Isle of Arran to Killin, Scotland, U.K. – March 14-17, 2012

More pictures here!

As it is with all travel, some experiences don’t live up to your expectations while other, seemingly innocuous experiences turn into fantastic memories.

The Isle or Arran falls into the former category; I would rank it up there with Iceland on the marketing scale and the experiences were much the same.  They are both islands, they have incredible scenery and wonderful hiking, but neither lived up to their marketing material when it came to picturesque towns or gourmet restaurants.

Both nights on the island we stayed at the functional Lochranza Campground (and golf course) and managed one hike.  Most people hike up Goat Fell (the highest peak on the island) but we decided to hike the Gleann Easan Biorach trail mostly because it started about ¼ mile from the campground and wound its way along a river and back into a valley.  I love a good valley hike!

It started out as a great hike but quickly turned to a slog- and bog- fest.  The recent rains (and snow) had left portions of the trail in deep quicksand-like mud.  We often sunk to depths over our boots and the dogs were black up to their stomachs.  Not being in this for torture, we turned at two miles, returned to Curry, got cleaned up (washed the dogs in the outside shower) and hit the Arran Malt Distillery tour.   Following the tour (and tasting) we loaded up on two bottles; one that was finished in a Port cask for me (it is a delightful apricot color and a bit sweeter than the others) and a more traditional single cask number for Alan.  We made it back to Curry just in time as the rain and wind set in for the night.

It was a long and mostly sleepless night with Curry swaying around in the wind (these European motorhomes are so light it doesn't take much to make them move.)  So we were up early and ready to hit the ferry.  A quick stop at the local bakery in Broddick garnered us a delicious loaf of multigrain bread and two sweet pastries. 

Now, a side note here:  There are lots of great reasons to travel in the off-season (like touring a castle by yourself) but it is much more difficult in a motorhome as most of the camping areas are closed.  So we knew we wanted to head to the Highlands but couldn’t find an open campground along the way until Killin.  In Killin, after a long day that started on a ferry and involved many highways and by-ways including the busy traffic through Glasgow, we decided the caravan park that was open just did not look comfortable enough so we backtracked to the very comfortable looking Bridge of Lochay Hotel.  And this became a prime example of a destination that exceeded our expectations.

The Hotel itself was charming with a large sitting room where guests mingled, cocktails in hand, around the fire before enjoying their gourmet meal in the restaurant.  For our dinner, we had to sit in the “back bar” so The Noses could participate but we were cozy next to the wood stove and perfectly happy with our homemade pumpkin tortellini and Scottish beef fillet.  The presentation too was gorgeous and the service perfect.

After a great night's sleep, two long, hot showers and an equally delicious breakfast of free range eggs and porridge (Alan is still practicing how to pronounce that after being given a lesson by our waiter who was sure he kept saying, “poached egg”) , we set off to hike Sron A’ Chlachain, a one mile trail straight up the hill overlooking Killin and Loch Tay (apparently the hearty Scottish do not need switch-backs.)   The hike provided us with stunning views and a great way to work off that delicious meal.

Leaving Killin we headed north toward Loch Ness and had no stopping spot in mind other than to find a caravan park that was open.  If the road doesn’t give you a heart attack, the views will along the A827 between Killin and Aberfeldy surely will.  And if you are in the area during the right time of year (which seems to start April 1) there are two excellent caravan park options one in Killin (Margowan) and one in Aberfeldy.  Both are pretty parks with nice big gravel pitches and sit along a river within easy walking distance to town.  If either of these had been open we would have stayed in the area much longer.

As it was, we continued north and when the clocked chimed 4:00 it was time to carpe pitchem:  We have an agreement that if we are on the road at 4:00, we must take the first open caravan park we find--no debating.  So we stopped in Faskally at a completely serviceable caravan park.  The following morning I discovered another unexpected joy:  It had a great trail along the river that I enjoyed in the frosty early morning sun with The Noses.

-K

Practicalities:

-        As I mentioned, most caravans use a cartridge system for their black and grey water, but we are finding quite a few places that are starting to put in “Motor Home Dumping Points” which, at a minimum, allow you to drive over and dump your grey tank water down a sewer connection.  Still hoping to find one that accepts the same process for the black tank.  Salt time is near!

  

 - For hiking, most people rely on "OS" Maps (Ordinace Survey), they are easily found at all tourist information sites (for a small fee.)

North York National Park, UK – Mar. 10-12, 2012

More Pictures Here!

