Wild swimming in the Cairngorms and a view of the Firth of Forth

Sunday 14 July 2024

Nido's parked up at Silver Sands in Aberdour, between Dalgety Bay and Burntisland, on the northern coastline of the Firth of Forth.  There's about a dozen dedicated motorhome parking spaces and we can stay overnight for a voluntary donation.  There's no facilities apart from bins, but we have a sea view, the sandy beach is lovely and across the Forth we can see Edinburgh.  I spent about 15 months living just a few miles from here  - in Rosyth - when I was serving in the Royal Navy but never really had the time or opportunity to explore the area.  But I've sailed in and out of the Firth of Forth more times than I can remember. It's school holidays here and lots of families have been enjoying some fun beach time.  It's a bit grey and windy now though, so it's pretty quiet.

Yesterday I woke early so popped out to service the van before taking Salty for his morning constitutional.  There were five vans parked up overnight, but luckily no ravers or rabble rousers, so we'd all enjoyed a quiet night.  Last night as I put the van to bed, the hinge for the Remis blind on the driver's window snapped.  A quick Google and a couple of YouTube videos later and I learned that: a. this is a common fault (that Remis seem to be ignoring!) and b. replacing the hinge is a bugger of a job because it's really difficult to remove the broken part that slots into one of the arms. I found an English chap on eBay who has no doubt spent hours swearing whilst trying to remove a similar broken hinge on his Remis blind (something I'll be doing next week!), so is now selling the hinges, perhaps 3D printed.  I've ordered a pair and hope the DIY gods are looking down favourably on me when I try to fix it.  That's after I've tried to fix the forever-flushing loo first!

We stopped in Ballater to top up with groceries.  We visited last year and it's looking a little run down since then.  Don't get me wrong, it's still an upmarket place that thrives on its proximity and links to Balmoral Castle and the Royal Family and has multiple new Range Rovers parked up, but the bakery had closed down (lack of staff according to the sign in the window) and even the New Shanghai chinese takeaway next door had lost it's Royal Warrant!  We drove back past Balmoral and onwards, through the small village of Braemar and down a narrow, winding road that followed the River Dee for 5 miles, before crossing the river and doubling back on itself, then carrying on for another 5 miles to the Linn of Quoich, which was our overnight stop.  We stayed here last year and liked the peace, quiet and walks so much.  It costs £5 per day to park - £10 to overnight.  The pay machine takes cash or cards.  If you're a NT Scotland member it's free. Once parked up I promptly got my bike off the rack, changed and cycled the 10 miles back to Braemar!  My plan was to grab a coffee in the village but the one and only tearoom was also a restaurant and looked very posh as I stuck my nose to the window - so definitely not for me.  I ended up with a Costa coffee from the local shop which was dreadful.  Only as I walked with my bike down to find a bench did I notice that the local fish and chip shop had a full-blown Italian coffee machine - drat!

I retraced my route back to the van.  With everything put away and changed, we headed off on what was planned to be a circular walk along the Linn.  It was everything we remembered, with ancient Caledonian pines and water gushing through very narrow gorges and tumbling across waterfalls, with the odd quieter area that would be ideal for a wild swim....if this summer wasn't more like late Autumn!  We managed to tackle a good section of the waterside path but it looked like a recent landslide of rocks had taken out the path and there was no alternative but to reverse our route.  By the time we returned all the day trippers had left and we had the place to ourselves; the silence is deafening.  Dinner cooked and eaten, cup of tea and shortbread consumed (note to self - add more shortbread to the shopping list), the rest of the evening was spent reading or staring out at the forest and mountains, the latter capped by slow moving low clouds.

View of Nido from across the valley

This morning we woke to hot sunshine - hallelujah!  Kettle on, I took Salty for his morning walk and Cathy made breakfast which we ate sat outside, only the second time we've been able to do so this trip.  But the beauty of Scotland doesn't rely on blue skies and sunshine; in fact it's enhanced by the clouds and watching the rain race in then quickly pass over.  After our walk last night, I suggested we return for that wild swim.  We quickly changed, packed a rucksack with towels and walked back to one of the spots we found last night.  The sun was shining on the smooth, flat rocks - a perfect place to change and dry off later.  The first steps were very cold but we took the plunge and were soon whooping with joy in the oxygenated, green-tinted but clear water.  It was a fantastic swim; we felt ALIVE!  These moments have to be grabbed, enjoyed and banked for the future.  We sat on the rocks awhile to dry off and enjoy the warm sunshine before changing and walking back to the van. We'll certainly be looking out for further wild swimming spots.  Back at the van we had a hot cup of tea, packed up and hit the road.

