Bonny Scotland
We continued our journey to Scotland and were soon crossing the border and looking forward to arriving at our next destination, Wallyford park and ride.
///punks.entertainer.snaps
Wallyford is two stops from Edinburgh Waverly station which is the end of the line and stops right in the heart of the city of Edinburgh. The van was on a slight slope so we put it on the chocks and settled down for the evening.
9th April
That was not the quietest nights sleep with the main line to Edinburg on one side and the road on the other but the trains stopped at around 23:00 so we managed to get a few hours sleep.
After breakfast we walked to Wallyford station and bought two return tickets to Edinburgh Waverly for around £10 and waited for the train. The express trains must have been doing about 100 MPH (in old money).
Our train arrived and the short 10 minute journey was smooth and quiet and we got off at Waverly station and got up to street level where we were met by the sites of Edinburg!
We had a great day in Edinburgh walking down Princes street and up to the castle, around the monuments and tasting the mochas in a lovely (posh) cafe/resturaunt and then we returned to the station and sat on a park bench where we had our little picnic and watched the people passing by.
We ended up in Wetherspoons where we had a couple of pints each before catching the train back to Wallyford and the Mac shack for a well deserved rest!
10th April
Another noisy night with a speeding car screeching around the roads nearby wearing it's tyres out! It all went quiet eventually and the morning sun streamed through the blinds as we got up and made ready to move on.
Today we hoped to find a place to empty our waste and take on some fresh water so we headed for Broxden park and ride which was advertised as an overnight park up managed by the local council, which had the services that we required.
///tower.cans.wasp
When we pulled into the park and ride we couldn't see anywhere to park a motorhome and Andy phoned the council but although they said that we could stay we decided to just empty the toilet cassette in the elsan point and continue to our second choice as there was no space big enough for motorhomes and it was far too 'busy'.
Peel farm and cafe was not too far away and we had phoned ahead and were assured that we would be welcome to stay.
///goose.occupy.tripled
After some narrow bridges and beautiful country roads we pulled into the farm car park and went into the cafe to introduce ourselves and have mochas and cake, sitting outside in the sunshine to enjoy them.
We then went into the 'Courtyard' gift shop and bought a couple of bottles of craft beers for tonight!
It went quiet once the cafe had closed at 17:00 and Andy went to get some drinking water, as agreed with the staff, from the tap on the wall and also put around 25 litres in the fresh water tank, using a watering can which he borrowed from the gardening area.
We went to explore around the back of the cafe where we found donkeys, pigmy goats, turkeys, hens and deer!
As the evening sun set we opened the bottles of beer and chilled.
11th April
We had a lovely quiet night, compared to the two nights that we had at Wallyford park and ride! We got the paddleboards out of the trailer and walked to the Loch of Lintrathen where there were a few youngsters doing the same. As we started to pump our boards up one of the lads came over and offered to pump the boards up for us! We accepted, gratefully and wondered if we really looked that old? It was lovely of him to be so thoughtful. He was training as a kick boxing cage fighter!
We launched the boards and enjoyed a leisurely paddle around the Loch fighting the wind which eventually blew Andy across the Loch almost to the far shore as he couldn't manage to turn the board around and into the wind due to an injured shoulder.
He gave up and allowed the board to be blown to the shore where he got out and walked back a way until he got out of the wind and then paddled back to Sue.
Back to the van and a quick change into dry clothes and then into the cafe for lunch.
After that we thought that a walk was in order so Andy strapped the drone on and we set off towards the river Isla and the Reekie Linn waterfall.
///ladder.cowering.tutorial
It was about a 20 minute walk from the Peel farm car park and was well worth the walk. We needed to get some steps in after our lunch anyway!
When we got to the river we understood why it was so popular, it was beautiful. We were the only ones there as it was early evening and the sun would be setting within the next hour.
Andy got the drone up and flew it along the waterfall and down into the bowl and then back up again.
That was brilliant and we walked back to the van as the sun set and the moon rose on another lovely day.
