Goodbye Scotland

Went for the planned bike ride, but not so far, so no dramas this time! Rode into the nearest town, Balloch. Had a coffee at the cafe there and Gus talked to a man about the canal further up. We’ve been wondering where the Scots live with the really strong accents as we haven’t come across any yet... I think we’ve found them! The girl in the cafe said something as she gave me my change that sounded like ‘We hanae gono tens the noo’. I gather from the fact that she gave me two 5 pound notes in my change that she meant ‘We haven’t got any tens right now’. The man talking to Gus also took a bit of keeping up with – I got the word canal and a few other words clearly, but missed at least one in three.

On the way we saw these molehills, they must be a curse if you’re trying to keep a nice lawn or park, we’ve even seen them on golf greens!

On the way back from town, we were following the road as we had all the way into town when I noticed that there was a sign saying ‘public footpath’ pointing to a small gate beside a large entrance gate to a posh estate we’d noticed earlier. How could I resist! Gus took a bit of persuading – he must have been much better behaved than me at school! Anyway we followed the path for a while but then it petered out on a beach. Some ladies were having a picnic there and said that they didn’t think any of us should be there – they said to go back a little and we’d see a sign to where the path should go. We found that, collecting a couple of young Scots on the way, they’d made the same mistake we had, poor signage obviously. Anyway the path lead right through a very posh golf course and quite close to the big house and flashy boat we’d seen from the road earlier. (photo didn't work so you have to have this one of me in front of a huge rhododendron in the grounds) Was a lovely ride so very pleased we found it. We got back to the campervan right on 12pm, which is when we were due to vacate the pitch. This was one of the very few campsites we’ve come across that is really busy (a busy road behind it too) so as we left there was a line of campers coming in. We’re enjoying it so much here we decided to try our luck at the next sight, just around the other side of the lake.

This is a much quieter one (at Milarrochy Bay) and on a really quiet road so we’ve booked in for two nights, right on the lake, gorgeous. We settled down for the afternoon to enjoy the sun and read our books. Gus decided to do one more fast bike ride (without me!) so I got brave and went for a swim!! Lovely too, once I got in – similar temp to Lake Taupo, no colder... but no warmer either. The sun is so lovely, it doesn’t seem to have the same viciousness as the NZ sun, something to do with the ozone layer no doubt... Now enjoying a beer and hoping we can stay up late enough to see the sunset, it’s setting so late now we’re having trouble staying up! Will have to have a go at siestas soon! Oops, just watching a wee tete a tete between two dog owners. One wee doggie wandered onto the other’s site, they’re supposed to be on leashes. Almost everyone in the campgrounds we’ve been to has at least one dog, some have three! I can’t imagine sharing our limited enough space with three Labradors (as we’ve seen), or even small dogs if they’re wet. One wee one would be nice though :-).

Had a lazy day, the weather still beautiful, almost getting too hot for comfort. About 28deg so went for another swim and tried a small walk but decided too much effort involved. Decided to get on the road to begin the journey back down to the bottom of England, and across the channel to France. Stopped in at Carlisle, England. This was the town that was so freezing on the way up the just before we crossed to Scotland. It’s amazing how much better everything looks under a sunny day, it really is a nice town! We wandered around and found a perfect shop to get a few things we’ve been wanting: a pot with a lid that fits; 4 normal sized mugs; 2 dinner plates; a bigger bucket for dishes; extra clothes hangers and pegs. All things we have really needed but haven’t wanted to pay too much for. The campervan came with all melamine dishes; 2 huge heavy mugs; and a variety of pots without matching lids, so nice to get a few home comforts. Other than those few things, it’s really well fitted out though and has lovely comfy beds.

We also stopped at Hadrian’s Wall again, a different part this time. I think we almost needed to see it under the conditions we did last time just to get some appreciation of what those Romans went through! Was lovely to enjoy it in the warm sun though.

John o'Groats and below

Drove all the way up to John o’Groats today. Nice day, sun shone all day, first time it’s done that in Scotland. Stopped at Shin Waterfall, nothing particularly spectacular, but would be when the salmon are running. So just imagine the salmon leaping up this waterfall and it looks amazing!