Linn of Quoich

Our swimming spot!

A quick stop at Tesco in Blairgowrie to refuel before carrying on south to our current stopover. Supper tonight was vegetables roasted in the Omnia, with boiled basmati rice.  We wrapped up for our evening walk as the wind coming off the Forth was chilly. After a walk up to the Ha Lighthouse, we had a quick wander on the beach before returning to a warm van for Cava and snacks and some Sunday night YouTube catch up.  We have that EU vibe again, with half the vans parked up around us from Germany and the Netherlands.  It's only five weeks until we cross over to France for a few weeks; I have a few repairs to do on the van before then!

Tonight's park up in Aberdour

Edinburgh across the Firth of Forth

Cava, snacks and YouTube!

Pictish Stones and Royal Cairns

Friday 12 July 2024

Nido's parked up at the Muir of Dinnet National Nature Reserve, on the Burn 'o Vat car park.  We stayed here last year and decided to return.  It's quiet, surrounded by trees and just over the road from Loch Kinord.  The parking spaces are a bit tight and there are - for some reason -  large boulders placed at the side of the spaces which, if the car park's busy tomorrow morning when we leave, could provide me with some interesting manoeuvring to get out.  This is a great little spot too as it has fresh water and a chemical toilet dump for motorhomes, situated outside the toilets, which stay open 24/7.  It's another excellent 'free but we hope you'll make a donation' provided by NatureScot and I was very happy to do so; there's a QR code on the noticeboard of the visitor centre to make a card donation, or cash donations can also be made.  The car park gets its name from the amazing bowl-shaped geological feature created by glacial melt at the end of the last Ice Age, which is a few minutes walk from the car park.  There's a narrow entrance-way which requires a clamber over rocks and crossing a stream,  which leads to a natural amphitheatre  It feels a bit like an Indiana Jones moment as you pass through, with giant moss covered boulders, cliffs dripping with ferns and a waterfall at the end.  It's definitely worth a visit if you're in the area.

There was no rain yesterday, but a cold wind had us walking in several layers.  We left Cullen heading for walk along the Speyside Way starting in Cragganmore.  The route we took was along the disused railway line, starting at the old train station (now a private house).  We enjoyed a peaceful walk for half an hour or so before retracing our steps.  On the way to our stopover I saw the sign for Inveravon Church and the Pictish Stones, so took the narrow single lane track down to a small parking area. The Picts were native inhabitants of much of what is now called Scotland in the 1st millennium AD.  The stones were created around the 6th century onwards. Most of the symbols on the stones are abstract, based on geometric shapes like the circle, crescent and rectangle.  Some symbols, such as the mirror and comb are easily identified.  Others are of animals including the eagle, salmon or snake.  The stones are stood within the porch of the church and, unlike many such artefacts, you can get right up and touch them.

Speyside Way - photobomber at the bottom!

Retracing our route back to the main road, we later passed the Walkers Shortbread HQ and factory - a well known Scottish biscuit - just outside Charlestown.  In Charlestown High Street there was one of the original Joseph Walker shops, so I pulled in to buy some cake and biscuits...well it's got to be done!

Our stopover for the night was in the car park of the Tomintoul Bowling Club.  They've set it up as a campsite with 8 pitches, all with electric if you want it.  Although you can just turn up, I actually called them yesterday and booked a pitch, which was just as well because all were taken; once we'd arrived a few vans turned up but had to leave as there was no spaces available.  They have toilets open 24/7 and fresh water and bins but no toilet cassette dump.  Payment is cash stuffed in an envelope and posted into an honesty box.  Another great community initiative which must bring in some decent income.  After lunch we took a walk around the village.  It's not huge and set out in a grid system with streets running parallel and at right angles to each other, so it was easy to wander around.  It's only a small place so it didn't take long.  We bought an ice cream and sat on a bench watching the world go by....just like and old couple in their 60s!  I cooked a curry and we sat and watched some YouTube before turning in for the night. 

