The wildlife comes free

Apparently rutting stags are the latest must-see/hear wildlife attraction in Scotland, with safaris being organised to experience them. Or you could just stay at Morvich Caravan Club site in Autumn and listen to the roars from the comfort of your caravan! You will also hear honking geese flying overhead and, if you are lucky, chattering fieldfares as they strip the bushes of berries. All this included for free in the very reasonable pitch fee plus stupendous views of the surrounding mountains, which is why Morvich is one of my favourite sites. Even in poor weather the mist-shrouded mountains are majestic to behold and, in good weather, the hillwalker is spoilt for choice. Some hills can be climbed direct from the site, which is a bonus. You can also walk over to the Falls of Glomach although, be warned, this is not a short excursion but an all-day trip involving rough and dangerous terrain. For those wishing less strenuous pursuits I can highly recommend the gallery and coffee shop at the Old Schoolhouse in Dornie - wonderful home baking. When I stayed at Morvich last October I was able to do a hill above Cluanie and still get down to Dornie in time for tea and cake - my idea of an ideal day! Last, but not least, I'd like to say how friendly and welcoming the wardens, Mr and Mrs Begg, have been and to wish them all the best as they move on at the end of this season.

The benefits of being forgettable

I finally did pluck up the courage to go back to Braemar and, fortunately, the wardens didn't seem to remember me! Sometimes being forgettable has its advantages. I did make sure that I didn't jog their memories by managing to find a suitable pitch first time round, helped by the fact that the site was a lot quieter than July. By 6pm I was pitched, with the garlic bread in the oven and a glass of white wine to hand. The next day was a lovely, calm September day - ideal for hillwalking - so I drove to Linn of Dee and cycled up to Derry Lodge.

The track into Derry Lodge

I set off up the path towards Beinn Bhreac and was overtaken by a couple with two dogs. We got chatting, as you do, and I discovered that they also were in a caravan at the Braemar site. Small world. The sun was still shining when I got back to the site later that afternoon but, unfortunately, not on my pitch! However it was still warm enough for me to sit outside until it got too dark to see my laptop. I had a few minutes of panic when I saw a large minibus arrive in the tent area, right behind my caravan, (visions of hordes of noisy scouts), however it only seemed to have two occupants. Had they dropped the kids off to go wild camping while they had the benefit of a campsite with hot showers?

Braemar becomes an independently run site at the end of the season- hopefully that will not mean a price hike. It's a great location and must bring a lot of welcome income to the shops of Braemar. I'd certainly like to visit it again.

How not to endear yourself to the site wardens

I'm trying to pluck up the courage to go back to Braemar Caravan Club site. I went there for the first time in July, with a friend who was going to camp there, Braemar being one of the few CC sites which also has a tent area. We drove up on a baking hot Friday afternoon, arriving at 5.30pm. I finally got on to a pitch at 6.30pm, by which time I was desperate just to get the table up outside and the white wine cracked open. I spent the hour driving round the site 3 times, trying to find a suitable pitch and annoying the wardens in the process because, unlike other Caravan Club sites I've been to, you can't drive round and round within the site and the exit barrier needs a keycard as well as the entrance barrier! I was just too tired from the drive up and I also was not used to having someone with me. I should have dropped him at reception, with tent, and told him I'd see him later! Not that it was his fault - he was trying to be helpful. I just couldn't find a pitch that wasn't back-to-back with a huge family tent or on a curve of the road (making reversing into it difficult) or not in the sun. I eventually got settled on a pitch backing on to the main road next to the site but that was OK - I don't mind traffic noise! It's just screaming kids and barking dogs I can't stand!

Anyway, I finally got the table up, the wine opened and the oven on for dinner and I apologised to the wardens later! We had a super weekend with scorching temperatures during the day and cool mists at night. Unfortunately we had to head home on Sunday evening but we paid for an extra night for the caravan to allow us to stay on the pitch until 7pm on the Sunday - worth every penny on such a lovely weekend. I'd like to go back again before the end of the season as I hear that, after that, the site will no longer be a CC site but independently run, which probably means it will be more expensive for a solo caravanner like myself. It's a great location for hillwalking and also for visiting places like Ballater and Balmoral and it's only a couple of hours drive up the road for me. Now I know the site better, hopefully it won't take me an hour to find a pitch next time!

