it has a Book  Festival every October. For such a small place it has a lot of secondhand bookshops, along with loads of cafes, pubs and independent shops - think Hay on Wye but in Scotland. We mooched around a few of them, browsing the many old books for travel, cooking and gardening gems. 

Back at the van, we took Salty for a walk across the salt marsh and onto the footpath which used to be the old railway line, routing us back to the road and the harbour.  After a welcome apero sat outside the van, I cooked a dinner of chicken fajitas and stir fry veg, before we sat in the cab with a cup of tea, watching the birdlife as the tide slowly started to turn and cover the muddy banks of the river.

It's cloudy now and the wind has dropped; it's so quiet my ears are ringing with the silence. - a thousand acres of sky.  If it clears tonight, I think we'll witness a beautiful starry night.  If not, I hope I wake early to enjoy a coffee outside at dawn.  I'm really enjoying the peace of this trip. 

Did I say I like Scotland?  

Wigtown Harbour



The Old Bookshop - pick up a book and relax!




C'mon - 'urry up!




Apero hour

View from the galley door




Tuesday 16 May 2023

Rockcliffe, Kippford and Dundrennan Abbey

Nido's parked up in the car park of Dundrennan Abbey (///senses.ordering.pursue).  There's two more vans here.  It's a quiet little place, reminding me of a French Normandy village.  The Abbey is closed for renovation works and has been for a couple of years. It seems to be a theme with many of the old buildings in this part of Scotland; mainly they seem to be surveying the sites to see if the structures are safe.

As we had an excellent service point at Caerlaverock, we showered then topped up the fresh water tank and emptied the toilet - van life chores.  At home we have a cup of tea in bed first thing (like Derby and Joan!) before another with breakfast. With only one cuppa before leaving we were already in tea deficit - not a good place to be!  So the opportunity was taken to pull into the Drumburn Viewpoint to put this right...and the kettle on.  The viewpoint overlooks the Firth and we could see the Derwent and Buttermere fells in the distance over to our right.

The road between there and our next stop was dreadful. It's a 60mph two-lane road but with grand canyon-sized potholes.  Even though I had slowed down to about 30mph I still hit a couple; we both winced as the tyres banged and the van rattled, so much so that I pulled over to check I still had wheels.  In some places I slowed right down and manoeuvred around them over to the other side of the road - so beware if travelling there.

We saw a sign for Rockcliffe beach, so turned off and drove down to a large and spacious free car-park (///stove.beginning.spider).  It was relatively sunny and warm, but with some sharp showers passing through, so we took a rucksack and raincoats with us.  The beach is lovely, reminiscent of some of those we've visited in Brittany; in fact this whole area has a real feel of France.  Perhaps it's the Celtic influence.  I remembered we'd been here before when we visited D&G back in 2018. The walk took us uphill and into lovely deciduous woods carpeted with wild garlic and bluebells.  We dropped down onto a single track tarmac road at the bottom of a steep hill of granite. Apparently the granite was quarried for many years and was used to make bridges and cathedrals around the world. There were some really lovely (and big!) houses on the granite hilltop, overlooking the muddy estuary.

We walked on and reached the small village of Kippford (///whisk.cascaded.devoured), stopping to buy an ice cream and eating it sheltering from a shower in a covered seating area next to the water.  We chatted to a local waiting for the bus. He knew Anglesey quite well, having worked at the old aluminium plant.  We carried on up to the marina before reversing our route.  After a snooze, Cathy cooked a delicious meal of jacket potatoes cooked in the Ridge Monkey, with some sprouting broccoli and a warmed up chilli we'd brought with us.

The drive to Dundrennan Abbey took about half an hour, thankfully on much better roads than earlier! The long(er) drive gave the Ecoflow power pack time to charge up again.  Having said in my last post that the tech upgrades are doing well, I noticed this morning that the new router was out of power. The 12v-5v wired-in converter with USB-C seems to have failed, so it's been replaced with a normal USB-C cable for now; it'll go back to Amazon when we get home. Amazon seems to have become the new eBay, selling quite a lot of tat from China, some of it of dubious quality...lesson learned.

Parked up on a very slight cross slope (feet downwards thankfully) we had a cup of tea before I took Salty out for a wander into a field running alongside the Abbey.  On the way back I chatted to one of the motorhome owners, who was flying a drone above the Abbey.  The quality of the pictures it takes is amazing and such a great overhead view.  I enjoy watching a few YouTube channels of van life travellers and they all make good use of drone footage.

