Friday 19 June 2026
Nido's parked up St Cyrus National Nature Reserve. Nature Scot allow up to six vans to stay overnight for a donation of £10. As well as normal toilets open during the day, there's a toilet disposal point, but no access to fresh water. It's rained most of the day and is again now, although we did manage to enjoy two rainless trips out. There's three other vans here and I suspect it'll stay quiet, as Scotland are playing in the World Cup tonight and I imagine most people will be at home or in the pub watching the game.
Yesterday we visited Kellie castle, a National Trust Scotland (NTS) property. We joined NTS as it's cheaper than the English/Welsh version, but it still allows us to visit their properties. The oldest parts of Kellie castle date back to the 14th century. Its ownership passed through several familes, all of whom built on to the original building and added their own individual stamp. The NTS bought it off the last owners - the Lorimers - in 1970. Visits inside the castle can only be made by guided tour, so we booked on to the 1230 tour and spent and hour or so wandering round the walled garden and wildflower meadows. The tour was interesting (some of them can be a bit dry) and not too long, about an hour.
This morning we left the THS after a couple of peaceful nights. We'd been in the same area for a few days, so it was time to head further north. Driving through St Andrews (lots of snooty golf courses and resorts) and Dundee (didn't stop for cake!) we arrived at Barry Mill, just outside Carnoustie (another town that's sold its soul to golf). We walked Salty around the woodlands, but he was spooked by the bird scarers in nearby fields, so he spent the rest of our time there safe inside the van. A mill has stood on this spot since the 12th century. This particular mill dates back to the early 19th century, when it was rebuilt in 1815 following a fire. It closed in the early 1980s and fell into rapid decline before NTS took it on in 1988. We tagged on to an earlier tour group and were lucky enough to see (and hear) the mill in operation; the only have it working on Fridays.
We continued driving north through heavy run, through Montrose and along a very pot-holed single track to St Cyrus. Thankfully the rain held off to allow us to walk over the dunes and on to a long sandy beach, which we had to ourselves. On the horizon were a few oil rig support ships. Salty enjoyed a run around and a dip in the sea and we returned to the van on a different trail, watching out for any peregrines around the tall cliffs just inland, formed at the same time as local volcanic activity. Cathy made a Greek salad for supper, so feeling virtuous after lots of greenery, we also had a creme caramel each!
Tomorrow we'll continue north along the coast and plan to visit a couple more NTS sites. The weather's set to improve from tomorrow and stay warm and dry for the next week, but thankfully not as hot as some will suffer further south.