It was another slow start 😆. J ran laps of the park whilst I did pilates … in the sun 😲!
Alva overnight … Corrie does like to get involved
Did you know a little mashed potato, egg and cooked onion makes an amazing potato pancake? A first for us and served with cheesey scrambled egg. A good start to the day! I did my 2 day shop at the local butcher and Coop … every town has one. Eventually we set off for Dollar. Detour via the Stirling Outlet Centre … 5 outdoor shops but a little short on stock, but picked J up some walking trousers.
Roadside parking in Dollar as I didn’t like the look of a shrinking road and narrow hump backed bridge. J nanny napped whilst C and I did another Glen walk. A bridge had collapsed, so we were diverted onto the road past the car parks. Just as well I’d parked on the edge of the town as Jez would’ve struggled to get in. Sometimes my instincts are right!
Castle Campbell. I didn’t go in, but Corrie snuck in whilst I was looking at a map. This lad said the water wasn’t cold! His mate told the truth … freezing!!
Our overnight was a 5 pitch CL called Powblack Farm. At £20 with EHU, but no other facilities, it made Carr’s Hill £25, with washing machine, dish washer and fab bathrooms, seem really good value. I know some people don’t have much money, but there really is no need to have your farmhouse so untidy and messy that we thought it was uninhabited. Judgemental. Yes, totally!
Very slow start, again! But we did both run. Well, slight exaggeration as J ran. I staggered. In fact, I was staggered that the last time I ran was 28th May and the time before was March. In my defence, we have walked and I’ve done Pilates, classes and at home. But, boy, my legs knew about it … legs and my per km time both definitely dun better. Great to use the Falkirk Wheel showers after.
We drove to Dunmore Castle and the more famous Pineapple, another Atlas Obscura. We stopped at a narrow opening to the car park, leant out of the window to ask if big Jez could get to the car park. Yes, says she. A few pot holes but the car park isn’t too busy. We slowly set off. Pot holes weren’t the problem. Low hanging branches were! And when we saw the parking, there was no way we would have fitted, or been able to turn around. Really should know better than to rely on someone else’s opinion about our size and roads!!! So ivreversed to the sound of branches scraping side. Asked a lady sat outside her Gatehouse garden if she knew where we could park. She kindly offered the spot in front of her house and she was rewarded with a 500ml of Spiros’ Cretan olive oil.
Dunmore Park was a great place to meander. The Pineapple was built as a folly one side of the walled gardens at a time when pineapples were a novelty. Originally, glass houses fanned either side. Now, it is under the care of the National Trust for Scotland and is holiday accommodation.
Next is Elphinstone Tower. Elphinstone was the one-time family name. Now, a ruin it sits to one side of the graveyard for family and servants.
The piece de resistance was the Castle and stables. During the war it was a hospital. Then a private school. In the 1970’s it was abandoned and the roof removed to avoid paying property tax.
It doesn’t take long for nature to take possession.Two large wine cellars, would love to have done a tasting in it’s heyday.
Having run and walked, my legs were definitely heavy. We had intended to clean Jez at an award winning 5 pitch CL called Carr’s Hill,
but all I managed was 2 loads of laundry through the twin tub and some restorative wine!
I’ve read a ton of blog posts of travellers raving about the Kelpies and the Falkirk Wheel and fully expected to be underwhelmed. I wasn’t. We were wowed. We stayed the night at both sites (£10 and £15 including use of showers at the Wheel) so we could enjoy them lit up. Really worth doing.
After leaving the Kelso meet, we filled with LPG in Melrose and stopped off at Callender Park … not to be confused with Callander the town … all of one vowel change. It was a busy park and not worth a detour. Perhaps my walk was tainted by having to wash Corrie in the car park. She rolled in horse shite just as the words … “leave it” left my mouth.
The Forbes Mausoleum is listed in Atlas Obscura, hence the visit. Spoilt by graffiti and litter surrounding it. If you hunted, there were remnants of head stones around it.
We walked 3 times from the permitted overnight parking to the Kelpies. Daytime, at night and again in the morning to get our free coffee … the parking included a bogof, so we did … and breakfast!Â
They are modelled on two Clydesales. Really they impart the sense of grace and power.Being so far North, it doesn’t get properly dark till long past our bedtimes.
We hadn’t planned to overnight at the Falkirk Wheel, but an enthusiastic Scot bounded over … he’d stayed for 2 nights, sleeping in the back of his car. Staff had cottoned on to his lack of facilities(i. e. Toilet) and having not paid, so he was leaving today. But he did tell us the Wheel being lit at night was worth staying for. So we did.
We had booked online the boat ride where you are carried up 30m from one canal to the next. Just as well we had tickets, as folk were being turned away.  A nice trip with an amusing commentary from the staff and an audio fact filled one. The Wheel was a Millenium project to replace 11 locks which took boaters 6 hours to navigate. It’s free to canal traffic and will take canoes and paddle boards …should have brought my board!
