Scotland 2011

30 July 2011

We have an appointment with Aurelio and Eva at the Turchino service area on the A26; Gianni, Dona, Gabri and Arna set off a couple of days ago and today they will stop at Nancy. Our destination, however, is Bourg en Bresse, so we head towards the Aosta Valley to take the Little St Bernard Pass. We travel quickly and without encountering traffic, arriving at the top of the pass right at lunchtime. I really have to take my hat off to Eva, who drove her camper all the way to the top; I, a flat-road driver, wouldn't have been up to it! We cross over into France and drive down the Isère valley, arriving calmly at Bourg en Bresse around 6 p.m. The municipal campsite is nice and the manager, extremely kind, charges us a flat rate of 29 euros for both campers, 5 people and Zara.

31 July 2011

We set off early, we have to cover the 450 km that separate us from the rest of the group, who arrived at Val de Vesle last night. We sail smoothly along the beautiful French A26 which, like all the very pricey French motorways, is splendidly maintained. We enter at Bourg en Bresse and practically exit at Reims (45.00 euros and change), stopping near Troyes for lunch. Troyes is an area we had already been to a few years ago on our way back from the Loire; nearby is the Parc de la Forêt d'Orient, an area characterised by large lakes, very beautiful and which in my opinion deserves a visit.

We arrive at the municipal campsite of Val de Vesle (rue de Routoir 8; N49°10'1'' E4°12'51'') around 4 p.m.; the others have already kept a place for us, it's an immense joy to see them again! Val de Vesle is a small farming village, nice but without anything special; its municipal campsite is clean and tidy, certainly worth bearing in mind as a stopover point going north-south; we spent 16.50 euros for three people with Zara.

01 August 2011

Before starting the journey towards Dunkirk we go to visit the beautiful cathedral of Reims. If you are in those parts it's a must, also to admire the distinctive Chagall stained-glass windows. As evocative and wonderful as it is, I must say it didn't strike me as deeply as the one in Chartres. We arrive at check-in well ahead of time and they tell us we can board the 8 p.m. ferry. A quick check of the documents and voilà!!! We can't pass, on Zara's passport, which we had given the most particular care, our vet did not stamp a page, indeed THE most important PAGE (but if he doesn't know it!!), moral of the story: all our friends board and we stay ashore! We have to thank the kindness of the young lady at check-in who, going well beyond her duty, on her own initiative, phoned a vet in Calais; he very kindly saw us outside office hours, applying the infamous missing stamp.

All this allowed us to arrive in time for the 10 p.m. boarding as would have been originally scheduled. We rejoined the rest of the group at Dover in the Marina Parade car park (N51°7'28'' E1°19'13'') just outside the port, where we spent the night. So if you have a furry friend with you, remember these simple but mandatory rules: the rabies vaccine antibody response assessment test must be done so that the date of the results is not earlier than six months before the booster (e.g. booster in June, the test must be done no earlier than December or January). Check the dates carefully and that, besides the page where the vaccination is to be recorded by your local health authority, they have filled in the specific page certifying the test check by the vet.

No more than 48 hours must have passed (at the time of boarding) since the administration of the antiparasitics, and the specific page must be filled in by the vet (this is actually silly, in fact your vet just has to fill it in and then you put the date yourself). Have them check that the microchip is clearly readable by the infernal machine! Be careful about everything because you risk being stuck in France, they are very, very strict and they will check you even when you disembark at Dover.

02 August 2011

We begin our approach to Scotland, stopping to visit Canterbury Cathedral and the old town centre of this little town. At the car park the first snag begins: the machines only accept coins and we don't have any; we try to get change but no one (not even the nearby supermarket) will do it for us. Luckily a car-park warden arrives and points out that you can also pay by credit card, getting us out of the fix. She kindly tells us to park two by two in the bus bays, thus paying for only one space for two campers (10 pounds per space per day, even if you stop only 10 minutes; we'll apply this solution later too, the lady was very "lovly"! Entry to the cathedral would cost 9 pounds each but we only pay for three; the others, being over 60s and students, all get a reduction (so from today the group is made up of 5 oldies, 2 students and 3 unlucky ones).

We also go to visit St Martin's church, the oldest church in England; it has nothing special (except that particularity), the cemetery surrounding it is very "nice". The old town centre, moreover, is delightful and the "leaning house" stands out. After lunch we set off towards Teversal, our destination for the night. Teversal is a small village north of Nottingham, known only for having been the set of the remake of the film "Lady Chatterley's Lover"; on the other hand it has a truly beautiful and very well-kept campsite, the managers are extremely kind and the facilities definitely better than expected. With the Camping International card we saved 8 pounds, spending 31. The campsite is the Teversal CP end Car Clubsite Silverhill Lane NG 173 JJ (N53°8'58'' W1°9'32'').

