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.

Rainy Uists

Thursday 11 September 2025

Nido's parked up at a CL in North Boisdale in South Uist.  We parked by a barn which is providing some shelter from the strong winds and heavy rain that's been with us for a couple of days.  It's good to be hooked up to electric to recharge the leisure battery and also dry out our wet coats and boots.

As we left Baleshore beach yesterday we notice a dead whale had washed up on the beach.  We didn't stop to check it out as it raining hard and the gulls were having a feast, but apparently it's a regular occurrence in these parts.  Our first stop was the Scandinavian Bakery, inside the community all in Grimsay. I bought a couple of pastries to takeaway and had a quick espresso, which hit the spot on a windy rainy morning!  Our next stop was Maclennan's supermarket in Balivanich on Benbecula. 

Provisioned up again, I drove us from east to west to a park up near Peter's Port, a small fishing harbour.  On the way, as we drove across one of the many causeways here, an adult otter appeared and crossed the road about 20m in front of us.  I was the only vehicle around so was able to slow down and we watched it cross and slip into the water on the other side.  At Peter's Port we ate our lunch and half the pastries before taking a walk down to the deserted harbour; I guess the bad weather has kept all the fishing boats alongside.

Our final stop for the night was a park up at the RSPB Nature Reserve at Loch Druidberg, where we joined several other vans who no doubt had also decided to stop driving and rest.  The wind and rain continued but during a gap in the showers we took Salty for a walk and down to a community woodland growing between two lochs.  The bad weather continued through the night and we were rocked around, with the wind rattling the skylights.

This morning the winds were stronger and the rain heavier, so after breakfast we continued south and visited the very interesting Kildonan Museum before arriving at this CL.  The owners weren't in, but I was able to park up in the shelter of the large barn, hook up to electric and service the van, then take Salty for a walk.  With the heating on, my waterproofs were able to dry out and not be hanging around in the van all night.  We've spent the afternoon reading and staying in the warm, although Salty has needed the occasional walk, but he didn't want to stay out for long either!

The weather is still awful but it's forecast to start improving slowly overnight and into the morning.  We're booked on the 1015 ferry to Barra tomorrow and won't know until the morning whether it's running; today all local Cal Mac ferries were cancelled and there's the risk of the same tomorrow.  If so, I'll try and book an alternative, noting we're also booked on the Barra to Oban ferry on Monday morning, although at the moment the forecast looks better.  If that plan fails we'll need to spend a bit more time here, but that's all part of the adventure!