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!