Took a photo of another group in front of the John o’Groats sign, they of course then reciprocated proving we’ve done the length of the country! Notice that it has New Zealand on the bottom of the sign – no other countries! Gus is pointing to Napier. We have now travelled 2,350 miles in the Enterprise! It has certainly been no hardship doing that distance. Just so easy when we can take our time and stop for the night as we please. Not like some of the drives we’ve done in New Zealand; getting far north or far south in one or two days, especially with bored children in the car! (No offence Liam & Hayden, we do miss you really!!)

We were surprised at how close the Orkney Islands are, you can easily see them in this photo, with the high cliffs. We tossed up briefly about going across for a day trip tomorrow but weren’t sure how interesting it would be, decided to save the money for something else.

Tonight we’ve found ourselves a lovely spot well off the main road, first time we’ve free-camped. Have thought about it a few times, but either haven’t had enough water or gas or haven’t been able to find the right spot.

Drove on through highlands – very bland for a long time: heather and more heather; but then got into some dramatic scenery. Lochs, munros (small mountains), sandy beaches. I must read up more on the land clearances because they were apparently the reason that the highlands are so empty now. It’s hard to imagine how big numbers of people would have scraped a living here anyway, with all their clan culture etc.

Stopped in to see Smoo Cave, as we were passing, weren’t expecting a lot but it was beautiful, even had a waterfall right inside.

Saw a herd of deer, have seen a few individual ones before; one in the Lake District. This was the first time we’d seen a stag with his hinds; can’t be many countries you can photograph wild deer from the road without getting out of the vehicle!

Oh and of course we saw another castle, the sign said there are two ghosts who live in the castle; one in the castle itself and one on the beach. So this photo is of me peering rather nervously around the corner as I approach. Luckily I don’t really believe in such things :-)

Getting back to civilisation at last, after a full day’s driving, we came to Loch Ness. Is a long narrow lake a bit like Lake Whakatipu, with high mountains on the other side. No sign of Nessy :). We’re staying two nights now near Fort William, within sight of Ben Nevis. It’s not the most excitingly huge mountain, a bit smaller than the Hawkes Bay ranges but it’s the biggest mountain in the UK so we won’t murmur a mutter! Looking forward to no driving tomorrow and hopefully a bit of biking/walking. Having great weather, hoping that holds too!

Well they do say be careful what you wish for! The day dawned beautifully so we set off to bike from Fort William to Gairlochy, and at least part way up Loch Lochy. There were seven lochs at the beginning called ‘Neptune’s Staircase’. We have found these locks a constant source of fascination, the way they are so simple but so clever. We hadn’t actually seen one working yet so were fascinated to see some boats going through. There were ocean-going yachts going through this time, not narrow boats. The canal was beautiful, had a lovely flat path next to it, the ‘tow path’. The biking was really easy and pleasant and I was feeling good so we decided to keep going.

We came upon Loch Lochy and that was gorgeous, a few small hills, but still a good track so no problems. Gus was starting to make murmurs by now about how far we still had to go back, but I was determined to get to a town or at least a shop to have something to eat first. We had only brought a banana each with us because we fully expected to find something to buy – you always can in the UK (maybe not so much in this part of Scotland).

Anyway by the time we got almost to the far end of the lake, I started to realise there was no way I was going to be able to turn around and bike back. The track had got a lot tougher and it had taken a lot longer to get there than either of us envisaged, we had to bike an extra 5km diversion because of logging, which involved a steep and rough forestry track. There was no town at the end of the lake; it turned out there wasn’t one for another 10 miles(!) but thank whatever you may believe in, there was a barge pub. I think the lady was a little taken aback at my enthusiasm to have found her!! We decided the only thing to do was for Gus to bike back and get the campervan and come and pick me up – we had been biking for 4 hours and had covered 39kms! Gus was able to get back to the camper in under 2 hours and came back to rescue me in the Enterprise, my hero... Anyway the new rule is, I don’t bike more than 2 hours away from the Enterprise!!

