Our big 'adventure' for 2024 is a two month trip to Scotland - visiting our families on the way up and on the way back. We decided to tour the lower part of Scotland, mainly Dumfries & Galloway and the Scottish Borders.
We set off on Tuesday 14 May and our first site was Stanmore Hall Touring Park which is the site we use when visiting Steve's family. We both like this site, it's very well maintained and the peacocks were looking glorious. It was a lovely sunny afternoon so after setting up on site we went for a short walk in the Country Park before having showers and settling down for the evening.
On Wednesday we left the site and drove to see Steve's mother at home before heading to the Care Home to see his father. We stayed until early afternoon when we returned to the site, set up quickly so we could go for another walk in the Country Park.
We had a misty start to the day on Thursday when it was our day to travel to Spring Paddock Touring Park for a visit to my family. We drove through heavy rain but thankfully it stopped whilst we were setting up. After our tiring family visit the previous day we decided to stay on site in the afternoon which turned out to be a good decision as it poured with rain. In the evening my niece and her partner came to visit us at the site.
On Friday and drove to Rugeley see my mother and sister, returning to the site early afternoon. It was a lovely sunny afternoon - such a change from the previous day - so we walked to the Chetwynd Arms for a drink before walking back to the site for the evening.
On Saturday we drove to Troutbeck Head Club Campsite near Penrith. We had visited this site when we visited the Lake District a couple of years ago and although it's not one of our favourite sites it's not too far from the motorway and is ideal as a stop-over to break a long journey. After setting up on site we had a short walk along some of the forest trails before returning to site to sit in the sun.
Pitch 63 Troutbeck Head
Sunday (19 May) was our day to head to Scotland for the start of our 'adventure' and our first site was Landis Farm at New Abbey. The site is a CL on a working farm and last year was named the best CL in Scotland and Northern Ireland. The site is in a lovely location and although the facilities were basic, they were very clean. We set up quickly and had a short walk into New Abbey, returning to site to sit in the sun as it had turned into a very hot afternoon.
Pitch 2 Landis Farm
Monday morning was a little cooler and cloudy which was better for walking. We walked from the site to New Abbey and then to Loch Kindar and Crieffel, before returning to New Abbey. We sat in the grounds of Sweetheart Abbey for our lunch and visited New Abbey Corn Mill for a guided tour. and then returned to site mid afternoon.
We caught the bus to Dumfries on Tuesday. We were a little disappointed with the town as many of the buildings looked rather tired. We walked the Robert Burns Town Trail through the town and had our lunch near the weir, We walked around the edge of the town and came across the court and council buildings, which were beautiful and very different from the town centre buildings. We caught the bus back to New Abbey early afternoon so we could walk to the view point at the farm and see across to the Solway Firth.
The forecast was for a wet day on Wednesday, with weather warnings for heavy rain. For once the forecast was right and we spent the day on site making plans for our next site.
On Thursday (23 May) we drove to Silvercraigs Caravan Park, which is a community site at Kirkcudbright. We had a lot of heavy rain during the journey so didn't stop for a walk, as planned. We arrived at the site early afternoon after setting up went for a walk to have a look around the town and collect some groceries.
We had a dry day on Friday so went for a walk along the river to Tongland before returning to site for lunch. In the afternoon we walked into Kirkcudbright and visited Broughton House and Gardens.
Saturday was another lovely sunny day so we did a circular walk to St Mary's Isle and then walked back to site. Although we enjoyed the walk there were very few viewpoints as most of the trail was among the trees. In the afternoon we walked around the marina and along the river.
We enjoyed our time in Kirkcudbright, which is a lovely town with lots of walking in the area. However we both disliked the site as we found the pitches were too close and the toilet block was grubby.
On Sunday (26 May) we drove to Glentrool Camping & Caravan Site on the edge of Galloway Forest, which is the UK's first Dark Sky Park. Reception was closed when we arrived but after phoning and ringing the doorbell we finally got a response with our pitch number - not a good welcome to the site! After setting up we walked to the Glentrool Visitor Centre for a pot of tea before heading back to the site for the evening.
