Scotland - June 2009

To view the trip click Motorhome Trip to Scotland at EveryTrail


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This time we've decided on a two week trip to the Highlands in the motorhome. I fitted a piece of 2"x2"x1/4" aluminium angle to reinforce the rear panel where the bike rack fits, which worked a treat. After giving the van a clean we had a small problem when we filled the water tanks. We had a leak in the kitchen which turned out to be from the cold water feed pipe. Dick Lane Motorhomes kindly helped out with a spare pipe, so last minute repairs were made and we were ready to leave on time.

Day one was just a slog north to our first stop at Perth, from where the trip really starts.

Day two started wet, which wan't in the plans. We headed north and had a lovely drive up Glenshee with raging torrents rushing down the glen sides, thanks to all the rain. Fortunately the rain had eased by the time we reached Balmoral.


We had a lovely look around the gardens, but unfortunately only the Ballroom was open in the house itself. It's easy to see why Balmoral is such a favourite of the Royal family, as it must be bliss to get away from the hubub of London for some peace and quiet. We were surprised how forward the gardens were being so far north. Apparently spring comes late, but because of the extra day length in summer they grow more quickly and soon catch up with southern gardens. After Balmoral it was onto Dornoch for the night. The last witch in Scotland was hanged here in 1722. Her poor daughter had a misshapen hand and her mother was accused of witchcraft, and for attempting to change her daughter into a pony.

Day three was sunny with showers. After visiting the sites of Dornoch we headed on up to John o Groats.


I'm sorry to say no photos of John o Groats. It was awful. We had been warned that the only reason to go is to say you've been, and the warnings were bang on. It is really just a collection of scattered houses, though there is a newish visitor centre, and museum cum shop. The John o Groats House Hotel is fenced off and in a state of decay, adding to the air of gloom about the place. Once we proved we'd been there we drove on to The Castle of Mey, but it was 4.30pm and closing. We decided to look for a camp site, and decided on Thurso as it was a sizeable town with restaurants.

The next morning after a liesurely start we headed back to the Castle of Mey.


This is well worth a visit. It has been preserved just as it was when Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother used it, and has lots of personal memorabilia to see. Very welcoming guides who were prepared to tell anecdotes made this the best stately home visitor experience we've ever had. It also has a lovely garden, too, particularly the walled garden.
After The Castle of Mey we moved onto Dunnet Head, the most northerly point in Britain. Here there is a lighthouse on top of the 300ft cliffs. In stormy weather the sea has been known to throw up stones and break the glass in the light. We then saw Mary Anne Calder's cottage, a small croft preserved just as it was when the last crofter left in 1990. Mary Anne had lived in the croft all her life and it had never been modernised. Again we had a good guide who explained all about her way of life.

Day Five we chickened out!! We had a plan to take our bikes on the ferry from Scrabster to Stromness in The Orkneys, then cycle to Skarra Brae, the 4,000 year old Neolithic settlement. Kath wasn't really up for it in case it was wet and windy.


So we went to see the nuclear power station at Dounreay. This is being decommissioned and the visitor centre is now closed, and all that is left are some information boards. Evidently, the visitor information is available in Thurso.
We rolled onto Bettyhill where we visited the Strathnavar museum and learned about the highland clearances, when crofters were evicted from the land to make way for more profitable sheep. Just after Bettyhill we stopped at Borgie and got the bikes out and did a 10 mile circular bike ride taking in the harbour at Skerray. After lunch, now in brilliant sunshine, we drove on to Durness, finding the lovely Sango Sands camp site, with it's own restaurant.

Day six was a day off from travelling. We biked to Balnakeil Bay and walked along the beach and to the end of Faraid Head. We had instructions to find a puffin colony, which we did eventually, though we wouldn't have done if we hadn't first seen the "puffin cam" set up to observe them. We couldn't get too close, but it was good to see them through binoculars. We must take a bird book on our travels next time as we kept seeing birds we couldn't identify.


After lunch we took our bikes again and did a 6 mile off road route to Bhlar Duibhe. Kath came off twice, once an inelegant "through the frame" departure, and the second a "nearly over the handlebars" incident when she pulled on the front brake, causing a front wheely, then the back end to swing around. She sufferred a sore back, but it didn't seem to spoil her appetite in the evening.

On day seven we headed for Ullapool. We stopped off at Lochinver for lunch.