Today we’ve driven down to Loch Lomond, it is really beautiful. We took the scenic route around the coast so passed lots of lochs (most really inlets but still called lochs) on the way. The good weather has kept up and now is really starting to get hot. We ate tea outside for the first time in our camp chairs, looking forward to more of this weather! It is incredibly flat water, apparently it’s often like this, because of all the hills around us, and they have set several world speed records on this lake in the past. If we could just zap our boat and Liam & Hayden over here, they would love it!! The water is still a little chilly for our liking, we put our toes in but that was about it. Tomorrow we're thinking of another bike ride...

Falkirk Wheel

Went to see the Falkirk Wheel. What you've never heard of it? Don't worry, we hadn't either but it was worth seeing. Appparently was a millenium project to replace about 6 locks.

We watched one boat go through the process, first it comes through a long tunnel.

The boat then goes into a tank and gets lowered to the next level. It's amazing that they've fixed up all these canals because they were all abandoned in the 50's and 60's, after they were no longer needed, but have now been reinstated for leisure purposes. So many people use them; apart from the obvious canal boats, there are also lots of cyclists and walkers using the towpaths that run beside them.

We biked up to see the Antonine Wall, I was excited that we were so close to it - I couldn't understand why there isn't the publicity about it that there is about Hadrian's Wall. Now I do, this is it! Was originally an earth wall apparently so hasn't stood up to the ravages of time like that other one! Served a similar purpose though, and at a much narrower part of the country. Drove up the tourist route (following the coast) via St Andrews to Scone (pronounced Scoon), near Perth. Stayed in a camping ground in the grounds of Scone Palace, right next to a racecourse, could hear all the excitement over the fence. Luckily they finished about the time we went to bed, thought we could have been in for a long night!

Next day had the big decision of whether to see Scone Palace or Glamis Castle, both in the area, and both looked good. Scone Palace is where Macbeth was crowned, but Glamis Castle was where Shakespeare set the story. Also Glamis Castle was the Queen Mother's childhood home, and is in the Braes of Angus, so that won in the end. We were really blown away by this one. It is still the family home of the 18th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne; Michael Fergus Bowes-Lyon. Apparently Bowes-Lyon was the Queen Mothers maiden name, in case you're as ignorant as myself - believe it or not, Gus knew this!

Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take photos inside but it was amazing. We had a guided tour, probably to make sure we didn't nick the family silver, and what family silver!! About 15 in our group. Part of the castle is really old, like 1376! Part of it is quite new, Victorian era... that's new in this part of the world. The paintings on the ceiling of the little chapel were beautiful; the settings and ceiling in the dining room were over-the-top but gorgeous; and the tapestries around the walls and the beds were amazing. Some of them date back to the 16th century and still survive in amazing condition. There is one over the bed the Queen Mother used when she stayed, that was done by her mother, with the names and birth years of all ten of her children. Elizabeth was the second youngest, but she married well!!

Drove on up through Caingorms National Park. Parts of it are like the desert road, parts like theMckenzie Country in the South Island. There was quite a bit of snow in the highest parts, supposed to be almost summer, the equivalent of November, feels more like July!

Stayed the night near Aberdeen, with some lovely people we met in Hong Kong, they made the mistake of inviting us over a glass of wine, even wrote down their address so I suppose they meant it at the time! They were extremely welcoming, she had prepared a salmon dinner - lovely. They are from the Shetland Islands originally so he brought out a dvd on the islands, now feel like we've been there too! We've given them all our family's and friends' addresses so they'll be over soon to stay... (joke, don't worry), but they were very hospitable so we've told them if they or any of their family are in NZ, they must come and stay with us.

Today, after a large breakfast, we drove through the high country again to Inverness. On the way there was more snow, even some falling out of the sky!! There are skifields right beside the road.

We stopped in at the site of the Battle of Culloden, if you don't know about this I would suggest you read Diana Gabaldon's book, Cross Stitch, still a librarian at heart :). Basically it was the last battle fought on British soil; between the Jacobites (mostly highlanders) and the English Government forces, over who should be king. Anyway it was a very bloody battle; and a massacre of innocent bystanders, along with Jacobite men, followed. They've got a really good visitor centre there complete with actors explaining parts of the story. We also had a guided visit of the whole site. They have flags marking where the two sides stood at the start, and headstones marking where the mass graves are. A very moving place, even though it all happened so long ago, and I don't think all the shivers running up my spine were from the cold wind.

