Scotland trip for new year.

[Apacheman]

Not done this before so thought I’d try it. Heading to Scotland over the new year. Booked the CAMC site at Stonehaven so we can attend the New Year’s Eve fireball festival but thought we’d make it a week and do a circular tour.
Woke up Sat 28th to freezing fog and 0*. After a call at Lidl for a few supplies and the BP garage at Glasshouton Castleford for fuel and LPG top up we hit the road. Drove in and out of fog, one minute visibility down to 200m ten mins later glorious sunshine?
A1 north, A66 (not a hint of snow anywhere) and M6 north got us to Gretna Green and the Old Blacksmiths shop for a lunch stop. Weddings galore whilst we were there and the piper was belting out his tunes.
Refreshed and entertained we continued north to our first overnight stop at the Kelpies. Travelling up the M74 there’s a tree plantation which was clearly planted in jest and looks like male private parts ( how else would you describe it). Unfortunately as the scrub trees have matured at the side of the motorway you can no longer see the bottom of them (see photo)
Managed to see the Kelpies in the daylight but much more spectacular at night. Apparently at the mo they are lit constant purple to support mental health.
Guy parked opposite us from the Isle of Man in a Transit based van, had problems with his headlights etc just coming on intermittently. Tried to help out but I’m no vehicle electrician. He woke this morning to a flat vehicle battery, fortunately I carry jump leads just in case and managed to get him started. He’s been back to main dealers for that fault, they obviously didn’t sort it.
So after a very windy night and doing my good deed we are ready to hit the road again heading further north. Had wanted to bring ski boots and do a few runs at Glenshee but there’s no snow there at the mo. Forecast is for some at Stonehaven 1st and 2nd Jan. Be nice to see some but don’t want to get stuck
Attached some pics. Will try update again tomorrow.

 

[scotzsue]

Have a lovely trip.

 

[1967bowesj]

Enjoy, looks busy as usual at the kelpies

 

[Mikey RV]

Have a great trip, weather looks bad for New Year’s Day up that way so a dip in the sea will be off.

 

[Russell's Dad]

Those trees make me smile every time!

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[JnJ]

The bottom of those trees curl up to the right at the bottom like a back to front capital letter J . Pass them often.

 

[Purrfecttune]

Did Stonehaven last New Year and the Kelpies on the return

 

[Apacheman]

Made use of the free coffee token before we left the Kelpies this morning (included in the overnight parking charge). More or less straight out of the Kelpies onto the M9 north. A few miles up the M9 and into Sterling to refuel. First time I’ve ever used a pump that didn’t cut off and despite going to Tesco’s for cheaper fuel over spilled wasting any savings.
Continued up through the centre of Perth then onto the A93 to Blairgowrie where we stopped and had a walk round. Quite windy at times but fortunately the roads were fairly quiet. Fortunately the weather was sunny and dry.
Legs stretched we continued up the A93 stopping off at the Glenshee ski centre. Very little in the way of snow but they had used snow machines to open a short bottom run. Initially disappointed we didn’t bring the ski boots but on closer inspection it was more like slush than snow so giving it a miss was not too bad. Did get a bit of sleet whilst there.
A few more miles up the A93 took us into Braemar. Always an interesting place and a lovely village to visit but it was 3 O clock and the sun was setting and it felt bitter cold.
It’s a beautiful drive up the A93 north of Perth with dramatically changing scenery as you climb higher into the Cairngorms.
10 mile further on from Braemar and we’ve pulled into Balmoral for the night. Still quite windy, pitch black and 5 campers in for the night. Nice and warm in the van and looking forward to a nice Lasagna for supper.
Balmoral opens at 10 in the morning.

 

[IRHP]

It's going to get Very cold after new year.

 

[stewartwebr]

Ensure you have old clothing on when you go to the Stonehaven Fireball event, the embers from the fireballs fly everywhere. We had a few holes in our jackets after the event.
Best location is down at the harbour so you can see them toss the fireballs into the sea.

