Eriba Man

This is night No.60/2018 touring in my caravan. This is my second night at The Beeches CL near Tayport. It was a rather grey day, all day. It's a feature of the east coast of Scotland in hot summer months. A 'haar' blows in from the sea, a low fog which is often reluctant to burn off, even when inland only a few miles is blue skies. I arose around 0600 to grey weather. It was a very light drizzle, and quite cool. I used my portable shower which was excellent, although I had got the water a bit on the cool side. Refreshing to say the least. There was one other unit on the site, a small campervan at the other end of the field. To be discreet, I positioned my flexi bucket/shower tray round the rear of the van. Shockingly, as I did the 'full wash down' a car passed by the site, right past the very open gap in the fence! Rural voyeurism is acceptable, I suppose. After ablutions, I took the dogs along the track towards Morton Lochs where they got a great run around ...

This is night No 59/2018 touring in my caravan. I'm now at The Beeches, a CL near Tayport in Fife. £5 per night. I'd done all my 'domestics' at home, received any post I was waiting for, and got the washing done. With the spell of stunning weather we've been experiencing I was keen to get back out again. With the temperature soaring, I didn't want to travel far in the car. Turned out that my air con had the car freezing anyway! It was 27C as I passed through Dundee. I've been here once before, a number of years ago in my campervan. It's a great location, handy for the shopping in Tayport and right next to Tentsmuir Forest. When I arrived, I had the huge field all to myself. Perfect weather for the solar panel. There's been some improvement since I was last here. The green hut was always here, and houses the chemical dump in one side, with the bins, and on the other is the drinking water. The new development is the installation of a portac...

This is night No.58/2018 touring in my caravan. This is my second night at Drumbhan CL near Bonar Bridge. Again, it was raining and fairly blustery last night. It was showery when I woke around 0600, but the forecast was for an improving day. It certainly did, but remained very windy throughout the day. Took the dogs along the roads near the house, which are very quiet, and after a shower and breakfast, I took them down the road (by car) to Balbair Forest, just on the outskirts of Bonar Bridge. Took the longer waymarked 'green' route, which is a great walk. Some nice ponds on the way up the hill. Hamish always does his best to find and carry the weirdest of sticks. After the walk, we returned to the van for a few hours reading and generally lazing around. In the afternnoon, headed along the direct single track road from here towards Spinningdale. There's an excellent network of paths around the Woodland Trust forest at Ledmore & Migdale. I opted for...

This is night No.57/2018 touring in my caravan. Now at Drumbhan CL, near Bonar Bridge in Sutherland. A fairly basic CL, but with power, at a cost of £10 per night. It rained very heavy overnight, and it was lighter but still fairly continuous when I got up around 0645. Donned the wellies and took the dogs around the neighbouring forest. The weather was improving even this early. The rain died out around 0900, and after breakfast I took the dogs down to the beach. As predicted, absolutely deserted! Left Davochfin Farm at about 1130. It is only a short 12 mile drive to this CL, so I took my time and stopped at the excellent Balbair Forest just outside Bonar Bridge to walk the dogs around one of the waymarked routes. The weather was lovely. Arrived at Drumbhan about 1230. It's about 2.5 miles from Bonar Bridge in the settlement of Airdens. A nice little field in the grounds of a croft/bungalow. There was no one else here. There are 5 graveled pitches so I chose ...

This is night No 56/2018 touring in my caravan. My second night at Davochfin Farm CL near Dornoch. Got up around 0645 and took the dogs around Camore Wood next to the site. It's a fine wood which gives a number of options from a 30min to about a 90min walk. Very handy and accessed direct from a gate in the farm. Had a hearty breakfast of muesli, followed by a butterie. It was still early, so I was dying to try out my new shower. It was outstanding! Filled the flexi bucket about 3/4, then poured in a kettle full of boiling water. Certainly hot enough, and the quality of the shower was excellent. The on off switch hangs fine of the car handle, and I donned trunks in case of passing campers. This is a winner. Squeaky clean, I took the dogs a walk from the site, across the road to the owners fishery and golf range to Cuthill Sands. I remember the last time I was here the owner remarked that this expanse of moor was the largest coastal heather moor in Scotland. ...

This is night No.55/2018 touring in my caravan. I'm now at Davochfin Farm, a CL near Dornoch. There are 2 options for pricing, £5 per night without electricity, and £10 with. I've taken the option to take electricity for a few reasons; I have food in the fridge which can only be oven cooked (i.e. pies), I might have to use the heating (which eats gas), and although overpriced, the overall price is well worth it and I'm supporting the cause of CL's. With the kit my van has on board, I'm much preferring the CL's to the main C&MC Sites. They are great places to spend some time. This van is proving itself to be an ideal machine for this. The Puck I had previous was a fantastic wee van, but this model is superb. I got up around 0630, and took the dogs around the woods next to the site. After breakfast, took the dogs for a longer walk around Culloden Wood, around 2 miles from the site. A good long circular route. It was quiet apart from a couple of joggers. ...