We had a mild and damp start to Monday which unfortunately meant we had our first experience of midges. We walked from the site to Bruce's Stone on the edge of Loch Trool. As we got to the Stone it started to rain heavily and this, together with the midges, meant we didn't stay too long to admire the views across the Loch. The rain eased as we walked back to the site, and after quick showers we settled down for the evening to try and avoid the midges.
Tuesday was an awful wet day - torrential rain and thunder rumbling around in the distance so we stayed on site all day.
Wednesday was another mild and damp day - perfect for the midges. We walked around the forest trails on the other side of Loch Trool so we could look back towards Bruce's Stone. We stopped to take a couple of photographs but didn't loiter for too long as we needed to keep walking to outpace the midges.
The location of the site was lovely and it could be a great site, but there was never anyone in the reception, cleanliness in the toilet block was lacking and the midges also made it an awful site for Steve .
On Thursday (30 May) we drove to Garlieston Club Campsite, stopping at Newton Stewart to pick up some groceries and to have a look around the town. We had booked a non-awning pitch so we could be near the sea wall and were offered a choice of two pitches - the one we chose had fabulous views across the bay from out of the door. It was a lovely hot sunny afternoon, perfect to catch up with some washing, In the afternoon we went for a walk around the village, visited the Mulberry Harbour Exhibition and had a drink at The Harbour Inn before returning to the site.
Pitch 12 Garlieston
Friday was another lovely sunny day and we caught the bus to Wigtown, the 'Book Capital' of Scotland. After a quick look around the town we walked to Bladnoch, which was one of the reasons for visiting the area as we had booked a tour of the Bladnoch Distillery. The tour was very interesting and ended with some tastings - although I'm not a whisky drinker, I enjoyed the samples! After the tour we went back to Wigtown and walked down to the harbour before returning to the town to catch our bus back to the site.
We had a cloudy but warm day on Saturday and walked from the site along the coast path through Rigg Bay to Cruggleton Castle. An arch is all that remains of the castle, but the views along the coast were stunning. We returned to Garlieston through the Galloway House Gardens to the site.
Sunday was another warm day so we walked along the coast around the opposite side of the bay towards the fishery. We enjoyed the first half of the walk around the coast and through a wood and came across a lovely bay where we stopped for our lunch. We then walked through another wood which wasn't as well used and hard going underfoot. We both found it a bit creepy so after reaching the fishery we decided to return to site along the road rather than walking back through the wood. We got back to site mid afternoon and made the most of our last afternoon on the site and sat outside with a drink and our books.
We loved this site as it was very well maintained and the village was lovely too, but there weren't too many footpaths in the nearby so felt we had seen all we wanted to do in the area.
On Monday (3 June) we drove to Kings Green Caravan Park in Port William. We were a bit apprehensive as it's another community site, and we hadn't been too impressed with Silvercraigs. On arrival we were shocked at the site as it wasn't anything like the website. It was a field of long grass, our pitch was yellow and muddy, next to a play area with a public footpath along the side and there were no keys for the facilities block. We decided not to stay and emailed the volunteer team with our reasons for not staying - fortunately we'd not paid for the site!
We found another site at Stranraer - Aird Donald Caravan Park - and booked a pitch for three nights. The site was a little tired, but we had a great welcome and found a lovely sheltered pitch. After setting up we walked into Stranraer and had a look around the town which, like many towns is a little run down. We had a drink at The Customs House before returning to site. Despite being so close to the town and main road it was quiet overnight and we both slept well.
We had a wet start to the day on Tuesday so stayed on site until late morning when we walked back into Stranraer and got very wet in a sudden downpour that hadn't been forecast so we went back to the Customs House for lunch and to dry out. In the afternoon we walked around the coast path for a while, returning to the site when were started to get cold due to the strong winds.
Wednesday was forecast as a dry morning and wet afternoon so we caught the bus to Portpatrick. We had a walk around the harbour and popped into The Port Pantry when it started to pour with rain. We had another short walk around the village before another heavy downpour so headed to the Harbour House Hotel for a coffee and as it was still raining we stayed for lunch. We had another short walk after lunch before catching the bus back to Stranraer and walking back to the site as it rained for the rest of the day and evening.
We enjoyed staying at this site and would have liked to stay longer as there were other places we would have liked to visit. The site was also very friendly with exceptionally clean faciliites.