Tomintoul bowling club campsite

We planned an early start this morning to ensure we could get a decent parking spot at the Balmoral car park.  We had a quick cup of tea then prepared to the van to leave.  But we had a strange fault on the toilet.  The Thetford toilet was secondhand when it was installed 10 years ago (long story, best forgotten), so it's no surprise it's now feeling its age a bit.  It has an electronic flush system, with the flush water provided by a separate cistern which has a filling point outside the van (it came off a caravan - long story, best forgotten).  This morning, when pressed, the flush continued to - well - flush even after the button had been released.  The quickest way to stop it was to switch off the water pump on the van's control panel, which provides the power to the toilet flush.  However, we need this on to use the water taps.  After a bit of playing around I couldn't get it to stop, so simply removed the toilet's fuse, which is situated under the cistern just behind the toilet holding tank - accessed from the external toilet cassette hatch.  A bit of Googling suggests I made need to replace the control panel - thankfully it's nowhere near as expensive as the two control panels recently replaced on our Thetford fridge.  Thetford as a company are not easy to deal with and almost impossible to contact to discuss fault-finding.  I think they know it's quite a small marketplace - them and Dometic - so they can charge what they like for their products and have no need to provide any form of customer service...rant over!  Luckily we have a husband and wife company close to home who provide an excellent service in mobile motorhome repairs.  With the toilet, however, I'm going to have a go at fixing it myself when we get home...what could go wrong!

Toilet flush power isolated (we have a spray bottle as an alternative), we drove the 40 minutes to the Balmoral car park.  It's £5 to park for the day and motorhomes can stop overnight for £10.  There's nothing there though - well apart from a whacking great castle - and it's next to a busy road, so it's not on our list of places to stop over.   The journey was an interesting one, across the featureless high grouse moors between Tomintoul and Cockbridge.   These two places often feature in the winter on the traffic news, when the snow gates between the two have to be closed.

On arrival we had breakfast and Cathy made our picnic lunch before we started a 6 mile walk around the adjacent forest, following a route taking in all 8 of the Cairns dedicated to the family of Queen Victoria.  We walked with a couple of groups at the start, making our way up the steep forest path, passing one small cairn before reaching the summit at the impressive pyramid Aire dedicated to Queen Victoria's late husband - Prince Albert.  Once passed there we left our fellow walkers behind; I suspect most people walk to this point then return to their cars.  The walk meandered up and down paths through the pine and birch forest and we stopped off at various points to walk around the Cairns and take in the impressive views from some of them. We had our lunch sat on rocks with a magnificent view of the distant mountains.  

Back at the van it was a 15 minute drive to our current stopover.  Hot showers were enjoyed (I'll never get over the novelty of having a shower in a car park!) and I cooked a simple meal of quesadillas (using up some wraps, ham, cheese and red onion) with a salad.  It's now very quiet here as the day trippers have left and only three vans are parked up.  I'm quite surprised more aren't here as it's a lovely place to overnight.   We've seen a lot of French, German and Czech Republic motorhomes in the past few days; either the Scottish Tourist Board are marketing the country throughout the EU or our fellow Europeans are glad to come somewhere in the UK that looks and feels like the EU and where motorhomes are welcomed, not shunned.  We've had a cup of tea and our heads are tiredly nodding after a very enjoyable walk.  Salty has already turned in for the night!

Prince Albert Cairn - photobombed by Salty

King of the Castle

Lunch stop view

Balmoral Castle in the middle 

Waterfalls, mountains and lochans

Monday 8 July 2024

Nido's parked up on a Camping and Caravanning Club Temporary Holiday Site (THS) in Nethy Bridge, a few miles north of Aviemore.  These pop-up campsites are very handy for the campervanner (and caravanner) as they offer cheap stop overs - usually in a field in a quiet location - with basic facilities and in most cases no need to book - just turn up, show your membership card and pay the fee.  In this case it's £10 per night.  The THS are usually run by a DA - District Association - and they tend to meet at the same places every year.  So they all tend to know each other but are equally welcoming to itinerant 'just turn-uppers' like us!  The very friendly Stewards booked us in, showed us the service points and offered several places to pitch up for the next couple of days.  It's a quiet little village in the middle of a forest and it feels very French, with its community sports facilities, honesty boxes and small recycling area.  We're looking forward to not having to drive anywhere tomorrow.  Hopefully, if the weather holds, I'll get the bike off the rack and explore the local area a little more.

