Made It

It is all very well intending to do a weekly blog, but it is very difficult when internet access is non-existent or poor. This month I have been out and about visiting the campsites for my book in those places furthest away from me.. On this trip both phone signal and wifi were intermittent.

I did make it to Scotland. At last.  Getting to the campsite in Scotland had been on my mind for many weeks. Finalizing plans was a problem. The campsite I had selected was in the North of Scotland on the Moray Firth between Inverness and Aberdeen.  I calculated it would take me at the least 2 long days of driving; hence my plan to stop off on the way at those sites I had yet to visit in the north of England. Also the weather did not look very good even though here in the south we were having a minor heat wave with some lovely really hot sunny days.

As a result of the prediction of some nice days in the north of the UK and the dates of racing at Thirsk in North Yorkshire I changed my plans and on the spur of the moment set off.

First stop Thirsk to record the instructions for the walks and see the racing.  It is a popular campsite. It was fully booked so I was unable to accept an invitation by a friendly group of campers to stay on for the music fest.

I set off for Scotland stopping off at one of the "BritStop" free overnight places. This was an odd experience. No doubt this was due to it being a lovely sunny Saturday evening in Aviemore; a tourist hotspot. It was buzzing.

I arrived at Burghead early the next day.  The campsite is in a wonderful location; squeezed between the woods and the beach. What woods and what a beach!!  Pearl had a marvellous time. The weather was brilliant. and we walked many many miles discovering the villages and hamlets along the coast.

I met many very interesting people. Pearl and I so enjoyed ourselves I stayed on an extra couple of days. Mind you, I need to as I injured my hand when Pearl knocked me over. I felt it was advisable to rest it for a few days before attempting to drive such a heavy vehicle as the motorhome.


On the way back I stopped off in Glasgow (to the west of the city) to visit a friend. Then I went to a campsite on the outskirts of Burnley.  This was a very interesting campsite. The owners had developed the site imaginatively. However it just did not feel quite right.  I could not put my finger on it. I planned the short walk but encountered so many problems it took me 3 hours to walk 1 and a half miles. I could find the path on the map.The route was wet, overgrown and indistinct. I had to take a detour because of cows with calves. I did not mind that too much as that is just one of those things BUT:- the 2nd stile onto the path back had barb-wire across the top.  I was NOT going to let Pearl attempt to jump that. The final straw was the lack of a route round a cattle grid.  I had to CARRY Pearl over it. Fortunately I had some help.

Pearl resting after the walks; (for 5 minutes)

I decided I needed to find another campsite, preferably in the area so I could use the map. To my surprise I found one about 10 miles away.  They have minimal presence on the internet as they do not have a website. As they were so close I decided to go and check them out.  I spent time wandering around.  It looks ideal. I did not stay because I needed to get back home and the weather forecast was not good for the following week.                                                                          As Arnie says "I'll be back".