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.