3 August 2011 Today's destination is Alnwick and its castle, made better known by the fact that it was the set of the Harry Potter films, remember the school of Hogwarts?? Indeed the building is spectacular, inside there are truly unique furnishings and objects. Even today the Percy family, who have owned it for 700 years, still live in the castle. Apart from the castle, Alnwick is a delightful town, we had a wander around and bought a few things, among them the "LEMON CURD", a sort of lemon jam with eggs and butter, certainly not a diet food but......... delicious!! You have to keep it in the fridge and then try it at breakfast on toast...yummm (I must stock up before coming back). In the afternoon we went to Kelso, stopping in a nice car park on the riverbank; the spot is off the beaten track so we decide to have our big communal meal there anyway.

Today we drove along some very beautiful and relaxing country roads; up to now the weather has graced us, let's hope it stays that way!!

August 4, 2011

Evidently I should have kept quiet, because today it's raining buckets!! We'd like to visit the abbey (even though walking around outside you can see it without any problem) but on Thursday and Friday it's closed; we'd like to visit the Parish Church but until noon it's closed; we'd like to visit the other churches in Kelso but they're all closed! The next time someone tells me that in Italy we don't have a tourism culture, I'll set them straight! The question I ask myself is: what season do they think tourists come here in? In January? So we settle, so to speak, for a big sandwich with haggis at "Central Baguette" on the main square...a really delicious thing, provided you like things like foie gras pâté. We go back to the campervans with our tails between our legs and head for Melrose; here fortunately the abbey is open, too bad it's raining cats and dogs.

At the entrance they offer us the Membership Card, an annual card that gives you access to a ton of sites; not to be confused with the Explorer Card which lasts 14 days and only gives you discounts. We get it; all things considered it's definitely worth it since we'll visit at least 10 of the sites mentioned. There are three of us, Davide gets the student discount, Ivano gets the over-60 discount and I (who would be one of the unlucky ones) as his wife am entitled to the same discount because they make a couple's card for us, so we spend 99 Pounds.

The abbey is very beautiful, we even managed to see the gargoyle shaped like a piglet with bagpipes despite Jupiter Pluvius having decided to persecute us; we also wanted to see the museum but we were so soaked, despite umbrellas and kways, that we decided to go back to the campervans, have a quick lunch and dash off to Roslin to visit the Rosslyn Chapel. The building is very unusual and features some rather singular decorations, such as the representation of a plant that at the time of construction should not have been known because it was native to the Americas; it's rich in symbolism and loaded with legends. Lastly, it was made famous by the book and the film "The Da Vinci Code." Fortunately it stopped raining.

Considering that the Edinburgh campsite gave us a flat no to our booking request, we decided to skip the Edinburgh stop, reserving the option of visiting it on the way back, possibly using Glasgow as a base. We went straight up to Stirling, finding a small campsite with nothing special about it that cost us only 15 pounds, but for what it offers that's even too much; it served us well enough to be able to do CS.

August 5, 2011

Stirling is a truly beautiful city. We go to park right at the entrance of the castle, and the car park costs 4 pounds with no time limit (no overnight). The ticket would have cost us 39 pounds, but we have the membership card and don't even have to go to the ticket office; in a dedicated office they stamp the booklet they gave us when we signed up and provide us with audio guides in Italian. I assure you the visit is worth doing, and the audio guides thoroughly explain the history of the castle and its inhabitants. We also visited the cathedral and then went down into the Old Town.

We found an Italian restaurant "La Ciociaria" on Baker Street run by Romans where you eat buffet-style at a fixed price (5.95 pounds); you can take whatever you want and as much as you can eat of everything displayed on the buffet, and it's not a little, believe me! We then headed to St Andrews, a lovely town by the sea, stopping at a campsite mentioned in the Lonely Planet guide, definitely better than the previous one; we went down into town by bus, having dinner in a Pub: jacket potatoes with cheese and bacon; fish and chips and a plate of chicken with mashed potatoes, vegetables and peas. I didn't like the local draft beer, it's flat and they serve it barely cool (after 5 minutes it becomes broth). Next time we go out I'll have water. We walked back just to burn off everything we'd gulped down.

August 6, 2011 Today we earned a good two stamps in the Membership book, the one from the abbey and the one from St Andrews Castle. We climbed to the top of the tower from which you enjoy a magnificent view over the city and the bay. We visited the museum and bought a CD of Gaelic music, very well recommended by the clerk. Then we went to the town center to the local produce market, stocking up on Angus beef.

Ivano bought himself a terrible Scottish flat cap, and he's overjoyed with the purchase...he is! Then we went to Crail, a very characteristic fishing village; it would have been nice to take a more substantial walk around, too bad it started raining! We set off again toward Braemar along the A93 after crossing the Tay Bridge which took us over the bay, landing at Dundee; the road we took led us through desolate moorlands dotted with scattered houses, sheep and cows grazing in immense meadows. Not very high mountains but devoid of trees of any kind, with streams and waterfalls. Braemar is at the top of the Royal Deeside which we'll descend all the way to Stonehaven. When we arrived at the campsite we'd chosen, The Invercauld c.c. Site on Glenshee road, we found it closed; after ringing, a very annoyed lady came out followed by an equally annoyed husband.

