Table of Contents
DAY 0: Prologue
What with all the operations, COVID, other illness and other medical issues, there has not been much camping/holiday activity for a while, so I thought that May 2025 might be a good target to “get back on the long trip horse” and make another journey north.
On previous forays to Scotland, etc, it has been relatively easy to select a particular and specific target, eg the Outer Hebrides, North Coast 500. There have been tons of places that I’ve missed on the way up, so I got out my trusty Collins Touring map of Scotland, started a list (no surprise there ….) and populated the map with coloured stick-on spots. It soon became blatantly obvious that I was going to need a lot more time than I could make available, ie in 3-4 weeks ….. Something had to give, so the executive decision was made to limit northward travel to Fort William – ish…
As in the past, the overall plan was 29/30/31 days – maximum I can do on my existing travel insurance without paying an exorbitant (IMHO) extra fee for extra days.
Out came the spreadsheets, maps and all the other planning paraphernalia and after a lot of back and forth, a plan revealed itself. Just to provide a bit more focus, I christened this trip TRAINS AND ISLANDS.
So the bare statistics were (spoiler alert – it didn’t turn out that way…..) :
• 29 days
• 9 campsites
• 2 hotels
• 5 trains
• 3 buses
• 2 islands
• 5 waterfalls
• 2 museums
To include:
• The Settle and Carlisle railway – a long-standing entry in the “to do” list
• Threlkeld Quarry and Mining Museum – lots of excavators apparently
• Actually visit Glasgow itself – in my previous working life it was always the surrounding railway depots, never the city itself
• Lots of scenic stuff – waterfalls, old railway infrastructure
• Scout out a few campsites for future visits
• Stay in Oban for a change, rather than just catching a ferry to somewhere else. Include a couple of islands off the coast
• Glencoe and its surroundings
• A quick foray into the Cairngorms to see what it was all about.
• A slow journey home using the “Snow Roads” and minimal motorway – for a change….
So off we go !!!!!
PS: THIS POST IS A BIT LONG, AS IT COVERS THE FIRST 7 DAYS OF THE TRIP, BUT IT PRESENTS A “NATURAL BREAK” IN THE WHOLE JOURNEY, AS IT COVERS FROM MY HOME TO REACHING SCOTLAND. SORRY, JUST BE A BIT PATIENT – IT’S WORTH IT….
DAY 1: 06 May 2025, I settle in Settle
Having done my “due diligence”, I picked a small campsite at Giggleswick, very close to Settle, ready for the journey to Carlisle and back.
Only 2 years old, called Dales and Trails, it turned out to be a small 10 pitch place with 2 ensuite combined facilities (shower toilet, etc all in one room) on a small farm, run by husband and wife team Lauren and Charles. Charles split his time 1/3 to the campsite, 1/3 to his other building development company and the rest on the farm.
As it was mid week, there was only me and a young couple on site, but the campsite is apparently booked up every weekend right up to October – very popular place….
I’d done a quick recce of Settle Station on the way in. It seemed quite small so I vowed to get there a bit early, just in case of a “rush” in the morning. It even had an old fashioned coin operated parking meter – £2 for the whole day !
DAY 2: 07 May 2025, Settle/Carlisle railway, Carlisle
So, bright and early, it was off to Settle Station and a nice empty car park – bet it’s not like that in the Summer…… I’ve been looking forward to this trip for a few years, so was glad that the predicted grey/dull/bit cold weather forecast turned out to be sunny/blue sky/reasonable temperature.
My train to Carlisle arrived to absolutely on time, having originated from Leeds – quite a trip overall then. I was making good use of my recently acquired Senior Rail card which made the journey even more pleasant than anticipated – 30 % off the normal fare….
I’m not going to bore you with the details of the railway itself, there’s so much literature, video’s and other stuff around to satisfy even the most ardent railway fan, but here’s a few links for the interested:
Wikipedia: Very detailed multi-page ( 17 !) explanation, well researched
The Settle-Carlisle Company: One of several organisations supporting the route and its development
The Man In Seat 61: A commercial site, but full of FABULOUS photo’s of the route – I couldn’t take too many myself, he had much better access…..
To say the scenery is magnificent is a bit of an understatement. I particularly liked the view from Dent station, which looks out directly into the wonderfully rounded valley which is Garsdale. It’s the highest mainline railway station at 1150 ft above sea level. No photo by me would have done justice to the scenery, so I didn’t take one – just committed it to memory instead. But see the Man in Seat 61 link above, he got a very good pic. Apparently, you can stay at the station master’s house, as it’s a self catering private enterprise now.
The run down from Dent is pretty spectacular with outstanding engineering on the double track with loads of tunnels and viaducts – all built to the same high speed main line standard as originally built.
The station architecture is similar in all of the stations, having been made so to provide a corporate image for the company that built it in the 1870’s. Here’s a few of Settle Station as example.
One of the most famous features is the magnificent Ribblehead Viaduct.Didn’t see much of it from the train, but I’d planned to look at it close up later in the week. Sorry about the reflection.
Fans of Mr Portillo and his various television railway series will readily recognise the viaduct. Indeed the same Mr Portillo was actively engaged in “saving” the whole railway post Beeching. He is to be congratulated on sensible decision making. Although more of a “tourist” railway these days, it provides an alternative route for normal rail traffic when the West Coast Mainline is in trouble. It also serves quarries and forestry sites.
Here’s a bit of a story that caught my fancy about one particularly special dog connected to the in re-vitalised railway (due acknowledgement made to the Friends of the Settle-Carlise website for stealing some of their text):
“Although the Settle-Carlisle Railway Line is one of the “World’s Great Train Journeys”, it came very near to closure in the 1980s. In response to this potential loss, 32,000 people and one dog (a fare paying passenger) objected. The dog was Ruswarp (pronounced ‘Russup’), a Border Collie owned by Graham Nuttall, co-founder of the Friends of the Settle-Carlisle Line. After years of campaigning, the line was reprieved in 1989 and, such is its popularity, its capacity has since been doubled.
Graham Nuttall (aged 41) and Ruswarp (aged 14) were inseparable companions, and on 20th January 1990 they went walking in the hills. They failed to return. Graham’s body was found on 7th April. His faithful dog Ruswarp had stayed at his master’s side for 11 winter weeks. The case attracted nationwide attention. The RSPCA honoured Ruswarp and were inundated with offers to care for him. He lived just long enough to be at his master’s funeral.
A bronze statue of Ruswarp was unveiled in 2009 to mark the 20th anniversary of the line’s reprieve, its subsequent success and the loyalty of “man’s best friend”. Ruswarp sits on the southbound platform at Garsdale station, near to the summit of the line, and looks towards the hills and to a bench on the far platform, dedicated to the memory of Graham Nuttall. Garsdale was their favourite place “.
Photo of said statue below:
And so to Carlisle….
For some reason (ie lack of experience in this case…) I hadn’t quite got the flexibility I thought I had on choosing return trains to Settle, so I has more time potential to look round Carlisle than I anticipated! Not that that proved a problem in the end, though. Arriving at 1030, I had until 4PM at my disposal.
Like a good little tourist, my first port of call was the Tourist Office. This proved a bit of a bother, as the centre of Carlisle is undergoing “regeneration” ie it’s a building site!
Nevertheless, now armed with the necessary advice and map-type paperwork, my first stop was the Cathedral Café for a cuppa and a scone. A new building, it has good views out into other parts of the cathedral surroundings. As you can see from the pic below, the sun really had it’s hat on with sensible temperatures and a clear blue sky – wonderful !
Despite not being a religious person I’m generally interested in construction, so things like churches and bridges offer may an opportunity to look at civil engineering. What was fascinating about the roof in Carlisle cathedral is that the stars are actually all stencils so essentially are identical. It would be difficult to ignore the wonderful stained glass window, the organ pipework and the intricate woodwork as well.
Apparently (according to a lovely lady guide who showed me some of the more interesting features), some of the structure is Norman. As you can see, it’s been repaired a lot over time, with external buttresses built to assist.
So now it’s on to the castle… “Carlisle Castle is a stone keep medieval fortress located in the city of Carlisle near the ruins of Hadrian’s Wall. First built during the reign of William II in 1092 and rebuilt in stone under Henry I in 1122, the castle is over 930 years old and has been the scene of many episodes in British history”. Thank you Wikipedia !
It’s also one of the most besieged castles in England, as it guarded the “wild” western end of the Anglo-Scottish border for hundreds of years.
After surviving seven sieges by the Scots between 1174 and 1461, it was adapted for artillery and, in 1568, held Mary Queen of Scots prisoner. You can explore the Tudor battery, the 12th-century gatehouse and the recently conserved keep.
Whatever your viewpoint regarding history, you cannot but be impressed about how MASSIVE the main part is – no wonder it could withstand all those sieges. There’s a lot of display boards showing all of the sieges over the years and how secure it was.