Hadrian's Wall and Edinburgh

We’re now in Scotland, yay! Yesterday we started the day with Carlisle Castle, not a pretty castle, but has had an amazing amount of sieges and general battles fought over it, being so close to the Scottish Border. There was a dungeon with holes in the walls where prisoners were chained, and places where they’d licked the rock in thirsty desperation, not a happy feeling to the place at all! Must have been very dank and uncomfortable even if you were upstairs. After the castle we had lasagne and chips at a mall to warm ourselves through a little!

Next stopped off at Hadrian’s Wall, we were intending to go to a couple of places along it but the wind was howling and it was COLD so we decided one stop would do. We chose Housesteads Roman Fort, was an absolutely fascinating place, with so much to see (far more complete than I had imagined) and we fully intended to go for a walk along the Wall but the wind by now was BITTER!

It’s a universal truth of travel that no matter how fascinating the sight; if the body is not comfortable, it immediately loses all charm and appeal. So we did make ourselves walk around a bit and take a few photos but quickly retreated to the warmth of the inner campervan and a cup of tea. I honestly don’t think I’ve ever been so cold – considering I had on a polyprop, jacket, woolly hat, scarf and gloves; and this before we even reach Scotland!!

Crossed the border into Scotland but the wind was blowing so hard we were a bit too nervous to stop the campervan for a photo, decided to press on. Stopped at a nice sheltered (well relatively) site at Jedburgh (as in Edinburgh – not as in Iceberg as we were pronouncing it – luckily we asked someone before we made idiots of ourselves). In the morning the sun was shining! Walked into the town to have a look around, a really lovely little town and the people are incredibly friendly. Already everyone has a lovely Scottish burr, we weren’t sure whether this would be the case so close to the border – the people who live right on the border must be torn in how to speak! The Abbey looked really interesting, it’s one of four in the border area.

We also went into ‘Mary, Queen of Scots house’ although it turned out she didn’t actually live there, but had visited on a number of occasions. It was free though, and had really good displays on her life, we’ll be whizzes at Trivial Pursuit evenings when it comes to the royal families!! On the way back to the camp, there was a guy setting traps and filling in holes – Gus got talking to him, and he was trapping moles. He reckoned one or two moles had dug all the holes we could see, about 10 holes in an area of a small lawn – all dug in one night!! I’ve always thought they were cute little furry things but I’m glad they were one pest our forefathers managed to resist introducing. The guy was very happy to chat to us though, he immediately recognized we are from NZ, can’t think how everyone can tell:), we just talk normally!! Also stopped in at a Woollen Mill, very touristy with lots of coaches outside, Gus got himself a woolly hat for 3 pounds, a nice one too! We asked if they had any, and the man behind the counter said it’s really getting a bit warm for woollen hats now (!) but he’d see what he could find, once again very friendly and obliging. So far, have to say, have found the Scots people to be friendlier than their English counterparts, although we did speak to a lot of lovely people there too, quite often the ones behind the counters could have done with a lesson in customer service though... Tonight we’re staying outside Edinburgh itself, lots to see and do here, may even stay a couple of nights. The weather has improved a little from the north of England, so hopefully will keep on with that trend?!

Woke up to rain, but then the sun broke through and remained more or less the rest of the day. What an amazing city Edinburgh is! We caught a bus in, not a lot of parking for the Enterprise. Found our way to Edinburgh Castle, not too difficult, it completely dominates the skyline and can be seen from quite a distance. The castle was interesting but starting to think we might be a bit castled out :). There are 14 castles and palaces within about a 5 mile radius of Edinburgh alone!! One quite beautiful tiny room was where Mary, Queen of Scots gave birth to her son. When he revisited the castle as an adult (and King of Scotland and England), he had the room painted up, and it still remains in that original state, from the 17th century - incredible really.