When she saw there were 4 campervans she threw her hands up in her hair, then she looked (still grumbling) for where she could put us, and finally she asked us for a full 35 pounds per campervan (the absolute highest price so far). Honestly it seemed an exorbitant price for the place, and besides we were put off by the pantomime she'd put on, so we turned on our heels and left. 500 meters further down we noticed a parking area where an English campervan was already stopped; we pulled up alongside, there's no "no overnight" sign... We went for a walk around the town where, since 5 pm had struck, everything is strictly closed; moreover it's starting to rain heavily again. We go back to the campervans for a home-cooked dinner, each in their own. Let's hope for the best tomorrow.

August 7, 2011 It rained heavily all night and this morning it shows no sign of letting up. We decided not to stop at Balmoral, the Queen's summer residence; the most beautiful thing they let you see are the gardens, and since it's raining we don't feel like getting soaked. So we continue toward Aberdeen, with the idea of visiting Crathes Castle and Drum Castle. We pass the turnoff for Crathes without seeing the signs; they have the bad habit of putting them right at the turnoff and it only takes a moment to miss them. So we go on toward Drum; we'll visit Crathes in the afternoon. Both Drum and Crathes are very beautiful and interesting residences; in both cases they provide us with a printed sheet in Italian with the explanation and history.

In both cases we give up seeing the gardens, albeit with regret, especially in the case of Drum where there's a very beautiful rose garden of old roses, but it's raining too much. After finishing the visit to Crathes we go down to the coast to Stonehaven, a pretty town with a very characteristic harbor. We stop at the Queen Elisabeth Campsite (N 56°58'13'' W2°12'13'') spending 20 Pounds. After settling in we go for a walk along the seafront. The gray weather certainly makes things worse; this North Sea strikes me a lot. The water is dark, I'd say brown, as brown as the water of the river that flows through the Royal Deeside. The foam that breaks on the rocks is yellow and not at all inviting.

The town as a whole is clean and tidy but everything is a uniform color: gray and brown houses like the beach and the sea; only the patches of color of the incredibly blooming flowerbeds and gardens stand out. The restaurant for eating fish and chips recommended by the Lonely Planet 2008 edition is no longer there, it's closed, so don't count on it. On the other hand we found another one on the market square next to the related takeaway shop; you go up to the first floor and eat very well; we spent 90 pounds as a group of ten. Remember that they don't serve alcohol of any kind including beer, so water and lemonade (excellent). August 8, 2011 What a day! It's pouring rain and there's a steady wind that would make the bora envious. We all go do CS. Aurelio has a problem with the water pump which as of today has decided to become "the problem"; indeed it no longer works.

Tomorrow we'll reach Inverness and hope to find someone capable of fixing the thing. We go visit Dunnottar Castle under weather fit for a witches' sabbath, which goes beautifully with the place. These ruins on top of a promontory, with cliffs plunging down to the sea and the moorland battered by wind and rain, are something spectacular! Too bad we're all reduced to soaked and frozen little chicks. We go back into the campervan to have a cup of good hot coffee and set off again toward Dufftown in the Spey valley, known for its whisky distilleries.

We go visit Glenfiddich; the kind lady at the tourist office told us it's just a 10-minute walk...we set off under incessant rain, it's raining sideways so umbrellas are of little use; we three (how clever!) left our waterproof trousers in the campervan to air out the wardrobe! We arrive at the distillery, discovering that there's a convenient campervan parking lot right in front of the entrance...thank goodness the visit is free! At first they show you a film that explains (also in Italian) the history of the distillery and of the Grant family that founded it, then a very kind young lady who speaks only English takes you to see the production stages and at the end lets you taste a whisky, having you choose between the one aged 12, 18 and 21 years. I don't like it (but I don't like any kind of super-alcoholic drink) and I didn't try it, but those who did said it's excellent.

In the shop, among the many bottles there's one aged 50 years that costs 10,000 Pounds!!! Just think what a disaster to spill a drop of it on the floor!! Something you'd lick off the floor!! We head to Grantown on Spey, stopping at the local campsite, very well kept, spending 24 Pounds. The lady who runs it speaks Italian very well and chatting with her we discover she has a sister who lives in Italy 500 meters from our house. It's cold and raining, we stay to have dinner each in our own campervan; we hope the weather straightens out a bit.