PS: Notice the bright blue sky ????? Fantastic weather so far on my trip.
The castle was still operational well into the 20th century. One of the buildings now house the Cumbria’s Museum of Military Life, exploring the Border Regiment’s 300-year history. Museum was interesting in that I did not appreciate that the Borders Regiment (now part of the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment) had been in so many theatres of operation, including (more recently) Iraq, Afghanistan, Northern Ireland and Cyprus.
Also in the same area is Tullie House. This is a museum and art gallery and community hub. It houses big collections of objects about Carlisle and the surrounding area. It’s obviously had a shedload of money spent on it recently, as there is a pretty spectacular modern entrance hall and welcome space, shop, etc. Very impressive. Their strap line is “ a home for the eternally curious”.
One of the exhibitions on when I was there was about the Roman history of Carlisle. Since my sister Alison is a Roman “nut” I had to go and have a look….. All very well displayed/laid out, so even a history ignoramus like myself could get a good “feel” about the Roman influence in the area.
My stop in Carlisle was coming to an end, as I had a train to catch, back to Settle. Before that, I did a bit of trainspotting, not really seen the latest generation of main line trains close up – very interesting – well for me at least !
One curiosity at Settle Station is this water tower house – or shall we say EX-water tower house. It’s been feature on loads of TV programmes, including Channel 4’s Restoration Man Series, Grand Designs and Mr Portillo’s railway series.
So, as Wallace would say, a grand day out, culminating in a beautiful sunset….
DAY 3: 08 May 2025, Ribblehead Viaduct, Hawes, Tan Hill, Muker
This was always planned as a bit of a “run-around” day in the local area. My first target was to go and have a closer inspection of the fabulous Ribblehead Viaduct that the train had been over the previous day, on the way to Carlisle.
In any man’s language, it’s an imposing structure. It’s an iconic, massive Victorian railway bridge, carrying the Settle-Carlisle Railway cross Batty Moss, famous for its 24 grand arches, 400m long, 32m high, built between 1869 and 1876.
The “challenging” construction involved many “navvies”, in a stunning moorland location. That was some of the problem. Effectively a complete township built up to “service” the construction, including a brickworks, hospital, etc. It must’ve been a tough place to work/live due to the isolated worksite, with immense human cost, as witnessed by memorials nearby for lost workers. There’s an information area in the old Ribblehead station waiting room, with audio visual stuff and information boards.
On the plus side, it’s a “major landmark for walkers and rail enthusiasts, offering beautiful scenery, historic significance as a symbol for the line’s preservation, and a nearby pub”. (The Station Inn).
Next stop was a waterfall, the Hardraw Force. First though was Hawes, a pretty market town with lots of traditional stone buildings, local shops and pubs – must be dreadfully crowded in the summer though. I initially missed the turning to the waterfall, so after a couple of laps of the one way system, the road eventually revealed itself.
The fall is “England’s highest single drop waterfall”, reputedly 100 feet. Unusually, its privately owned, the car park being behind the local pub, the Green Dragon Inn, providing access to the falls. The grounds include wooden bridges and several alternative walks up to the fall itself. The owners have obviously put in a lot of effort and money to restore the whole area to its former glory. Very pretty. Unfortunately, not very spectacular, not much rain about in the last few days, I guess
After that, I drove north, towards Thwaite, via the Buttertubs Pass – one of a certain Mr Clarkeson’s favourites, I believe……. Certainly narrow and twisty in places, but with fabulous views of the Yorkshire Dales. Not many places to stop and gawp at the scenery though…..PS: I’m parked up to take the pic, before you ask…..
On to Britain’s highest inn, yes the famous Tan Hill Inn, the one that always gets snowed in in winter and ends up being an item on the TV news. The plan was to have lunch there, but unfortunately loads of people had the same idea – it was crammed, you couldn’t really get past the front door – and it was only a Thursday !!!!!! Ho hum. Nice bikes though, there were loads more round the side of the inn, so it must’ve been a pre-arranged meet-up.
So back in the car….
Another place nearby was Muker, a small village at the western end of Swaledale, within the Yorkshire Dales. I’d previously booked at the Usha Gap farm-based campsite in 2022, but never got there, as it was on the home leg of the “Great Escape”, which had to be abandoned, unfortunately. See other posts.
Final potential stop was the Eden Valley Railway at Warcop, but unfortunately not running today – another time perhaps
Back to camp then, off further north tomorrow. A long tiring day but with loads of beautiful scenery.
DAY 4: 09 May 2025, Travel to Keswick, Threlkeld Museum
Further north we go…..
Next campsite stop was the Camping and Caravanning Club site at Keswick in the Lake District, staying there for a couple of nights.
On the way was another of those places that I’ve gone past a few times, the Threlkeld Quarry and Mining Museum.
Before that there was the drive from Kendal to Keswick ( A65, A591)which, apparently, is “one of the most scenic drives in England”. It’s only 30 miles and goes through Ambleside and Windermere. Blue skies again this morning, so it did live up to its reputation, very pretty.
The Mining Museum is all about Lakeland’s industrial heritage. It includes a quarry with a collection of antique machinery, such as locomotives and cranes, a geological and mining museum and mineral panning, plus a small railway !.
Threlkeld Quarry originally opened in 1870 to supply railway ballast to the Penrith-Keswick line. Later, the stone was used by the Manchester Corporation Water Works for their Thirlmere scheme, for railway ballast for the Crewe-Carlisle line, for roadstone, kerbing, and for facing buildings with dressed stone. The granite quarry finally closed in 1982.
The museum is “compact” but stacked full of all sorts of geological maps, pictures, equipment, etc – a geologists dream, a bit much for me ! They are in process of sorting out a new purpose built building on the site, which will make the best of the extensive displays, etc.
And then there is a train….a narrow gauge that runs a short way into the quarry itself, followed by an explanation from the driver/guide all about granite, the history of the place, etc.
Then it was onto the main event, being let loose to explore ….. Apparently, there are more than 85 machines on site, so plenty for a nosy mechanical engineer to look at – a bit of a busman’s holiday, I guess….
They have open days, where many of the excavators, etc are active, moving stuff from one place to another. For the private owners of some of the excavators, it must be the ultimate playtime !
One particular machine I liked was the Ruston STEAM POWERED machine, believed to be the world’s oldest working steam shovel. Extensive restoration, supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund, brought it back to full operational status. Not working today – wonder when the next open day is ????????
Arriving at the campsite, I was lucky enough to be “upgraded” to a spot with electric hook up, so the coolbox got recharged. When I arrived, I could not help but notice that the camp office was on an elevated mound. It seems that the campsite floods frequently, because of the coming together of two rivers draining into Derwent Water. Whenever there is an intense storm, huge amounts of rainwater in the rivers overwhelm their banks and the surrounding floodplains where the campsite is situated.
Indeed, there is a post near the beach showing water depth – I think the staff called it the “murder pole”… Not sure of the measurement units they’ve used on the post, but, let’s face it, if it’s that deep – who cares – it’s a BIG FLOOD!!!!!!!! They have a very well developed early warning system ( done in conjunction with the rivers authority), so evacuation of the site is a wellmplanned scenario.
Floods are obviously a regular occurrence in this part of Keswick, as the rugby club adjacent to the campsite has also recently been rebuilt – on stilts !
DAY 5: 10 May 2025, Aira Force
My main target today was the well-known Aira Force, a 65 foot drop waterfall near Ullswater. It’s certainly a dramatic drop, but there are also a series of other cascades and mini-falls as well. It’s situated within Gowbarrow Park, which means there are plenty of beautiful woodland trails, picturesque bridges across Aira Beck, etc.
On yet another warm, sunny day (can you believe it ???) the car park was busting full. Run by the National Trust, it has done a lot of good “engineering”, to enable people to see the falls in their full glory. Well maintained paths mean you can either just have a short stroll or go on the longer circular hikes – the latter being your writer’s choice….. Plenty of places to stop and rest as well ! Definitely a double walking stick kind of a place for us “oldies”, but well worth the effort.
Bit of a rest in the afternoon……
DAY 6: 11 May 2025, Leadenhills, Wanlock, Moffat
Glasgow is getting nearer by the day – at least today I get into Scotland !
So today it’s off to Leadenhills and Wanlockhead, the highest villages in Scotland and guess what, there is a railway running between the two – well almost. It used to be a standard gauge line and the current narrow gauge railway runs on what used to be the Caledonian Railway line, closed in 1938. As you can see from the pic, it’s pretty high for an “adhesion” railway ie one with no cog rail assistance like the one up Snowdon. The original line rose from 813 feet to 1498 feet in less that 7 miles, so pretty severe…
As its name implies, Leadenhills was indeed the centre of local lead mining, where the miners dug to below sea level and excavated miles of tunnels looking for lead ore and silver. The evidence of all this industrial activity is all around with visible heaps mine shafts, beam engines, etc. There is an excellent leaflet which provides you with several alternate walks available.