We woke to a lovely sunny morning on Thursday (6 June) ready to move to our next site. After food shopping in Stranraer we drove to New England Bay Club Campsite. It took us ages to decide which pitch to choose as the site was fairly quiet, but we finally decided to pitch on the front row above the beach as it was a sheltered part of the site. After setting up we had a potter around the site and spent time deciding where to walk over the next few days.
Pitch 151 New England Bay
Friday was forecast as a fine morning with rain in the afternoon. We left the site and walked along the beach to Logan Mill and then on an inland route back to the site. Although it was only a short walk it was hard going underfoot as we were either walking on the pebble beach or on an overgrown path, so we were glad to get back to site for lunch. It started to drizzle with rain in the afternoon so we stayed on site.
Saturday was forecast as a lovely sunny day with little chance of rain. We walked to Port Logan and then to the Logan Botanic Garden, which was the main reason we wanted to stay at this site. The gardens were lovely and we were surprised to see so many palms and tropical plants on the west coast of Scotland. We spent several hours walking around the garden before retracing our steps back to the site to enjoy a lovely sunny evening.
Sunday was Steve's birthday and a horrid wet and windy day. After he had opened his birthday cards and answered text messages we sorted a few things in the van and settled down for a lazy day. When the rain eased we walked around the site, returning to the van when it started raining again.
Although we enjoyed staying on the site, there were very few footpaths from the site and most of the walks were on the roads.
On Monday (10 June) we drove to Culzean Castle Campsite. We were offered a choice of windy pitch with a view or sheltered with no view and chose the former, which was a lovely pitch overlooking the Isle of Arran. After setting up we had a walk through the Culzean Castle Country Park to the Castle before returning to site for the evening.
Tuesday was a lovely day and we walked several of the woodland and coastal trails through the Country Park, returning to site for lunch and then more walking trails in the afternoon.
Wednesday was another lovely dry day although quite cool and we spent the day walking trails, along the beach and through the walled garden.
Thursday's forecast was for a dry morning and wet afternoon. We walked to the Castle and enjoyed the 'Highlights Tour' of the Castle before returning to site before it started to rain. The afternoon was very wet and it rained a lot overnight too.
We really enjoyed staying at this site as it was exceptionally well maintained, in a lovely location and there was plenty of walking we could do from the site.
On Friday (14 June) we drove to Ayr Craigie Gardens Club Campsite. We set up and had a walk to Ayr which, like many towns, has seen better days although the seafront was lovely. The sky started to get very dark so we returned to site before we had a heavy downpour and then a lovely sunny evening.
Saturday was forecast as a dry morning and wet afternoon. We had arranged to meet my nephew and family at Dumfries House. We drove across in the morning to walk around the gardens before meeting them in the afternoon - the location was perfect as the play area for the children was next to the outside seating of the cafe. The weather was better than forecast, just a couple of showers in the afternoon which brought the midges out! It was lovely to spend time with the family again and see how the children had grown in five years. We got back to site late afternoon and after setting up had showers and tea as we both felt tired.
On Sunday we walked into Ayr in the morning and then tried to pick up a coast trail to the north of the town, but found ourselves walking inland through industrial estates as there was no path along the coast. We retraced our steps back to the site and spent the afternoon on site.
Monday started cloudy but no rain was forecast so it was perfect to visit Glasgow. We had an idea of some places to visit but visited the iCentre where we were given advice on the best route to take. Our first stop was the Mackintosh at the Willow tea room for a pot of tea and a look at the exhibition. We walked to the Tenement House and then to the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. The Kelvingrove was huge, so we limited our time to the Glasgow exhibitions before having lunch. Rather than walking back to the Central area we caught the Glasgow Subway, which is the third oldest underground rail system in the world. We walked to the Necropolis and enjoyed the views looking across the city. On our walks around the city we had also seen some of the Glasgow Mural Trail, our favourite was St Mungo. After another pot of tea we walked back to Central Station and caught our train back to Ayr. We both really enjoyed our time in Glasgow and would like to return to see more of the city.
Although we weren't too keen on Ayr, the site was lovely and was a perfect location for us to catch the train to Glasgow and to drive off to meet my family.
