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K and A's road tripK and A's road trip
SatellitRediger rute
Retired professionals wishing to see a little more of the world at home and abroad Læs mere Chandler's Ford, United Kingdom
  • RejsendeBig Adventure
    Dag 2.202

    Seal Shore

    3. juni, Skotland ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    Today was our last full day on this beautiful island. We had not visited the western side so decided to have a look. This side od the island is not very highly populated and the road was not as wide or as straight as on the eastern side. There were many twists and turns on our way to a car park next to some woods above The Kings Cave. It seems that all caves in this part claim to have a connection to Robert the Bruce, this one no different. Parking up we set off on a 4 mile circular walk to take in the views, the caves, and a sea arch. No sign of any spiders in the cave to inspire the Bruce, however lots of visitors had left behind small stone cairns.
    After that we drove a further mile along the road and shoehorned ourselves into a small car park so we could also complete a 3 mile walk to and from the Moss Farm stone circles and standing stones.
    The island, and a swathe of locations across Scotland at a similar latitude, has a great many similar pre-historic sites    Læs mere

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  • RejsendeBig Adventure
    Dag 2.202

    Seal Shore

    3. juni, Skotland ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    We had a slightly more leisurely day today. After a late breakfast we drove up to Brodick to have a look at the castle which is looked after by Scottish National Trust. The castle dates back to the 1300's but was extensively extended by the 10th Duke of Hamilton for his son and heir, after his marriage to a German princess. The house had previously only really been used as a hunting lodge, as the 84 heads of deer in the grand stair case testify.
    The house was rather grand, although some of the internals had to be sold off, along with those from Hamilton House on the mainland, to raise approx £54millon (current equivalent) to pay of some of the debts of the 12th Duke.
    The grounds are renowned for the displays of rhododendron, but we were obviously a bit too late to see the full splendor of the displays. A pity, as the island is covered in purple rhododendron, with some red and white, in full bloom elsewhere.
    After a fruitless visit to the red squirrel hide, (nothing but wood pidgeon) we enjoyed a coffee, tea and cake at the cafe surrounded by small birds.    Læs mere

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  • RejsendeBig Adventure
    Dag 2.200

    Goatfell

    1. juni, Skotland ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    The weather forecast was good for the first day of June, so we decided it was a good day to climb Goatfell, the highest mountain on Arran. By now our legs are becoming quite strong (we have been walking between 12 and 24 thousand steps a day, mostly up and down hill). We drove to our start point at Brodick and joined the many other walkers who were heading the same way as us. The path to the summit was clearly marked and well established. Initially we climbed up through forest heavily dotted with rhododendrons, all very pretty. Then the path opened out to open countryside and we could see the path snaking its way along and up, with a particularly sheer climb at the top. It took us just under 2.5 hours to reach the summit, where we enjoyed our picnic lunch and enjoyed looking at the views in all directions. The initial climb down was challenging and very steep. However as we clambered down it became easier. However much of the path involved climbing down stone steps or clambering over rocks, so by the time we reached the forested area again our legs were tired. A total of 22000 steps walked today!!! Back to camp at Seal Shore and our first bbq of the year. We sat in glorious sunshine enjoying the views and sounds of the sea. As yet no sealife spotted, but we are assured that seals and sea otters are frequently spotted and sometimes pods of dolphins. Fingers crossed we spot something before we leave the island.Læs mere

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  • RejsendeBig Adventure
    Dag 2.199

    Seal Shore

    31. maj, Skotland ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    Another glorious day was ahead of us. We had planned to stay at a site on the south of the island. On our way we stopped off in Whiting Bay.
    We completed a walk up through the woods to The Giants Graves, a prehistoric site with burial grounds, and followed on to return by way of the Glenashdale waterfall and burn
    The waterfall is the largest on the island.
    After a rummage in the art gallery and craft shops in Whiting Bay, we drove, after lunch, to our site at Kildonan Point.
    What a good choice, a fabulous location overlooking Pladdo Island and the Ailsa Craig. We enjoyed our Friday fizz by the beach watching the boats pass by in the sound.    Læs mere

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  • RejsendeBig Adventure
    Dag 2.198

    Holy Isle

    30. maj, Skotland ⋅ 🌬 15 °C

    We had pre-booked a ferry crossing for an afternoon trip to the island, so we were pleased to see that the promised improvement in the weather was happening.
    On our way to Lamlash, where we were to pick up the ferry, we stopped off at the Arran cheese shop to buy some local blue and to have a look at the adjacent Aromatics shop.
    Holy island is owned by a Buddhist group, and they let some of the facilties out for well-being courses, yoga retreats, and the like.
    We crossed on a small boat with eight others. After a short introduction to the island by our boat captain, we were left to our own devices. Our plan was to walk the footpath to the top of the island and circle round the south to return by the shore path. We passed Eriskay pony with their foals, Soay sheep, a hardy breed, but missed out on seeing the Sannen goats.
    The walk to the top was relatively easy, but there were a few scrambles up and down steep rocky sections. The views from the top were worth the effort.
    The boat picked us up at 6pm, after dropping off a party of yoga retreaters, after which we drove north to the free camp we planned on staying at - a quiet spot overlooking the sea near Sannox.    Læs mere

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  • RejsendeBig Adventure
    Dag 2.197–2.200

