Kendal and Windermere

A quiet midge free night developed into a warm sunny day. We had breakfast baps in the Two Sisters cafe and bought a few things from the artisan shops on the Britstop before leaving.
I drove the 15 miles or so to Lake Windermere and parked near Nab Pier for a few hours while we walked into Bowness, which was heaving with tourists. We had a look round the shops, had a simple lunch and caught the little tourist train back to the car park. We are staying on a small site with a garden centre, tearoom and trout fishing lake. We called in to nearby Sizerg castle, a NT place, for an hour on the way and looked round the gardens. I spent 2 hours fishing until it was dark but without success.

Back in England

After another midge disturbed night we awoke to a dank day by the Loch. So I sorted the van out ready to head back to England with an open destination. The A82 took us back over the Erskine bridge which completed the circuit of Scotland and there was 1770 miles on the clock. It was a change to drive on Motorways instead of winding A and B roads. It rained and the M8 through Glasgow was busy.
We stopped at Moffat for a lunch break, checked the weather forecast, as it was still raining, then decided to go to the Lake District for a couple of nights. We are now at a farm shop Britstop near Kendal, the sun is out and hopefully we have left the midges behind.

Back to Loch Lomond

It's been a typical British bank holiday Monday today. We have travelled about 90 miles and it's rained most of the time. We went down the Argyle coast to begin, almost to Oban, then cut inland through the Glens to the west shore of Loch Lomond near Luss. Before we left Rosemary raided the seafood deli at the Britstop and we have just eaten 8 Langustine and a dozen mussels with a bottle of Muscadet.
En route we stopped at a Scottish Power pumped hydroelectric station blasted out of the rock in a mountain bordering Loch Awe in the 60's. Incredible to see the way it was constructed back then.  Health and safety was a woolly hat, a pair of wellies and a packet of Woodbines.  We took the tour 1km into the mountain to see the underground generator cavern. The station can go from 0 to 0.5gigaW in 2 minutes, to meet peak demands.
We are spending tonight in Loch Lomond Holiday Park. This will probably be our last stop in Scotland and we should be back in England tomorrow, just.

Fort William

We are heading further south today in the direction of Fort William, the outdoor capital of the UK, on a murky morning after some overnight rain. It's certainly the largest town we have encountered in the last 3 weeks, with similarities to Buxton. It's close to Ben Nevis, highest peak in the UK, which we could almost see from the commando memorial on the A82 a few miles north at Spean Bridge. We stopped at a farm shop on the way to the outdoor centre by which time the clouds had lifted into sunny intervals and the north face of the mountain was clearly visible with patches of snow.
We stopped again at a Costa coffee in Fort William and had a walk along the warm and sunny main street which was busy and very touristy.
We are stopping at a Britstop by Loch Leven at a Seafood Restaurant tonight. Unfortunately we could not eat there cos they were booked solid, it being a holiday weekend. They do have a shop that opens tomorrow and will have some of our custom no doubt. The scenery is now green and lush and less dramatic, but still very  picturesque. The bright yellows of the highland  gorse have given way to the mauve and pink of wild Rhodendron. The midges are getting more abundant now and Rosemary has been bit too.

Return from The Isles

We are heading south from Dunvegan to catch a ferry back to the mainland on a grey but dry morning. Great views of the Cuillin Mountains on the way and we stopped off at the Talisker distillery to get another souvenir of Skye. There just happened to be an Oyster and Seafood bar in the village so it's going to be a fishy supper. The route took us past the first campsite we had used at Sligachen, so we stopped for a lunch break at the hotel opposite. Massive fish and chips and Cuillin skink, very nice too.
When we finally arrived at the ferry there were lots of cars and several motorhomes already waiting and we could not get a ferry untill 7:30pm, a four hour delay. Decided to drive back up the Sceat peninsular and use the Lochalsh bridge instead. A longer way round, but quicker option, than waiting in the rain.
We were looking for somewhere to wild for a night in the Kintail NT park when we came across the Morvick CMC site. Much to my surprise they had 2 vacancies so we are now stopping the night in relative luxury.

Another lazyish day on Skye.

Skye is a pretty laid back place. Not much commercialised tourism although there are plenty of tourists and most b&b have no vacancies signs. The few campsites seem to fill up quite early in the day.
We just took the van up to Dunvegan castle today, too hot to walk, for a look round the home of the McCleod clan. The castle dates from 1200 and is very austere compared to others we have visited. Just sitting with a glass of wine waiting to go down to a local restaurant for dinner out.