Also the excellent Wanlockhead Museum of Lead Mining has my vote for being relatively small but very informative – the café does a mean cheese and ham toastie too !
After lunch, it was a quick 23 miles up to Moffat. A couple of nights at the Camping and Caravanning Club campsite, just my 2 person tent this time.
DAY 7: 12 May 2025, Garage time
My plan was to go and see a waterfall this morning plus a bit of a “rest day” – didn’t turn out that way…..
The day before I started this trip, my Skoda Fabia VRS Estate decided (all on its own) that it would like to put a few warning lights on – particularly those related to the ABS system, anti-lock brake system, etc. Not ideal……
Consulting my normal garage, it seemed that it would not actually affect the way the brakes, etc worked, as the electronics involved were “bolted on top of ” the basic mechanical/hydraulic system. So I did the normal thing ie turn the car right off, wait a few minutes, then turn the car back on. You guessed, the alarms disappeared …… So somewhere, there was an intermittent fault, probably an input sensor. My normal garage had no slots available in the time available to have a look, so I decided to carry on.
The warning lights thing turned out to be intermittent and the brakes were certainly working 100 %.
Just to make sure, I went into a garage in Moffat to see if they could check the system out. having put their magic electric box on the car, it spat out the fact that the NSF ABS sensor was not responding. I’d already tried to contact Skoda dealers in Glasgow, but they all had 2 week queues for workshop availability and also no availability for likely spares. Great !
A quick call to the RAC then, who suggested the Halfords Autocentre in Glasgow, since I was going that way ! To make double sure, I booked an appointment for a couple of days hence.
Didn’t get to the waterfall, but had a bit of a rest instead…..
GLASGOW TOMORROW !!!!!!!!!
Day 8: 13 May 2025 – TO Glasgow
Now leaving Moffat and dashing up the motorway into Glasgow. Although I’ve been to Glasgow previously several times on business (I know where all the rail depots are….), I’ve never actually been to Glasgow Glasgow, if you see what I mean.
So I booked into the West Highland Way Campsite (just outside Glasgow at a village called Blanefield), with a bit of trepidation… Why ? Well when I phoned up, it all seemed a bit too casual and very cheap – only £20 a night, including electric hook up and continental breakfast in the morning ! They also did pub-type food in the evening. It seemed to be a mixture of hotel, campsite and youth hostel..
Being close to the West Highland Way long distance walk, I expected it to be mainly full of backpackers, starting off on their journey. On offer seemed to be a range of accommodation options from hotel rooms to shepherds huts, cabins, safari tents and tent pitches.
As it turned out it’s managed by a guy called Dru Edmonstone who is Camilla’s cousin (as in the Queen) …… All very intriguing.
Anyway……. After a bit of an intro chat I settled on a pitch close to the
house, rather than in the woodlands. It would be fair to say that I had the biggest tent there – as one guy said it was “more like a palace” in comparison with others!!! Whatever…
I must say it’s a beautiful setting. Some of the campervan/motorhome pitches looked out over a very pretty valley. Obviously a lot of money has been spent , but at £20 per night, I wonder how he actually makes any money from the whole venture.
The idea was to be within striking distance of Glasgow to allow me to use either a train or a bus to get into the city centre. The requirement to get the car into Halfords for its check-up slightly messed that up, but otherwise my plan was reasonably solid.
Day 9: 14 May 2025 – INTO Glasgow
Next day, I’d booked a morning tour of Glasgow Central station, on the recommendation of an ex-work colleague. A bit “busman’s holiday” I guess but it turned out to be more interesting than I anticipated.
So after a lift to Milngavie station I managed to get to Queen Street Station – even negotiating a train change half way– in plenty of time.
Then it was a few minute walk to Central Station (via George Square, which was a building site !!!), including checking out the correct bus stop for the Red Tour Bus for the afternoon. Also passed a rather stylish cast iron gents toilets – not seen one of those for a few decades.
Central Station has been well kept/restored in its original style with wood everywhere. All of the usual station franchises had to abide by the rules and just use the minimum amount of their usual garish frontage, eg McDonalds, only the words in yellow.
Apparently, the original architect made all the buildings within the station rounded on purpose, so that it created more passenger “flow”. Also, I’m told that he deliberately made the concourse with a bit of a slope, so that passengers automatically slowed down, as they approached the platforms. Wonder if that’s true ?
For the tour we all had to dress up in very bright safety kit – it felt a bit like being a 7 year old on a school trip to the swimming baths – whatever……
Very interesting tour (well for me anyway !) which lasted about 1 ½ hrs and went down into the bowels of the machine, at one point getting close to the running tracks in the lower level part of the station. Also, a very informative museum, full of railway artifacts from the past and old style equipment, etc. I believe it was all put together by one of the tour guides themselves. MY tour guide was an Italian lady, whose accent was a bit strong, so I had to move around a bit with my hearing issues, to make sure I didn’t miss anything.
In the afternoon, I became a “proper” tourist and went on the City Sightseeing RED bus tour. I’d already sorted out that I needed to have a tour with a live commentary (rather than the tour with pre-recorded multi-language commentary) so I had to sit next to a speaker, as there was no loop facility for us deffo’s – “next year” apparently…… Sitting in an open top bus (yes more blue sky!) wasn’t the best, but we managed.
This sort of bus trip is not normally my sort of thing but it had been recommended to me as a way of working out what I wanted to see for the rest of my time-limited visit – which it did !
I won’t describe every single thing we went past, but suffice to say it included things like university buildings, Barrowlands Ballroom, the People’s Palace (closed for renovation at the moment),the OVO Hydro building, SEC Armadillo, the Riverside Museum, Kelvingrove Art gallery, Sauchiehull Street, Glasgow School of Art, the “cheese grater” carpark,etc, etc. The guide was very informative and witty about all the sights as well. A few pictures below.
It seemed to me that Glasgow is the city of traffic lights, which, combined with a whole load of roadworks and general refurbishment/building sites of parts of the city centre made progress a bit slow, but still all very enlightening for this Sassenach.
Another recommendation was to go on the Glasgow Subway. There’s only one loop, so you can’t get lost ! My impression ? Small and very bumpy (especially when it goes under the river), but excellently comfortable new rolling stock – an experience ……..
As you can see from the pictures, the weather continued to amaze. Indeed, on my early morning train I was quite happy with a jacket. By lunchtime that had gone and I was still feeling a bit overdressed – absolutely amazing (in my experience anyway) for Scotland in May, but hey, no complaints…
After all this “intense” activity it was time to return to camp by bus – another mini adventure in itself ! Buchanan Bus Station is the largest and busiest bus station in Scotland and definitely the biggest that I’ve encountered, with approx. 60 bus stands.
My bus was the 10 or 10X bound for Stirling, which naturally, left from the stand furthest away from the main entrance… Anway, actually got off at the correct stop and walked up the hill to the campsite with three Nepalese guys who were also staying there- small world.
Day 10: 15 May 2025 – Car fixing and the Riverside Museum
The first thing to be done was that visit to Halfords on Pollokshaws Road. My trusty TomTom got me there OK – I certainly wouldn’t have found it without ! With all their diagnostic kit, they confirmed what the garage guy in Moffat had said, ie it was the NSF ABS sensor system. They weren’t quite sure if it was the sensor itself or the associated slotted disc. If the disc, it would mean a new bearing pack, as the disc is an integral part. Anyway, with a bit of wiggling and some alarm code resets, we got back on the road again, safe in the knowledge that the basic brake system was in good order.
After yesterday’s bus trip, it seemed to me that I could not miss the Riverside Museum, which is full of an incredible range of transport stuff, related to Glasgow in particular. Opened in 2011 it’s certainly a fantastic looking design.
So since the restaurant was just opening, I took advantage of the lack of crowds and had a very nice lunch before plunging into the museum proper.
All I can say is that this museum is a mechanical engineers dream – from the very first traction engine in the foyer. Indeed, I was so enthralled that I had to go out and put more money into the car park machine as I was enjoying it so much – spent over 3 hours just looking, which must be some record for me and museum visiting…..
So, there’s:
1. A recreated cobbled street based on the 1890 to 1930 period with shops (including a bike shop, a record shop with “age appropriate” records on display, a toy shop with train sets and Meccano), a subway station and vintage transport,
2. Walls full of motorbikes and cars, most of which had a connection with Glasgow
3. Loads of other cars at ground level.
4. Plenty of steam loco’s
5. A very big showcase upstairs with models of ships/boats
6. Outside was the 129 year old tall ship Glenlee
All in all, quite a fantastic place (for me at least) which kids must love, as there’s loads of interactive stuff for them to enjoy. As you might have gathered, I enjoyed it all immensely.
