We’d only had ‘Scotty’ for three months but had already decided to leave the car behind and take it on our annual holiday, a two week tour of Scotland. We’d bought the van from a dealer in Edinburgh in January and with the number plate ending in USS, Scotty seemed an appropriate name, despite our complete disinterest in Star Trek. And, we were certain that it would only enhance our journey, if it didn’t break down!
Truth be told, we hadn’t been planning a camping trip and had already booked and paid for most of our youth hostel accommodation months in advance. We’d have a few nights at Lucy’s sister’s on the isle of Orkney which only left a further four nights for which we decided to use the van for its purpose and camp.
Our route would take from Cambridgeshire up through the Northumbrian hills to and on to New Lanark, just short of Glasgow. From there we’d go to Loch Lomond for a couple of nights, westward to the Isle of Mull, then north to get the ferry to Orkney. We’d have five days there then return, via the Cairngorms, to Huntingdon where we live.
Things didn’t start off too well to be honest. Our planned early start was delayed by a leaking fuel tank at our first fill up, just half a mile from home. Typically, as soon as I had the AA on the phone, the leak subsided and we decided to chance it. We had no further problems with it once we’d realised it was fine if we didn’t completely fill up when we refuelled. We left the A1 at Darlington and took the A68 through Durham County and through the Northumberland National Park. This really is a great camper vanning route. Meandering roads that rise and fall over the hills overlooking splendorous views made all the prettier by the lambing season of early April and plenty of places to just pull up and put the kettle on.
By late afternoon, we reached the old wool producing village and World Heritage Site of New Lanark. Built by social pioneer Robert Owen on the banks of the River Clyde this was a wonderful place to stay and a lovely hostel, converted from one of the old wool mills.
The River Clyde
Us
The roof garden on the museum
The next day we made our way to Loch Lomond by what I thought would be a clever route to the east of Glasgow via Motherwell and Airdrie. We shouldn’t have bothered, it took ages and wasn’t very pretty, not on the roads we found anyway! Loch Lomond made up for it though. Stunningly beautiful. The fantastic weather we were fortunate enough to have made it all the better but really...stunning. We’d booked a room at the Rowardennan Lodge Youth Hostel, right on the eastern shore of the loch which afforded magnificent views across the waters. The hostel itself had a nice atmosphere and was worthy of the long, narrow and bumpy road driven to reach it.
The view from our bedroom window
The lodge is right on the West Highland Way, a footpath that runs from Milngavie, just north of Glasgow, to Fort William, some 96 miles away. We had a day to spend there so decided to walk about seven miles of the famous route, to Inversnaid where we could take a couple of ferries back to Rowardennan.
We met all sorts of people along the way, most of whom were walking the whole 96 miles. They didn’t have an eighteen month old in a buggy to push along though, or to carry over some of the tree rooted and rocky paths for which we were applauded when we reached the ferry terminus by people who had passed us along the way. From the ferry is definitely the best way to see the loch though and to appreciate its vastness.
Day four saw us heading for Tobermoray on the Isle of Mull, or, as every eighteen month old will know it, Balamoray. Along the way we stopped at the village of Luss on the western shore of Loch Lomond.
Then we took the A83 past Loch Long and on to Loch Fyne, named after the restaurant chain
We stopped at their establishment on the edge of the Loch in search of fresh mussels for that evening’s tea but had no luck, only oysters. We struggled to find any anywhere actually which surprised me. Just down the road we got to Inveraray which looked lovely but prohibited the parking of campervans from any of it’s car parks that we found, so we moved on.
Inveraray is also home to Peter of Wagonbuild who we’d bought some van parts from a month before. We pulled in for a cuppa but he wasn’t there, never mind.
At Oban, we took the ferry over to Mull passing Duart Castle as we crossed the Firth of Lorn to Craignure where the boat docked.
We had a couple of nights in the hostel in Tobermoray, not one I would return to, and our day on the island proved to be the only day’s rain we had in the whole two weeks. Not bad. We did a tour around Mull in the van, stopping a lovely little tea shop near Dervaig, then at Calgary beach which was beautiful but bleak on this wet day...
and then at Duart Castle, ancestral home of the Clan McClean. And, we finally found some mussels at a fish mongers just outside Tobermoray, so moules marinere for tea!