49 years on Skye

It's our wedding anniversary today, 49th, so a relaxing day on Skye. We  just walked into the village, too late for lunch, for a snack and we will cook outside tonight midges permitting. The heatwave has reach our corner of Scotland today and after a murky start it's been the hottest day of our holiday. Even put my shorts on today, although I have bought a protective midge head net as they seem to have taken a liking to me! The breeze kept the midges away long enough to cook and eat Angus burgers outside while the sun set over the loch.

Dunvegan with fog

We left the last site, with low cloud still shrouding the mountain tops, for Portree the 'capital' of Skye. It's a small but busy little harbour town made even more so by a HAL cruise ship moored in the nearby loch. We parked amongst the busses while we looked round and found ourselves blocked in for about 20mins until the driver returned with his butties.
After trying unsuccessfully to book a site I decided to go to Dunvegan where there is small site near the castle. The last few miles the visibility  was less than 50yd in dense fog. Parked in the village car park by the prawn and mussel van. After browsing the shops and cafes we went to the Kinloch Campsite, up a very steep ramp, to secure one of the last 3 pitches for 2 or maybe 3 nights. Nice site with basic but clean facilities, free WiFi but no mobile phone signal! How technology is changing. Should be a nice view of the loch if the sun comes out tomorrow, but the overnight forecast is FOG.

Kinlochewe to Skye

We left the site on a grey morning and after  topping up with diesel doubled back to Loch Maree for a short photo stop. Then back on the NC500 route to Torridon via the single track road down the glen in the shadow of the massive Ben Eighe. There is a 5 star hotel with a helipad for its clients. We just had a cappuccino in the activity centre and photographed the tame highland cattle. The road to Sheildaig then rises to a great viewpoint where we bumped into a group of German bikers. I chickened out of the Bealach na Ba part of the route with its hairpin bends and 20% gradients and took the gentler single track road over the top.

We descended into Kishorn in time for lunch at the award winning Seafood Bar. Cullen skink, scallops and langustine (massive prawns) - excellent!
Another few miles along Loch Carron, now in the rain, we leave the NC500 and head for the Isle of Skye. Just before the Kyle of Lochalch bridge we stopped at the first co-op we had seen for over a week. Its was now raining heavily as we drove along the coast to an overnight stop at Sligachen. A basic site within walking distance of the Cuillin Mountains towering behind us.

We had covered about 90 miles today so I had butterscotch Angel Delight with a pecan slice. The clouds are closing in around us, but it's stopped raining. Can't believe it's going to be warm and sunny by Thursday.

Killochewe and Gairloch Bay

We have just visited excellent Inverewe gardens and house. Very innovative way of guiding visitors round the house. Garden full of rhodedendons and a herons nest in a tree.
Its cloudy today but much milder.
Stopped again to look round the old cottage, now a heritage centre, until a rain shower had passed. The heritage museum was interesting but the rain did not stop. Poured all the way passed Loch Maree which should have been spectacular with a mountain backdrop. Mountains almost hidden in murk.
Arrived in CMC site at Killochewe in shadow of Ben Einge which has an award winning visitor centre.
Rain finally stopped but now the midges have come out to play. First encounter with them, but it will probably be the norm as now we are in midge territory and they are starting to emerge.

Short leg to Inverewe Gardens

The heavy rain has gone away and the morning started in full sun again, but showers are forecast later. Decided to do a short drive to Inverewe Gardens CCC site and have Sunday lunch on the way.
Stopped first to have a look at Corrieshalloch Gorge, a 60m deep gash in the rocks with a waterfall. It took a steep 300m walk to the suspension bridge to see it.
We had a fishy lunch at Altbea Hotel of squats of lobster, fish and chips and smoked fish pie, all very nice. An MG owners rally stopped too but we just beat them to place our order.
Coffee came later at NTS Inverewe gardens which is near the caravan site. There were more lochs and mountains plus Guinard Bay to admire and photograph on route.

Ullapool in the wet

Well, the forecast was correct but it's only the first day of miserable weather we have had in almost 3 weeks. Low cloud and frequent showers were not enough to stop us walking the few hundred yards to the town. After a bit of shopping we had haddock wraps with pesto mayo at the award winning Seafood Shack, very good too.
Retreated to the van while it poured down for 3 hours. Duvet and TV day.

