Portpatrick and Laurieston Forest

Saturday 20 September 2025

Nido's wild-camping at a rural parking area at Orton Quarry, a few miles off the M6 north east from Tebay.  It's absolutely tipping down and we're here with another motorhome.  The rain started as we crossed the border into England, but it's due to stop in the early hours and tomorrow promises to be a dry and sunny day.

Yesterday we visited the harbour town of Portpatrick, a small village in southwestern Scotland, historically significant as a port for ferries crossing to Ireland. Its development began in the 18th century, with the construction of a harbour to support trade and fishing. The village's strategic location made it a key stop for maritime activity, particularly during the 19th century when it was a vital link between Scotland and Ireland. Over time, Portpatrick evolved into a popular tourist destination, renowned for its scenic beauty and historical charm, including remnants of its maritime past.

First we walked up the steep steps and along a narrow bridge to the ruins of Dunskey castle. It dates back to the 16th century and was likely built by the Adair family. Positioned on a rugged cliff overlooking the sea, it played a defensive role and became a symbol of the region’s power and influence. The castle’s design reflects typical Scottish strongholds of the time, with thick walls and narrow windows. By the 18th century, Dunskey fell into disrepair, and much of its structure was lost to time and erosion. Today, the castle’s ruins remain a picturesque landmark on a dramatic coastal promontory.  We took our time exploring and trying to guess what would have been in each room and tower.  

Back in the village, we walked around the harbour to the RNLI station, watching the waves crash on the rocks, before returning to the van for lunch.  Our next stop was to be a wild camp in the forest, but first we stopped in Castle Douglas to get an Indian takeaway meal. Fifteen minutes later we were parked up alone in Laurieston Forest. The indian meal was delicious and it was soon dark with no sounds apart from the owls I heard when taking Salty out for his last walk of the evening.

This morning we walked the one mile circular walk that follows Kenick Burn.  The trees were dripping with dark green moss and there were loads of different fungi on the ground and fallen tree trunks.  The burn was flowing well after several days of rain and, apart from one section at the end, we managed to avoid any wet paths.    

Leaving our wild-camping spot, we drove to the Threave Nature Reserve and enjoyed following the trail around the river and wetlands, with several wildlife hides, plus a view of Threave castle on the opposite bank.

I'd found a car park in Dumfries where I hoped we could have lunch and take a walk, but being Saturday it was busy and all the parking was taken, so after a quick fill of diesel (enough to get us home), we drove on to this spot, with the aim of having a shorter journey tomorrow.

This is our last night of this trip and we'll be heading off early to drive home tomorrow.  Thankfully the weather forecast is much better so the drive should be easier.  We've really enjoyed almost a month in Scotland, despite some inclement weather.  The Outer Hebrides were amazing and, with the four ferry journeys, it did feel like a proper trip away.  We had a handful of warm sunny days and made the most of them, but even in the wind and rain, the islands and particularly the beaches were stunning.

Parked up on an airfield

Thursday 18 September 2025

Nido's parked up on the Scar Park CAMpRA aire, overlooking Stranraer and the two ferry ports.  This used to be an RAF Seaplane base and the five huge pitches are on the concrete plane parking spots.  Our nearest van neighbour is therefore at least 50m away!  It's a bit grey and drizzly but the views are still excellent and I can hear curlews calling on the low tide areas.

After leaving the Highfield campsite our next planned stop was in the town of Largs, on a free motorhome parking area next to the Yacht Haven. On the way we stopped at Lochwinnoch - with a view of the loch - for lunch.  It was quite a busy place and the huge piles of goose poo on the pavement sort of put us off having a walk!  It was quite warm out when we parked up in Largs and we walked along the promenade towards the town.  We fancied fish and chips for tea, but they were a 35 minute walk away (each way) and we wanted to eat them in the van, so it would have meant driving into town and finding (difficult to find) parking close to the chippy.  Also, whilst the park up was level and seemed safe, it didn't have a view and we weren't really feeling it.