My summer holiday - a fading memory

Well the holiday seems a long time ago now. Wish I'd had longer to go away, particularly since two weeks would not have been twice the price of one week. The largest part of my expenditure was on diesel for towing which would have been the same for a longer trip - I would just have had more nights in each location. As it was, I spent the first night at Culloden, simply because it is a convenient stopover. The next day I towed up to Brora in quite heavy wind and rain - I was glad it was a short drive. I arrived early in the afternoon and had a choice of pitches before the site filled up. This was my first visit to this site but will not be the last - the beach is just a short walk over the golf course and the site itself is very pleasant. I parked next to a seasonal caravan so that I could benefit from their bird feeders as well as my own! They had a couple of goldfinches visiting their nyjer feeder plus lots of sparrows.

The weather at Brora was pretty wild and wet but improved as I drove north the next day. By the time I reached John O' Groats it was very pleasant and remained so for the three nights I stayed there. The campsite at Groats is nice, with superb views of Orkney, but I elected to stay on my cousin's farmyard to keep the costs down. Saving three nights' pitch fees compensated for the extra diesel to drive so far north!

I left John O' Groats, on what proved to be the best day of the week, and drove down to Morvich on the west coast. In future I think I will break the journey at another site - I left Groats at 2pm and did not arrive at Morvich until 7.30pm - bit of a long drive. It was showery on the west coast so I was glad to get the caravan pitched and the dinner in the oven. I only had three nights at Morvich and the weather continued wet and windy. I spent a day over at Glenelg trying (in vain) to see the sea eagles and was joined for dinner on the last night by friends from Edinburgh who were staying at a holiday cottage in the area. All too soon it was time to pack up and return home. At least it was raining when I left so I didn't feel quite so bad!

On the road at the start of the holiday

So many wonderful places - so little holidays!

I'm sure that half the enjoyment of a caravan holiday is in the planning. Out with the maps and the site guides, planning an itinerary. Trouble is, I don't get nearly enough time off work to take advantage of all the great places to visit, most with a campsite not far away. Should I head for Brora or Dunnet and the beach or should I book Kinlochewe for the mountains? Of course, it's always difficult to know what the weather is going to do, even in June. (Especially in June?) I've not plucked up the courage yet to set off without booking all the sites I'm going to stay at - I know it gives me less flexibility but I don't want to turn up and find the site of my choice is full. It may be possible to 'wild' camp in a small campervan but with a large car and a caravan? Not so easy. Plus, I have to admit, I do like to have a hookup so that I can catch up with twitter and I'm not convinced the new battery I got on the internet, at a fraction of the price quoted locally, has enough oomph for more than one night without a recharge. So, campsites it is - you'll find out which ones I finally settled on in my next post!

Driving me quackers

I've just spent a couple of nights at my favourite little woodland caravan site. (And no, I'm not going to tell you where it is because then you'll all pile in and it won't be so quiet!) It was lovely and peaceful until about 6am the first morning, when I was woken up by a quacking duck. Right outside the caravan. I eventually had to get up and chase it, whereupon I discovered 4 mallards scooping up the fallen seed from my bird feeder - 3 males and 1 female. I hate to admit it but it was the female making all the noise!

I had lots of birds on the feeders, including siskins and, briefly, a female great spotted woodpecker. Unfortunately she flew off before I could get the camera out. A couple of rooks also had a go at trying to peck the fatballs in the feeder - not easy given that it was hanging from a rather slim branch on a small tree! A whole flock of chaffinches hoovered up anything the ducks had left on the ground while coal tits, blue tits and great tits visited the peanut feeder, along with the siskins. Redpolls had been seen elsewhere on the site but I didn't catch any on my feeders, although there was an unidentified bird which may have been a young redpoll or siskin. Hard to tell - it was mainly brown with streaked underside.

No sign this visit of either red squirrel or pine marten, both of which frequent this particular site. The daffodils were out but the trees still bare - it will all have changed the next time I go. That's the beauty of deciduous woodland.

Caravanning is for the birds!

I am a keen birdwatcher and the caravan is turning out to be a great way to do it. I always keep a pair of binoculars handy in the caravan just in case I see something. I also now take a pole and bird feeders with me on my trips - it's great watching the birds on the feeders as I have my breakfast. There weren't many birds around on my last trip to Bunree, probably because the site had just reopened after winter, but I did have two goldfinches on my feeder for a while. Long enough to take a photo! Normally I have to fill the seed feeder every day on sites like Bunree and Morvich due to the number of birds visiting it. I've even bought an extra-long feeder. It costs me a small fortune in bird seed but it's worth it.

