Eriba Man

This is night No 45/2018 staying in my caravan. This is my second night in Dunbar C&CC Site near Dunbar in East Lothian. Woke up to a 'pea souper' of a fog. It was quite cold when I got up at 0630. The site is unusually busy for this time of year (I thought?), but as usual, I was the only one up and about when I took the dogs for an early morning blast in the fields next to the site. Can't even see the continuous plume of pollution from the cement factory. Minded me of how Culloden must have seemed back in the day! I thought I'd be a bit more adventurous with the breakfast today. I had eggs, mushrooms, and cheese so I decided to knock up an omelette. Turned out really well, and as I expected, it was delicious. Nice with the melted Cheshire Cheese in it. I then paid a visit to the Turkish Barber in Dunbar. Good haircut too, and included the flaming cotton wad but not the head massage or boiling towel. Good value at £8 and like the on...

This is night No.44/2018 staying in my caravan. I'm now at Dunbar C&CC Site near the town of Dunbar. Last night was my last night at Camlies Farm near Penpont. It's a very basic site located on the banks of Scaur Water, around 0.5mile from Penpont. I had been 'off grid' as there is no power supply or toilet facilities. My van worked fantastically. I was really impressed by the ability of the van to cope with this style of pitching. It was sunny, and my solar panel was more than enough to power everything (including 240v through an inverter) and the toilet, kitchen sink, and wash hand basin were more than adequate. The fridge worked perfectly on gas and I would not hesitate to camp this way again. I have a 'beefy' leisure battery onboard which would probably last 3 or 4 days, but the solar panel is a huge bonus. In need of laundry facilities, and a shower, I fancied heading to Dunbar. It's a good site, cheap, and is only 2hrs from Camlies. At this tim...

This is night No 43/2018 staying in my caravan. I'm now here for my 2nd night at Camling CL near Penpont in Dunfries and Galloway. It had been a wee bit chilly overnight. I didn't put any heating on, and I left the vents on the van 'open'. Still, woke to a great day yet again. It feels like ages since there's been any rain. Only one other unit on the site, away out of sight at the far end of the field. Took the dogs down by the Scaur Water which runs past the site. A short but very useful walk. Even had an 'alfresco' fry up! Not what I normally have, but being 'off grid', it makes for a change. No toasted bagels today. It was lovely, sausage, bacon, and a pair of eggs. I wanted to walk up Tynron Doon today, but when I got to the village (a few miles from here), the path has been closed until September due to forestry works. There was a fine diversion put in place, but it went through fields of livestock, so I thought I'd fin...

This post is about 'off grid' caravanning in an Eriba. It's where your on a site which has no power, no shower facilities, and no toilet. Here's my set up. Off Grid, you depend on 12v. I have an onboard leisure battery, which i have wired for connection to a solar panel. Mine's a 100w panel, portable, connecting to the van via a fused Anderson Connector mounted under the van. I'll be relying on gas if I need to use the heater, so the extension to the flue must be fitted to take the exhaust above the pop top. I have 12v outlets (Hella european) at the end of the kitchen lamp. Where I use a handy voltmeter/temp gauge to monitor charging. I also have a 12v outlet on the side of the fridge cabinet. Electrical selector on the fridge switched to off. I'm now running the fridge on gas which performs brilliant. For tea, you'll need one of these. And lets not forget, this contraption needs to be used as the 'f...

This is night No.42/2018 staying in my caravan. I'm now pitched at Camling CL, near Penport in D&G. Fantastic farm site at £5 per night. No facilities except a water supply, bins, and somewhere to empty the toilet tank. Got up about 0545 and took the dogs for a wander round Garlieston Beach. The weather, again, was lovely. It was a pack up day, so spent an hour or so squaring everything away, and left the site around 1030. My satnav told me it would take around 90mins, so a fine stretch for the dogs. The A/C in the car was doing overdrive though, it was already 23C when we passed Newton Stewart. A lovely drive though. Moniaive is a particularly beautiful village in my opinion. Arrived at the site around 1200. It's a nice lawned area and there was one other van here. CL's normally restrict numbers to 5, and it's a really big site for 5 vans. As we're effectively 'off grid', it was a fine day for the solar panel to get to work. Switched ...

This is night No.41/2018 staying in my caravan. This is my third night at Garlieston C&MC Site in Dumfries and Galloway. Got up just before 0600, as usual. I just cannot sleep beyond it! I think it's partly due to the really early sunrises at the moment, the sunny weather, and the fact that the poptop canvas is a light grey colour. If I change it, I'm going to go for (the available) orange or red. It was another glorious night last night. The tide was out and it was still warm when we headed out for the circular walk past Galloway House and returning by the coast. My brothers old 'holiday home' for posh kids. The rather impressive Galloway House. The rear of the house which faces the sea has a really interesting bow shaped centre, a bit like Windsor Castle. After breakfast today, we walked along to Rigg Bay where they developed the Mulberry Harbour. Last time I was here a few years back, there were timbers from the structure visible on the beach, but i...