Hello,
In late September and early October we had another couple of camping trips in Vannie and I thought I would share these adventures with you.
Firstly we went to Pitlochry, staying at a privately run campsite called Milton of Fonab, just on the outskirts of Pitlochry.
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| Vannie at Milton of Fonab |
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| River Tummel at Milton of Fonab |
Once we parked up we took a stroll into Pitlochry, passing by the Hydro-electric Power Station and Loch Faskally:
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| Faskally Dam & Power Station |
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| River Tummel from Power Station Dam |
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| Loch Faskally from Power Station Dam |
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| Suspension Bridge over River Tummel |
Moira wasn't too keen on crossing the suspension bridge as it can wobble a bit (especially if somebody is shaking it when you are crossing!!).
The following day the weather was quite sunny so we decided to take a walk round the Explorers Garden, which is located right next to Pitlochry Festival Theatre. Late September is probably not the best time to see the exotic plants in this garden, which is populated by plants collected by various intrepid Scottish explorers. It was however very interesting and there were a few plants still to see, as well as the start of some great views.
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| Autumn Crocus |
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| Blue Triumphator |
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| Bluebell Ferns |
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| Moira in bloom |
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| Pink Leaves |
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| Pitlochry from Explorers Garden |
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| Eddie on Balcony |
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| View from Balcony in Explorers Garden |
When we were on the balcony a Red Squirrel jumped on to the platform, ran along the floor, under the bench Moira was sitting on and then off the other end of the platform. Wish I'd had the camcorder ready...........you probably heard the scream anyway!!
I did capture some wildlife though, a very obliging Great Tit was sunning itself on a bush:
Just to prove it wasn't a stuffed toy Great Tit, here is a clip of it flying away:
As well as plants and wildlife there were plenty of interesting structures and artwork to enjoy as we strolled round the gardens:
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| Dry-stane Archway |
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| Dry-stane Bench |
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| Giant Wooden Pine Cone |
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| Stylish Toilet |
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| Pebble Mosaic in Pagoda |
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| Pagoda Carved Dragon |
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| Moira resting at Pagoda |
There was also plenty of information boards telling you all about the explorers, where they came from, which countries they explored and what they brought back.
This one shows a giant ant heading to China:
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| Scottish Ant Explorer heading to China |
I thought it was funny at the time?
On the way out we had to climb the famous 39 Steps:
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| 39 Steps |
I counted them..............there were thirty nine...............doubt if they were the ones referred to in the book/film.
Just before we left the garden Moira drew my attention to a Tree-creeper spiralling its way up a tree. It then flew off to another tree where it was joined by another Tree-creeper before they both flew away.
They always look more like a mouse than a bird when they are climbing up a tree trunk.
I highly recommend a walk round the Explorers Garden if you are ever in Pitlochry.
The next day we headed south from the campsite (along a minor road which goes to Ballinluig) for a little walk in the countryside. Following a signpost on the road-side we visited a historic monument in the form of a Pictish Stone:
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| Dunfallandy Stone |
To protect it from the elements the stone had been encased in a glass cabinet, it did mean that photographing it was nigh impossibly:
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| Ghostly Image on Pictish Stone |
I did manage to get some sort of picture of the rear of the stone, which was a bit more shaded from the sun:
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| Pictish Stone Carvings |
There were also a interesting structure here, which related to the fact that it was the ancestral burial grounds of the Ferguson family:
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| Ferguson Family Crypt |
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| Celtic Cross |
Further along the country road we could see the River Tummel in the near distance and thought it would be nice to walk through the nearby Oak woodland to get to riverside. We didn't however bargain for the local fishing club making it quite clear that no fun was to be had here:
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| In short No Fun Allowed |
We gave up and headed back to the campsite for a relaxing afternoon. In the evening we went to Pitlochry Festival Theatre for a meal and a show. We saw the Noel Coward play "This Happy Breed" and would recommend it to anybody who hasn't already seen it, especially in a theatre as nice as the one at Pitlochry.
The next day we packed up Vannie and headed home
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A few weeks later, in early October, we took a trip down to Moffat in the Scottish Borders. By this time the weather was colder, a bit more rainy and the leaves on the trees were starting to change to their Autumn colours.
We chose Moffat Camping & Caravan Park for several reasons, it was with walking distance of the town, it was easy to get to (just off the A74 motorway) and it had plenty of café/restaurants if we got too lazy to cook.
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| Vannie at Moffat Camping & Caravanning Club |
The other good thing about Moffat is that it had places you could go walking; including a nice park, a riverside walk and even around the town itself.
We had a stroll around the town when we first arrived and went out again at night to the Italian restaurant for our evening meal (very nice it was)
In the morning we had a leisurely walk through Station Park which was just along from the campsite:
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| Boating Pond at Station Park |
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| Station Park, Moffat |
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| Mallards on Duck Pond at Station Park |
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| Getting the Ducks in a Row |
There is no railway station in Moffat anymore but there are still some evidence of where the track was within the park.
A path from Station Park leads you on to the riverside walk, the river in this case being the Annan Water. We embarked on this riverside walk knowing that it would take us on a circular route back round to the town centre just in time for lunch.
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| Leafy Lane to Riverside Walk |
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| Moffat in the sunshine |
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| Annanside Walk |
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| Old Bridge across the Annan |
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| View across the paddock |
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| Annanside Track |
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| River Annan |
There were plenty of little birds (Chaffinch, Robin, Blue Tit and Wren) flitting about the river, some even having a bath in it, however they never stood still long enough to let me photograph or film them. That was until we spotted this elegant Grey Wagtail on a rock in the river:
The path became a narrower track as we headed further out from the town and after a while we decided to turn around and walk back towards the bridge over the Annan, which would take us into the North end of the town.
Just before we left the riverside track I heard the distinctive sound made by a flock of Long-tailed Tits. They were in a nearby tree and there must have been more than a dozen of them, I tried my best to capture this spectacle on video:
On the road back to Moffat we stopped to admire the Autumn colours of the roadside trees:
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| Heading back to Moffat on the A701 |
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| Autumnal Colours |
When we reached Moffat we headed to the nearest café for a spot of lunch. I had a bacon & egg roll and Moira enjoyed some bacon, pancakes and maple syrup..............mmmmmmmmmm!
The café we ate in had a sheep theme going on (after all Moffat has always been a big livestock market town) and the toilet doors were appropriately marked as 'Ewes' and 'Tups'. What was funnier was the sign between the doors which read "If you are confused boys are on the left, girls are always right"...........hmphhhh!
After lunch we had a stroll along some of the old streets at the back of the High Street then headed up the hill following on from Well Road. Here we came across an intriguing road sign:
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| Intriguing Road Sign |
I thought we must investigate this road on our way back down the hill.
The hill took us out of the town, past the fancy houses and in to open countryside. We did see one further building before we turned round and headed back downhill; an old stone built barn.
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| Old Stone Barn |
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| Conversion Project |
I thought it was ripe for a barn conversion; we could sell the house, live in Vannie during the conversion stage until it was habital then move in..............by this time Moira had turned around and was heading back downhill.............I took that as a NO!
We did go back down through Ballplay Road, which took us to the Rugby Club so I guess that is where the name comes from.
It came on rain just as we got back to the campsite and continued to pour for the rest of the evening. We decided to cook our evening meal in the motorhome, played a few hands of cards, watched some TV then went to bed. Sometimes that is what camping is like, and we did get dry weather when we were out walking.
The next morning was also dry when we packed up Vannie and headed home.
Until next time...........take care,
TeddyEdward