12th April
Up and tidy we popped into the cafe and gift shop to say goodbye and thank you and then set off for Killiemuir, ///pile.fled.outcasts a small town just a few miles from Peel farm which was where Bon Scott, the singer for AC/DC in the 1970's lived until he was six years old and his family emigrated to Australia.
We parked the van and walked over to the statue of Bon, took some selfies and then wandered up the hill to the Peter Pan statue, ///mainframe.napped.coconuts this was also the birth place of the author, J M Barrie.
Of course we had a Guiness 0.0 % in the local pub and then back on the road to the Cairngorms and a place in the woods called Cambus O'May. ///crackling.basic.caked.This was an area (Aire) run by the Scottish forestry council and cost £7 per night with no facilities so we found a place to dump our waste and fill up with fresh water at Knocknahushoch farm which was a farm strip airfield, the type that Andy used to visit when he was a pilot.
We pulled out of the car park at Kirriemuir and said goodbye to Bon Scott as we passed his statue turning right and powering up the hill and out of the village.
As we pulled into the airfield there were a couple of planes in the circuit and they landed right in front of us as we came to a stop at the services.
We emptied and filled at the very tidy, clean and well organised services and paid the £7 fee and then watched the aircraft taking off and landing for a while before getting back on the road.
The Cairngorms national park is a place that we wanted to visit the last time we were in Scotland but ran out of time so we were looking forward to seeing at least some of it this time around.
We pulled into the site at Cambus O'May and parked on a fairly level pitch and settled down, we didn't feel like exploring as we had done all that at Kirriemuir earlier in the day.
13th April
That was a peaceful night in the woods and we were ready to move on to Balmoral castle, ///retrieves.emulated.horses the highland home of the Royal family, where we found that the car park was also an overnight stop for motorhomes!
So we packed up and headed off for Balmoral.
We paid £5 to park for the day and walked across the bridge over the river Dee and into the ticket office. Tickets bought, £18.50 each, we started our tour of the grounds, following the numbered boards and listening to the audio description on the app.
The history is well worth checking out and as this is not a history blog we put links to the information throughout the web site and if you want to learn more about Balmoral castle click here.
We spent a few hours wandering the grounds and gardens and also had a look in the ballroom, which was only part of the castle open to the public today, and then found the cafe and rested our legs whilst we had a Royal beef sandwich and mochas before returning to the van and paying a further £5 to stay the night.
14th April
Today we will get the bikes out and investigate the Pyramid Cairn which Queen Victoria had erected for her late husband Prince Albert.
After some research we discovered that it was a further 1000 feet higher than the castle and only some of it was by road so undaunted, (Oblivious to the task ahead), we set off and after a couple of wrong turns found the start of the long, steep climb to the Pyramid. We locked the bikes up and started our trek skywards, stopping often for breathers and to let our legs settle down.
As we reached the summit, there it was. A very impressive Pyramid 41 feet by 41 feet at it's base and the views from here where stunning.
We sat for a while taking in the views and then it started to snow/sleet, albeit very gently but the temperature dropped and we decided to start on down and get back to the bikes and home so that we could move on to our next stop, Cullen, where the famous 'Cullen Skink soup' comes from.
So, we put the bikes back in the trailer and headed off up the road and through the eastern side of the Cairngorms passing through Kintore, Inverurie, Bainshole and stopping at Tesco in Huntly ///conveys.latched.intestine where we had a bite to eat and a cuppa before continuing to Cullen via the town of Kieth and the village of Slackhead.
We parked in the motorhome aire ///cult.pickle.ballpoint having paid for two nights online at the cost of £12 per night. The facilities where the usual but excluding EHU and we were parked a few metres from the beach!
We secured the van and went to explore the town of Cullen which has an interesting history.
We ended up in The Royal Oak where we had beers, gins and whisky, (Laphroaig).
15th April
Last night well fell into a peaceful sleep with the sound of the crashing waves in the background and woke to a sunrise which promised another bright and dry day.