Also adjacent to the museum is the a new rotating bridge, the Govan-Partick Bridge, which opened in September 2024. It is a £29.5 million cable-stayed swing bridge designed for pedestrians and cyclists, connecting Water Row in Govan to Pointhouse Quay near the museum.
On my visit there was even a group of musicians doing a home-made recording of their music with the museum as a background – very pleasant too !
Back at the campsite, mechanical wonders continued to provide amusement. One of the campers had turned up yesterday with what looked like bike saddle bags, but no bike. During my day away his German recumbent bike had turned up to go with the bags. Custom made to suit him (and therefore probably very expensive !) it looked very comprehensively equipped, but very complicated – everything seemed to be adjustable !
Talking about expensive, the boss had also taken delivery of his own piece of German engineering, in the form of a fully equipped Hymer off road Mercedes Benz camper van – we are talking about £0.25m-ish worth…… Certainly pretty impressive. His partner lady told me that he was very happy with it, as the fuel consumption had risen from 7 mpg (on an older version of the same type of machine) up to 14 mpg – that’s progress ????? Apparently they were off to Greece in October to try out the beast.
Day 11: 16 May 2025 – Rest day ????
Today was supposed to be one of my semi-scheduled “rest” days, as there were a couple of full-on travel days coming up. Some of the morning was spent chasing around for some O rings to see if I could sort out a leaking valve on my SIM (Self inflating mattress), as there were still 18 days to go. Found some in a local B + Q but bought another SIM just in case.
Further north tomorrow – towards Oban and some islands. My “sample” of Glasgow has probably enticed me to look at more things on another trip.
Day 12: 17 May 2025 – To Killin
Going north today, ending up at an overnight campsite near Killin. This is one of those days when I have a list of, say, 10 things on my plan I want to see/do, but feel OK if I end up with 6 done – we shall see…..
So up the A81 through Aberfoyle to the Three Lochs Drive, which is a circular one way drive along quiet forest tracks ( a bit like a rally stage really, very dusty in this wonderful dry, sunny Scotland weather – yes, yet again !!!!) and is a great way to see more of the forest and stunning Trossachs views. The 7 mile long forest drive takes you past three picturesque lochs – Lochan Reòidhte, Loch Drunkie and Loch Achray. As well there are short, easy trails and a picnic site beside peaceful Loch Drunkie. Also accessible toilets and plenty of parking too. You can even camp there, permit permitting, but only basic facilities, ie just toilets and water, but could be good for a 1 or 2 night stop some other time.
However…. As I found out later, when it is dry, you get a remarkable amount of dust on the car and even inside !
Next stop was a brief “reconnaissance” visit to Balmaha/Conic Hill and on to the Milarrochy Camping & Caravanning Club site. The campsite (as expected) was full but looks very nice, being on the shores of Loch Katrine – one for the future, methinks.
I was intrigued by a road sign that announced STEAMSHIP TRIPS or something similar – not to be ignored. I ended up in a very, very busy big carpark adjacent to the Trossachs Pier and there she was – The SS Sir Walter Scott.
It’s a small steamship that has provided pleasure cruises and a ferry service on Loch Katrine for more than a century, and is the only surviving screw steamer in regular passenger service in Scotland.
She is named after the writer Walter Scott. It was built as a “knock-down” ship, ie it was assembled with bolts and nuts at Denny’s shipyard at Dumbarton on the River Leven in 1899, launched and undertook performance trials in the Firth of Clyde, including recording her speed on the measured mile. She was then dismantled and the numbered pieces were transported by barge up Loch Lomond and overland by horse-drawn cart to Stronachlachar pier on Loch Katrine where the steamer was reassembled with permanent rivets and, in 1900, relaunched.
Unfortunately, my schedule did not allow me a trip, as it looked like at least a morning’s cruise to make the best of the scenery, etc. Yet another thing for a future trip …. It was certainly very popular on that day. I had a bit of a walk along the lochside path, with ice cream in hand – well it was a warm day.
On to the Falls of Leny. Probably not the most popular of waterfalls, as the car park was tiny and the path was (how shall we say) in need of a lot of TLC. However, despite a bit of a scramble, it was all worth it, as the sun continued to make places like this look very picturesque. See below.
Just as I was leaving a Dutch “lady of a certain age” turned up with a big campervan, so I did the honourable thing and assisted her with parking. Turns out she has been all over the EU and America and does so without any planning – “goes with the flow” – must have plenty of money!
We had an interesting discussion about planning – or lack thereof. I like my few weeks reasonably well planned, but as military people would say, as soon as you start any campaign, the plan goes straight out the window. I agree to some extent, but if you have a plan, you can always deviate from it. I do at least like to know where I’m putting my head down at the end of each day.
This road through Glen Ogle up to Lochhearnhead and Killin is paralleled by loads of abandoned railway infrastructure, including several viaducts.
It used to be a line called the Callandar and Oban Railway (C&OR). The intention was to link the sea port of Oban to the main railway network. This involved a long line from Callander through wild and thinly populated terrain, and shortage of money meant that the line was opened in stages from 1866 to 1880. The terrain was certainly difficult, as the valley is shared between a railway, a road AND a river. Thus the railway ended up perched halfway up the valley side, thus all the viaducts.
From a historical point of view, the line did indeed improve the economy of Oban, especially for the fishing trade and for tourism, but the winter traffic was limited.
The line was crossed by the West Highland Line at Crianlarich, where a connecting spur was constructed by the West Highland Line company in 1897. The section between Callander and Crianlarich was closed in September 1965, but the section between Crianlarich and Oban is still in use today, as part of the West Highland line.
Hope that’s not too confusing – the railways in the late 19th century were extremely competitive – definitely dog eat dog – so changes in ownership of part finished ventures were not uncommon.
Still pretty sensational scenery though.
Onward !
Then it was Killin, famous for the Falls of Dochart and a one way road bridge.
Not a lot of water today, but I’ve seen pictures where it has become a powerful, thunderous spectacle during high water flow, particularly after heavy rainfall. Located at the western end of Loch Tay, the river cascades over rocky rapids, often flooding the surrounding rocky banks with white water. The best viewing spot is from the bridge in the village centre.
Behind the Falls of Lochart Inn, I found a rather nice smokehouse (connected to the pub, I guess) that did brilliant smoked cheese. You can go for proper tasting sessions, etc, but I opted just to buy a beautiful cheddar based morsel – which didn’t last more than a few hours !!!!!
Final stop for the day was my camping pitch at the Cruchan Farm Camping and Caravanning Park. It was more highland lodges, camping pods and static caravans than a pure campsite, but turned out to be OK for a one night stop. Let us say that the facilities were a limited for a potentially large number of people – must be hell in the summer…..
Oban tomorrow…..
Day 13: 18 May 2025 – Up the coast to Oban
The next camping site was the Camping & Caravanning Club (CCC) site at Oban, but I went a bit of a roundabout way to take in some of the Argyll Coastal Route which is a tourist alternative to the A82. It takes you from Tarbet on the shores of Loch Lomond along the A83 to Lochgilphead, then turning north on the A816 to Oban. Been on some of it before but not stopped along the way to “see the sights”, as it were.
Just for a change (haha) I stopped at another waterfall, The Falls of Falloch, just off the A82. A 5 minute walk from the carpark brought me to the falls. Not as much water as show in some of the publicity pix, but nevertheless pretty good looking. Warm again ! VERY BORING !!!!!!
After a quick snack, it was off towards Inverary. Before that though, I stopped off at the Ardlui Holiday Park on Loch Lomond (a potential site for later in the year) to find they no longer take tents any more. Plenty of lodges and places for motorhomes, but no spaces for tents. Crossed it off the list.
My original plan was to stop at the Loch Fyne Restaurant & Oyster Bar for lunch (been past it several times….) but I got my timing wrong and had to settle for a visit to the Fyne Ales Brewery Tap and shop, where I made a suitable purchase of tinned and bottled alcohol – bit early for the tap and anyway I’m obviously driving, ho hum…..
All morning, I’d noticed there were a lot more bikes (the motor kind) on this stretch of the A83 than I would think normal for this time of the year. When I got to Inverary, I found out why….
Before that I had to “negotiate” my “traditional” visit to the ever present burger van which has taken up permanent residence in the Rest and Be Thankful summit viewpoint car park – very busy today with the brilliant weather. The whole of the road just before the summit is still a one-way traffic light controlled mess and there doesn’t seem to be any easy answer to the road being blocked on a very regular basis.