August 9, 2011 We're in Inverness hoping to get Aurelio's campervan breakdown repaired; after wandering around a bit we find the place they'd pointed us to. The workshop is run by very nice and helpful people but they can't find either the fuses or the water pump, and where on earth have they hidden them?? It seems like a treasure hunt! In the end nothing gets resolved and despite the good will of the guys at the workshop we have to give up. We go visit Fort George, which is part of the Membership circuit, so we go in and they give us audio guides in Italian. Finally we have a day without rain. We visit the fort at our leisure; the construction is remarkably large, with many buildings, and it's still used by the military (some parts are inaccessible).

Inside it also has two museums, one of which is really interesting with uniforms, weapons and personal effects of the soldiers, the other with reconstructions of what life inside the fort was like. Since we still have time and the weather is holding, we head to Nairn, a seaside town mentioned by the guides as very pretty and interesting. If I'm honest I didn't find it particularly special at all; moreover there was the usual general shutdown that you find everywhere after 5 pm. We find a campsite for the night; it's part of the camping international circuit and so we get the discount; we manage to have dinner around the usual big table. During the night it starts raining again.......how boring!

August 10, 2011 It's raining, raining, raining. We decide to go visit Cawdor Castle, at least we'll be under cover! The visit is interesting and the castle, in which the owners still live today, is very very beautiful. Despite the rain we manage to take a walk in the gardens too. After making a stop at the Tesco Extra in Inverness to do some shopping and stock up on Lemon Curd (we've tried various ones but the best is the brand Wilkin & Son LDT Tiptree Essex England) we head toward Drumnadrochit, where we go to the Loch Ness Exhibition Centre. I like the rigorous and scientific way they approach the mystery of Nessie. Urquhart Castle is part of the membership circuit; with this visit we've paid back the whole card; from now on the visits we make will be truly free.

Before entering the site they show us a film, subtitled in Italian, with the history of the castle, then we go see the spectacular ruins on the shore of Loch Ness. Of course it's raining heavily and I bless the fact that I put on the whole waterproof outfit, trousers included.... Since it's still early we head up toward Durness, stopping for the night in Dingwall; the local campsite can't take us because it's flooded; we stop in a large parking lot where there are trucks, there's a "no overnight" sign but it's not our fault if the campsite can't host us, so we stay anyway; tomorrow morning we'll leave bright and early. August 11, 2011

Before 7 we start the engine; we don't feel like any possible arguments for having used a no-overnight parking lot, but it was a case of force majeure; in fact nobody came to bother us. We head up toward Durness, stopping to see the Falls of Shin, a site where you're supposed to see salmon swimming upstream; of course we don't have that luck. Luck, instead, is represented by the fact that the further up we go, the better the weather gets. We buy Haggis and smoked salmon at the local shop. The landscape awaiting us in the Highlands is very different from anything we're used to: kilometers and kilometers of moorland carpeted with heather and fir woods, dark lochs and streams, sheep roaming in flocks across immense meadows without the slightest human presence, not a house, not a power line, nothing, except these little roads, the "Single Track" roads.

Single-lane roads equipped with frequent passing places to allow vehicles to pass each other or to overtake. I wonder why, with all the space there is, they don't widen them to at least one lane in each direction, but given the tiny number of cars we meet, maybe it's enough as it is! Of course you have to hope everything goes smoothly, and remember to have a full tank and a charged phone, because in case of trouble I couldn't tell you how it would end; between Lairg and Durness we didn't encounter a single gas station.

There could be many considerations, like how do the inhabitants of these small, sometimes tiny settlements live in winter, if not in scattered houses often very far from one another; judging by the poles marking the roadway, it must snow heavily and the temperatures must not be very pleasant! It's August and we're in sweaters and jackets even though we see the locals walking around in t-shirts and shorts! We arrive in Durness in the early afternoon, after making various stops to photograph the splendid ocean view. Finally a blue and clear sea, not dark and murky like the North Sea you see at Stonehaven.

We go down into Smoo Cave, a large cave of karst origin in which there's a spectacular waterfall; unfortunately it's impossible to do the dinghy tour in the rest of the cave; it rained heavily (and we noticed) in recent days and so the presence of too much water makes it risky and the organization has decided to suspend the tour. We go to the local rather spartan campsite where we spend 22 pounds; we form a square and prepare dinner for our traditional communal table; too bad the wind is a nuisance (but better than rain). We're cold though, and after dinner we all quickly retreat to the warmth of our campervans. We turn on the heater, it's needed and it takes away some of the damp. August 12, 2011

Since we're ahead of schedule (so to speak, since we skipped Edinburgh) we decide by common agreement to do the leg that will take us to the Isle of Skye in two days, extending it to visit the fjord area on the west coast. To get to Lochinver you take a single track; here too breathtaking views and desolate lands of moorland and woods. The town is very pretty and we arrive right on the day the Highland Games are taking place. Giant big men, all dressed in traditional Kilts, challenge each other in feats of strength like throwing enormous logs or iron weights or tug of war, etc., all accompanied by the sound of bagpipes. Very picturesque! After lunch we head toward Gairloch, passing through Ullapool; this road is truly beautiful and we stopped numerous times to admire and photograph the scenery.

