Melrose Chain Bridge
Peter and I decided to go to Scotland to tour the bits we didn't know, unfortunately Storm Ali decided to join us – but more about that later.
First stop was Falkirk, staying at the Wheel Caravan Park, just a 10 minute walk from the Falkirk Wheel. The site is run by an interesting chap – Hogi, who had recently acquired a horse and cart and he very obligingly took us up the hill for our first visit to the, incredibly good, Canada Wood Restaurant, although Thomas (the horse) didn't seem too keen, I think he'd been looking forward to a rest and kept trying to turn around. After a trip on the Wheel, which was fascinating, we walked into Falkirk along the lower canal and back along the top one.
After a – long awaited - visit to the Kelpies, we headed to Pitlochry which included a visit to the Blair Atholl Distillery, the home of Bells Whisky.
The Torvean camp site near Inverness (about a half an hour walk from the city, but the city tour bus stops nearby as well) was the next stop and it's opposite the embarkation point for a boat trip along a bit of the Caledonian Canal and around Loch Ness. The boat goes a far as Urquhart Castle and you get an excellent view of the ruins from the loch.
Heading for Skye we stopped off at Eilean Donan on the way. This is the castle that seems to be featured on the front of most of the ads for Scotland, and it's not disappointing. Over the bridge into Skye (in pouring rain) we drove to Torvaig camp site, just outside of Portree. We had a look around the town next morning before setting off towards the Old Man of Storr, where we planned to walk. However, when we got there you couldn't park for about a mile in either direction – probably more with the van, so we had to content ourselves with the sight.
First stop was Falkirk, staying at the Wheel Caravan Park, just a 10 minute walk from the Falkirk Wheel. The site is run by an interesting chap – Hogi, who had recently acquired a horse and cart and he very obligingly took us up the hill for our first visit to the, incredibly good, Canada Wood Restaurant, although Thomas (the horse) didn't seem too keen, I think he'd been looking forward to a rest and kept trying to turn around. After a trip on the Wheel, which was fascinating, we walked into Falkirk along the lower canal and back along the top one.
After a – long awaited - visit to the Kelpies, we headed to Pitlochry which included a visit to the Blair Atholl Distillery, the home of Bells Whisky.
The Torvean camp site near Inverness (about a half an hour walk from the city, but the city tour bus stops nearby as well) was the next stop and it's opposite the embarkation point for a boat trip along a bit of the Caledonian Canal and around Loch Ness. The boat goes a far as Urquhart Castle and you get an excellent view of the ruins from the loch.
Heading for Skye we stopped off at Eilean Donan on the way. This is the castle that seems to be featured on the front of most of the ads for Scotland, and it's not disappointing. Over the bridge into Skye (in pouring rain) we drove to Torvaig camp site, just outside of Portree. We had a look around the town next morning before setting off towards the Old Man of Storr, where we planned to walk. However, when we got there you couldn't park for about a mile in either direction – probably more with the van, so we had to content ourselves with the sight.
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Eilean Donan Castle
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The Kelpies
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We did manage to park at Lealt Falls and at Meall Tuath before driving past Uig, stopping on the opposite headland which gave us an excellent view of the town, then on to our next site at Loch Greshornish.
This is a lovely camp site next to the Loch and about a half an hour walk from an excellent restaurant, the Edinbane Inn. We used Greshornish as a base to visit Dunvegan Castle – stronghold of the McLeonds but having seen one of the prettiest castles in Scotland (Eilean Donan) this struck me as one of the most 'dour'. It was, nevertheless, an interesting place and the gardens were lovely. However, before going into the castle we took a trip to see the seals – ON A VERY SMALL BOAT!!
From the castle we followed the tiny road north to the Coral Beaches, having to shoehorn the van into a very small car park, but it was a pleasant walk to the beaches.
On another day we went to Neist Point and walked to the lighthouse, in reasonable weather. It was not to last....