“At this point the A83 is a major, yet notoriously unstable, trunk road frequently closed by landslides, often triggered by heavy rain in the steep-sided Glen Croe. Over the years, numerous landslides have forced 60-mile detours via Crianlarich or reliance on the adjacent essentially single track Old Military Road as a local diversion, using a convoy system”.
The road maintenance contractor BEAR Scotland has installed debris fences, catch-pits, and a temporary embankment to manage risk and it seems that a permanent, multi-million pound debris shelter/shed is being designed to protect the road – not before time IMHO !
At Inverary, there was some form of motor bike “ meet” with the Police, Institute of Advanced Motorists (and others) having small exhibition stands. Apparently, it was an initiative to improve bike riding safety. You could go out onto the A83 with an accompanying police bike and get an assessment of your riding and, presumably, advice about where you might improve things. Good initiative !
Inveraray is another of those places that I’ve been through several times, but never actually stopped to have a look around. So we solved that one today, having a walk round the harbour and into the back streets to see the pretty harbourside cottages.
Then it was a good steady run along the rest of the “coastal” part of the Argyl Coastal Route up to Oban – very pretty. CCC have a site just north of Oban (at Barcaldine) which is within an old kitchen garden, so very sheltered. I have used this site several times as an “overnighter” before dashing off to the terminal for a ferry to Barra (or whatever), but this time I was determined to look around a bit more, including visiting a few off-shore islands local to Oban
Tomorrow is a designated “rest day”, especially welcome after a couple of days driving in 24 degree C hot weather – yes in Scotland, unbelievable !
Day 14: 19 May 2025 – Rest day
It remains reasonably sunny today – the temperature was a bit more bearable – fancy writing that about Scotland !Again ! On this visit to Oban, I had the full “big tent” up, whereas for my one nighters, I use just the smaller Omega 350 before heading off on a ferry.
First urgent thing was to find petrol. Uncharacteristically, I’d let the tank run down to almost empty, ending up with just 5 miles range – PS: DON’T LET THIS HAPPEN AGAIN !!!!!! Having refreshed the car, together with my cash and food reserves, it was back to camp for a session with the on-site washing machine. It did get a bit dull in the PM, but got the washing 90 % + dry – I have a folding rotary clothesline – all the luxuries on MY camping trips !
Back to hot apparently tomorrow……
Day 15: 20 May 2025 – A sea adventure
I hadn’t been quite sure what was going to happen during these few days in Oban, as at least one trip was weather dependent. Thankfully the weather stayed fine, so today I took a 3 hour long Seafari Adventures marine wildlife tour (specifically the Corryvrekian Wildlife and Whales Tour) sailing out of Easdale, 16 miles south of Oban. Like all these types of tours there’s always uncertainty about what will be seen, but, as they say, nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Easdale is a small island accessible from another island call Seil, which in turn is connected to the mainland by the famous Bridge Over the Atlantic. The harbour I went from is called Ellenabeich, which is actually on Seil !
I went down a bit early, so I could have a look around the harbour area first, then it was over to the container to get all our life preservers, etc.
Our boat (12 passengers 2 crew) was the catamaran Celtic Adventurer. Thankfully the sea was reasonably calm, so we should be able to see plenty of wildlife. Yes there were dolphins and seabirds plus a white eagle and a golden eagle on a nearby island. Fortunately, we were issued with binoculars which came in very handy, but taking photos was a bit more hit and miss. So somewhere in the pix below are the eagles !
The Corryvrekian Whirlpool is located between the Scottish islands of Jura and Scarba and is the world’s third-largest whirlpool. Strong Atlantic tides force water over an underwater basalt pinnacle (rising to 29m below the surface) and through a narrowing channel. It can create treacherous, roaring maelstroms with waves up to 9 meters high. On our trip it was visible but on its best behaviour. My photo’s don’t really do it justice; it was really a lot more active that it looked. I would imagine that in storm conditions it would be spectacular.
Back at the harbour, I decided to stay on and go to the actual island called Easdale. It’s one of several islands locally called the Slate islands which were the centre of the Scottish slate industry.
Easdale is now famous for being the venue for the world stone skimming championships. Apparently, the population grows from around 60 to several hundred ! It’s only a small island (62 acres) and you can walk round the whole island in 20-30 minutes – which I did ! Plenty of flooded former slate quarries.
There are no cars allowed on Easdale and access is by the small 10 person ferry from Ellenabeich. Everything has to be transported from the harbour by wheelbarrow. According to the ferryman, bigger stuff has to be brought in by a bookable converted landing craft. The postie brings Amazon parcels, etc from Seil on the ferry and leaves them in what looks like a converted bus shelter. There is a regular bus service from the harbour at Ellenabeich into Oban (once per hour, nothing Saturday/Sunday) and the rather spectacular community hall regularly hosts folk and other music. It’s certainly a place where you can get away from it all……. Wonderful !
Just to be nosey, I noticed a house for sale – the old quarry masters house, in fact. Further investigation revealed that it had been fully updated and could be yours for a mere £300k….
Having spent a very enjoyable few hours on Easdale, I decided to check out the ferry to Luing (another of the slate islands) which went from the southernmost point in Seil. It’s a small “turn up and go” type ferry (ie non-bookable) so has a timetable that can be somewhat “flexible”….. I decided not to cross this time, as I could get there but not sure if I could get back and have enough time to properly look around. Also I had a full day booked for a ferry to ANOTHER island tomorrow…..
Day 16: 21 May 2025 – Isle of Lismore
It’s another day, another island, another ferry – this time to the Isle of Lismore. Lismore is an island off the coast within Loch Linnhe, sandwiched between Oban and the Isle of Mull, 1 hr on the ferry. It’s a long thin island, being 10 miles long by 1 mile wide. Known as the “great garden” (Lios Mor in Gaelic apparently) it certainly is green and fertile. You also get a good view of things in Oban Bay as you leave for the island.
I’ve been past/near it several times on other ferry crossings, so nice to actually go and have a look. There’s really only one main single track road, that goes from one end to the other. I had to keep an eye on the time, as there were only 4 ferries a day and not exactly a hotel round every corner.
At the ferry ramp there was an old “honesty” phone box, which contained all sorts of goodies, including a very informative visitor guide.
My first stop was Port Ramsay near the top of the island, where I found a delightful row of whitewashed cottages, originally built around 1800. One or two of them were being subjected to comprehensive refurbishment, no doubt adding to either the rental sector or somebody’s hideaway from the mad world.
A little bit further north was the harbour at Point, where the passenger only ferry runs across to Port Appin. Apparently, some of the residents of Lismore leave cars at Port Appin, so that they can go to the local supermarkets, etc, rather than back and forth on the vehicle ferry.
Going back south, I came across the St Moluag’s Cathedral. It’s 13 century and still in use today as the active parish church. Very plain and austere inside but plenty of good carpentry. One of the passengers on “my” ferry crossing was doing a watercolour of the cathedral as it is a pretty good looking building.
Then I decided to drive as far south as my poor old car would take me, going down the “other” road as far as Achinduin, where I ended up at the end in a farm yard !
On the way back, I came across several dilapidated looking farm buildings, which one day may be converted, I guess – such is progress
The postie van was also at the farm. It had come across on the ferry by itself, having been deposited onto the ferry by one postie in Oban and picked up by another on the island.
I followed it back to the Heritage centre/museum/café where there was a very informative museum about the island and Gaelic culture in general, including a re-created crofters cottage – life looked tough in olden days…… Heritage work is supported by an extensive archive and library plus the inevitable gift shop and café.
At the museum I met a lady called Christine, who was looking after the place. I soon worked out she was not native to the area, but had come to the island for a holiday several times and stayed in one of those whitewashed cottages in Port Ramsey. The owner eventually offered her the lease one day and she has been living on the island for the ast 20 years !
Going back to the café for lunch, I passed the Lismore General Store and Post Office (which I bet is probably the centre for news and gossip….) which kept basic supplies and hardware, as well as being a post office. Parked outside was one of the first electric cars, a Gwiz, much derided by Top Gear…. It looked in pretty good nick and was obviously used on a daily basis.
So eventually it was back to the ferry ramp. I raided the telephone box again and bought a commemorative coffee mug and a splendid book of photos of the island. It had all been a rather nice day out – a return visit required, as there looked like some good walking was available.
Glencoe tomorrow…..
Day 17: 22 May 2025 – To Glencoe
After a fuel top up at Tesco, it was off to the restored blast furnace at Bonawe. Now fully restored, it’s hard to think that they imported raw iron ore from Cumbria, although there was plenty of local limestone and charcoal available. One of the obvious attractions was the availability of water power in the form of the River Awe.
The pig iron produced was then sent south for manufacture into finished products. It’s a big spread-out site on the side of a hill and included a row of workers cottages, now converted into private houses.
The majority of the buildings have been sensibly restored and there’s informative display boards, about the smelting process, etc.
