scotland – turnrightoutofportsmouth

Coronavirus and Travel Plans – To Go or Not To Go…..?

So here we are at the end of February with a planned date to leave for Europe of 5th March… Our plans? Head down through France to Italy, take in Rome and Venice on our way through Italy to visit Croatia, Slovenia, Austria, Germany and Belgium.
Hmm – little spanner in the works now called CoronaVirus means our plans are up in the air – what to do?

Do you ever get that feeling that you should be more excited for your upcoming plans than you are? And then something happens that suggests you were right not to be excited – you’re pshycic – you knew all along that this might happen (or not, as the case may be). Ever been there?

Well, I suspect that we’re not the only people in this position currently. Only perhaps we are slightly more fortunate in that we have nothing booked and we can just do what we want, when we want – to a certain degreee anyway.

What am I talking about? Well our plans for our next trip were well underway – in sofaras we ever plan. This time the plan was catch a ferry, possibly on 5th March (we haven’t booked it yet), pootle down through France, finally crossing the Millau Viaduct on the way; head into Italy and down Continue reading “Coronavirus and Travel Plans – To Go or Not To Go…..?”

Scottish Borders – Lauder and Jedburgh

On leaving Dunbar it was just a short hop south to Lauder to stay at the Thirlestane Castle Caravan Site (click here for my review).

We still stopped on the way for a spot of lunch and to watch the cows in the fields though! (Notice how we were still in our shorts. In October. In Scotland!!)

The reason we had chosen this site was that it was in the grounds of Thirlestane Castle – which had closed for the season just a day or 2 before we arrived…..

Still, it was a nice walk along the road down towards the castle and then back up the steep road to head into the small town. Here we wandered along the High Street, taking in the numerous ‘Wynds’, the old church (which has a watchhouse in the grounds to protect against bodysnatchers) , the town hall and pubs.

We visited the unusual church – unusual in that Continue reading “Scottish Borders – Lauder and Jedburgh”

Delightful Dunbar

What a wonderful surprise Dunbar was! About 40 miles east of Edinburgh itself (so easily within reach from our campsite) we opted to stay on the Camping & Caravan Club site on the outskirts of Dunbar.

It didn’t take us very long to get there from Holy Island being just a short hop up the A1 and over the border – it probably only took us about an hour and a half.

The site itself was one of those where as you drive onto your pitch you have your breath taken away by the view before you. See our review for pictures.

The 1st afternoon was spent stocking up in the nearby Asda and just relaxing. We opted for a Chinese takeaway in the evening, landing up in Kings Palace on the High Street. where the service was excellent and the food was good. (Bit bemused by the fellow customer who appeared not to really want to talk to us, but then kept piping up with ‘helpful’ advice – such as the best time to visit to avoid the midges would be July & August…..)

The next day we pulled on our walking boots and headed off towards Barns Ness lighthouse that we could see from the campsite. This proved to be a longer walk than we were expecting! Continue reading “Delightful Dunbar”