The cannon pictured here was last fired in the 15th century and on that occasion the stone was found 2km away, perhaps fortunate for a beautiful city that they don’t use it anymore! A royal family member from earlier times was apparently heard to refer to the castle as ‘That damn cold rock in Scotland’. The information said that if we were unfortunate enough to be visiting when the sea mist was in, we would sympathise. We were obviously very fortunate with the weather, we even had to remove our jackets during the day.

After the castle we went for a wander through the city, starting with the ‘royal mile’. This is an amazing street running from the castle right down to the Holyrood Palace, the Queen’s official residence in Scotland. Edinburgh has a beautiful skyline; lots of cathedral spires and ancient buildings. It has a very aged and sophisticated feel, appears prosperous.

On the way we went into a couple of small museums, one was the ‘Children’s Museum’ and contained all sorts of toys and games from through the ages. An amazing collection of dolls and dollhouses; toy cars; meccano etc. These two cuties were happy to pose when the lady with the funny accent ask them to hold up the puppets they were playing with.

We couldn’t resist this ‘doggy in the window’. I’m not sure if he realised he was part of the window display but he was doing a wonderful job of it. It seems a waste that neither of us is partial to whiskey, for any of you that are; you'll love Edinburgh!

We finished off at the Museum of Scotland, lots of wonderful displays including skeletons of extinct species like a giant armadillo and a giant crocodile; a foyer with the wow factor; lots of great interactive displays for kids (including big kids like ourselves); and even Dolly the cloned sheep who was apparently born not far from here.

Lake District

Went up to have a look at Penrith Castle; we sort of had to didn’t we? (For those not in the know, Penrith is the name of Gus' father's farm) It wasn’t very inspiring – built by Richard I before he became king and not used a heck of a lot since! It’s just a few walls now but at least it was free and the sun was shining and we can now say we’ve seen Penrith Castle.

Next we drove down towards Keswick (pronounce Kesick – don’t know why they bother with the w). On the way we stopped at another stone circle, Castlerigg. Amazing view from this one, was put here by Neolithic people they think, as in cavemen, so it’s been here a while. No spooky feelings around this one, possibly because of all the school kids sitting all over it, enough to take the atmosphere away – also no trodden path around the inner circle or fireplace in the middle so probably not used by druids recently.

From there we biked into Keswick – was down a nice steep hill and only a short ride brought us to a carpark in the centre of town. We asked a lady on a bike if the path did lead to Keswick and she was the one that corrected our pronunciation then explained that there is another way back, not as steep, so looked forward to that. Had a good look around Keswick, a thriving market in the middle of town, had some lunch at a cafe and watched the people go past for a while. So many people have their dogs with them, all over England. We really like it and most of the dogs are really well behaved, obviously used to strolling through busy streets and sitting outside cafes, very urbanised. Went for a stroll by the lake, the lakes are very pretty around here (hence “The Lake District” I suppose!). The sun was shining so nice to get out and about, a cold wind still though, so jackets required. Gus thought it looked like a good skiing lake but was disappointed to see that the boats only had little motors so are obviously more for fishing/sightseeing. I don’t imagine that it gets warm enough for skiing for very long anyway and if it did (and skiing were allowed) I can only imagine how horribly congested the lake would get. This is still the shoulder season and it is as busy as Taupo in the middle of summer! From the town we biked along an ex-railway track complete with an old station and small viaducts. We then took a short-cut up through some paddocks on a public walking track – these are everywhere here, until we got back to the road with the stone circle on it. The Enterprise was waiting faithfully for us, but it was still a steep ride up the last bit of the hill to get to her. We got back to camp – Gus went for another ride (our one was clearly not hard enough for him) and I had a shower and collapsed with a red wine, and decided to catch up on this blog.