We arrive in Gairloch in the late afternoon; initially we went to see the parking area, mentioned in a diary I had read, where you can stop to sleep. Indeed, the spot is beautiful, a terrace with a view of the coast and the town, also equipped with a picnic area, but it's right on the main road, so we opted for the nearby campsite where we stopped, spending 23 pounds. Of course the easy life is over, it started raining again; our communal table is cancelled; too bad, here it isn't even cold and being outside would have been pleasant.

August 13, 2011

We head down toward Kyle of Lochalsh to cross the Skye Bridge; the road we took is very scenic and apart from some stretches of single track it's very easy to drive. We stop several times to take photographs; unfortunately at times it rains and there's a tremendous wind. The view at Kyle with the harbor and the bridge towering over the bay would be beautiful if the fog weren't interfering. Once we reach the Isle of Skye we head toward Dunvegan Castle; the parking lot is packed with cars, campervans and motorbikes. You'd pay 9 Pounds each but since we're a group of ten we pay 7; some Italian motorcyclists join in too, bringing the group up to 15, and they can take advantage of the discount as well.

The castle is nice, the gardens more so; you could go on a boat excursion to try to see the seals but we don't feel up to it, too much wind, too much rain and rough sea, and what if the seals aren't visible?? We already didn't see the salmon at the Falls of Shin nor, even less, the dolphins at Fort George, so we skip it. We also go visit the Edinbane Pottery; it has very beautiful and very expensive objects. I'm looking for a plate to replace the Dutch one that tragically killed itself by falling off the wall a few months ago, to my great regret. The style, however, is decidedly different and so I don't buy anything, also because any object of the size I'd need costs decidedly a lot.

The unbearable wind keeps blowing and it's raining in bursts; we therefore head to the Edinbane campsite which is part of the camping international circuit (N 57°29'9'' E 6°25'49'') spending 30.70 Pounds (quite expensive, but it's high season). It would have a common room but it's small and far from the campervans; we'd have to go back and forth with dinner in the rain and wind, so we prefer to have dinner in the campervan.

August 14, 2011

This morning fortunately it's not raining even though the very strong wind gives no respite. We have planned the tour of the island and would like to make a stop at the whisky distillery, but fortunately we check and discover that on Sunday it's closed. The road leading to Portree passing through Uig and Staffin is truly beautiful and offers spectacular views. We stop several times to take photographs. We arrive at a scenic viewpoint and run to admire the cliffs; there's an unbearable wind; in the end we get tired of it and go back to the campervans. We also stop to photograph the "Old Man of Storr," a large monolith standing vertically on the mountainside; you could hike up there but the steady, freezing wind discourages us; we do stop to have lunch in its company, though.

In the early afternoon we're in Portree; the town is very pretty, it has a nice little harbor and characteristic houses all brightly colored (you can see they're less gray than in Stonehaven!). There are shops with lots of nice things; we all make purchases: a jacket for Ivano, a sweater for Davide and a wool and fleece jacket for me. We retrace the road back over the Skye Bridge and head toward Dornie to see Eilean Donan Castle, the most photographed and surely one of the most famous in Scotland. Indeed it's in a special position with that four-arched bridge connecting it to the mainland. Beautiful! The Dornie campsite doesn't appeal to us at all, so we proceed toward Fort William, stopping at a family-run campsite that looks more like a home garden; essential but clean facilities. It's late, cold and damp; we have dinner in the campervan. August 15, 2011

Fort William is a very beautiful town; we'd like to take the steam train that runs the route to Mallaig crossing the Glenfinnan Viaduct, the one made famous by the Harry Potter film, but for today there are no free seats, it's all booked. So we settle for photographing it at the station. We take a walk around the center, going into practically every shop and finding a way to shop again.

To get to Loch Lomond we drive through the Glen Coe valley, which is considered one of the most beautiful valleys in Scotland; it's the second time we see a ski resort (a hotel and a few ski lifts); I keep being amazed, but do you know our ski resorts? Some, in my opinion, are abominable money machines that have lost the charm of the mountains; if we had their space there would be resorts and condominiums everywhere, whereas here it's exactly the opposite! We head down toward Loch Lomond National Park; there are beautiful views; fortunately the sun is out and the temperature is decidedly more pleasant, plus there's no wind. We stop at Luss but the local campsite tells us it's full, so we go down to Balloch to the Lomond Woods campsite (N56°0'5'' E 4°35'33'') where we had planned to stop.

It's very beautiful and well kept, the pitches are spacious and the bathrooms very clean; we spend 26 pounds. We go to dinner in a local place where for 13 Pounds each we stuff ourselves with Haggis, fish and chips, mixed grill and Angus steaks. We'll stay here tomorrow too, going down to Glasgow by train; at the reception they told us it takes 45 minutes.

