Sweetheart Abbey

Sweetheart Abbey

We arrived at New Abbey and found a place at the end of the car park with a good view of the Abbey but away from the busy area. By the time we had our, now rather late, lunch and then had a good chat to the full-timers in the motorhome next door it was too late to try and visit the Abbey or the watermill at the other end of the village. We did have a walk around the

Over the Ochils to Castle Campbell

Over the Ochils to Castle Campbell

 It rained last night. It is October in Scotland. It is going to rain. Rain on Bertie’s roof is noisy. Bertie’s roof is only just above our heads in bed and thus the noise is easy to hear. We cheer ourselves up by remarking that lots of rain fills the burns and rivers and makes for very impressive scenery and especially the waterfalls. We also decide that on balance we prefer wet noisy nights and dry sunny days! we We

Along the Solway Firth to Cumbria and Lancashire

Along the Solway Firth to Cumbria and Lancashire

Made a good get away this morning and we were on the road at 09:30 to Caerlaverock Castle a couple of miles away. We last came here in 2000 on a family holiday to Southern Scotland. We were interested to discover Old Caerlaverock Castle this time which is the remains of the first castle here before the one that we know was built in the C12. Leaving Caerlaverock at 11:30 we chose the minor road along the Solway Firth in

From pier to pier across Scotland

From pier to pier across Scotland

This photo was actually taken last night but it highlights the connection beween our stopping place last night (just off the picture to the left) and our first visit this morning to Bonawe Furnace which this pier served in the early 19th century when Bonawe was one of the main producers of iron in the Scotland fuelled by the copious supply of local charcoal. They produced many of the canon balls fired by British ships at Trafalgar right here. I

Starting south along the Great Glen

Starting south along the Great Glen

We left Forres a bit later than planned as it always take us longer to get going than planned! The forecast is disappointing alothough it was fine as we left and headed east on the A96 toward Inverness. That was after a last top up of the food cupboards at Lidl in Forres! At Inverness we topped up with diesel as we did not know when we would see cheap diesel again. The idea is to follow the Great Glen

Castles in Scotland

Castles in Scotland

We had more showers this morning to get the value from our expensive campsite stopover and we emptied grey water and filled the fresh water tank. There were two Scottish Castles on the intinerary today. The first was Crichton Castle just 13 miles up the road. This was a beauty and only a mile off the A68 which we have driven up and down many times over the last few years. I can’t understand how we have missed this gem.

In to Scotland and our plans go wrong again!

In to Scotland and our plans go wrong again!

We emptied the loo before we left the Anglers Inn – what terrific value that stop over was. A nice meal and drinks for just over £20, free stop over, free water, emptying grey water and emptying the loo! The road north from Kielder was even smaller than the road in from the south and we felt we were entering to Scotland by the back door! Our first stop was planned for the Hermitage Castle which is a dramatic building