Then it was on to a bit of nerdy railway stuff, in the form of Anderson’s Piano in the Pass of Brander. This wonderful engineering contraption is on the Oban branch of the West Highland Line, near to the Falls of Cruachan and the big hydro power station.
It was installed in 1882 to detect rockfalls on what was then the Callander and Oban Railway. It’s a system that uses a vertical screen of around 4 miles of tensioned wires connected to semaphore signals. It automatically sets the signals to ”danger” if one of the wires is severed by falling rocks. The valley is very steep sided in this location. It’s named after the engineer John Anderson, who developed the system and is called a Piano due to the whistling/humming noise the wires make when agitated by the wind.
The system is still used and maintained by Network Rail – nobody has come up with anything better, to date. There’s obviously no public access to the system, but I think my pix give you the general idea. See also below the YouTube video I’ve stolen…….
Following the railway my next stop was Tyndrum. Tyndrum is a bit of a cross-roads type of place, with both important road and rail junctions, as well as being on the long distance path, The West Highland Way. So it has two railway stations (Upper and Lower, the result of company amalgamations long ago) and a range of eateries together with the famous Green Welly Stop. The shop started small but has now developed almost into a “destination” in itself – very big now. It’s renowned as a good stop for walkers to replenish food stocks, etc for their next days on the West Highland Way.
I decide that lunch was now on the schedule, so gave my business to the award winning Real Food Café – house speciality fish’n’ chips for me ! They have a bench type arrangement for solo travellers, so you have a view of the road to Crianlarich , complete with mountain views.
Then North on the A92 to the famous Glencoe. So many pictures around of the famous valley, so I only took a couple, before ending up at the Camping & Caravanning Club (CCC) site adjacent to the Glencoe Visitor Centre. The whole valley is really geography books for real, incredibly beautiful and fully justifies all the hype.
I also went via the Red Squirrel campsite, to check it out. For my tastes a bit too basic and much more suited to backpackers, etc. Composting loo’s and all that sort of stuff….
On the way, went past the iconic whitewashed Black Rock Cottage, often featured on Scotland Winter Calendars. It’s privately owned by the Ladies Scottish Climbing Club and not available for public accommodation.
This CCC site was a bit unusual (in my experience) in that tents weren’t allocated a specific pitch, but just plonked into a field to get on with it – not really what you want at the end of a full motoring day. Anyway…..
Having set up, I decided to try and find another famous spot, the place where James Bond parked on the road in Glen Etive in the film Skyfall.
The road is obviously very popular, as all and any stopping places were filled with German/other nationalities campervans…. There was a lot of wild camping going on as well. I didn’t go right to the end (Loch Etive) as there were several severe sets of cross road drainage channels being not too carefully dug, and the old girl’s suspension was not happy with my cavalier treatment of her springs….. Still beautiful though.
Back at camp, it had got quite cold quite quickly, so more blankets deployed.
Apparently a threat of rain tomorrow
Day 18: 23 May 2025 – Walking and Glencoe
With the car hiccups still keeping me a bit worried, I went to a couple of local Glencoe garages to seek a bit more re-assurance. Neither could help directly, due to being full up to the rafters with existing work. However, one suggested there might be an earthing issue, so back at camp I disconnected the battery, cleaned off both terminals and reconnected everything again.
Safe to say that the stuttering disappeared completely – as I found out on a run out during the afternoon – small things, eh ?
Then I went walking to find a waterfall or two. The idea was to find the one called Meeting of Three Waters but somehow I missed a turning on what I thought was the right path but still ended up taking in some of the magnificent mountain scenery – with the sun shining yet again !
Back at camp it was lunchtime, after which I walked into Glencoe village (1 ½ hrs there and back) to do a milk and bread run, but unfortunately the village shop was shut. After coming back, I found out from the campsite that there was a decent Co-Op Superstore at Ballachhuilish, a few miles down the road – a good find !
About 6pm, it started to rain…… Unfortunately, a bit of water got into the outside canopy via the groundsheet not being absolutely square with the tent – or was it the other way round ???? All culprits discovered and mopping up completed. A bit of bad management on my part really, must try harder next time…….
Anyhow, I’d arranged myself an exotic meal for tea – a Scottish macaroni pie, baked beans, yoghurt, banana and a small cheesecake. Oh how the other half live !!
And it continued to rain……..
Day 19: 24 May 2025 – Glencoe Visitors Centre
It rained heavily overnight and continued to do so. I didn’t exactly rush to make breakfast. However, I eventually persuaded myself to get going and went to the Glencoe Visitors Centre, next door to the campsite.
Not surprising it was busting busy due to the rain. One interesting thing was the reconstruction of a 17 century “creel” house, all timber and turf. Bit too dark to take any internal pix. I seem to think that it was a copy of a house found on another historical dig that featured in one on Mr Portillo’s programmes.
Thankfully, the rain relented, so I drove around Loch Leven. For a B road it was pretty decent, but it has been the main road around the loch, before they converted the rail bridge at Ballachulish into a road bridge – another casualty of Dr Beeching….
The village of Kinlochleven seemed to have got its act together, as there was a small campervan aire and the old power station building had been converted into an in door rock climbing school. Another building houses a hostel, etc, together with other tourist stuff. The West Highland Way passes through the village, so there was a small campsite area as well.
My target was the Grey Mare’s Tail waterfall, which I thought might be pretty lively after the overnight rain – I was not disappointed …..
As you can see, it was possible to get a bit nearer, but those duckboards looked a might too slippery for me. I did wonder why the guy in my video had a helmet and harness on for that walk, but I soon worked out that he was equipped for the adjacent Via Ferrata– apparently the only one in Scotland. You can see some of the participants through my photograph.
It’s run by a local company called Vertical Descents and claims to be “a 3 hour trip suitable for children from a minimum age of 8 who are happy with heights”. Mmmm…
Looks terrifying and I’m not sure I could cope with it with my hearing loss, etc, but we shall make enquiries…..
Looks like a wet packup tomorrow morning…..
Day 20: 25 May 2025 – To Fort William
Yes, it was a VERY wet packup – everything tent-wise sopping wet. More rain overnight which made things unpleasant, but I just managed to get it all packed away before the next deluge – well this is Scotland !
Only a short drive from Glencoe to the Glen Nevis Campsite, just outside Fort William and adjacent to the mighty Ben Nevis. Tomorrow (a national Bank Holiday) was one of my designated “rest days” (essential for us septuagenarian solo travellers…..) but in view of the weather, I decided that today would be more sensible.
Luckily, I bagged a pitch with the car on adjacent hard standing in the Spruce Field, compete with electric hookup.. There was some blue sky around now and I managed to get the already wet tent up in the dry with the groundsheet/tent positioning correct this time, so no wet incursions… Helped by the fact that this part of the site is flat !
I’ve been to this campsite several times over the years. The facilities are modern and first class. There is a sensibly priced on-site shop as well, together with a container based fast food outlet. Also, down the road is a very nice restaurant, run by the same people as the campsite. Much of the site is taken over by semi-permanent caravans and mobile homes – a good business all round, methinks. They even have 3 off new Nexus electric run-around vans… And all withing a short distance of the main Ben Nevis Centre car park.
Day 21: 26 May 2025 – Fort Augustus and other places
A Bank Holiday – not my favourite day for travelling…. Raining again – it always seems to be raining every time I visit Fort William!
After a quick trip to the local Morrisons Supermarket for vittels, I popped into the railway station to check on my mad train visit to Glasgow, scheduled for tomorrow. – yes, another train ! Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a timetable, but I was confident that the early train would be running OK – Scotrail (IMHO) seems to be pretty good at keeping the trains running OK, despite it being pretty tough country to run a railway. I already had my ticket – complete with “old man’s” Senior Railcard discount…
The Jacobite train (Harry Potter and all that) was about to leave. As you know, I’m a sucker for a steam loco anytime.
Then a drive to the Commando Memorial at Spean Bridge, another of those things I’ve passed before and eventually got round to stopping to have a look. It’s a memorial to those commandos lost in the second world war. What surprised me was the area set aside for family memorials and tributes, including for Afghanistan – not so many years ago…. The Commando training centre was at Achnacarry Castle near Spean Bridge.
Thankfully, blue sky started to appear, so I made an instant executive decision to go north to Fort Augustus on the Caledonian Canal at the bottom end of Loch Ness.
On the way, stopped at Laggan Locks ( for a wee and a cup of tea, if you must know…) where I came across a company called Le Boat. They organise canal boat holidays around Europe, including on the Caledonian Canal. Must look them up sometime, I doubt they do trips for solo travellers though….
On to Fort Augustus. Today it was a right old tourist trap – people from everywhere, all nationalities it seemed. Coaches, coaches and more coaches. All the eateries were full, even approaching 12 noon, so I had to content myself with a VERY EXPENSIVE takeaway sandwich (£7). Even the fish and chip place had a monumental queue (carton of chips £4.25…) – same with the public toilets !!!!