On Tuesday (18 June) we drove to Largs Yacht Haven. This site is a CL on a corner of the car park on the Marina, with stunning views across to the Isel of Cumbrae. After setting up on site we had a look around the Marina and took advantage of a warm windy day to do some washing.
Wednesday started cloudy but the forecast looked good. We walked from the site to Kelburn Castle and spent the day walking around the outer trails in the grounds and well as looking at the Graffiti Castle. It was a lovely sunny afternoon so we returned to site to sit at the side of the water watching the boats and reading our books.
On Thursday we walked from the site to Largs. The walk along the seafront was lovely and it was exceptionally well maintained, but the town was a bit tired and rundown with a lot of boarded up shops.
Friday was another lovely day. In the morning we walked back to Kelburn to walk a few of the inner trails we hadn't done on our previous visit. We returned to site for lunch and in the afternoon walked along Largs seafront again, stopping before we got to the town and then retracing our steps back to the site.
Although Largs Marina was in a lovely location and we knew the site was in the corner of a car park we hadn't realised how small the pitches were and that people walked through the site as a short cut, so we were glad to move to our next site
On Saturday (22 June) and drove to The Wheel Caravan Park near the Falkirk Wheel. We were able to choose our pitch and found one at the back of the site that was flat. After setting up we walked to the Falkirk Wheel and found our bearings for the next few days' walks. In the evening we went to The Ceilidh House where Hoggi, the site owner, entertained us with stories and songs.
Sunday was a lovely day and the start of a spell of good weather. We walked back to the Wheel as we had booked a boat trip so we could experience The Wheel. We got on the boat at the Forth & Clyde Canal, went up 35 metres in The Wheel to the Union Canal, over the aquaduct, through Rough Castle Tunnel and turned in the canal basin before the return journey. After the boat trip we walked the John Muir Way to Rough Castle Fort and Bonnybridge before returning along the canal to the site. It was the hottest day of our trip so we made the most of it by sitting in the sun for a few hours.
Monday was another lovely day and we headed for The Helix to see The Kelpies. It was a long, but easy walk along the canal and we had a look around the site before having The Kelpies Tour which took part inside one of the Kelpies. I have always wanted to see The Kelpies so this was, for me, one of the highlights of our 'adventure'. After the tour we made our way back along the canal and to the site.
Tuesday started dry so we walked along the Union canal to Falkirk to have a look at the town. As with many towns it looked tired with many closed shops. We both felt tired after our long walk the previous day so headed back to the site early afternoon and sat outside in the sun.
We enjoyed the walking and sightseeing we had done around Falkirk but were both glad to leave the site as the facilities weren't very good and were very grubby.
On Wednesday (30 June) we drove to Yellowcraig Club Campsite near North Berwick. After setting up on site we took the opportunity to clean the inside of the van as it was quite dirty after all the dust on our previous site, before sitting in the sun for the afternoon.
Thursday started lovely and sunny so we walked the John Muir Way to North Berwick, which has been named as the best place to live in the Sunday Times guide this year. We spent the day exploring the town which is lovely and we could understand why it was a winner, before returning along the beach to the site. It had become very windy so we retreated inside the van for the evening.
Friday was another lovely day - cloudy but dry. We walked from the site to Dirleton and explored Direleton Castle as well as spending time walking around the gardens. As we were about to walk back to site we could hear bagpipes and saw it was the children from the local school being piped out on their last day of term. After watching everyone go to the village green to celebrate, we returned to site to sit in the sun.
We had dry morning on Saturday, although it was cool. We walked along the coast to Gullane which is another lovely village with a beautiful beach and several golf courses including Murfield. After looking around the village we walked back to site along the John Muir Way and sat in the sun outside the van.
We both really liked the site, although it was quite large the pitch areas were in small sheltered bays. There were plenty of footpaths nearby and all were very well signed. We could have stayed here for longer and didn't want to leave.
On Sunday (30 June) we drove to Melrose Gibson Park Club Campsite. After setting up on site we walked into Melrose to have a look around the town before returning to the site. We had a lazy evening as we were both feeling tired after our long walks of the last week.
Monday was the start of another month and just another couple of weeks until we returned home. We had a damp start to the day so just had a short walk around Melrose to find the start of some walks we wanted to do the following day. We returned to site late morning when it started to rain heavily and then went back for another walk in the afternoon when it dried up.