Yesterday's route from Aberfeldy took us along some winding B roads before joining the A9, the main artery running up and down the western edge of the Cairngorms.  Regular heavy rain showers pounded the van and these continued on and off for the rest of the day, until about 7pm when the clouds cleared and the sun shone.  But with little wind the midges arrived; not in huge numbers like on the west coast, but enough to force us to close the van door and engage the fly screens across the open skylight.

We parked up in an almost empty car park at Pattack Falls.  This surprised me a little.  It being a Sunday in July I thought it would be busy and was expecting difficulties in finding a spot.  Later, when we returned from our walk, it was busier.  I suspect the unseasonal weather has kept people at home.  The waterfalls are very close to the car park so perhaps people arrive for a quick look at the tumbling waters before quickly returning to their cars and heading for the nearest cafe.  We continued on up the path through the birch trees, grazing on the succulent and tasty bilberries. As we joined a forest track, the sign post for the lost village of Druim an Aird pointed to the right. However my book of walks suggested turning left so we did.  For anyone interested, it's a small book (about A6 in size) titled '40 Shorter Walks - Aviemore and the Cairngorms' by Paul & Helen Webster.  It contains (unsurprisingly) 40 mainly circular walks 'stretching from the ancient region of Badenoch and the wild-life packed upper reaches of the Spey Valley, through the outdoor sports hub of Aviemore and Grantown and Tomintoul, then over Ballater and Royal Deeside to Braemar' (so says the spiel on the back cover of the book).  

Anyway, back to the walk.  The guide book suggested walking past the cottage and taking a path marked Dalwhinnie, then through a gate and steadily climbing towards the pine forest.  The problem was since the book was written, the 'steadily climbing' path had been obliterated by tree felling.  This resulted in a battle of the wills to cross bog, dykes and dead tree trunks in a vain effort to find the long-lost path!  We eventually found it close to the pine forest entrance, where we stopped to devour our sandwiches with a flask of tea. A journey of about a quarter of a mile had taken the best part of an hour; we're too old for all this now!  But once in the plantation we followed the firebreak through the pines before reaching the lost village of Druim an Aird.  A strategically placed wooden bench provided some respite for another cuppa and a twix, before we explored the ruins.  With the long grass it was difficult to make out the remnants of the buildings and enclosures, but the boundaries made of large stones were still clear. There's no record of why the village was abandoned, but one theory is the the villagers left after their menfolk had died in a snowstorm returning from celebrating a wedding.  Or perhaps they couldn't find the path because the loggers had felled all the trees and blocked it with the remnants!  We followed a signed track back to the car park, by which time it was raining quite heavily.  After hanging wet coats in the bathroom and rubbing down a wet dog, we drove the short 6 miles to the Creag Meagaidh National Nature Reserve, where we could stopover for the night in their large car park. It was still raining so while Cathy had a snooze I cooked some dahl, which we had with chapatis.  Later in the evening the rain disappeared and the sun shone.  I took Salty for a quick meander (aka a wee for him!) but the midges drove us back quite quickly.  There were several vans parked up for the night; another big plus for Scotland vs the rest of the UK - they positively encourage motorhomes and camper vans.

Where's the path gone?

We drove through Dull - it didn't look at all boring!

This morning before breakfast we took a very enjoyable circular walk past the Creag Meagaidh NNR buildings and up a marked path to a viewpoint, with a 360' view of the surrounding mountains and Loch Laggan.  Although only just under 2km long, the walk highlighted the beauty of the Reserve and surrounding countryside.  Back at the van I made a donation towards the running costs as the sign welcoming us campers suggested.  If you do stay over, please do consider a donation; it keeps their valuable work going and ensures future campers will be welcomed.