Scourie Bay to Ullapool

Gin and Tonic Bombs

We had a bacon butty in the site cafe to start the day then set off for Ullapool. The very friendly owner is from Sunderland.
The scenery just keeps on coming, every bend or hill presents another iconic highland view of lochs and rugged mountains. We took a side road to Lochinver to get some, diesel, pies and cash. The post office is moving into the Spar minimarket after 123 years and I was it's last customer!
Just out of Lochinver is the ruined Ardvrek Castle on the bank of Loch Assynt with a small waterfall nearby. We actually  saw some deer shortly afterwards, but I don't think they were wild.
We stopped near Elgin at one of the many parking places, with a superb view of course, for a sandwich before finally settling in for a rest day and two nights in Ullapool. Our pitch at Broomside Caravaning on Loch Broom is right on the stony beach near the harbour, extended power cable needed. The Caledonian car ferry goes from the harbour to the Isle of Lewis from here. Sunny start today with a few heavy showers later. Rain is forecast tomorrow, which will be our first bad day if it is true. Every campsite is bursting with motorhomes and bikers with tiny tents so the tourist industry must be loving all the North Coast 500 publicity.

East to West on NC500

Today we travelled the northern part of the coastal route to Durness, via Bettyhill and Tongue and then turned south through the valley to a small village of Scourie on the west coast, where, we are spending the night. The whole leg has had the wow factor for scenery from start to finish with pristine beaches, lochs, castles and mountains reflected water. The weather has been good with sunshine and a few showers. We avoided some of them by having lunch at a quirky craft village which was originally built by the MOD as an early warning station in the days of the cold war (but never commissioned). We also stopped for coffee at a small croft on Loch Eriboll with a CL and a tea shop which must have one of the best views in the UK.
The distance was 80 miles but about 50 of that was on single carriage way with passing places, which meant frequent stops for on-coming traffic. Not so bad for cars, but lorries and big motorhomes were a bit of a squeeze at times. These are the main A roads in the Highlands, a few steep sections but no hairpin bends. The camp site is in an excellent position overlooking the bay at Scourie and has an on site bar and restaurant. We cooked outside but ate in as it's still cool in the evening.

Gulls, Views and a Royal Castle

There were no northern lights, it did not even get dark enough. But I did see the sunset at 9:45pm and the sunrise at 4:30am, the nights are very short up here!
First stop today was Duncasby Head to see the fulmars and guillemots nesting on the sandstone ledges of the cliffs and stacks at Duncasby. Fascinating experience to see them live instead of on a TV documentary.
Next a tour of the Castle of Mey, a favourite retreat of the Queen Mother. Its now held in trust and still used in August every year by Prince Charles. A very attractive castle from the outside and nicely presented as a royal residence by knowledgeable guides. Rosemary was allowed to use the QM's personal lift to avoid the steep spiral staircase! We were lucky as it was the first open day of the year. We had lunch in the small cafe/tea rooms, the gardens were disappointing. We finished the day by  going to the most northerly point in mainland Britain at Dunnet  Head. A short walk to the top of the hill from the car park provided​ panoramic views all around.
We are now driving across the top of Scotland on the NC500 route and have stopped for the night in the village of Melvich at a cosy little site by the Halladale Inn. Very highland with sheep all around. Scenary gets more spectacular from here. Hopefully the weather, which had been a bit showery this afternoon, will hold good.

John o Groats JOG

We made it to JOG, stopping at Lidl and Tesco at Wick on the way. Scenery getting very highland now, even spotted our first highland coo. The gorse is a glorious bright yellow on every hillside.
A grey wet start turned into a day of sunshine and showers. As we approached JOG there was a great panoramic view of the Orkney Islands in the afternoon sunshine. The campsite is right on the beach with great views of the islands and  gannets diving into the sea for fish. The evening sky has cleared so it should be a nice sunset later.
Margaret Payne texted to say she saw on news that we may have northern lights in Scotland tonite. That really would be a bonus, we certainly could not have a better chance any further north!

Dunrobin Castle and Dornoch

We left Dingwall in light rain to join the A9 north to Dornoch, a small city with a cathedral, on the coast. Rosemary stayed here 50 years ago with the Sheep Dog Society. It had not changed much, we had lunch in the old joal now a nice bistro. Took the old road out of Dornoch, very picturesque with big swathes of golden gorse on the hillsides. The rain had stopped and the sun was out again by now.
Next stop was Dunrobin Castle the locatipn of the Sheep Dog trial. We did a tour of the castle and gardens before going to the nearby CMC site at Brora. It's close to the beach, just a golf course away in fact. Walking across the course I  disturbed a skylark in the rough which took flight and burst into song high above me. We can hear the sea breaking on the  beach at night. Rosemary did some laundry while we had a few hours to spare.