The roads up here are fantastic. Even the "A" roads are only single track with passing places, but there is so little traffic that it is not a problem. We just have to pull into a passing place to let traffic through coming the other way, or to let faster traffic pass. We did a 6 mile walk from Lochinver to get our daily dose of exercise then headed to Ullapool. We were feeling brave and took a very narrow road which said "No caravans, No buses, and no vehicles over 26ft long". We weren't disqualified on any of those so off we went. We had no bother and a lovely drive through delightful countryside.

We woke on day eight to beautiful sunshine. We spent the morning doing housekeeping and sunbathing, then in the afternoon went for a 15 mile bike ride.


We rode up Glen Achall which you would never know existed without local knowledge. The ride started up a steep road past the local quarry, to around 100m above sea level, then opened out into a beautiful flat glen with the lovely Loch Achall. We had a great ride along a, mainly level, gravel track, through scenery you could only describe as stunning. On our return we caught up with emails at the Ceildigh cafe restaurant, and in the evening had a meal at the Seaforth fish resaurant, recently awarded the title of best fish restaurant in the UK. We were not disappointed.

Day nine dawned hot and sunny. We can't believe the good weather we are getting. We decided to move to Gairloch today.


On the way we stopped off at Inverewe Gardens by Loch Ewe. They had been created by Osgood Mackenzie in the 19th Century on a barren headland, and caused quite a stir among the locals as he had to blast holes out of the rock in order to plant trees. I'm not surprised. Well worth a visit, but a bit of a coach magnet, with five in the car park when we arrived. The weather was so good we were in no mood to travel further, so after lunch we drove to Gairloch to the wonderful Sands camp site, 55 acres with loads of sites and a great shop, and chilled out for the rest of the day.

Day ten was another belter, so after lounging around till about 10.00am we biked the three miles into Gairloch, where we had a look around and coffee and scones at an interesting coffee shop called The Mountain Coffee Company. Talk about portion size...think of the largest scone you've ever had then double it. Needless to say we couldn't eat lunch after this so we lounged at the camp site for the rest of the afternoon.


We had been recommended a restaurant 7 miles down the coast called the Melvaig Inn, and we decided to head out there for the evening meal. There is so little traffic that cycling is safe so we took the bikes, and passed these Highland cattle on the way, I was very proud of Kath, who never got off her bike once though there were a few hills along the way. The restaurant turned out to be be music orientated, being owned by a guy who had been a roadie for Black Sabbath, and the food very good. We even made it back on the bikes, though this time a little pushing was necessary.

Day eleven dawned hot and sunny and we set off for the Applecross peninsula.


I had heard of the Pass of the Cattle, which at 2053ft is one of the highest passes in the UK. Add in that it is single track only, with passing places, and has Alpine style hairpins, and it makes for an interesting drive in a motorhome. People were a little surprised to see us, I must admit! Arriving at Applecross, our brakes were a little hot, and we were surprised to find the camp site fully booked. We needn't have worried as half a mile further on we found a lovely bay where we set up camp with quite a few other overflows.

We had a walk and found the Applecross Walled Garden and Potting Shed restaurant, where we stopped for afternoon tea. Back at the camp site we enjoyed the rest of the evening, had a barbeque, then wandered off to the Applecross Inn for a a couple drinks. A great day.

Day twelve was hot and sunny. We had intended to stay a couple of nights in Applecross, but as we couldn't get in the camp site, and we needed to service the van, we decided to move on to the Isle of Skye. On the way we stopped at Lochcarron and filled up with food and diesel. (Filling stations are few and far between in the Highlands so best not to let the tank get too low).


We crossed the Skye road bridge, (can't see what all the fuss is about), and headed for Portree, which has a lovely harbour with colourful quay front buildings. We camped at the small Torvaig camp site, which was pretty crowded, and headed back into Portree in the evening for a meal. On the way back to the van, Kath had an unfortunate experience when a seagull flew over her and shat on her shoulder! What are the odds of that happening?

Day thirteen was the last real day of our holiday so we decided on a trip around Skye. We stopped at the Kilt Rock Waterfall, where volcanic rock overlays sedimentary rock and water falls 200ft into the sea. This was another coach magnet so we didn't stay long. We decided to go inland, so took a very narrow road over the island. This was very quiet, so we decided to stop for lunch and to sunbathe for the afternoon.


In the evening we dropped down to Uig and drove on to Dunvegan, where we stayed on the lovely Kinloch Campsite.

Day thirteen was a long slog to Stirling. Only 222 miles but it took 8 hours because of the narrow, twisting roads. On the way we stopped at the most photographed castle in Scotland, Eilean Donan.