It should be a quiet night here with just the odd tractor and trailer rumbling past; silage cutting is in full swing here.  But before we button up the van for the night, a little bit of information about the Abbey:

Dundrennan was home to Cistercian monks. Although very austere, the order became very wealthy over time, and their abbeys became places of grand architecture and decoration.  For centuries the monks kept up a daily cycle of worship here. They were assisted by lay brothers. These were members of the monastery who weren't monks: they grew crops and tended sheep in the surrounding fields, generating huge profits from the wool trade.  The abbey declined following the Protestant Reformation of 1560, but was to enjoy one final day in the spotlight of history.  It was here, in May 1568, that the deposed Mary Queen of Scots spent her last hours in her homeland, on her way to exile in England.

Drumburn Viewpoint


Between Rockcliffe and Kippford


Dundrennan Abbey

Tea for Two





Monday 15 May 2023

Caerlaverock castles and aire

Nido's parked up a the Caerlaverock 'Castle Corner Campsite' (///shave.patch.coverings), but it's pretty much an aire. In fact, it's so like an aire that sat here looking out at vans from several countries, we could very easily be in France.  The Dumfries and Galloway communities are smashing it when it comes to motorhome and campervan park-ups.  Caerlaverock Community Council only ask for a £10 donation (cash or via Paypal) which we've paid; this is an absolute bargain for this wonderful park-up, including the full service point.

We had a very peaceful night's sleep at the Barrasgate Farm aire, waking early to clear blue skies and warm sunshine.  On the way out I popped over to speak to the owner - Marion - to thank her for providing such a welcome stopover.  We had a good chat and she knows what campervan and motorhome owners want, so I wish her success and we'll definitely stop there again if passing.

Just a few minutes down the road is the Caerlaverock National Nature Reserve (///shine.simulates.trim).  We pulled up in the small car park, alongside another motorhome and walked through the farm yard and long the tree-lined lane into the nature reserve. 90% of the Reserve is flooded by the high tide twice a day, providing food for nearly 140,000 wintering birds like pintail, shelduck and oystercatcher.  But spring is here now with lots of warm sunshine today. We walked along the well maintained boardwalks, through the reed beds and in to a bird-hide, overlooking the Solway Firth.  There was a profusion of skylarks and lapwings; we could also hear small birds in the reeds but don't know enough to identify them.   

It was then another short hop to this aire.  We walked through the most wonderful mixed deciduous forest, with an abundance of old oak trees and loads of new saplings.  The trees were moss covered and there was plenty of oxalis (wood sorrel) to chew on, with its distinct sharp lemony flavour.  The path meandered through the forest, occasionally popping out to provide lovely views over the Solway Firth.  We arrived at the 'old' Caerlaverock castle first.  There are just the foundations to see now, but there are information boards and markers on the ground to show the halls, courtyard and towers.  Further on was the younger and more substantial 'new' Caerlaverock Castle.  It's an unusual triangular shape with towers and is surrounded by a water moat.  First built in the 13th Century, it was later 'blinged-up' by the Maxwell family in the 17th Century.

After lunch we were planning to move on to another stop just 3 miles up the road, where we planned to spend the night.  Glencaple Pier  (///basically.soldiers.fuse) has parking for several vans, but is popular due to the excellent adjacent cafe and the pub across the road.  In addition, it has superb views over the River Nith, the estuary with the Lakeland Fells in the distance.  It was already very busy so we hightailed it back to Caerlaverock Castle Corner and bagged our old spot, just getting in as several more vans arrived behind us - phew!

We spent the rest of the afternoon chilling out, enjoying the warm sunshine, peace and quiet.  After dinner, as the sun was still shining, we walked back to the castle to wander around, with the lengthening shadows throwing a different light and the ravens and swallows enjoying their sole access to the ruins.

The tech updates to the van seem to be working out.  The Ecoflow River Max 2 is really making a difference in our ability to stay off-grid for longer.  At the moment I'm recharging it as we drive, but with only short hops, we may eventually need to find some electric hook up to fully boost it up.  Perhaps in the future I'll also invest in the solar panels.

Talking of Solar, the new NDS MPPT solar controller is doing its job.  The leisure battery remains topped up and we've no worries about running out of power. The old PWM controller was clearly bust as the battery never seemed to be full, even in the brightest sunshine.

Finally, the Netgear Nighthawk MR1100 LTE router is giving us much better mobile internet access.  The SMARTY SIM doesn't seem to be compatible, so I've replaced it with a Tesco Mobile one for now.  When we travel to France I plan to purchase a SIM from FREE, which will give us more data than we could ever use.  Alongside the new router, the Poynting Puck 2 aerial fitted to the van roof is definitely helping to boost the signal.  So fingers crossed, the tech upgrades are going to really make a difference in the future.

Caerlaverock Castle


Caerlaverock National Nature Reserve

Nature Reserve parking









Excellent service point

At least five different nationalities!