This is a lovely camp site next to the Loch and about a half an hour walk from an excellent restaurant, the Edinbane Inn. We used Greshornish as a base to visit Dunvegan Castle – stronghold of the McLeonds but having seen one of the prettiest castles in Scotland (Eilean Donan) this struck me as one of the most 'dour'. It was, nevertheless, an interesting place and the gardens were lovely. However, before going into the castle we took a trip to see the seals – ON A VERY SMALL BOAT!!
From the castle we followed the tiny road north to the Coral Beaches, having to shoehorn the van into a very small car park, but it was a pleasant walk to the beaches.
On another day we went to Neist Point and walked to the lighthouse, in reasonable weather. It was not to last....
Neist Point Lighthouse
Moving on to the Glenbrittle campsite – great location, but tortuous to get to, we passed the Fairy Pools, which we had planned to walk to, but again couldn't get parked. In fact, we barely got along the road for parked vehicles. Once settled, we went for a walk along the beach but then it started to rain, and then it really started to rain. The following morning the weather was truly awful.
We had planned to camp a Sligachan that night, but as the weather was so bad we decided to head straight for Broadford, where there is a village and a shiny new campsite (then). We visited Armadale Castle next day, getting back early afternoon, which is just as well as the winds increased to around forty-five miles an hour with lashing rain. We went for a walk around the headland on Wednesday; it was raining to start with but did clear up.
We left Skye via Mallaig then got the ferry from Lochalinne to Mull and stayed at Craignure for 4 nights. We decided to drive around the Island on the scenic route – we should have known better! The A roads are challenging enough but the B roads – to be avoided. We did get to Tobermoray eventually, where we had a look around and lunch and the following day we took the ferry to Iona and toured the Abbey. Excellent trip, if a bit of a bumpy ferry ride.
From Mull we got the ferry to Oban and drove to Tynedrum, where there are two railway stations, which seemed a good considering the weather and the forecast – Storm Ali remember? We stayed at the 'By the Way' camp site, and Ali joined us just after midnight. We got the full works, thunder, lightning, high winds and very heavy rain. It was very violent and noisy, but there were no mishaps.
In the aftermath we decided the trains were the best option - to Oban one day and to Mallaig on another, which was a particularly pleasant journey, as coming back because we saw quite a lot of wildlife. Of course, we also went over the Glennfinan Viaduct (of Harry Potter fame).
After stopping off to see some friends who live in Helensburgh, during which time we visited the Botanical Gardens in Glasgow, we broke our journey home in Melrose for a couple of nights. where we explored the town trail, the chain bridge and the Abbey.
4 weeks. Excellent trip, in spite of Storm Ali.
We had planned to camp a Sligachan that night, but as the weather was so bad we decided to head straight for Broadford, where there is a village and a shiny new campsite (then). We visited Armadale Castle next day, getting back early afternoon, which is just as well as the winds increased to around forty-five miles an hour with lashing rain. We went for a walk around the headland on Wednesday; it was raining to start with but did clear up.
We left Skye via Mallaig then got the ferry from Lochalinne to Mull and stayed at Craignure for 4 nights. We decided to drive around the Island on the scenic route – we should have known better! The A roads are challenging enough but the B roads – to be avoided. We did get to Tobermoray eventually, where we had a look around and lunch and the following day we took the ferry to Iona and toured the Abbey. Excellent trip, if a bit of a bumpy ferry ride.
From Mull we got the ferry to Oban and drove to Tynedrum, where there are two railway stations, which seemed a good considering the weather and the forecast – Storm Ali remember? We stayed at the 'By the Way' camp site, and Ali joined us just after midnight. We got the full works, thunder, lightning, high winds and very heavy rain. It was very violent and noisy, but there were no mishaps.
In the aftermath we decided the trains were the best option - to Oban one day and to Mallaig on another, which was a particularly pleasant journey, as coming back because we saw quite a lot of wildlife. Of course, we also went over the Glennfinan Viaduct (of Harry Potter fame).
After stopping off to see some friends who live in Helensburgh, during which time we visited the Botanical Gardens in Glasgow, we broke our journey home in Melrose for a couple of nights. where we explored the town trail, the chain bridge and the Abbey.
4 weeks. Excellent trip, in spite of Storm Ali.
Glasgow Botanical Gardens