Heading onwards and northwards, our next walk was again from the '40 Shorter Walks - Aviemore and the Cairngorms' book - Uath Lochans and Inshriach Forest.  As we drove into the tree-soaked car park, the surface of the adjacent lochan (a little loch) was like a mirror, reflecting the surrounding pines, mountains and sky.  It took a while for our eyes to adjust to this optical illusion and, although we took photos, they don't justify the real thing.  Cathy had prepared food and a flask and we headed off on the trail, following the red-topped marker posts, which matched the route in the book.  We climbed to the top of Farleitter Crag to be met with an incredible view, taking in the lochans, Glen Feshie and the mountains beyond.  The silence was deafening with not a puff of wind and we felt like we'd been transported to the Canadian Rockies; at any moment we expected to spot a bear lazily rubbing it's back on one of the scots pines!  We stopped to soak up the view and carried on walking along the ridge, soon coming across a wooden bench next to a large boulder, which overlooked Loch Insh, the marshes and the river Spey - a perfect place to stop and enjoy our lunch.  The route down continued through the scots pine plantation, with plenty of bilberries to enjoy for pudding. Don't worry, we left plenty for the wildlife!  The trees were dripping with mosses and lichens of many colours and sizes, reminding us of those we'd seen in South Carolina.  

Moving on, we made a brief stop at the Tesco in a very busy and touristy Aviemore before carrying on to Nethy Bridge.  Now fed and watered, the silence of the day has continued and I'm enjoying watching the sun start to set through the clouds. The weather's been changeable with lots of heavy rain showers, but we've also had some short but glorious spells of hot sunshine, made all the better for the brief appearance.

Perfect lunch stop

The Cairngorms and Scottish Borders

Thursday 13 July 2023

Nido's parked up at another Forest and Land Scotland park-up, this time at Innerleithen in the Scottish Borders.  It's another nice quiet one with great views over the hills.  The adjacent hilly forest is said to have some of the best mountain biking trails in Europe; certainly the youngsters there today seem to be having lots of fun.  This is the final night park-up of this trip as we decided to head home from here, rather than stay on a temporary holiday site in Lancashire tomorrow night, which was our original plan.

On Tuesday our plan was to stay on at Rosehearty for one more night.  But we decided to move on.  We drove down to the Burn o' Vat visitor centre, where we can park up for the night and they have fresh water and a toilet disposal point. They ask for a donation to the Park Scotland charity, which we were very happy to make.  After a quick lunch we started a circular walk in the forest of the Muir of Dinnet, which also took in the Vat, an amazing natural amphitheatre accessed through a narrow gap in the rocks across the burn.  The Vat was carved from the stone by action of raging glacial meltwaters at the end of the last ice age.  The burn level was low, so it wasn't a difficult climb in - even for an old git like me!  The view inside the Vat was incredible and the waterfall, although quite gentle when we visited, must be something to see when in spate.  We carried on, ascending through pine forests before passing through open heather-clad ground before dropping back through a large birchwood.  We had glimpses of Loch Davan to our left.  It just started to rain as we walked the last 400m to the van. I cooked dinner and we spent the rest of the evening chilling out.

Yesterday morning we both slept until 0900. After breakfast we drove the 5 miles into Ballater and parked in the free car park in the middle of the village.  We left Salty in the van and had a quick walk around to get our bearings and doing a bit of shopping in the butchers (Haggis), bakery (pasty and pie) and Co-op, before going back, packing a rucksack with coats, water and some snacks and heading out for a walk.  We did the Seven Bridges circular walk, which is very well marked with blue arrows and way marker posts.  Taking us first along the edge of the river Dee through oak forest, we crossed the river again at Polhollick Bridge, an elegant white suspension bridge with a warning sign that only 4 people should be on it at any one time!  It took us into Dalliefour Wood, a Scots pine plantation with good views to Craigendarroch, the oak-clad hill above Ballater.  The path widened and flattened off and after 1k we turned onto a road (with short sections moving off the road onto a separate path) which took us back to Ballater via the Royal Bridge, opened by Queen Victoria in 1885; it had several predecessors, all of which succumbed to the might of the Dee in full flood.  Back in the van, the pie and pasty were heated up and enjoyed with a cup of tea.

