Getting excited!

I'm starting to get ready for the first caravan trip of the year! I was up at the caravan storage today putting the battery back in (I keep it in the house over the winter to avoid it freezing). I was relieved to see that it had retained its charge as I need it to power the mover to get the caravan out of its space in storage and hitched up. I also checked the tyre pressures and the mover - two years ago the mover seized over the winter and couldn't be wound on to the wheels at the start of the season! A more regular regime of oiling the moving parts seems to have solved that problem. Fortunately my caravan does not suffer from damp (because it is quite draughty) so I don't need to remove the cushions over the winter. I do take out anything that might attract mice after another caravan at my storage suffered damage to the upholstery during a winter from mice, although I suspect they brought the culprits back from their last trip to France that season! I've never seen any sign of the little blighters in my caravan.

I've stocked up with tea and coffee and food for the birds (you can tell where my priorities lie!) and I've checked things like shampoo, toilet chemicals and loo roll so I'm now good to go! Everything else I need will be in the car. There's just one other thing still to do - book my pitches on the Caravan Club website. I can't wait!

Floods and landslides!

The Falls of Dochart

My last caravan trip of 2014 was later than I'd hoped due to difficulties getting time off work so the clocks went back on my first night. That was OK as I was pitched at Maragowan, Killin so that I could go to the Annual Dinner of my mountaineering club in the Bridge of Lochay hotel. The next day, after a long lie, I upped sticks in the rain and headed north to Bunree. Unfortunately, I only got as far as Crianlarich, where a road sign indicated that the A82 was closed at Ballachulish due to a landslide. I knew that the blockage was likely to be north of Bunree however the police advised me not to continue as the tailback was considerable at that point. By 2pm I was back at Maragowan and it was pouring. I got settled, had a quiet afternoon and was just about to make dinner in the evening when the warden knocked the door and told me they were evacuating everyone to Clachan due to flood warnings. Cue a convoy of caravans out of Killin in the rain. It was 9pm by the time I'd got pitched at Clachan and I was soaked. So was the car - I discovered the next day that I'd accidentally opened one of the back windows when talking to the warden at the entrance to Clachan and I'd left it open on one of the wettest, windiest nights of the year! The car is still drying out.

A peaceful evening at Bunree

The rainbow

I had intended going on to Morvich from Bunree however Morvich was also closed due to flooding so I decided to stay a total of 4 nights in Killin and then spend the rest of the week at Bunree. Maragowan never reopened - it was a couple of feet underwater at one point - but I enjoyed my stay at Clachan, always one of my favourite sites. Bunree was also really pleasant and quiet, it being the last week they were open. I even caught a glimpse of a Sea Eagle, soaring in the wind and saw a rainbow before I left.