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[Apacheman]

Ensure you have old clothing on when you go to the Stonehaven Fireball event, the embers from the fireballs fly everywhere. We had a few holes in our jackets after the event.
Best location is down at the harbour so you can see them toss the fireballs into the sea.

Thanks for the tip. What time does it all start? Did you watch the whole thing? Looks like it’s going to be cold so ideally don’t want to be stood out aimlessly.

 

[stewartwebr]

Thanks for the tip. What time does it all start? Did you watch the whole thing? Looks like it’s going to be cold so ideally don’t want to be stood out aimlessly.

The issue are the narrow streets of the old town of Stonie, you need to get there fairly early, I think we were there about 10.30pm. Remember making a comment at the time that so much more could be done to capitalise on the amount of people and potential to generate some serious income. It felt like it missed an opportunity to have something going on prior to the fireballs then the same afterwards. But it’s a great experience, hope you have a great Hogmanay.

 

[poppycamper]

Thanks for the tip. What time does it all start? Did you watch the whole thing? Looks like it’s going to be cold so ideally don’t want to be stood out aimlessly.

Hope its not cancelled due to weather!!
Edinburgh has cancelled its Torch Light Procession..

 

[Apacheman]

Stayed at Balmoral last night. 3 in the approved car park and 2 smaller vans in the park opposite nearer the toilets and Post Office. 2 other vans moved on, perhaps trying to find shelter from the wind. Very windy again last night and had lots of rain which always seems a lot louder at night. Doesn’t help when you are parked under or near trees.
A lazy morning in the knowledge that Balmoral didn’t open until 10am and it’s only a couple of minutes walk to the main gates. Forecast didn’t look brilliant so we headed out at 10 in the rain. Fortunately we have some decent gear and survived the downpour for the first hour after which it dried up, got blue skies and became a lovely day.
Many will have visited Balmoral but for those who haven’t it’s a great place to visit, free access to the grounds and although there is no access to inside the castle you can get right up to it, even touch the building if that floats your boat. Last time we were here we walked up to Albert’s cairn and were treated to a herd of red deer. No such luck this time but we only did the castle grounds.
Left Balmoral about 12.30 heading along the A93 towards Aberdeen. Stopped off at Tesco near Ballater for some supplies and red wine. Originally intended to go to Crathes Castle but by the time we left Tesco it was knocking on and we decided to head straight to Stonehaven to the CAMC site. Glad we did as it’s pretty rammed. We have done Crathes before and it is well worth the visit if in this knock if the woods especially if you are National Trust members as entry is free with your membership.
The drive across the A93 and then the A957 to Stonehaven is beautiful as it follows the river Dee for many miles and through some lovely towns and villages. There are so many places to stop off and see interesting things such as the Burn O Vat but each one takes time. Scotland is a great place for giving and giving.
We arrived safely at Stonehaven and got pitched on the CAMC site. There’s at least a dozen vans parked on the seafront just outside the site but as we are here for 3 nights for us the site is a better choice. Sold out this time of year, we booked this at 12.15am New Year’s Day last January knowing we had to get in early if we wanted to stay here.
Day stayed dry and we had a nice walk along the sea front and to the harbour taking in the sites and the sculptures. Had a couple of pints in The Ship Inn, time for a hit shower, some supper and a glass or two of red wine hence the earlier post. No driving tomorrow. Weather permitting walk to Dunnotoir. Xmas decs came down before we left home but we have put a couple of trees up in the van.

 

[Apacheman]

The issue are the narrow streets of the old town of Stonie, you need to get there fairly early, I think we were there about 10.30pm. Remember making a comment at the time that so much more could be done to capitalise on the amount of people and potential to generate some serious income. It felt like it missed an opportunity to have something going on prior to the fireballs then the same afterwards. But it’s a great experience, hope you have a great Hogmanay.

Thanks for that. Plenty of info at the campsite. Looking forward to it, hope the weather behaves.

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[Figaro]

Enjoying your trip.
Are dogs allowed in Balmoral grounds ?