All aboardCorrie didn’t much care for the boat engine, sodid the trip on my lap!
In the afternoon, Corrie and I walked along a canal to Bonneybridge, then under it, and back along the Antonine Wall and the site of Roughcastle Fort. The wall was the most northerly stronghold of the Romans, but the Scots were so troublesome that they retreated back to Hadrian’s Wall.Â
We joined a Motorhomer.com meet in Kelso for 5 nights, predominantly to catch up with Margaret & Shirley and Meg, who all live nearby. We’ve been members of this and the sister group, wildcamping.co.uk for quite some time, so chatted with other folk we knew. And lots we’d not met before, which is the nature of these meets. In fact, it took me all one morning to just do 2 loads of laundry in the twin tub. I’m so easily distracted!
Nicely spaced out and we weren’t the only flying the Irish flag
We ate solo, well the two of us, on the first night and then we hosted M&S, they cooked, we went out and then hosted Meg and Tiny Tim (tall!). We did manage a dry night! And I only took 2 bottles across to the bins after Meg and Tim … that didn’t look too bad for 4 of us! But what others don’t know is that we refilled from Greek box wine, maybe, a few times! So no weight lost these few days, although we did both exercise / run.
Weather wise … mixed. But better than being in Crete, or anywhere else in the Med for that matter. We can move without getting sticky and it’s cool enough to sleep at night. We even added a blanket to our summer duvet. Not at the stage of adding our heated under blanket … yet! Rain stopped play, well archery. I had to abort firing arrows to rescue nearly dry laundry from a downpour.
I did a fab walk along one of the rivers with Corrie and we both walked in Bowmont forest … a good tip from a chatty coffeehouse customer. Really do appreciate the lushness, greeness and diversity of the trees.
River Teviot walkBowmont ForestViews across purple haze of thistle fieldsCorrie transforming into a zebra
Van wise, all is still not well. The feffing fridge freezer had stopped working, despite new burner. One of the members, Jeff, managed to get it going and showed us how to lube the contacts. But it stopped again on the last night. After talking to a local repair centre (knows Meg), he diagnosed the connection brick … I managed to find one in stock and it’s now with Lisa in Tyneside. Both bathroom and kitchen taps are also crook, and replacements also heading towards Lisa. We can’t get hot water on gas either. Seems to be unrelated to the fridge issue. Both hot water and fridge will run off our leisure batteries . This is working fine when we harvest sufficient solar. Fortunately, there are really powerful and hot showers at the Kelso meet … lovely to stand under and luxuriate in not having to turn off between lathering and rinsing.
Mum knits well. But I have to sew in ends and together. Suspect my new aran jumper will get some use this trip.With my waterproof now with Lisa, M&S loaned me one of theirs. Fetching or what, but v useful.
After narrowboating, of course, we’re now experts, we drove to a 5 pitch site just outside York for the night.
Don’t trust published or real time bus times! I’d checked the published timetable for busses into York. At the bus stop I used the qr code for real time info. 26 mins to wait. It was cold, so I said I’d walk Corrie in the field opposite. Only to watch the bus sail by! Grr another 20 min wait. But an interesting chat with a couple from Fuertaventura… she’d lived in Spanish Sahara and had to leave with 2 small children with 2 hour’s notice when Franco died. Morocco had designs on the territory and was invading.
Initial impressions of York were not favourable. Pavements with paint, rubbish and grubby buildings. We followed an app walking tour and soon warmed to York. Lots of interactive museums; the Railway Museum had been recommended by 2 people. Interesting architecture and history. We didn’t have time to do it justice at all … reckon a week would do it. So another go back to. We were seriously limited on time, as we then had a 4 hour drive up to a motorhome meet in Kelso.
Clifford’s Mount – start of our walking tourNarrow streetsBrunchThe Shambleswith lots of independent shops. There was a massive queue for a ghost figurine shop … every pub had at least 3 ghosts. Christmas shop where all the customers were greeted with a cherry Happy ChristmasHoly Trinity Church GoodramgateI spoke to the volunteer who explained that York has more C15 and C16 strained glass than anywhere else in England. Much was destroyed by Oliver Cromwell’s troops. Fortunately for York, a local man led the fight here and he preserved it. An unusual peep hole between a Chapel and the main church, so two parallel services could run … in parallel!Most of the church has old box pews with seats facing each other. Families would discuss the sermon from the pulpit. After the Refamation, the church decreed that pews should all face forward and the congregation should listen to the sermon delivered by the alter. This church had lost it’s wealthy patrons as they moved out of the city, and so the church only had the money to install a few of the new pews. The Church, frustrated with the progress, closed the church building, thus preserving the original pews. Refurbishment of the Minster … scaffolding tours available. I fancied a ride in the lift. York Minster is the 2nd largest Gothic cathedral in Europe. It did feel huge walking next to it. City walls
Clune Gap Years 