It was an 18 mile drive to the Linn of Quoich car park, mainly because the single track road follows the Dee for 9 miles from Braemar, before crossing the river and doubling back on itself. The Linn of Quoich, is on the Mar Lodge Estate National Nature Reserve, run by National Trust Scotland.  Braemar's about 9 miles away by road, but only a few miles as the crow flies and I could just make out the top of Braemar castle over to our left.  Although we're not NTS members, it only costs £3 to park here for 24 hours.  We're were the only van there.  Supper was a simple meal of toasted Ballater traditional breaded with a ratatouille bruschetta topping and some pork steaks.  We had a quick walk with Salty down to the river before returning to the van for the evening.  It was very still and quiet and Salty is going bonkers because I think there are rabbits - or maybe haggis - running outside the van!

This morning we were up early and had a longer walk along the Linn.  It is absolutely stunning, with the river cascading across flat rocks and through narrow gorges, with a few deeper areas that would be ideal for a swim. On both sides are Scots pines in what is a remnant of the ancient Caledonian Forest.  It's by far the most beautiful place we've visited on this trip.  We walked for about an hour, stopping to soak up the atmosphere and watch the white water and the dippers doing their thing on the water's edge. Back at the van, breakfasted and showered we were just preparing the van to leave when the Ranger turned up.  I had a chat with her and thanked her for allowing us to stay.  She said a few vans had been breaching the one night stay rule and leaving litter, so the Estate was considering whether they want to continue to allow vans to stay overnight.  If the few ruined it for the many, it would be a great shame.  If you're in the area do visit - you won't be disappointed.

Our journey south took us via Perth and over the new bridge that spans the Firth of Forth.  I spent about 15 months in Rosyth when HMS WESTMINSTER - the last RN warship I served in - was in refit there. Looking across I could just make out HMS PRINCE OF WALES in the dockyard, which is in repair after mechanical issues.  Further down the road I saw we would pass Rosslyn Chapel.  This is somewhere I've wanted to visit for some time, as I have a interest in the history of the Knights Templar, both in their bases in Europe and, in the latter stages of their existence, in Scotland.  We arrived but the parking was rammed, strangely with lots of EU motorhomes, so we turned away and carried on.  I think it's popular with vans of the Da Vinci Code (book and film) as it appears in the final chapters.

Arriving at Innerliethen we took Salty for a quick walk before sitting outside with a cup of tea, soaking up the sunshine and the views and listening to the pipe bands and brass bands as they played in the distance.  I'm not sure if this was a show or practice for the Highland Games, but it was lovely to listen to. It's quiet now, the sun has just set behind the hills and there's only one other motorhome here....plus lots of rabbits that Salty is taking a great interest in!  I found another tick on him this morning (that makes it a total of three) and then found one on my left calf!  We carry the tools to remove them so all was sorted, but it was a reminder to pay more attention when doing the post-walk tick check in the future.

Tomorrow we head home.  We'll stop somewhere for lunch and a leg stretch and then face the horrors of IKEA again in Warrington, as Cathy wants another memory foam pillow plus a towel rail for the van.  We've had an excellent two weeks in Scotland with some outstanding weather and have seen and stayed in some lovely places.  The final stage of the trip - the Cairngorms - was absolutely stunning.  We only saw a small part of it so will definitely return to see more of it.  Next up is France, a 6-week trip starting later next month.  So there's some time to sort out a few niggling issues with the van and hopefully get the Thetford fridge checked and fixed.  Weirdly, since I reported the issued to CMS, it's been working fine!  Debbie and Paul at CMS have been excellent and we've swapped a few emails to discuss and gather information on the issue.  The current thinking is it might be a 12V DC power supply issue, rather than a PCB replacement, but I'm confident Paul will diagnose the fault.

Until we check in to the Eurotunnel....catch you on the other side!

Entrance to the Vat

Excellent haggis and sausages

Chinese takeway - by Royal Appointment!

Seven Bridges walk from Ballater

Linn of Quoich park up

Abandoned but what a view!

Wild swimming spot

Staying back from the edge!

Final park-up of the trip