(For “Practicalities” jump to the end.)

Having no plan for where to visit in England, we thought we would start by visiting some National Parks; figuring those areas must be something special to have garnered the designation.  Interesting fact, though, is that England’s National Parks all sit on privately owned land.  It sounds odd and it is a little odd to those of us thinking national parks are wide open expanses void of houses and villages (not to mention sheep, herding dogs and chickens.)  However, once you get used to the English idea of a national park, it’s really quite nice.  Perhaps the best part is you are never very far from a pint!

Incidentally, I think this is where a lot of misconception comes in around camping in the U.K.:  People in the U.S. often comment that, in England, you can just drive onto a farmer’s land and ask permission to camp in their field.   When you camp in the national parks, you are indeed camping on farmer’s land—land they have set aside to host caravans (at a fee, naturally, although the cost is very low) and I wonder if this is how that belief got started.  Indeed, it is quite frowned upon to camp anywhere other than a designated campsite particularly when in a caravan or motorhome.

But my favorite part of the British plan is the “public footpaths” winding their way from village to village.  Yes, they too cross farms and you quite often see signs to “please latch the gate” as you cross from one pasture to another.  We saw one yesterday that encouraged you to “beware of bull.”  There is actually literature published to help you understand what to do if you are charged by an angry cow:  You are supposed to let your dog off leash as the cow will chase the dog and your dog can outrun a cow.  Obviously, they did not intend this advice for terrier owners; you can all guess what The Noses would do with a cow.  Running for sure – just not away from the cow.

We learned all this and more with our three days in the North York Moors.   It all started with us following our GPS directions, up a gorgeous, winding road right to a sign that warned, “Vehicle clearance 10’3”."  Not knowing how tall we were, we got out and (ahem, making use of one of the many tools that I gave Alan a bad time for bringing along) measured the Curry which came to roughly 10’4”.  Time to turn around.  So utilizing good old-fashioned maps, we routed ourselves through the lower portion of the moors to Robin’s Hood Bay.  This heavenly little spot is #1 on my Do Not Miss List.  Hook’s Farm, the caravan park at which we stopped (a farmer’s field but it did have electric hook-ups!) sat atop a hill with a stunning view down to the bay.  Such a treat after our longest drive day in Curry; over 200 miles.

We enjoyed a quick sundowner before leashing up The Noses and walking into the cute old town, about a mile from the campsite.  (There is a “new” portion of town at half a mile but it doesn’t hold the charm of the lower, old portion.)  Hungry after our long and stressful drive, we stopped in at The Dolphin, a local pub for dinner.  Rosco immediately curled up next to the blazing fire while River claimed a spot under the table and Alan fetched us two pints of the local bitter from the bar.  Everyone is adapting so well to this lifestyle!

The food was English pub-y and we enjoyed a Curry Chicken dish (Alan) and the Homemade Pie of the Day (me) which turned out to be steak and kidney encrusted with the richest, most delicious crust I have tasted since Granny’s.  Undoubtedly they probably share the same secret:  Lard.

The next day we set off on the Cleveland Way Trail from Robin Hood’s Bay to Ravenscar, hoping to only hike one way on the cliff-side walk and bus back.  Alas, it was a Sunday so the buses were not running from Ravenscar and we were forced to do the return hike.  Unfortunately, Rosco had taken sick (we are still not sure what is wrong with him) and he began to pant heavily and drag behind.  So we took turns holding him in our arms (for those of you who know him, you know he isn’t one for dramatics nor for being sick, so we took this quite seriously) until, tired of our aching arms, we emptied Alan’s backpack (into my hands) and stuffed The Scrunch inside.  He was only too happy to ride in there, a further indication of his illness.  It was during the loading of Scrunch into the backpack that he yelped (another experience rarely heard from him—the last one was when a skunk blasted him right between the eyes) and we knew something was really wrong.

Alan hiked the remaining way home, about four miles, with Rosco in his pack, much to the delight of the townsfolk.  Tired and hot (we have had wonderful weather, up to the low 70’s!), we stopped back in at town and dropped the packs for an ice-cream.  Rosco opted to stay right where he was and we gently laid the backpack on the sidewalk where he continued to sleep.  (Pictures of all of this are in the link above.)