Bunree is also a great site to watch seabirds, being right on the shores of Loch Linnhe. There is a pair of swans which always seems to be there and, in the springtime, a flock of widgeon. There were also a few Canada geese on my last visit. The downside of all this birdlife is the noise - I have frequently been woken at Bunree by either geese honking, ducks quacking or widgeon howling. Sometimes the wildlife can be just a bit too close in a caravan! Another woodland site which I visit has owls hooting, foxes screaming and pheasants making a racket in the early morning.
I glanced out of my caravan window in the woodland site once and just caught sight of a jay on the feeder. I have also had red squirrels visiting the peanut feeder plus a spotted woodpecker. Coal tits are very common, as are chaffinches. Blue tits and great tits are less common, but there are usually one or two around, and a shy robin on the ground, picking up the seeds scattered by the tits. I don't get many birds visiting my garden at home due to the number of cats in the neighbourhood so being able to get such a good view of them from the caravan is just great! Caravanning is definitely for the birds!

Cooking in the caravan

Breakfast al fresco

When I had the use of my friends' holiday cottage, complete with well-equipped kitchen, one of my favourite holiday occupations was cooking all the meals that are normally too time-consuming to do at home. I approached my first caravan holiday with the same mentality and all the ingredients to make tuna lasagne from scratch. My wee Bailey has a four-burner gas cooker with grill and oven and I had kitted it out with all the essential utensils, pots and pans, baking tray etc. What I hadn't realised was how little work space there is. With the cooker lid up and the sink cover open, the only available worktop is the one above the fridge, which I tend to use for the kettle, tea and coffee caddies, jam jar, bottle of red wine....you get the picture. So, when a large dollop of home-made tomato sauce ended up on the carpet, I began to revise my ideas of cooking in the caravan. (It's also far too hot slaving over a gas stove in a confined space on a nice summer evening.) Now, I use trips in the caravan as the ideal excuse to visit M&S foodhall and stock up on meals I can cook in the oven. In their original packaging. If there's a dine for £10 deal on the go at the time, so much the better. I thought that I would miss having a microwave, my caravan being too old to have a built-in one, but have found that I can do without, except for when my coffee goes cold. I do hold my hand up and admit to having an electric toaster now, after incinerating one too many slices of bread under the grill. I like a bit of carbon with my toast but there are limits! All I need now is some way of reminding myself to silence the smoke alarm before putting the toaster on!

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Munro-bagging with a caravan

One of the reasons I decided to buy a caravan was that I was running out of Munros that can be done in a day trip from my home in Fife. I had already stayed at Morvich Caravan Club site in Kintail as a camper and still had lots of hills up there to do. A number of other caravan sites are good bases for hillwalking e.g. Killin, Onich, Kinlochewe, Glencoe, Dingwall, Braemar. Spoilt for choice really. So, on my first caravan holiday I spent a few days in Morvich. I arrived at the site at 10pm with the car on the back of a breakdown truck and the caravan hitched on behind - a passer-by had noticed a large puddle of coolant under the car when I stopped in Inverness en route to the site. The car disappeared off to Kyle of Lochalsh which wasn't too much of a problem - there are plenty of hills climbable straight from the campsite. I decided to do Sgurr an Airgid the next day, having been told by the garage that it would be two or three days before the car was ready. Halfway up the hill my mobile rang - the car was ready. I'd turned back on this hill once before so was not about to abandon my hillwalk to go to Kyle. I didn't have my wallet with me but a phone call to my sister sorted things out - she paid the bill over the phone and the garage agreed to leave the car keys with the petrol station so that I could collect the car at my leisure. The view from the summit was worth it. (PS. I paid my sister back later!)

Two days later, I drove round to Arnisdale on a gloriously sunny day and climbed Beinn Sgritheall. I had tried to interest some members of my mountaineering club in joining me at Morvich with tents, without success, however my subsequent meet report with photos persuaded two couples to join me at Morvich the next year. Since that first trip I have climbed several Munros using the caravan as a base and have plans for plenty more. Watch this space!

The view from the summit of Beinn Sgritheall.

Sadly missed - the Caravan Buyers Guide

When I was looking to buy my caravan I stumbled upon a really helpful website - the Caravan Buyers Guide. It had a useful article on how to check over a used van, complete with pictures, which I printed out and took with me on viewings. It also had a forum where newbies like myself could ask questions and get them answered by the old hands. It was a very friendly and helpful online community which I quickly came to appreciate. I logged in most nights to see if there were any new posts - it just became part of my online life. I posted pictures and comments on my caravan holidays, knowing that others would be interested, as I was in their holidays. Then one day, earlier this year, I clicked on the link and got redirected to a search page. The site had vanished and with it, all my online friends. I realised that I had no way of contacting any of them apart from through the site. Gone were pals like Goldcrest, Abbey Aventura, Geordie Lass and Ephalump, not to mention Deepee and the site moderator Captain Opt. Perhaps I should have realised that something was amiss when the picture at the top of the site had not changed for months and Captain Opt had not posted for a while. I do hope that he's OK but there's no way I can find out. So, if there is anyone out there who was on the site, do please send me a tweet. (The twitter link is on the right hand side.) I'd love to hear from you.
Rosecam

PS. The golden caravan icon is from the Caravan Buyers website - apologies for pinching it. I'm just hoping some of you will recognise it and get in touch. I keep the windscreen stickers in my car and caravan for the same reason!