Oh, forgot to mention we did our washing this morning, first time in a while we’ve been staying 2 nights, so time to do towels and sheets – the machines in all the camping grounds we’ve been to cost 3.50 pounds ($7-$8) per load and we had 2 loads worth – actually 3 loads worth because it turned out the machines aren’t all that big either. I wasn’t shelling out for 3 though so did the last load by hand – never again. Made me appreciate the joys of washing machines – especially the spinning part!! Ok for small items but we didn’t have many of those this time, Gus lent his strength but even then nowhere near as effective as a spin dryer – then the dryer costs 1 pound for a 30 minute cycle – ended up using 3, then finishing off the remainder on our little drying rack and draping them round the campervan – an expensive exercise and what a hassle. We do have a line but nowhere really to string it and didn’t want to bring the tone of the neighbourhood down too much! I’ll appreciate our big washing machine and clothes line when I get home!

Peak District

Today we went into Bakewell, had the requisite Bakewell pudding, well you’ve got to make an effort to try these local dishes! Was extremely tasty, very almondy, nice light pastry and rich filling. We've also had mushy peas and curry sauce with fish & chips, so exotic! The mushy peas were ok but the curry sauce beautiful!! Went for a bike ride along another rail trail – I was just starting to whinge about how far we were going and we still had to get back and how the ride wasn’t that interesting anyway... and then we came to a hugely long tunnel. Was really impressive and fun to ride through – had lights all the way through and like the rest of the track was tar sealed. I’ve been through a similar one in NZ and there you have to have torches, and it has a rough floor with potholes... I guess there are advantages to having a big population. We turned round after the tunnel and I was pleased to find the ride back much easier, must have been a slight incline all the way there.

Next we went to see Chastsworth House, it was 3 pounds to park; Gus asked the parking warden how much the entry fee was and it turned out to be 15 pound per person – we agreed afterwards he should have said we didn’t want a suite for the night, just to have a look around! Anyway we decided that was a bit steep for us so the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire had to do without the pleasure of our company. We had lunch in the campervan in the car park – had to get our 3 pound worth, took a couple of photos and left.

Onto Peak Cavern – this was really interesting. There have been rope makers living in the entrance of the cave for centuries, until early last century. There was a village of little huts (still one there), all their pigs, various other livestock, must have been stinky!! I guess it was relatively warm and sheltered for them (although we found it pretty cold and damp) and close to their market, which was mainly the lead miners working further down in the caves. We were given a demonstration of how rope was made, Gus is assisting with this.

You can see in the second photo the cart that is holding the other end of the rope and keeps the tension on, and gradually is pulled closer, as it is spun (not sure if this the correct term?).

All the other paraphernalia in this photo is to do with the rope making too. Next we were taken deeper into the cave, in some parts we had to crouch almost double to get through. Early last century you had to lie flat in a coffin-like boat and get taken under a low ledge to get into the caves, but then Queen Victoria decided to visit (or Princess Victoria then) so they blasted a way through – they only made the passageway high enough for Her Royal Highness to walk under, apparently she was about 4’9”. Drove up through torrential rain over Snake Pass (a bit like part of the Rimutakas) to the North of the Peak District, now at Crowden.

Gus was a bit disappointed to find the Peak District didn’t have very big peaks, we were thinking about going for a bike ride but decided it was a bit cold and wet so decided to move on. Drove up through the Yorkshire Dales, where James Herriott set his books (and tv programmes!). Had to stop in at a grocery shop, we could barely make ourselves understood!

Very picturesque part of the country, lots of rock walls and stone farm buildings. They have as many Landrovers here as we have Toyota Hiluxes, every farmer has one; some seemed to have several of various ages. We even saw some sheep in a barn, possibly waiting for t’ vetinry...

Now in the Lake District (no photos yet), here for two nights. Took three attempts to find a camping ground that could take us, partly because they are so busy (very popular area obviously, and it’s the weekend), and partly because it’s so wet that they can’t put us on grass, we’d sink. They have ‘hard-standings’ here which are shingle or sometimes matting and seem to be all we are allowed on at the moment, would be different in the summer I guess. We can even see a little snow on top of the nearest hill, spring must be on the way soon! Apparently they have had the wettest April on record, yay!! There is a little 'beck' running behind our campervan - looks like a slightly flooded creek, hope it doesn't come up in the night. Is called Trout Beck, wonder if we might find something interesting for our brekky...