August 16, 2011

Clearly today we have to pay for yesterday's pleasant day. It's pouring. The 8:53 am train to Glasgow leaves right on time and the ticket costs 5.30 pounds round trip. We get off at the Queen Street stop. We decided to walk the route recommended by the Lonely Planet that starts from George Square, where the city hall is located and where they organize two guided tours a day since the interiors are truly interesting. As soon as we arrive in the square we find it all cordoned off and see a considerable deployment of forces; at the main door there's a nice sign saying the tours are suspended until August 31, they're shooting a film..........grrr! Hutchesons' Hall has all its scaffolding in front; the Trades Hall may well have been renovated into luxurious apartments but from the outside it doesn't say anything; the Tobacco Exchange building is truly dilapidated and, of course, unusable.

The only thing truly worth seeing is the Cathedral, a very evocative Gothic structure. The oldest house in Glasgow is also very interesting. The view of the chimneys seen from the necropolis, as far as I'm concerned, can be skipped. There are nice streets with nice shops; we made various purchases, exactly as you might do in any city! Let me say it: Genoa, which is, let's admit it, a small provincial city despite its claim to the appellation Superba, offers many more interesting things to see; obviously this is my personal opinion. Perhaps you'll have gathered that I don't have a great feeling with Glasgow! Moreover it rained in the most absurd way the whole time; at 3:53 some of us, including me, decided to get on the train and go back to Balloch.

The others tried to go visit the Transport Museum but, after wandering around looking for it for more than an hour, they realized they wouldn't have time to see it.... everything, but absolutely everything, closes inexorably at 5 pm!!!!

August 17, 2011

We stopped in Dumbarton to visit the castle, which is part of the Membership circuit, so free (and thank goodness!). From that volcanic rock you enjoy a beautiful view, but the castle??? Of the main building you see two rooms, one used as a shop, the other with two skimpy uniforms and some carved stones; the prison is unusable due to renovation (but I bet it wouldn't have offered much) and the powder magazine...it's a powder magazine! A little house with four fake barrels of gunpowder..........let's move on! Our destination today is New Lanark, a site of so-called industrial archaeology, currently a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Before getting there, though, we stop in Motherwell because Dona has to find the local football team jersey to bring to her nephew.

We manage to find the official shop and claim the trophy! Lanark is further on, only about twenty km; we arrive at 4 pm and of course they close at 5, so there's no point going in now; we'll wait for tomorrow. Going back into town is pointless; it's annoying to wander around a place where everything is closed except a few pubs, and yet the town itself would be nice. We walk to the Falls of Clyde; the path through the woods is well maintained, and luck is on our side in that it hasn't rained all day. Tonight we'll sleep in the New Lanark car park (it doesn't say no overnight). The evening is beautiful, the sky blue; finally we manage to have our usual communal table. The spot is out of the way and we don't bother anyone.

August 18, 2011

This morning we went to visit New Lanark. It's a workers' village dating back to the early 1800s. Its founder had built a large mill for spinning and weaving cotton that used the water of the nearby River Clyde as a source of power. Besides the factory he had built houses for the workers, a school, a church and also provided free healthcare; very forward-thinking things for the time. Of course, those who lived and worked at New Lanark didn't have an easy life; people worked no less than 10 hours a day (including children of 10 or 12) with an hour for breakfast and an hour for lunch; moreover they had Sundays off and two holidays a year. Clearly, compared to the situation of most other workers of the time, these were decidedly acceptable conditions.

By our standards, however, the whole complex has more the appearance of a forced labor camp where everything is regulated by obligations and the performance of tasks. Visiting the house of the founder of all this, it must be said that despite being a person of no small financial means, he lived in a spartan and essential home whose only luxury lay in its larger dimensions: an office, a living room, a kitchen, and the bedrooms. While his workers had two rooms with a toilet (which for the time was already something) but maybe ten of them lived in them! Some machines for spinning wool still work and are used to produce what is sold in skeins in the shop. In the early afternoon we arrived in Edinburgh. The Mothornall campsite is full, so we went to Lothianbridge in Newtongrange, in the first outskirts. The campsite is served by bus line 29 which takes you into the center in about 30 minutes.

We took a walk along the Royal Mile, a first taste of this splendid and very lively city.

August 19, 2011

Incredible....what could that yellow ball in the blue sky be??? It's a beautiful day! Today some saint in heaven finally got moving! We go back to Edinburgh by bus 29, walk up the Royal Mile to the castle, enter for free thanks to the Membership card which they stamp at the entrance. We also get audio guides in Italian and begin exploring the various parts of the complex. Everything is very interesting: the Hall of Honour of Scotland which includes the sword, the scepter, the crown (which apparently were hidden at Dunnottar and about whose discovery there are various intriguing stories) and the Stone of Destiny on which rulers were crowned. The museums of the Dragoon regiment, the Scottish National War Museum, the Royal Apartments and the Great Hall. The prisons and the Memorial. The visit, which absolutely must be done, lasts about three hours.