The next day we were heading for Fort William and our first nights camping of the holiday. We left Mull on the little roll on roll off ferry from Fishnish to Loacaline, through Gleann Geal...
and along the banks of Loch Linnhe to our campsite in Glen Nevis.
What a lovely spot and no sooner had we arrived, than two more T25s turned up. We got talking to an older couple from Essex who had their Devon conversion for years and toured all over the UK in it but now were on the brink of selling it as it needed renovating.
We were very snug in our little van through the cold night and after breakfast , followed Glen Mor past Loch Lochy, (the best named Loch in Scotland, surely)...
...and on to Loch Ness. We stopped at the Loch Ness museum/visitors centre and did the tour which Billie loved, and then we had to buy two cuddly Nessies from the traditional museum shop.
Next stop, Fort George. On the headland of the Morray Firth, it was built in the 18th century and its barracks are still in use today by the British Army, although I believe they’ve improved the toilets over the years. You can walk around the ramparts which afford great views out over the firth and there’s a museum too...but you’ll need to like medals...a lot.
Back in Scotty, we headed for Dunbeath on the A9 where our Tiny Campsites book recommended a nice site. It was very tiny, just six hard standing places and some grass. The toilet block was being refurbished too which would have proved inconvenient had their B&B not been empty which we were given use of...well the bathroom anyway.
The next morning we had to catch a mid day ferry from Scrabster to Stromness on the Orkney mainland. We got going early so we’d have time to go via John o’Groats...well, it had to be done, right? I went to Lands End a few years ago but the ideology didn’t really live up to reality. John O’Groats, sadly was worse. In it’s hay day, it must have been quite special, but now, the former hotel, once taking pride of place one the shore and still the dominant feature was barricaded off and falling into an increasing state of disrepair. Still, we’d made it, almost without a hitch, to the end of mainland UK in our van. We were chuffed
Thankfully the weather was still great and the seas calm for the two hour crossing to Orkney.
Lucy’s sister Jane and her husband Michael’s house.
We stayed five nights with them in their old croft and each day, went sight-seeing around the island. There’s so much to see, even just on the main island where were stayed, such as...
The Standing Stones of Stenness...
The Ring of Brodgar...
The fantastic Skara Brae....
Brough of Birsay...
The fascinating Kirbuster Farm Museum...
In good company at Maeshowe...
The Churchill Barriers...
The beautiful and heart warming Italian Chapel...
And the disappointing Tomb of the Eagles...
All in all, we had a fantastic time on Orkney and would heartily recommend anyone make a visit.
Our five days were soon up and it was time to leave Orkney, Jane and Michael behind and head south to the Cairngorm National Park. This, as it turned out, was one of the high lights of the trip. We entered the national park on the Lecht Road from Grantown-on-Spey, which afforded spectacular view across the Cairngorm Mountains and of Glen Avon.
We were heading for the youth hostel in Braemar which turned out to be lovely. Little Summer loved it as she saw her first Cockerel there too and was memorised by it’s cockle-doodle-doo!
And we of course, went to Balmoral...
The road out of the Cairngorms, through Glen Shee, was equally as beautiful as the route in and a couple of pitched tents reminded us that next time we should free camp. We headed back to New Lanark on the banks of the Clyde to reclaim a casserole pot that we’d left at the hostel there on the first night! We stopped at a site at Abington, just off the M74 at Junction 13.
Again, the weather was unseasonably warm so we fired up our new BBQ and did an Easter egg hunt for the girls.
We had planned to stop in Whitby for a night but having decided that, being bank holiday, half of Yorkshire would probably be there, we instead headed for Barnard Castle where we’d holidayed the year before. The Camping & Caravanning Club site served us well and offered a nice relaxing last night to our holiday before our final drive home.
All in all we had a brilliant holiday, the people were friendly, the scenery stunning, and Scotty had, after our wobbly start, behaved impeccably. The glorious weather had been the icing on the cake.
Haydn, Lucy & the girls.