Instead we drove another 20 minutes down the road to another free park up, this time in a car park next to Saltcoats harbour and looking directly west over the sea.  Saltcoats, a coastal town in North Ayrshire, Scotland, grew from a small medieval settlement known for salt panning, which gave the town its name. By the 17th century, it expanded into a hub for fishing and handloom weaving, later developing strong ties to shipbuilding and coal exports. Its sandy beaches and railway links transformed Saltcoats into a popular Victorian seaside resort, attracting visitors from Glasgow and beyond. Although heavy industries declined in the 20th century, the town remains part of the "Three Towns" area with Ardrossan and Stevenston, preserving its maritime heritage and seaside character.

The  chippy was just across the road from the park up, so that was ideal.  The fish and chips were tasty and cheap and afterwards we took a walk along the harbour wall, ducking from the occasional waves breaking over the top!  During the night the wind really picked up, but it was a quiet spot and we slept well.

This morning it took about 50 minutes to drive to Culzean Castle and Gardens, a NT Scotland property on the coast near Maybole.  Culzean Castle, perched on Ayrshire’s coast, was transformed in the late 18th century by architect Robert Adam for David Kennedy, 10th Earl of Cassillis. Built on the site of an older fortified tower, it became a grand example of Scottish baronial style, blending elegance with dramatic coastal views. The surrounding gardens and parkland, landscaped with woodlands and follies, enhanced its status as a showcase estate. In 1945, the Kennedy family gifted the castle to the National Trust for Scotland, granting U.S. President Eisenhower an apartment in recognition of wartime support.

We arrived early so there was plenty of space to park our van.  We did notice later, however, that a couple of larger motorhomes had to park across 2 - 3 parking spaces as none of them were long enough; NTS would benefit from creating some dedicated motorhome parking.  We weren't bothered about visiting inside the castle, but we did enjoy our walk around the large estate and gardens, in particular the walled garden and greenhouses were lovely.  We spent almost 3 hours walking around before returning to the van for a well-earned lunch.

On the drive to the Scar Park aire, we passed the Trump Turnberry golf resort.  It's a really weird place, looking like they've picked up fancy houses and buildings from Florida and just dropped them into this windswept part of the southern Scottish coast; they looked really out of place.   

As I'd already pre-booked and paid for the aire, we drove along the concrete runway to Pitch 5, which is the closest to the sea.  Having had lunch we're not feeling hungry so may just have something light later and catch up on YouTube.  In the meantime I'm enjoying looking out over the bay and watching the wading birds.

Vatersay and back on the mainland

Tuesday 16 September 2025

Nido's parked up on the Highfield campsite in Benderloch, about 20 minutes drive north of Oban.  It's a lovely, well kept private site and cheaper than the CAMC and C&CC sites (of which we pay to be members), plus there are no 'white posts' we must park between or guards (I mean Wardens) marching around checking we've parked between said  'white posts'....go figure!  This is our second night here and it's been a welcome break after our early morning ferry crossing yesterday and also nice to have a day off driving.

After leaving the Scurrival campsite on Barra we drove 30 minutes to a pull in on Vatersay, just past the community hall and cafe.  There were beaches to the east and west of us, just over the sand dunes. The east beach is generally known as the more sheltered and it's said to be like a Caribbean beach.  The west beach faces the North Atlantic and the (normally) prevailing winds, so is usually rougher.  However, on this occasion the winds were from the SE, so we experienced the opposite.  We walked on both and I think the wind and rain gave us a different experience than those in the guide books; from our experience there are better beaches in the Outer Hebrides.  After a wind-swept walk on both sides, Cathy and Salty returned to the van and I popped into the community cafe to buy some cake.  The weather was dreadful - heavy rain and strong wind, so we had our meal and an early night, alarm clock set for the morning.

At 4am yesterday morning we woke to zero wind but not zero rain. I took Salty out while the kettle boiled and we had a quick muesli breakfast with our cup of tea, before driving the 15 minutes on a very narrow track to the ferryport in Castlebay.  Salty stayed in the van for the crossing as it's less stressful for him. There were very few of us on the ship so we could have easily found a spot to lay out and sleep.  Instead we had a tasty Scottish cooked breakfast then sat in comfy chairs, reading and looking out over the sea for the 4.5 hours crossing to Oban.  It was very calm and we disembarked on time, driving to Tesco for a food shop and diesel.