We then went down, skipping the distillery (one was enough for us) and went straight into the Camera Obscura where we had a lot of fun with the light tricks and optical illusions on display there (the holograms are splendid). Hungry, we stopped at one of the many pubs, devouring excellent sandwiches; very expensive water, 1.95 pounds for a half-liter bottle (and then they complain about Italy; indeed the two euros they'd asked us for in Rome were surely exaggerated, but here it's worse!!!) We'd like to visit Mary King's Close but there are no places for today; we book and pay for tomorrow morning. We walk all the way down the Royal Mile, to the Scottish Parliament which, almost as a mockery, was built right in front of Holyroodhouse (the residence of the British royals when they come to Edinburgh). It's a modern building, interesting to see just to say you've done it.

We don't go into Holyroodhouse though; it costs 14 pounds each and we feel the Queen doesn't need to be subsidized by us. From all the walking around it's now 5:30 and the tiredness is starting to be felt. Some of us decide to go back to the campsite; the others stay to wander a bit more; meanwhile the beautiful day that Jupiter Pluvius had graciously decided to grant us seems to be coming to an end; gray clouds are gathering and the first big drops are starting to fall......back to normal!

August 20, 2011

This morning's destination is the Mary King's Close that we booked yesterday. The visit is very interesting and would also be quite fascinating if the audio guides, which only give a brief summary of things, also told the stories that the guide narrates with such passion. When we come out the street is packed with people; I've never seen such a heterogeneous and bizarre crowd as here in these days. There are street artists everywhere, some truly very good, others bordering on improvisation; myriads of young people busy publicizing theater shows, often dressed in unlikely ways but all very kind; they always thank you when you take one of their flyers. As for clothing, then, there are the strangest things: it ranges from those walking around in tank tops to those in coats; some have fur-lined boots on summer dresses, plus the inevitable gentlemen in impeccable Kilts.

Edinburgh is a very lively city and you clearly feel a cosmopolitan atmosphere. In the afternoon we wandered through the smaller streets, going up to the observatory and Nelson's monument; from that hill you enjoy a splendid view of the whole city. We did some shopping, stretching into the evening, having dinner with sandwiches as we went. Going back along the Royal Mile all the venues were packed with people; on the street far fewer people than we would have expected, but in the evening there are the theater shows, the venues (restaurants and pubs) are overflowing with people. We, instead, watched a few more street performances and then around 10 we took bus No. 3 back to the campsite while, just for a change, the universal flood was unleashed.

August 21, 2011

To see the two bridges that cross the Edinburgh firth we go as far as South Queensferry; it was worth it! The railway one is splendid; we were also lucky enough to see the steam train crossing it! We head down toward Brampton; it's the Hadrian's Wall area; we stop right at the start of the path that runs along the wall. Of course very little remains of this grand work; you simply see a very wide wall, interspersed with the vestiges of watchtowers called "milecastles." We walked it as far as the path allowed. Since it's early we decide to continue toward Stratford Upon Avon; we stop at Blackpool, a seaside resort; the town is large and there's a big amusement park right along the beach. The beach is sandy and the sea, which is at low tide, is very far away.

The campsite where we'd like to spend the night has its reception already closed; it's 8 pm, an unthinkable hour; fortunately the lady who runs it is kind and comes to open up. We have dinner and go to sleep; we're rather tired.

August 22, 2011

Today we continue down the highway toward Birmingham; we're lucky, in the opposite direction there's almost a continuous queue, we only hit a few slowdowns. Stratford Upon Avon is a truly delightful town; I'd say one of the ones I liked most. Of course the main attraction is W. Shakespeare's birthplace; admission costs a pretty penny (12.50 pounds / 11.50 reduced) and visiting the tomb also has its small price (2 pounds / 1 senior / 0.50 student). We parked in the big parking lot behind the sports complex; be careful because you need coins to pay; it accepts neither paper money nor credit cards. There are nice shops, nice streets, well-kept gardens and you can take a boat ride on the river. The campsite where we spent a pleasant evening is Dodwell Park, Eversham Road (N 52°10'56'' W1°45'26''); fortunately the weather graced us and we were able to have our usual communal table.

August 23, 2010 Bath: we arrive in the late morning, parking near the university (equip yourself with the usual coins to pay for parking); here is the terminus of line U18 which takes you into the center in 5 minutes. Since there are 10 of us we paid a collective round-trip ticket for 15 pounds, saving 7. The Roman baths of Bath are a truly remarkable site; if you're in the area don't miss them! Admission costs 12.50 pounds but it's well spent. They provide audio guides in Italian which, unlike those at Mary King's Close, are thorough and complete. The thermal water pool, the spring and much of the structure are visible; the filmed reconstructions and the numerous artifacts make the visit pleasant and varied. Consider that it takes at least a couple of hours to see the entire site.