First night on site or how not to pitch

In the blurb which I received as a new member of the Caravan Club, it said that the wardens would help me to pitch my caravan on my first visit to a site. It neglected to add that this would only happen if I turned up before 6pm and it wasn't pouring with rain. As it was, when I finally reached Culloden after my first day towing I was given directions as to where the empty pitches were and left to get on with it. No problem I thought - I'd been on the towing reversing course. I drove into the site and selected a pitch to reverse on to. All was going well until I realised that I was about to hit a wooden 5mph sign with the back end of the car. They didn't warn us about this on the course. The road was too narrow to avoid it so I had to find another pitch. This I did, and reversed on perfectly, only to find that the site was sloping. Again, no problem - I had come prepared with a levelling ramp. Unfortunately, the mover wouldn't move the caravan up the steep self-levelling ramp, which it turned out was more suited to grass pitches than hard-standings. The tilt of the caravan was too much to live with so the only solution was to hitch up again and find a more level pitch. By this time the rain was hosing down and so I wasn't hanging about. To get to a level pitch I had to go back out into the reception area and do a wide turn in front of the office. At this point I noticed a wee caravan in front of me, nose down in a flower tub. In the few seconds it took me to realise it was my caravan, the warden had come running out of the office, presumably to stop me demolishing his campsite. In my haste, I hadn't hitched on properly and a pothole had caused the caravan to unhitch. Fortunately no harm was done and the warden helped me get sited on a level pitch, something he should probably have done in the first place. No matter - once I'd got out of my soaking clothes and put the pizza in the oven all was well and I have to say that I have never had so much trouble pitching since! (Avoiding sloping sites like Culloden helps.) The first time is always the worst.

Learning to tow

I like to think that I am a competent driver and I'm used to big cars - my current motor is a Mondeo estate - but the thought of towing a caravan filled me with apprehension. I therefore decided not to tow until I'd been on a Caravan Club towing course. This meant delaying my first caravan holiday by a month as the courses are very popular. It was a one and a half day course at a local college and it included plenty of practice in reversing the caravan between bollards in a car park, however there was no opportunity to practice going forwards round corners. This would prove to be a fatal flaw. I left the course feeling reasonably confident that I could reverse on to a pitch but still rather nervous. Less than a week later I was on the road. Perhaps driving from Aberdeen to Inverness on the first day was a bit ambitious but all went well until I got lost on the back roads above Nairn trying to find Culloden campsite. I must have done a great big loop because I suddenly found myself heading back down into Nairn and so did a sharp left-hand turn. Round a high stone wall. With no pavement. I felt, rather than heard, the crunch. I stopped to survey the damage. Two inches wider and all would have been well but, instead, there were scrapes all along the side of the caravan at two different heights and the window was cracked. I could have wept. I did weep. It was 6pm, I'd trashed my beautiful caravan, it had started to rain and I still hadn't found the campsite. I was really wondering if I'd done the right thing in buying a caravan. Now, with lots of towing miles under my belt and lots of great trips, I can say that I had. Then, I wasn't so sure, however later that evening, caravan finally pitched (another story), pizza inside me and a glass of red to hand, I felt a bit better and I went to sleep that night to the pleasant sound of rain drumming on the roof.

Why a caravan?

It's a long story. For years I had the use of a friend's holiday home on the west coast of Scotland, which was lovely. It made living in the Central Belt bearable because I could escape two or three times a year. Unfortunately my friend had to sell the house and I then found it very difficult to get affordable holiday accommodation for one, particularly in the summer. I did think briefly of getting a bigger tent (I have a small one-woman tent for wild camping) but rejected the idea due to the vagaries of the Scottish summer. Too damned cold, in other words! Over the years I had met several caravanning couples and had realised that caravans had improved since my childhood days. Heating, for a start! Showers and decent cassette toilets for another. I became envious of the ease with which these couples could go off for a weekend with their towable homes. However, what finally decided me was meeting someone who knew another single lady who had learned to tow a caravan, with the help of a towing course. I started looking around and eventually fell in love with a 10 year old Bailey Ranger. It had a mover, which I had decided was essential for solo towing, and was immaculate. The previous owners had obviously looked after it with love. It cost a lot more than I had initially thought of spending but it has been worth every penny. Here is my beautiful wee Bailey -