However, the sun had decided to make an appearance and the rain had stopped, so my walk around actually ended up being quite pleasant. Despite the Bank Holiday thing, it’s a nice setting – shame about the people…….
So back down the road to Fort William in almost constant traffic, including a very slow jam from Spean Bridge onwards – don’t you just love Bank Holidays….
Back at camp, got things organised for my epic/stupid train trip back into Glasgow, starting very early in the morning.
Day 22: 27 May 2025 – Glasgow and back on a train
A crazy train day today… I’m getting an early morning train from Fort William to Glasgow Queen Street, then getting the same train back a short while later.
Why all this madness ? It’s all about going across Rannoch Moor, where there is essentially no meaningful road access. So very isolated stations like Rannoch and Corrour pop up along the route. The train takes just under 4 hours for the 123 mile long journey in each direction, so hopefully the seats are reasonably comfortable….
Not my pictures above, but just included to give you an idea of the isolated and wild nature of the Moor. ( Click on the pix to see more).
I have to get the early train out, as there are only 3 a day in each direction. There is only a 45 minute gap available at Queen Street, so probably enough time to grab a Greggs sausage roll and a coffee before boarding again. Just to make things interesting, the return train splits at Crianlarich (one part going to Mallaig, one part to Oban), so you have to make sure you get on the correct part of the train – what fun !
Bang on time the pre-booked Nevis Taxi arrived at the campsite to whisk me off to catch the 0744 train to Glasgow.
Anyway… As I grab a seat for leaving Fort William on the two carriage train, I noticed a whole block of reserved seats. I’d tried to reserve one for myself, but it wouldn’t let me. Strange… The mystery was solved by the last minute arrival of a whole bunch of very talkative Dutch ladies of “a certain age”, who seemed to be fully equipped for a day’s walking. The reservations must’ve been done by their tour organiser, I guess.
So off we went. Absolutely stunning scenery throughout and the sun was out for most of the time. I didn’t/couldn’t take many pix, but Mr Portillo’s YouTube video below will give you the idea. (For reference: Great British Railway Journeys, Series 2, Episode 23, Oban to Corrour, 11 minutes onwards in particular).
The Dutch ladies got off at Corrour station and disappeared into the wilds. They were probably doing a lap of Loch Ossian, on the Corrour Estate, plus other tracks. Corrour railway station is the highest mainline railway station in the United Kingdom at an elevation of 1,340 feet above sea level. You can also stay in one of three beautifully appointed B’n’B rooms in the former Signal Box. This unique accommodation must appeal to lovers of remoteness, lovers of quirkiness and lovers of railways! It really is in the middle of nowhere…….
At Crianlarich “our” train was joined by the train from the Oban branch of the West Highland Line, thus making up a mighty 4 coacher…. Just after that there was a bit of “fun” concerning the toilet on our part of the train – it stopped working ! So at Ardlui, they commandeered the north-bound train toilets for anyone who was in need – only on Scotrail !
So despite the enforced extra toilet minutes, we arrived at Queen Street Station bang on time.
A quick stop at the aforementioned Greggs for supplies and it was back to find the return train. Some confusion, as the station staff were not quite sure what was going to happen with replacing the toilet-less train. A young lady (whose camping/hiking backpack was as big as herself…) and I eventually worked out what was going on, in that they plonked another carriage set in front of the incoming train and let the broken train be sorted after our departure.
So back towards Fort William we go…..Yes, you guessed, in the confusion I got on the wrong part of the train – probably not the first or the last person to do that. A quick dash up the corridor sorted that out.
At Corrour the train became filled again with the returning Dutch ladies, who looked suitably flushed from their day out walking – and a bit less talkative !!!!
Eight hours on a throbbing diesel set is somewhat tiring, but at least I could turn down the volume on my hearing aid, to make it a bit more comfortable. However, I wouldn’t have missed the trip for anything.
To say the trip across the Moor is a bit different is an understatement. The fact that the line actually exists is a testament to the ingenuity of railway engineer James Bulloch and contractor Robert Macalpine, being essentially a floating track laid on a bed of tree roots, heather and earth.
Bit of a rest day tomorrow……
Day 23: 28 May 2025 – Rest day, Fort Willie
Something I ate yesterday disagreed with my insides, so had a nice quiet day preparing for the move to Aviemore tomorrow. Had a late breakfast and a snooze in the afternoon – disgraceful !
Car all checked over and ready to go. I even tried using some flat plastic interlocking tiles underneath my bed mattress/SIM, which improved things a bit.
Weather doesn’t look good for tomorrow’s pack up. I seem to have had a run of bad luck on that front ! Ho hu
Day 24: 29 May 2025 – To the Cairngorms
My luck seems to have run out……
I usually say to people to go on holiday when I do, as I usually have good weather, but these last few days in Scotland have gone completely against form – I don’t think I’ve ever packed up my camping kit so many times in the rain/already wet before.
So it was no surprise that I awoke to another wet tent and more rain. My usual modus operandi is to pack as much as possible the night before and just leave enough kit out to do breakfast. That went awry as well – so it was a sandwich, a Scotch egg and orange juice – no coffee !!!!
It certainly turned out to be the wettest pack up I’ve ever done, ever… So the tent when straight into the back of the car (rather than in its own bag) and the groundsheet into a big plastic bag I carry for such “emergencies”. Tent must’ve weighed TWICE its normal dry weight……Altogether a very wet experience. Glad I was able to get a hot shower and dry clothes on before I left the campsite.
The plan was to drive up the A86 to Aviemore, then on to the campsite at Glenmore (in the Glenmore Forest Park, within the Cairngorms), as recommended by one of my neighbours, stay a few days before the big drive back down south.
On the way I was supposed to look at the Laggan Dam and the Falls of Pattack, but to be honest, the rain was merciless, so they’ll have to put up with me another day. I’m not really equipped for really foul weather walking/sightseeing, need to look at that for the future.
One of my slightly nerdy rail oriented “mini-targets” was the Pass of Drumochter on the A9 road, south of Dalwhinnie. It’s the highest point on the UK main line railway. It provides a sensible route for both road and rail through the Grampian Mountains, connecting Inverness with Perth and Edinburgh.
I cut across to the A9 via the A889 (another one of General Wade’s military roads, so plenty of straight bits), ending up near Dalwhinnie. Just before the town is the Dalwhinnie Distillery, a strange looking place in the middle of nowhere with Japanese style turreted towers – presumably something to do with creating drafts, perhaps ? Didn’t stop ( the car park was full) as it’s a bit difficult to appreciate a tasting when you’re driving solo.
On the A9 road, I missed the actual summit due to the rain, but was able to appreciate that shoving both the road and the railway line through the mountain pass ( together with the existing river) was a pretty remarkable achievement – looks fun in the winter……
Despite the rain, the scenery was pretty magnificent and thankfully it stopped raining mid-morning, so I could enjoy it even more.
Back on the A9 northbound, to arrive at Aviemore, which was its usual hustle and bustle, due to being conveniently situated adjacent to the Cairngorms National Park – all the well-known outdoor brands have a presence here.
The Glenmore campsite is 6 miles out from Aviemore, nestled between the pine trees on the edge of Loch Morlich, which is a freshwater loch at an elevation of 300m and boasts the “highest beach in Scotland”. It’s a big old loch, with a water sports centre having kayaking, sailing and windsurfing amongst the activities available.
My original booking was non-electric, but the management did find me one with electric hook up (Pitch 114) but on a substantially sand based area – a first for me….
Then the rain and wind returned right on cue….. My camping next door neighbour offered to assist in putting up the tent, but in these conditions I normally remove my hearing aids, so I wouldn’t have been able to hear him anyway !!!! Extra guy ropes were the order of the day. Naturally enough it stopped raining just as I finished pitching the tent – don’t you just love Scotland!!!!
Sand everywhere, so looks like we’ll have to be pretty hot on the housekeeping.
Some of the pitches nearer to the beach are literally cut out
between the trees, to give little individual locations – very nice.
One bonus today was the arrival of the mobile pizza trailer – £12 for a 12” pizza. All very organised with radio paging devices when you order was ready for collection. Very tasty too, which I washed down with a Fyne Ale – see previous posts.
Later went for a walk along the beach. Coarse sand but definitely a beach – bet it gets crowded in the summer. There was even one hardy soul going for a swim !
Not sure what I’m doing tomorrow. Getting very tired lugging all these wet tents about and my bed mattress not behaving itself again, which is not good for a sensible nights sleep. It’s all been a great experience so far, but starting to get a bit weary – after all this is day 24. Looking forward to a Premier Inn bed in Falkirk in a few days time……
One idea was to go up on the Cairngorm Mountain Railway, but it was closed this very week for annual maintenance ,ready for the summer season – my luck eh ?