    Lochranza

    29. maj, Skotland ⋅ 🌬 14 °C

    The weather was improving daily, so we didn't need full wet gear today.
    We drove down the coast a little way to complete a short walk to the Fallen Rocks. Not a great deal to see other than some rocks, but a pleasant walk by the coast. After that, we did the North Sannox Glen walk. A stunning walk up a beautiful valley with crystal clear, but peaty, water tumbling over rapids and waterfalls. Local activity leaders were taking gorge walking groups up the river bed, and we watched as a few tackled a waterfall. Not for the faint hearted!!
    In late afternoon, we drove around to Catacol for a quick look at the 12 Apostles - a row of 12 houses built to re-house crofters during the Highland Clearances. The crofters refused to move into them.
    We stopped off at the hotel on our return to savour a hand pulled Golden Hen, a glass of Chillian Sav, and a bit of the local brew Arran Blonde.    Læs mere

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  • RejsendeBig Adventure
    Dag 2.196–2.197

    Lochranza

    28. maj, Skotland ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    We woke up to another wet morning. We had thought about visiting the R Burns museums in Alloway, but we decided just to press on to Ardrossan to pick up the ferry to Arran.
    We chanced upon an Asda store in Ayr where we picked up bits and pieces before crossing to Arran.
    The ferry crossing was very smooth and running to schedule. We assumed that somewhere ahead of us, as we left the port was Brodick. We could not see the island in the murk.
    As we arrived, the skies lifted a bit, and, on our journey to Locranza, the beauty of the island revealed itself to us.
    All set up by 4 pm, we decided to go for a short walk to stretch our legs a bit. To celebrate our arrival on the island, we thought a beer and wine or two at the hotel would be nice.
    We had a bit of a communication breakdown with the site warden, who was a bit vague about timings and distances. Setting of at 4:10pm we climbed over the fell to Laggan in order to pick up the coastal path north to Fairy Dell beach. This section of the path (5k in length) could best be described as a scramble across a horizontal mountain. The path was barely discernable. There were very few flat grassy sections, and the 5k took us 2 hours to complete. Sheer slog at times (not enjoyable) and extremely challenging. But by this point we had no choice other than to carry on. From Fairy Dell there was a further 3 miles back to Lochranza, and we couldn't face a further mile to the hotel. We arrived back at camp very wet and muddy - due to the wet boggy ground we traversed. On one occasion K stepped into boggy ground and sank to calf level - ugh!!!
    We slept well.    Læs mere

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  • RejsendeBig Adventure
    Dag 2.195

    Walled Garden. Maybole

    27. maj, Skotland ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    We spent a lazy morning on the site to enable us to catch up with essential tasks. Karen managed to get some of the laundry dry in between the rain showers. The site tumble drier was also needed though.
    A. caught up with downloading photos from the camera and is hoping sometime soon to be able to post them on these pages. The Internet is not brilliant in these parts.
    In the afternoon, we donned our wet gear once again and went for a walk through the estate to a waterfall. All quite muddy.
    The campsite and surrounding ground are all part of the Kilkerran Estate, owned by the Ferguson family for generations.    Læs mere

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  • RejsendeBig Adventure
    Dag 2.194

    Maybole

    26. maj, Skotland ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    We continued our drive north, eventually leaving behind the beautiful Galloway as we moved into Ayrshire.
    Our immediate destination was Culzean Castle, which is perched high on the clifftop above the sea. Here, we joined National Trust for Scotland for access into the castle. Upon checking our passes, we were advised that this membership also gives us access to all the English NT sites as well as a host of others around the world, including Australia, New Zealand, Barbados, Bermuda etc, etc the list seemed endless. Happy days.
    We joined a tour around the castle to learn a little bit more about the Kennedy family who apparently made their early fortune smuggling contraband into the caves beneath the castle. (What would Rabbie Burns have to say about that?)
    The castle is very impressive and the grounds enormous. We spent some time walking in the estate and had a good look at the artist work in one of the out buildings. Some of her work did take our fancy.
    Leaving Culzean Castle we continued on to The Walled Garden Campsite near Maybole where we were booked in for a two night stay. A beautiful adult only site fully enclosed by a wall. Apparently it used to be the fruit and vegetable growing area for the Kilkerran estate.    Læs mere

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  • RejsendeBig Adventure
    Dag 2.193

    Girvan Scenic Lookout

    25. maj, Skotland ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    We had planned for another free camp somewhere along the coastline on our way up to the ferry at Ardrossan.
    We stopped off at Portpatrick in the morning. This proved to be a very pretty village centred around the port.
    We parked up at the harbour and enjoyed our walk along the seafront and then completed the walk up the cliff path to view Dunkley Castle. There was an artist showing off her wares in a house near the sea-front as part of the Galloway open studio weekend.
    After that, we drove to Stranraer, where we, first of all, restocked at Lidl and Morrisons.
    We then parked up next to the marina and had a look in the town, which was everything we expected it to be. Its highlight was the old Castle of St John, which is open to view in the centre of the town.
    Stranraer done we headed north to find somewhere quiet for the night. After dismissing a car park at Ballantrae we settled on the Girvan Scenic Viewpoint, a large rest area on the coast road.
    From our vantage point, we were looking directly at the Ailsa Craig, we could see Arran to the north west, the Kintyre Peninsula behind the Ailsa Craig and Northern Ireland to the south west.
    We enjoyed another peaceful night.    Læs mere

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