Tuesday forecast as a dry day so we walked a trail to Old Melrose. The route went through Trimontium, the site of the largest Roman Fort in Southern Scotland, as well as passing the viaduct at Leaderfoot Bridges and Rhymer's Stone.
On Wednesday we walked another Melrose trail - this one went through Darnik to Abbotsford and came back along the side of the River Tweed to the Chain Bridge. We arrived back at site just before it started to rain so spent the rest of the afternoon on site.
We really liked this site and wish we had booked for longer as there were so many footpaths and walking trails in the area, both short and long distance. We've already planned to stay at this site when we next visit Northumberland and The Borders.
On Thursday (4 July) we drove to Jedburgh Campsite. First impressions of the site weren't good as it's very scruffy and unkempt. After setting up we stayed we had a look around the area before returning to site as it started to rain.
After a lot of rain overnight Friday started dry, perfect to get the washing done. We walked along the river to Jedburgh and had a look around the town as well as visiting Jedburgh Abbey. The town was okay but a little disappointing after Melrose, which we both really liked.
On Saturday we caught the bus to Hawick, a town that we had been told was full of interesting independent shops. The weather was mixed with frequent showers but we managed a short walk along the river as well as pottering around the town, which unfortunately was a disappointment to us.
Sunday was our final day at Jedburgh. As another showery day was forecast we had a short walk into town and walked through a couple of parks before returning to site.
Although the site was in a good location, we both disliked it as it was scruffy and the facilities were grubby. The site was also next to the football pitch and access to the grounds was through the site, something that wasn't mentioned on the website. We definitely wouldn't return to the site.
On Monday (8 July) we drove to Moffat Campsite - our final Scottish site. We stopped at Grey Mare's Tail on the way and had a short walk to the viewpoint. We were glad to get to the site as the journey on the A708 was awful, the road was very narrow and twisting with a shortage of passing places. After setting up we had a walk into town before returning to site for the evening.
Tuesday was forecast as a very wet day although it turned out to be better than expected. We had a couple of short walks from the site when the rain eased and then spent the rest of the day on site.
Wednesday was a lovely warm day and we found a couple of walks we could do from the site. There are plenty of walks in the area and we chose to walk the Riverside Walk in the morning and the Gallow Hill Walk in the afternoon.
This was another lovely site and one that we could have stayed at for longer as there are plenty of walks near the site (we found there were more footpaths and trails in the east than in the west of our trip).
On Thursday (11 July) it was time to start making our way back home and we drove back to Spring Paddock Touring Park. It had been a long drive from Moffat as there were several holdups on the motorway so after setting up we had a short walk along the lanes to the village and then returned to site.
On Friday we drove to see my mother and sister during the day, returning to site in the afternoon. In the evening we walked to the Chetwynd Arms to meet my niece and her partner.
Saturday (13 July) was time to drive to our final site - Stanmore Hall Touring Park. After setting up we walked to the Country Park, returning to site when the sky started to get very dark and rain was threatened.
We visited Steve's parents on Sunday, returning to the site early afternoon to have another walk in the Country Park.
As the two family visits had been very tiring, we stayed an extra night at Stanmore Hall and caught the bus into Bridgnorth on Monday for a short walk along the river and lunch at The Atrium. It started raining early afternoon so we caught the bus back to site and sorted out a few things in the van ready to leave early the following morning.
Tuesday was our day to drive back home. We both enjoyed our trip to Scotland, we've visited some beautiful areas, met a lot of interesting people and experienced many new things. We also both enjoyed being away for a couple of months - we didn't want to go home and could easily have stayed away for longer. We have just a couple of weeks at home before our next trip for my birthday week.
14 May-16 July
2 comments:
By heck Kath, I am worn out reading about your lovely Scottish Adventure. Love hearing about the places and seeing the photos. Especially liked the Kelpies.
As a wee lassy I lived in Dumbartonshire, Scotland.
Looking forward to your next adventure.
Wow that was a marathon read but what a super trip you had. Would love to see The Kelpies IRL. The beaches look amazing and so quiet. Don’t like the sound of midges at the beginning of your trip tho!!
Have fun on your birthday trip. Hope it’s everything you wish for xxx
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