Culloden Moor and Loch Ness

We started the day by visiting the nearby scene of the battle of Culloden Moor. This is where the Jacobite movement led by Bonny Prince Charles was finally extinguished in 1746 in the last battle to take place on British soil. It is a National Trust of Scotland site so we got in free with our NT card.

We left around midday and drove down the A82 beside Loch Ness to Drumbonach where we had lunch. Then we had a short cruise from the Dunbar Harbour as far as the picturesque ruin of Urquhart Castle where the boat picked up about 50 Asian tourists. Another lovely day with long sunny intervals. Finally went back through Inverness to Dingwall for the night before joining  the NC500 route round the north east coast tomorrow.

Inverness

We took the bus into Inverness today. Old town is quite nice and there was a vintage car rally going on.  Several streets were closed so that cars could be parked for inspection. There was a parade later but we returned to site before it started. It's been rather cloudy today but much milder and it rained overnight, so we still haven't worn any rain gear. Poor TV on this site if you are behind the trees. Tried to watch Eurovision Song contest.

Whisky Trail to Inverness

We have driven part of the Spey Valley whisky trail today stopping at The Glenlivet distillery and passing lots of others. It took us through some picturesque scenery from the mountains to the sea. Passing through Elgin we picked up supplies at an M&S food store including some sandwiches which we ate behind the bird hide on Findhorn Bay RSPB reserve.
We are staying at Culloden Moor CC site for two nights. There's a bus stop outside to Inverness which is just 6 miles away. There are lambs in the field by the site and an oyster catcher has a nest on one of the pitches. Lots of wildlife.

Hardly any traffic, glorious sunshine, daffodils still out and roads lined with gorse in full bloom. Its a lovely part of Scotland.

Grantown on Spey

A quiet day just walking into town to do a bit of shopping and try a macaroni pie. Spent some of the afternoon uploading photos, updating this blog and researching the next weeks activities around Inverness. Making maximum use of the free WiFi.
Sunny intervals today and warmer with less breeze. Pleasant enough to cook fajitas outside on a cloudless evening.

Fishing and Osprey

OMG it's cloudy today. After a quiet night we awake to a lack of sun and mountains shrouded in low cloud.
We have not moved far in miles but have moved upmarket in terms of overnight stop. A caravan club site with all modern cons, free super fast WiFi but still a mountain view.

In between I managed a couple hours of fishing on a Scottish loch which we had passed early just outside Aviemore. Another blank daybut still have to catch a trout, then a short visit to see osprey nesting at RSPB Loch Garten reserve.

We are here at Grantown caravan site for two nights with nothing planned for a change.

Cairn Gorm Selfies

Cairngorms

We left Perth to head much further north with a Britstops pub at Aviemore in mind. Got there in no time at all via the A9 and Pitlochry with just a brief stop at  Newtonmore at the top of the pass. Aviemore is an out of season  ski resort with the usual selection of outdoor sports and souvenir shops plus a decent Tesco Express. Did not fancy the Winking Owl pub and left the overnight decision until we had been up the Cairn Gorm mountain. 

There is a funicular railway to the 1097m summit with its gift shop, cafe and observation area. We had picked a beautiful day with sunny skies and great panoramic views of the Spey Valley below and mountains beyond. A few photos and a Starbucks coffee later we descended the funicular and ski road back towards Aviemore. 

There were a couple of motor-homes pulled off the road beside Loch Morlich so we decided to do the same and found a great place a with superb view of the snow dappled mountains from our lounge, kitchen, bedroom window. Rosemary cooked the Scottish specialty of macaroni cheese. No TV, 240v or 4G - don't know how we will get through the night :-) Thank goodness we have the Tridominoes​.

Glamis and Scone

Had a culture day today by visiting Glamis Castle, a 50min drive away, then Scone Palace, just round the corner.

 Glamis was on my bucket list because of its MacBeth location and I was the lighting technician for the High Pavement school play many, many years ago. Duncan was supposedly murdered here but it turns out that Shakespeare's history was not so good because the castle was not built until 300 years after the murder.Even so it was an entertaining guided tour and the grounds were nice too. Forgot to mention that the Queen Mother and Princess. Margaret were born here.

Back to Scone which is the site where all the kings of Scotland were crowned. The famous Stone of Scone has also been used for all UK monarchs since Edward 1 stole the stone and installed it in Westminster Abbey. Its now back in Edinburgh Castle until it's needed again - SNP permitting? Lot to see in the grounds for me, while Rosemary did the relatively new palace.

It's been wall to wall sunshine yet again but with a bit of breeze. It was funny watching the Scone peacocks trying to walk cross wind with all that tail behind them! Needless to say we had tea and a cream scone at Scone.