Another stopping point for coaches full of Japanese, but pretty, none the less.

We finally arrived in Stirling to our first traffic jam for two weeks and found, probably the smartest camp site in Scotland, Witches Craig, near the Wallace Monument. The nearest restaurant was 2 miles away, but traffic was so heavy we didn't want to bike so went in the van. Had an interesting time parking up in the small Burnside Restaurant car park, but we managed with a little help from the staff, and had a lovely evening meal.

Day fourteen was another long slog, first to Peebles, where we met with friends for coffee, then via the A68 and A1, back home for 7.00pm. We had travelled about 1,400 miles, had great weather, and a wonderful time in Scotland.

Spain and Portugal - March 2009

Leonardo da Vinci

We finally made it home, and we knew we were back in the UK as we encountered...

Foggy conditions.

Overcast skies.

Gloomy outlook

We also were back into traffic jams and closed motorways, making our journey home interesting, to say the least.

Enough of the moans, so let's get back to the trip. We had two lovely days in Porto, doing all the tourist things, including doing a Lindemans Port tour. Evidently port is made by adding alcohol to the fermenting grapes after only a couple of days fermentation. Alcohol is increased to 20% killing the yeast, but because a lot of sugar is left the result is a sweet wine. The boat is one of the Port manufacturers boats which were used to bring in liquor from the vinyards further up river. On our second day we had a lovely bike ride from our camp site at Madalena along a coastal cycle path which eventually brought us back to Porto. It's lovely to be out in the sun. The only bad point is that we've both been badly bitten by mosquitos. Kath has about 20 bites and I have 30. Didn't expect them at this time of year so have no repellent.

From Porto we drove up the coast of Portugal to Viano do Castelo, a working coastal town, but again with loads of history. Apart from seeing the tourist sites we had two little adventures here. One night Kath decided she wanted to see the sun go down from the beach. Our campsite had a gate out onto the beach which was supposed to be closed at 9.00pm, so off we went. On our return, in the dark, just after 7.30pm, the gates were closed. Camp sites are secure places so there was no way in. We had to walk back to the beach then all the way to the local village and back to the camp by the roads, rather extending our evening. The other incident happened as we were cycling into Viana. There is a very long narrow iron road bridge to cross and there was a strong cross wind. For safety we decided to ride along the footpath to the side, which was also very narrow. To one side was a safety fence and to the other side steel posts to stop people falling into the road. The outcome was that there was very little spare room and my handle bars clipped the safety barrier, bringing me down in a heap. No damage to the bike, but I sufferred a sprained thumb and a dent to my pride. Needless to say when we returned we stayed on the road.

From Viana, we decided to head east to Bilbao as we wanted to see the Guggenheim museum. We had a leisurely drive through the mountains and overnighted at Cubillas da Santa Marta, near Valladolid, before driving into Bilbao on Monday morning. The good thing about travelling in early spring is that there are relatively few tourists about, and we were able to park the motorhome in the street close to the museum. Unfortunately the museum was closed, but we were able to view this fantastic building from the outside. It really is worth seeing. We weren't too bothered about seeing inside as opinion is that the building is far more interesting than it's exhibits. We then moved on to Urrugne for the night, just over the border into France. We spent the night here before going to have a look at Biarritz. We had heard so much about Biarritz being France's premier seaside resort, but what a disappointment. First of all it is small, about the size of Scarborough. We expected a seafront with old gracious hotels, but there were only a couple, with a lot of modernish concrete hotels. There was no esplanade and little beach to speak of. In fact we just didn't see the appeal of the place. After a few hours we decided we didn't want to stay and so rolled north to a place called Pons, where we stayed at a delightful campsite called Moulins de la Auvergne. Like so many places in France Pons has a history going back to Roman times and beyond. We had a very pleasant morning sightseeing, and vowed to come back and spend a week in the area.

From Pons we headed up to Amboise and spent the night on a municipal camp site. Next morning, the last day of our holiday, we went to Le Clos Luce, the house where Leonardo da Vinci spent the last three years of his life. Leonardo wasn't particularly appreciated in Italy and was invited by the French king Francois Ist to live at Amboise, in return for his company. Francois just wanted to hear Leonardo talk, and listen to his views. It was really quite moving to visit the actual rooms where Leonardo da Vinci lived, and to see his manuscripts. He really was the most amazing human being, who could turn his hand to anything.