We had planned to stay three nights and hike the next day too, but with Rosco sick and us needing a laundry, we opted to drive through the moors to the other side, gathering all our nerve and venturing down a “B” road.  (“A” Roads are larger, a full two lanes most of the time whereas “B” roads are mostly single lane although the traffic remains two-way.)  Alan did a masterful job of navigating the roads and utilizing every inch of the pull-outs.  We stopped about mid-way and had a picnic lunch at the top of a hill overlooking the moors, farms and grazing sheep.

We spent the night at Cote Ghyll, a full service caravan site in Osmotherley, simply because it advertised a laundry facility.  The view isn’t nearly as wonderful as Robin Hood’s Bay, but our clothes sure smell better!

Next we are heading to Scotland.  We received the news today that Salt & Pepper are expected to arrive March 27^th, and I can hardly wait!  It is difficult having one vehicle; you get tired of driving so you want to just get into your pitch and relax.  But then you realize you are (mon dieu!) out of wine and to remedy that you would have to drive the entire rig out.  So we go without.  Sad but true.  (Maybe more likely is, “unbelievable but true”!)

A shout out to Chris who suggested we purchase a trailer and tow vehicle rather than a motorhome last year.  Priceless advice!   And the wine country of France will be indebted to you.

-K

Practicalities:

-        Having seen two now, we can confirm that at “full service pitch” is indeed what most Americans would look for as far as hook-ups.  Two in-ground exit pipes (one for grey, one for black) and water and electric at the pitch.

-        Health food!  Great selection and even better prices at Holland & Barrett.

PS:  On The Scrunch:  He is moving better every day.  We have thoroughly searched him cannot find anything intrusive.  We think he is having an arthritic flare-up or maybe got bit by some kind of spider while sleeping at lunch during our hike.  I’ll keep you posted.  He is still eating and drinking like normal, so that is a good sign.  (Plus River doesn’t kick him out of the good bed anymore . . . a plus for Rosco.) 

Cambridge II, UK - Mar. 5-7, 2012

More pictures here!


Quick Note:  I have added a section at the bottom of the post for "Practicalities"; items we have discovered or learned that might be useful for other people attempting to adapt U.S. RV'ing to European Caravanning.


Our second day in Cambridge yielded a huge rain storm but that didn't stop me from taking The Noses on a much deserved long walk, and mostly off leash too!  They had a great time racing around the woods playing hide and attack.  Unfortunately, Rosco lost his bright white city look in exchange for the muddy country look but picked up a wide smile in the exchange.


We all took the bus back into Cambridge in the afternoon and, as it was a torrential downpour when we hit town, we decided to stay right where we were (upper level of the bus) and cruise around the bus route until we (1) saw a home depot type store or (2) the rain stopped.


You see, the time had come to search out an RV supply store; Alan attempted to fill the fresh water tank by rolling over the giant tub of fresh water only to find that the pump wasn't working.  


So we hopped off to check out B&Q which was just like the U.S.'s Home Depot, and Harlford's which is more like a sporting goods store.  No supplies to be found at the former and only a few at the latter.  Alas, not the pump for which we were searching.  But it was getting on in the day and we still needed groceries and dog food so we hopped back on the bus and headed to Cambridge.


A quick stop downtown yielded a SIM card for Alan (utilizing the strategy we developed in the U.S., he purchased service on a different provider than mine so as to maximize coverage), groceries from Mark & Spencers (just like Trader Joe's in the U.S. and equally as frustrating a place to shop if you are a cook and not just a re-heater) and some fresh trout from the market.  Still no dog food.  Looked like The Noses would have to eat the cheap stuff again--which they love, of course (think Lucky Charms and you'll get a picture of this food.)



We are on to King's Lynn near the Norfolk Coast.  Tomorrow will be a nice long hike on our first National Trail System route, right along the coastline.


-K


PS:  For those of you worried about the dog's diet, I found a real live pet store and we'll stop there on our way to King's Lynn.  As long as it can be seen from the A10.  Just kidding.  A little.


Practicalities:


1)  Black waste:  Largely dealt with via a cartridge system (you pull out the cartridge when it is full and clean it at the "Chemical Toilet Cleaning Station".)  As they would say in Twitter #gross.  Cannot wait for Salt!


2)  Most RV parks pride themselves on their "Shower & Toilet Block" and now I see why.  Thank goodness Cherry Hinton did not disappoint.  (A reminder that our stops in campgrounds will be reviewed in more detail on the Campgrounds tab at the top of the blog.)


3)  Ice cube bags!  There is a picture of one of them in the photographs--simply fill with water, turn it over so the self-closing system starts, freeze it and then bang it around.  Voila!  Ice cubes.  #fantastic.