At some point I also had to get something for my neighbour, Sally, who has probably had to do a load of garden watering whilst I’ve been away. Garden pottery ? Shortbread ? What ?
Day 25: 30 May 2025 – Garden centre and the Gorm
Surprisingly warm first thing, considering the campsite is 1000 feet above sea level. It had rained heavily overnight. A bit dull/cloudy weatherwise, but a double coffee fixed that …
So off to the garden centre at Speyside Centre I went and bought a blue pot and 6 assorted heathers – one of their specialities, I believe. Goodness knows how I’m going to carry those in the car. On the way back, it was a quick top up at Tesco featuring more Scottish “specialities”, including shortbread, macaroni pie and butteries (a sort of salty flat croissant). I also had a scout around Aviemore itself, including the railway station – yes, another train tomorrow !!!!!!
Then a quick drive up to the Gorm itself, a quick look round (20 mins without being charged) and out again. The parking was expensive and as the railway wasn’t working there was not much open at the summit. Fantastic views though…
Just across the road from the campsite was the Reindeer Centre. They look after a wild herd of around 150 beasts but bring a few to the centre for us tourists to gawp at. Not looking their best at this time of the year, but very informative boards around the place made it unexpectedly interesting. The centre looked all very new, so somebody must’ve been spending a load of money.
On the domestic front, I worked out a “new improved” method of heating up ready meals using my gas stove bread toaster, a large saucepan and lid, together with a bit of time……engineers rule OK !!!!
Day 26: 31 May 2025 – Strathspey Railway
My last camping day…..
And also my last steam train !
This was my THIRD attempt to go on this line (The Strathspey Railway), previously things like COVID and other interruptions getting in the way. It currently only goes from Aviemore to Broomhill, but like all good heritage railways has plans to extend to Grantown-on-Spey, as and when money becomes available, etc.
On the train I met a couple of Aussie “ ladies of a certain age” who were doing the “trip back home”. What they were doing on a heritage railway in Scotland never came into our conversation somehow….. They were off to Dublin after this trip to Scotland – must be an ancestral connection somewhere…
Boat of Garten station and the village look very pretty, so I decided to go back there later in the day to have a look round in more detail.
Talking about detail…. The railway has a very detailed guide to the railway itself and the surroundings, something that other heritage railways might consider copying.
I hope you will indulge me with a few train-type pix, including a rather appropriate and colourful waistcoat.
At Broomhill, the splendid black 5025 loco ran round the train for the return to Aviemore.
I did indeed go back by car and have a walk round Boat of Garten. Looks a very nice village. Very romantically (haha) I sat in the car park and watched the comings and going in the station while I had a sandwich lunch and coffee.
So the rest of the afternoon was spent preparing for the journey south – destination Falkirk via the so called “Snow Roads” – looking forward to that……
Day 27: 01 June 2025 – To Falkirk
Onward to Falkirk and a REAL bed in a REAL hotel…… Still plenty to see and visit on the way south.
Just about got the tent dry and packed away OK, somehow found some space for the heathers, etc.
I’ve always wanted to travel on the Snow Roads. It essentially a 90 mile route which (southbound) goes from Grantown-on-Spey, through Tomintoul, Ballater and Braemar, ending up in Blairgowrie. After that it would be Perth and the Queensferry Bridge, followed by a quick few miles to a Premier Inn on an industrial estate! Whatever…..
The road traverses the highest public road in Britain (the Cairnwell Pass at 670m/2199ft) near the Glenshee Ski Centre, together with “some of the outstanding landscapes on the eastern side of the Cairngorms National Park”.
And I think it fair to say that it lived up to its hype 100 %. Along the way there’s also the Lecht Pass (renowned for being Scotland’s “snowiest road”), Crathie Kirk and Balmoral Castle, Braemar Castle.
Stunning scenery on a VERY sinuous road got me to Tomintoul, which is a single street town, with a square half way along, the streets laid out in a grid fashion. Lecht Ski centre came up next, obviously not open at this time of year.
After more twists and turns, I arrived in Ballater, at the centre of Royal Deeside. Apart from stopping for refreshment of both the body and my wallet, I also wanted to have a look at Ballater railway station, the former terminus of the Deeside Railway, closed in 1966, but remains in use as a visitor centre with an exhibition recording the village’s royal connection.
What I didn’t expect was to end up in the middle of the Ballater Duck Festival, with the centre of the town full of food stands, a stage for a local band, lots of children’s entertainment. As you might imagine, it was all about duck racing with 12 giant ducks being released into the river Dee upstream of a bridge, first one to the bridge wins. There was even a tote, if you fancied a flutter ! All this was relayed to me by an English guy who accosted me to take a programme. Apparently all proceeds to local charities.
After a bratwurst for lunch, it was on the road again – and more glorious scenery. Past Balmoral Castle (wonder who stays there ????) you can see why the Royal family like this part of the world, as it’s stuffed with good looking forests and streams – presumably used for fishing at times.
After Braemar, the road climbs again to the ski centre at Glenshee – enormous carpark – the A93 forming part of yet another Old Military Road. Don’t ski centres look horrible without the snow ?
In comparison with some of the more northern sections of the Snow Roads, the road down from Glenshee was almost motorway standard – for a while at least. I guess they had to improve it for all those ski enthusiast coming up from Perth and Edinburgh. Still glorious scenery though. Not many places to stop and take pix, unfortunately.
From Blairgowrie onward, it was more “traditional” countryside, have left the influence of the Cairngorms.
Onward towards Perth on the A83, then south on the M90, with the Queensferry crossing. A mighty bridge with oodles of traffic – everyone going home on a Sunday PM after a weekend away. Plenty of time to admire the engineering of the bridge in the traffic jam.
Then a final dash along the M9 to Falkirk and the Premier Inn. Why there ? Well it’s very near the Kelpies (pre-breakfast raid planned) the Falkirk Wheel and the Bo’ness & Kinneil Railway, home of the Museum of Scottish Railways.
Oh sorry, forgot to say that it had been glorious sunny all day…
Day 28: 02 June 2025 – Kelpies and Preston Chorley
Last “tourist” day….
Didn’t quite make it a Kelpies dawn raid, but early enough to beat the lady on the gate taking money for parking…… This was another of those places I’d gone past in previous trips to Scotland. The car park was quite full of overnight campervans and and motor homes. The local council even organised toilets and other facilities – presumably at a price.
The Kelpies were something else. I didn’t appreciate that they were actually built using a tubular framework with metal cladding. Very impressive.
Then it was on to the Falkirk Wheel. I’ve been here before with a work colleague around 20 years ago, when it was still reasonably new, so the site has grown up a bit. Looking a bit scruffy now, but well worth the experience of going from one level to another on one of the tourist boats. They’ve also got a small exhibition about the construction, etc, which is very informative.
In the adjacent canal system there’s a lot of refurbishment/reconstruction going on, eg lock gates, etc. – all good basic engineering.
Next stop was the Bo’ness and Kinneil Railway site. I already knew that there were no trains running that day, but I wanted to scout it out for the future – another one where I’d booked up to go just before COVID struck.
My target was the Museum of Scottish Railways (the largest railway museum in Scotland apparently), on the same site. I timed it just past the opening time of 11 AM, so had the place to myself. Also a Monday morning is not exactly potential peak visitor time…..
Well, what a place ! Full of interesting stuff. What I particularly liked were the separated out sections for specific themes, eg the Making of Scottish railways. Sensibly sized, so there was enough to get you interested without being too overwhelmed with the information.
Also, you could see into the workshop section, where all the restoration and maintenance hard work gets done. There was a second building FULL of goods wagons, etc, many of which would, I guess, be restore in due time.
Altogether a very impressive museum. It made sense of some of the other railway stuff I’d seen in Scotland over the last few weeks – 10 out of 10 in my book….
Then into the car for the BORING, BORING run (all 200 miles of it !) down the M74, M6, etc to a Travelodge near Preston Chorley. Used it before, not the best, but very handy for the motorway network. I can’t/won’t do the long drag back home in one go – must be getting old…. The ABS lights were still on, until I reached Gretna for a break. Then they disappeared for the rest of the day – strange….
Day 29: 03 June 2025 – Homeward bound
Last day on the road…
Didn’t rush off first thing, decided to wait a bit while the “rush hour” did its thing. This particular Travelodge doesn’t have a place for breakfast, but I had enough in my own resources to make my own.
I like to get off the motorways as soon as possible, so after a bit of M6 and M62, it was on to my” usual” cross country route via Whitchurch and Craven Arms.
Overall ? Lots of miles, but lots of interesting things to see and experience.
Now for the washing…….