The city is also very pleasant, with a beautiful abbey, the covered municipal market and various noteworthy buildings. Around 5 pm we set off for Stonehenge (about sixty km away). We stopped near the most famous, mysterious and fascinating circle of monoliths in the world, on a dirt road where some campervans were already parked (N51°10'41'' W 1°49'53''); don't expect a rest area, the official parking lots are no overnight, so if you want to wake up in front of this wonder you have to make do.

August 24, 2011

Waking up in front of the absolutely real image of your own screensaver is exciting. There it is, the magical circle of Stonehenge! Having the Membership card, admission is free and they provide us with the audio guide in Italian. Although the voice recites a story full of scientifically proven data, in front of that enigma of blue stone 5000 years old, the imagination can only run wild. Even the hordes of Japanese tourists swarming from the dozens of buses arriving at the parking lot disappear. As far as I'm concerned it was a memorable morning. After the coffee-and-pastry ritual we head to Salisbury, a short distance away. It's a very pretty town with a nice medieval historic center with characteristic "half-timbered" houses similar to those you see in French Brittany and Normandy.

It has a beautiful cathedral in which one of the original handwritten copies of the "Magna Carta" is preserved. Exceptional, this document from 1200, written in Gothic characters with perfect, tiny handwriting on a calfskin. This very important document talks about rights; and it already affirms nine hundred years ago, along with

26 August 2011

As agreed, we all showed up together for boarding; Aurelio and Gianni have the chance to board at 10 instead of midday because there is space, and going two hours earlier involves no surcharge. It's a different story for Arnaldo and us, who have a booking at 18:00. We could wait until 16:00, or by paying a 20 euro surcharge board at 10:00.....we pay the toll and set off all together. At 3 pm we are in Dunkirk; since we had a good experience there and we need to speed up the return journey, we decide to go back to the municipal campsite at Val de Vesle. The lady at reception remembers us. We settle in; it's very damp, it rained recently, dinner in the camper. Tomorrow morning Aurelio, Eva and us will set off first, early, because we plan to do the whole stretch in one go. Gianni, Dona, Arnaldo and Gabri, who have more time available, will go through Switzerland again.

In the evening, with a bit of sadness, we all say our goodbyes and hope to see each other again as soon as possible.

27 August 2011

We cruise smoothly along the French roads towards the Mont Blanc tunnel, which we decided to take to save time. We hit no traffic, it rains at times, we make a couple of stops for coffee and for lunch. We reach the tunnel around 3 pm; the signs indicate a waiting time of 90 minutes but luckily we get through in much less. In the Aosta Valley the weather is completely different, we're greeted by beautiful sunshine, and within three hours we are home.

Conclusions

I am very undecided about the judgement to give this trip; perhaps I should wait a bit of time to process certain things. A lot certainly fired my imagination, especially certain wild and spectacular landscapes, the moors battered by wind and rain, the castle ruins, the cliffs, the dark sea and those rivers and streams with water of a strange and uninviting colour. Everything transforms with the sun, the grass that couldn't be greener, the great meadows dotted with the white of myriad sheep, the purple heather. It is a place with no half measures, all or nothing. A few large cities inhabited by most of Scotland's 5 million inhabitants, and completely uninhabited spaces so vast that we aren't even able to imagine them, small towns you don't understand how they can survive in their isolation, in the Highlands.

It is right to go there, in my opinion, hoping for the luck of clement weather but accepting the strong likelihood that, as happened to us, the rain will reign supreme. Doing as the Scots do, who don't even use an umbrella and whom you see gliding along on bicycles in a t-shirt in the rain, the Scots who swim in a sea we wouldn't dare set foot in and fish for salmon in those black rivers, who play their bagpipes and are very proud of their traditions. It offers great landscapes and places steeped in history. For us, with our habits, those general lockdowns are a bit suffocating as soon as 5 pm strikes. It doesn't happen in Edinburgh, at least on the main streets of the centre like the Royal Mile, where the shops (at least at this time of year) are open until late in the evening. Even if you want to have lunch out, decide early - by 8 pm they already look at you like you're a martian.

Let's also debunk the scare of driving on the left; you just need to be careful at the first two or three roundabouts that you have to enter in the opposite direction, and the one about "single track" roads, which never caused us any problems even though we all had large vehicles; everyone is very polite and attentive, and often, seeing us from a distance, they would already stop and wait for us to make passing easier. The people, too, were always courteous and kind, with very rare exceptions, and always went out of their way when we had any difficulty. Scotland is a legend, to be discovered! Our legendary Zara, the sentinel of the campers The photo shoot was done by the very talented Donatella; the diary, as always, was written by the scribe Sandra. Note: actual driving hours 130 – kilometres travelled about 6000.