We are at the CMC’s caravan site at Stonehaven, the Queen Elizabeth Park or something like that. It is a small site, right on the sea front and just on the edge of town. It was a fifteen minute walk for Mr Snail to the Railway station this morning. from Aberdeen station he took a bus to the infirmary and had plenty of time in hand for his midday appointment..
The appointment went well and he does not have to return for 12 months. The consultant says if we are still in France, so long as he still feels well, Mr Snail can swap the appointment for something more convenient if necessary. So, we may be back here this time next year.
It’s pretty convenient. Sadly the open air salt water pool next door does not open until the end of May but the town has some useful shops and there is an award-winning chippy about 100 metres from the gate.
Today we took a stroll along the cliff path to go and view the Eastern end of the Highland Fault. I was wobbly about the cliff path and Mr Snail was wobbly about the fact that the path skirts the golf course, so we ended up cutting our walk short and not getting to the Point.
We are off to Glenmore tomorrow and staying for two nights. Internet reception there is poor to non-existent… so I’ll do a brief catch up on the week to date right now.
Saturday: rose early to a very grizzly day. Readied the van in very wet conditions and set off in time to grab some brunch at Tesco in Dumfries, where we picked up what few provisions we needed for the week. Rain continued until we reached the upper Clyde Valley, around Crawford, where the sun embraced the landscape to great effect.
Saturday night: wild in the car park at New Lanark Mills. We walked Nell along the Clyde for a while and then I cooked the Gousto meal we had lined up for the evening, a dish of Dal with some spiced Aubergine. All hopes of spotting badgers were dashed by what appeared to be a kids’ party and lots of lights and noise and rushing around. Of course, the smell of curry may have warded the badgers off too!
Sunday: (ETA material regarding Wilsontown 23/3/17) beautiful morning initially but cloud built as we drove up to Forth. We rose early and set off without breakfast so as not to be a nuisance in the New Lanark Car Park. We stopped at Wilsontown to walk Nell and to make bacon rolls. It was quite dull by the time that we arrived but we managed to stay dry on both walks, before and after our late breakfast, and I managed to take a few photographs.
There is not much remaining of the works but the site is rich with interpretation boards and a number of quotations engraved on stones give pause for thought. Often the interpretation boards invite one to use imagination to bring to mind an image of the filthy belching plant sited in the middle of nowhere upon the moors. I need no imagination however… I have been to Consett!
After a brief stop at a Lidl somewhere in the Lothians (I forget) a lovely scenic ride up the East Fife coast to Cellardyke in bright sunshine followed. We stayed at the Silverdyke site for two nights. This was the same site that we stopped at on our way South in September/October last year. (This is the point where I discover that I never got round to writing that part of the trip up so I cannot link to it now – I will do it. I will. Soon…ish)
Sunday Night: dinner at The Cellar.
Monday night: Anstruther Fish Bar.
These I will write up separately.
Tuesday: Further good weather for the ride up here to Stonehaven. We stopped in Montrose for some KFC fodder and an item or two from B&Q.
There has been little camera action, I am afraid, and what use the camera has seen has by and large been dedicated to food. I will try to do better.
As already noted – we depart from here in the morning to do 100-ish miles to Glenmore. We hope to break our journey somewhere interesting with a walk for the dog. We shall be two nights at Glenmore and then will do one further night wild or Britstopping before getting back to base.
Snow is forecast for tomorrow night. Perhaps the photos from Glenmore will be pretty ones!
We shall be busy once we arrive back in Kippford. We need to pack, to post excess baggage home, and to plan our route and stops back up Scotland to the ferry.
Soon be home now!