We got the bikes ready and cycled along the coast admiring the views from the Cullen viaduct, a historical landmark, and onto the next town of Portknockie where we saw the harbours and beautiful beaches set in small coves.
Onto Findochty and it's harbour and the only pub, The Admirals Inn (which we didn't go in) before turning back just as it started to rain!
We thought that it would be a good idea to take shelter from the rain and found ourselves at The Royal Oak again where we treated ourselves to a Cullen Skink and a whisky each.
Back to the van to relax and watch the waves before going for a sunset walk.
16th April
When it was time to leave Cullen we stopped off at the service area before heading up the hill and under the viaduct to continue our journey to Inverness.
The journey was uneventful excepting that we stopped on the way at the Sueno stone at Forres, ///published.redeeming.packets a stone which is said to be from the year 600 AD. Follow the green link to find more info on this.
We took some photos of the stone and read the information boards and then carried on with our journey to Inverness and the revolution machines on the forcourt of the local petrol station where we spent the next few hours washing and drying our clothes, boring but essential!
Job done we continued across the Kessock bridge which spans the Moray and Beauty Firths and onto the Cromarty bridge, along the A-9 to the town of Tain where we had found a free park up with no services.
///quieter.insulated.paves
The Tain park up was just a car park but it was right on top of the Dornoch firth and the view across the firth was spectacular.
The spot was famous locally for the statues of the dogs which sat on the park bench gazing out to the firth. Andy set the drone to work to show off the views.
Andy walked back to Lidl and bought some booze for the evening and we settled down for a quiet nights sleep.
17th April
We left this car park and set off toward Tesco for some fuel but took a wrong turn and ended up driving down some very narrow lanes to get back on track!
Eventually we found a petrol station and filled the tanks, van and diesel heater, and continued on the NC500 across the firth of Dornoch bridge and on through Dunrobin, Helmsdale, Dunbeath and Lybster and finally arriving at Halberry croft for the night. ///fortnight.from.streamers
Follow the link to a Youtube video about the NC500
What a lovely place this is! We got the chairs out and sat in the sun as it went down behind us. We were the only ones here and it was so peaceful. It had all of the usual services except EHU for £10 per night.
We could see the sea in front of us about a 20 minute walk but we opted to stay put for the evening. The Aurora was promised later on and we stared eagerly at the northern sky but were disappointed and gave up, sloping off to bed a little later than usual.
18th April
Andy made the most of the lovely weather and got his toolbox out and fixed the lighting fault.
Note:
(There was an ongoing fault with the side marker lights and they kept blowing the lighting fuse which meant that we had no lights except indicators!)
Andy decided that he would dismantle all six marker lights and check/rewire them to ensure that there were no issues, and then he replaced the fuse with a new 10amp and the lights worked.
We hope that this has fixed the problem for now but we have decided to replace all of the side marker lights and rewire the new ones when we have completed this adventure.
That done, we dumped our waste, filled with fresh water and put the £10 donation in the box and hit the road.
We now had a noise coming from the rear of the van and suspected a nearside wheel bearing. We found a Halfords workshop and pulled in to ask for advice. They couldn't fit us in for about a week but one of the chaps confirmed what we thought the problem was and advised that we keep the speed down until we could get back down to a large town like Fort William or Inverness where we had a better chance of getting a new bearing fitted.
We limped along the NC500 at around 35MPH, which was about right for the road anyway and soon we were pulling into John O'Groats car park, ///butternut.demand.duty
We parked up and found ourselves at the famous signpost and got some selfies before heading into the gift shop and then the cafe.
Andy decided that we should stay at the caravan site tonight as it was so nice and we paid £24 for pitch 16 and got the chairs out.....well you know the rest! ///handfuls.gone.amending
We both made use of the fantastic showers and settled down to bed.
19th April
A bit of a noisy evening as other vans were arriving and in the morning as they got themselves ready to leave but that just reminded us why we like to find off grid park ups with no neighbours!
