South West Scotland (by Rach)

I haven’t written a diary on this trip. So this blog is coming straight from my warped mind with the help of photomagraphs I’m looking back through, in order to jog my memory.

Isle of Withorn

One of our first stops in Scotland was the Isle of Whithorn, on a tiny jut of land near the water where you can park for free. It’s lovely. There’s a pub, a loo and not much else really. Oh, and The Wicker Man was filmed there. 

I’ve had some Father’s Day orders on which has kept me busy. One of the orders required varnishing and I accidentally bought yacht varnish. Imagine trying to get golden syrup to dry on a large piece of wood while living in a tin can with a very furry cat and a very furry man. It was a struggle.

I got chatting to a nice old man who turned out to be a very competitive camper, proudly telling me that he had over 40 years of motorhoming experience. He quizzed me on the details of our van, telling me that we made a big mistake not buying a 12v fridge. I'm profoundly aware of this, we have to turn the bastard off every night. He continued to give me lots of advice about how to live in a camper and I couldn't help but enjoy seeing his face fall when I told him we'd lived in our van full time for the last two years.

Moo’s getting really into her walks now and likes to go out around 8pm - when the midges are out in full force. She loves to go under other motorhomes which makes me feel like a pervert because I have to stand there waiting for her to reappear. It’s either that or drag her out like an abusive parent.

We carried on to Ayr and stayed in a huge, empty car park area behind the beach, with endless bunny rabbits hopping aboot. We took Moo to the beach, she was indifferent at best.

Saltcoats

We then headed to Saltcoats, Sean said he had a little surprise for me. A trip to the cinema! I was delighted! When you’re living on the fringes of society on a really tight budget, the cinema is a serious treat. It was like a taste of our former life when we had a house and a steady income. It was also a nice surprise because I’d been harping on about going to see A Quiet Place 2 for weeks and didn’t think Sean had actually been listening. The film was great by the way. I snuck some snacks in, no matter how much money I do or don’t have, I am not paying £6 for a bag of malteasers.

Saltcoats is an odd place, I felt like I might get stabbed while looking out to sea. But it does have an Aldi so, overall, a wonderful place.

I had a bit of a wobble while we were in Saltcoats, like a mini midlife crisis type of situation. I think it comes from all of my friends having houses/careers/kids while I’m pratting about in a van. Oh and the weather was shit. I had a little cry on a bench and then Sean suggested I go and buy myself something nice to cheer myself up. I should really cry more often.

We decided to stop at a tyre fixing shop on our way out of Stabcoats as the back passenger side tyre kept deflating.

Tyre Man: Could there be something stuck in it?

Me: (trying not to sound like a clueless girl) I think it could be the valvey bit that connects to the inner tubey thing - we’ve had that issue before.

Tyre Man: Here look there’s a huge screw in the tread.

Me: Oh yes so there is.

By the time we’d faffed about getting the man to fit a nice new tyre we decided we may as well go back and stay in the Aldi car park again. I was delighted.

Largs

We parked up at a little harbour in Largs, or maybe the harbour is Largs? As in the harbour was Largs, not in Largs? Not sure, I’ll have to check with Sean. Anyway it’s worth writing about because it was an unexpected highlight. We saw one of the most striking sunsets we’ve ever sawn. And I made such a delicious dinner that a woman actually walked past the van, stopped and said it smelled amazing. I didn’t offer her any.

Moo had a lovely walk along the huge rocks butting up to the sea and then me and Sean painted tiny portraits of each other. As you may know, Sean is quite bloody good at painting. I am not. I actually think my painting was better than his though. So did he, so he wouldn't show his.

Recommended park up for Isle of Whithorn:

https://park4night.com/en/lieu/79345/