So, to go back to the beginning, we left Amboise late in the afternoon, boarded the ferry at Le Havre in the evening and drove home on Friday morning. Another great holiday.

Sun, Sun, Sun

Wow, two weeks in Portugal and the weather has been unbelievable. Clear blue skies all day every day bar two, so both developing quite a tan.
After Seville we had a change of plan and turned right instead of left, or was that just Kath's map reading. Anyway, we ended up in Portugal's Algarve coast. From the moment we arrived the weather has been perfect. We travelled first to Quarteira, where it was so nice we stayed eight nights. We were amazed how quiet the town was though, often being the only people dining in the restaurant of our choice in the evening. Quarteria is a bit down market but three miles alomg the coast is Villamoura, a very upmarket sailing and golf resort, where we wobbled on our bikes in the dark if we fancied a more upmarket meal. The Algarve has a 122km coastal cycle track so we were able to do some biking and see a bit of the area.
The Algarve is also brilliant for wi-fi. All the towns have free wi-fi, which has meant that to compete the camp sites are now providing wi-fi for free too.

After Quarteria we moved along the coast to Cape St. Vincent, see photo above, which is the most westerly point in Europe, and thought to be the end of the world till the great navigators proved otherwise. We spent just the one night there as it was so windy, then moved up the coast a little, where we heard of a wild camping spot at Oberseixe. This was about 2 miles down a single track road, but when we got there it was a wonderfully quiet sea side setting, with about a dozen vans, see opposite. Being a wild camp we were visited in the morning by a whole herd of cattle.
After a quiet day in Oberseixe, we headed on up the coast to stay at Porto Covo, a small traditional Portugese fishing village which is on the verge of being spoilt by going all touristy. We had three lovely nights here, sunbathing on completely deserted beaches by day, and eating in genuine Portugese restaurants in the evening. You should have seen the mess we were in after eating Seafood Cataplan (a huge dish of shellfish and vegetables with very splashy sauce, best eaten with fingers after the shells have been smashed using the pliers and hammer provided). From Porto Covo we moved north to Luso, which is famous as a Spa. Lots of people coming to collect the water which is meant to have health giving properties. As far as I can see it means that it is clean and tastes ok. It is also famous for having a 250 acre enclosed wood with trees from around the world, brought here by the Portugese navigators. The wood also contains a convent and a Royal Palace, now a hotel, where we had a coffee after visiting the wood.

After 2 nights in Luso, we have just driven up to Porto, where we have wi-fi again, and will spend a couple of nights here.

Seville

Staying at Camping Villsom in Don Hernanas, just outside Seville. Great camp site with free wi-fi, which seems to be coming more available, and is great for keeping in touch.

We have just spent the day sight seeing in Seville. Weather has changed from winter to summer overnight and we are overcome by the heat. 1C Friday to 30C today. Had a good run down from Salamanca yesterday, but talk of "deja vue". Needing to stop for diesel we pulled into a remote service area only to find it was the self same one Rachael and I stopped in when we were doing the Banjul Challenge. How weird is that. Uncannily, it was also hot and we sat outside at the same table drinking our coffee.

Thinking of heading off to Portugal tomorrow.

Salamanca

Spent today sight seeing in Salamanca, a beautiful city with buildings from the 14th and 15th centuries. Ready for a day off after 3 days on the road, and 1,100 miles behind us. Today dry but cool, not disimilar to the UK.
Fairly uneventful drive down apart from the diabolical weather. We've had high winds, rain, hail, and snow. Passing south of Bordeaux we saw the damage caused by recent high winds, with mile after mile of fallen trees.
The only moan we have is about the van, not the caravan part, but the Fiat bit. When it rains heavily the wipers sweep water to the driver's side, where it then runs like a river across the driver's side window, completely obscuring the view of the rear view mirror. That makes overtaking tricky! A new trick we have seen for the first time. In heavy winds the wing mirrors get blown in during strong gusts, but this time the winds were actually distorting the front van doors to the point where the interior light came on, expecting we were opening them. What can we say apart from Fiat "touch where it fits" engineering.
Tomorrow heading south again to Ronda or Marbella, hoping for more warmth and sun.

Five days to go

We've decided to get away again from the cold winter weather, and we're off in the motorhome for a month in Spain and Portugal.
We've bought the ferry tickets and will be heading down to Portsmouth for the trip to Le Havre next Tuesday, then it's away south to the Malaga area.
I've spent the last two days preparing the van, cleaning inside, topping up all the fluids, and making sure everything works.