 

[namwaldog]

Sold out this time of year

One of our favourite sites, Stonehaven.

We were there for a couple of nights on 3rd and 4th Dec this year. Very quiet then.

A couple of hardy souls surfing. Those stainless steel maritime models are fascinating.

Good Luck.

 

[Apacheman]

Yes no pr

Enjoying your trip.
Are dogs allowed in Balmoral grounds ?

Yes no problem with dogs under control in the grounds.

 

[Apacheman]

One of our favourite sites, Stonehaven.

We were there for a couple of nights on 3rd and 4th Dec this year. Very quiet then.

A couple of hardy souls surfing. Those stainless steel maritime models are fascinating.

Good Luck.

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Wow place is deserted. Rammed at the mo but only to be expected. Here till Thurs when we start heading homewards.

 

[Apacheman]

Well we’ve had our fair share of wind and rain on this trip and last night was no exception. Saw rhe 10 o clock news last night and that the Edinburgh Hogmany celebrations and others about the country had been cancelled due to the weather forecast. They did say the Stonehaven one was going ahead but listening to the weather last night did make us wonder.
This morning didn’t show much improvement to start with. We planned to walk to Dunnottor Castle but for a while it looked doubtful. Could cope with the rain but the walk includes a clifftop footpath and we weren’t too keen with the wind.
The forecast showed it might brighten up around 11am and it did. The rain stopped, the wind died down although it was still a bit breezy and we were presented with blue skies.
We did the walk, just short of 3 miles each way and having dressed for cold weather we were then regretting putting on the extra thick jumpers and layering up. En route we talked to a Fireball Festival Marshall who assured us it will take place ‘come hell or high water’ being his words.
Stunning views along the walk which includes a steep climb to get out of Stonehaven, takes you past the war memorial on the tops and follows the coast to Dunnottar. The path gets close to the edge at times and is not for the faint hearted but us safe enough. There is an alternative following the road if high paths are not your thing or if you needed a mobility aid.
We’ve done it before so didn’t bother to go into the castle on this occasion. Only disappointment was having got there the coffee shack was closed and we hadn’t taken anything with us, in anticipation we’d get a drink there. Dunnottar Castle is quite a stunning site and very photogenic.
We returned the same way to Stonehaven and spent some time exploring the town, calling at the Waterfront Cafe for refreshment.
At Dunnottar we met an Irish guy who was out cycling. He asked if I’d use his phone and take some pics of him with his bike and the castle in the background. Got talking and he was telling us he was in a motorhome parked up on the seafront outside the CAMC site. When we returned the cheeky bugger was washing his bike off at the water point on the site. Quickly did one when he saw us??
Joined the staff and other campers for a glass of bubbly in reception. The staff were seething about the vans parked outside and how they use the campsite facilities.
Interestingly on the way down for drinks the wife stopped off at the toilet. Whilst waiting a lady with a foreign accent came to the toilets but after a few seconds walked off saying you needed a code. Think maybe she thought I wanted to use them. A bit later when we walked the dog she was getting into one of the vans camped outside on the road. I love a free park up, might have parked on the front ourselves if it had only been for a night, but if you choose that don’t expect to use the site facilities. I’ve said it and I’m sure there’ll be some will want to shoot me down. It does nothing but sully motorhoming reputation.
I did raise the point though that CAMC prices were expensive and they were missing a trick and could charge for use of servicing points.
Anyway it’s mealtime. I’ll try get photos of the fireball festival and post again tomorrow.

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[Figaro]

Using the site facilities whilst free loading on the sea front is theft.
Disgraceful behavior

 

[CazPaul]

This is us on the seafront outside the Stonehaven site.

Terrible to use their facilities though, why would you when you can just go p1ss in the sea.


Seriously, beautiful area we loved it. Just 1 night mind.

 

[Apacheman]

Rammed with vans tonight. Not just the seafront, most roads around here. Popular attraction.

 

[CazPaul]

Ha ha it was 2023 that.

Enjoy it’s a beautiful area