Stirling and Scone

The sun did not come out until we were leaving Loch Lomond on our way to the 3rd site at Scone. We stopped briefly at Stirling Castle, as the route took us past the town. The entrance fee for the castle complex was £13.50 and we could not justify the cost for a passing visit. So we moved quickly on to Perth via the M9 and arrived early at about 2:30. The Scone CCC site is beside the race course on the Scone Palace estate just outside Perth and walking distance to the River Tay.

I set off to walk the 1500 metres to the river and unknown to me Rosemary followed a little later. However she went past the gate down to the river bank and carried on walking to the fishing lodges. I think she probably walked twice as far as me, as we did not meet and I was back ages before her. At least I had the kettle on when she re-appeared exhausted.

It was a lovely afternoon and the very friendly warden put us on the sunniest pitch on the site. We had full sun until sunset.

Loch Katrine

Decided to go for a short drive around the Trossacks today, starting from Aberfoyle. We shopped here for the weekend at the co-op and local butchers, more chicken, lamb and merlot. The scenic Dukes Drive winds its way from here to Loch Katrine with nice views of several other lochs on the way. Only just managed to grab a parking space at the jetty. The steam ship Sir Walter Scott does cruises down the loch every couple of hours and was just leaving as we parked up.  It must have been a victim of the climate change lobby, no smoke or steam to be seen. Rosemary ordered a ploughman's lunch while I went off (for too long) to take some pictures. We carried on to Callendar, stopping to make a coffee at one of the many scenic parking places on the way. It was busy so we drove back to Balmaha which was even worse by now, mid afternoon.

It's been another sunny day with less wind. May be cooking outside tonight. The campsite is practically full, with a lot of tents.
Grilled the lamb on the Jamie.

Loch Lomond Photos

Looking north towards Ben Lomond with our campsite just visible on the shore.

Balmaha forest walk

Breakfasted outside in the sun before the breeze kicked in. We walked to nearby Balmaha through the lochside bluebell woods on another brilliant day of weather.  

Stopped for lunch at the Oak Tree Inn before returning. We just decided on a sharing starter of smoked fish which was excellent. A breadboard sized platter of smoked and grilled salmon, smoked mackerel, prawn moose and battered fish pieces, plus garnish and granary bread. Good job we didn't order a main course! 

Balmaha is a busy little village with lots of hikers and tourists, served by a big car park, on a perfect day. We walked back again taking more photos on the 5 miles round trip. 

Although it's wall to wall sunshine all day there is a strong NE breeze, particularly in the late afternoon. So it's not sitting out BBQ conditions and the nights are cold with the clear skies.

Loch Lomond

We left Moffat early and stopped at nearby Moffat Mill (one of the many Edinburgh Woollen Mill outlets) for a £3.25 cooked breakfast before continuing north. A smooth passage all the way up M6 and M8 through Glasgow to Balmaha on Loch Lomond. It's almost exactly 48hrs and 400 miles from home -  spooky.
We parked at the visitor centre and checked out the local facilities, as we are just along the Loch at Milachory Bay CCC Site for the next 3 nights. We have a nice pitch with a view of the water and sunsets. It's sunny but there's a strong breeze so sitting out, sheltered beside the van, in the sun.
There is a water bus 3 times a day from Balmaha to Luss on the other side of the Loch and it's just a 45 min walk from the site.

Moffat via Blackpool

We were only 10 miles from Blackpool so after 40, or more years, decided to call in on the way north. Headed for the tower and parked in a side street within walking distance of the tower ballroom. We went in strictly for a coffee of course, but found there were about 20 couples dancing away to the mighty Wirlitser, £9 per day. Photo'ed the beach, pier and tower and hit the M6 to Scotland.

Brilliant sunny day but very gusty winds over the top at Shap. Shopped at Westmorland services, best services on the M6, with a farm shop and cafe view to die for. Renewed vows passing Gretna Green and were squeezed into a small pitch on the Moffat CCC site, we had not booked. Nice open site near the Green Frog garden centre and fishing lakes. Walked into Moffat, nothing to add!

Sitting at the Sitting Goose.

Drove the first leg up to a pub near Preston that I found in the Britstops book. Very slow all the way with accident on A50 and then rush hour traffic at every junction on M6 around Manchester (should have left earlier!) We had Lancashire hot pot and I had a jam roly poly pudding for dinner.

Pub closed at 9.00pm, its a very quiet road, but not far from M6 and good for a quiet  nights sleep.