The 20 minute drive to this campsite seemed very busy and noisy after two weeks on the very quiet, single-track roads of the Outer Hebrides.  Pitched and hooked up, we walked to the beach to stretch our legs after an early morning start.  After dinner and a couple of YouTube videos, our eyelids were drooping and we all slept well.

This morning Cathy had her first online Welsh lesson of the new 'school' year, so I took Salty down to the beach and the dunes for a dip and a long sniff down the rabbit holes!  After lunch we walked again through the forest to the Otter Pond (actually a trout fly-fishing pond) before returning and sitting out in the sun until it disappeared behind the trees.  We were stuffed after a chicken curry and daal meal, with some naan I made from scratch.  Now it's quiet, and we're all tired from a mentally (Cathy) and physical (me) day.  Time to sleep!

Barra and planes landing on the beach

Saturday 13 September 2025

Nido's parked up on Scurrival campsite, right at the top of the island of Barra.  Our pitch has great views over the sea and islands and out towards Eriskay to the north.  Behind us, just over the hill, is the North Atlantic.  It's a quirky site, with showers, toilets, washing machine, a fully fitted kitchen and a sitting room, all within what used to be a bungalow lived in by previous owners.  Angus owns the campsite but the day to day running is done by Colin, an extremely helpful and informative man with a great sense of humour, who every March leaves his home in Cheshire in his motorhome and drives up to the site, leaving at the end of the season in October.  At £22 per night including EHU, it's probably the cheapest campsite on the island and certainly has magnificent views.

Yesterday morning the winds had abated enough to allow the Eriskay to Ardmhor ferry to resume its timetable after 24 hours of cancellation.  It's a small RO-RO ferry with a tiny lounge on one side, plus outdoor seating on the deck above.  The journey took 45 minutes and we arrived a bit windswept and salt-laden at Ardmhor ferryport.  The campsite was about 15 minutes drive, passing Barra airport on the way.  This is one of the most unusual airports in the world, where the small planes can only operate at low tide and actually land and take off from the wet beach.  

Whale vertebrae at the CL - my welly for size comparison!

Once pitched up we walked down to the sandy beach as the tide was receding and walked about 2 miles around the bay, before reversing our route.  After a couple of days cooped up in the van it was lovely to stretch our legs and enjoy some sunshine, interspersed with a couple of very short, rain showers.  Back at the van I followed our normal Friday home routine - made a salad and cooked a pizza in the Ridge Monkey and we watched the exPawers weekly YouTube vlog.

This morning was a bit cloudy and Salty and I were rained on during our first walk.  Breakfast was some of the excellent smoked salmon we bought from the Hebridean Smokehouse, with scrambled eggs and toast.  The plan for today was to drive around the coast of Barra, so we had to pack up the van and headed off down past the beach airport and towards the main road.  The Barra ring road follows the coast and we went anti-clockwise first, passing a couple of beaches and through Castlebay, before looping back to our start point.  

I then reversed the route (it's not that long) and we drove back, stopping at Castlebay to find the way to the ferry check-in (when we go on Monday morning it will still be dark when we arrive there) and on to layby parking.  A short walk back down the single-track road and over the dunes and we were on a sandy beach, with the North Atlantic waves pounding on to the shore.  We had it all to ourselves and by now the sun was out and it was HOT!  At the end of the beach was a small secluded cove.  Cathy decided to have a swim, but we had no costumes or towels with us so, with nobody about, she just skinny-dipped in the Atlantic!  I would of course have joined her, but Salty and I need to stay on the beach and act as shark-watch guards!  She was buzzing on the walk back and returning to the van I made her a pot of hot tea (I had an espresso) and we sat on an adjacent bench in the hot sunshine, watching the waves and just chilling; we'd waited a long time to do that!  On the way back, as we drove towards the beach airport, we timed it perfectly as a plane took a short run along the wet beach and took off right next to us.

Skinny-dipping in the Atlantic!

Back on the campsite we sat outside on our chairs for the first (and probably only) time in the Outer Hebrides, drinking tea and eating our meal until it was a bit chilly.  The sun's still out though so it's toasty warm inside the van, so we'll have tea and cake later and look out to sea to try and spot any passing dolphins or porpoises.