Andy took the drone to the beach and got some video of the camp site and the rock formations on the beach and then we dumped our waste and set off to Dunnet head lighthouse, the most northerly point of mainland Britain. ///misty.impeached.grumble
We got some great shots of the lighthouse and sea views and then walked up to the summit where we had a look at the remains of the lookout posts from world war two.
From here we had found a park up for tonight which looked promising and was free so we set off towards Fresgoe where there was a harbour, Sandside bay, and a beach. ///promises.dreamers.talkers
We drove along the northern section of the NC500 over terrain which changed by the minute from rugged, bleak and baron to beautiful beach and sea views and roads which wound around hairpin turns and became single track width with passing places to allow to vehicles to get by eachother.
As we pulled into the park up we were overwelmed by the sight and sound of the waves crashing against the shore and we parked facing the sea so that we could watch the spectacle.
We couldn't wait to get our boots and coats on and go to explore the beach where we firstly found a small harbour before walking through the dunes and down onto the beach where we climbed on the rock formations to get closer to the crashing waves.
Back at the van we were visited by police, (three times in a few hours!) they didn't knock, just drove into the harbour car park and left. We discovered that it was due to there being a nuclear facility across the bay from us and they were patrolling in case of various threats to the facility. Apparently the Vulcan Naval Reactor Test Establishment used to supply fuel for the nuclear submarines and is now being decommissioned.
20th April
A good night last night and today we move on to Skerray bay, another free park up! ///branched.escapes.restless
We set off and looked forward to seeing more of the NC500 and the sandy beaches and wild seas ahead.
We pulled into a view point area where there was a beautiful place with picnic tables in a fenced garden where you can sit and relax amongst the daffodils and have some peace and tranquility. It is called 'The Marie Curie Cancer Field of Hope'. Another beautiful and important place in the North Sutherland part of the NC500.
We carried on from here to our 2nd choice, the overnight at Skerray bay.
This was another free stop over and we were joined by a couple of other vans who also stayed the night.
We had a quick walk around the harbour and took a look over the harbour wall but still no seals or dolphins!
21st April
We had a good evening and a great sleep last night and after another short walk we set off towards Smoo caves.
The car park at Smoo caves, ///geese.politics.bookmarks had spaces for motorhomes and we backed into a space and paid for 3 hours, (£3.50) and set off to walk the few hundred metres to the cave.
The cave was amazing and we found some information about it which you can see here.
There was a tour on offer but card payment was unavailable due to lack of signal in the cave and unfortunately we had no cash on us so we couldn't take the tour :( We will return another time to take the tour.
As we had some time left on the car park ticket Andy walked up the road to have a look at the small John Lennon memorial garden. John, as a small boy used to spend his holidays near here with one of his aunties. Here is a short extract from his history of that time.
Every summer between 1949 and 1955, Smith (His aunt Mimi) sent John alone on a ten-hour bus journey to visit his Aunt Mater (Mimi's sister) and her family at their home near Loch Meadie in Durness, (near Smoo cave) on the north coast of Scotland.
The memorial garden was small but well tended and it was nice to see.
We were going to head along the north coast and then south to a stop over where we could empty and fill our tanks but as we got to the entrance to the Sango sands oasis campsite we decided to pull in and book a night there, even though it was £26 per night without EHU!
///wisely.herds.baseless
We were welcomed at the reception and given the choice of grass pitch so we drove over to the services area and then to our pitch.
WORK IN PROGRESS AFTER THIS LINE.
NOTES FOR ANDY FOR EDITTING NEXT PART OF JOURNEY:
- CAMP SITE SANGO SANDS OASIS FOR 2 DAYS
- LOCH ASSYNT, BOARDING, 2 NIGHTS
- ASSYNT LEISURE CENTRE SERVICE POINT
- SUMMER ISLES, BADENTARBET PULL IN
- WALK TO JETTY AND COFFEE
- BIKE RIDE AROUND BADENTARBET