Scotland

Great meeting everyone, thanks Keith and Carol see you again soon we hope!

Suddenly it’s August!

We decided to head to Wales and specifically South Wales an area we haven’t been to before. North Wales, which is closer to Birkenhead, we have explored since we were kids.

Until you come to Britain you don't realize how many sheep there are there.

Our first stop was Cardiff at a public park in the center of the city. We didn’t explore at all just emptied the black and grey tanks and filled the fresh water up while we charged the house battery up and got showers. All very domestic!

We traveled thru some breathtaking scenery such as the Forest of Dean and on to the awesome Pembrokeshire Coast.

Nice little harbor in Fishguard Wales

After a few stops we stumbled on “Cardigan Island Farm” campground right on Cardigan Bay. It had great views, a cafe, Playground for kids and a Farm Animal area that you could walk around and see the animals in pens. At the end of that trail you were on the clifftop looking across the bay and if you were lucky you could see seals and dolphins. We weren’t lucky!

Nice views from Cardiff Farm Park Campground

All too soon we were back at Arrowebrook Farm on the Wirral, our “Home” near Birkenhead it seems. We a had night out with Ken, Angie, John and Daphne one night and Stuart, Linda, Hillary, Sally, Iain, Nial and Katlynd the next. It was a good job the Irby Mill pub was within walking distance!

While we were there we made reservations for the end of August and the first week in September plus reserved a rental car and a hotel in London because the trip home is approaching fast.

We found a storage facility for the RV nearby too because we have decided that we are coming back next year!

We are having so much fun and the RV is very comfortable, so why not?

Our reason for heading back thru Birkenhead was mainly to get up to date with Sally on our planned joint weeks vacation in Scotland.

She has found a camping resort with both static caravans (Mobile Homes) and sites for Motorhomes so we can all camp there. Its full of stuff for the grandkids to do too. Its in Ayr Scotland, so after a few days we headed North using the old roads that existed before the motorways took over.

These led us to the Lake District an area I think is similar to Lake George New York, and for the first time we were turned away from a couple of campgrounds that were full.

Abbey ruins

The first couple of weeks in August is peak season here, the roads are congested, parking lots full and everywhere has been booked up since the beginning of the year. So after a quick look around we set off North again and stayed in Carlisle right below the Scottish border.

Hadrian's Wall 1900 years old.

Along the border runs Hadrians Wall, built by the Romans almost 2000 years ago to keep the marauding Scots out. It still stands in places and we explored it and some Abbeys and Castles nearby.

The Abbey and Town of New Abbey

Once across the border we decided to head West along the coast of the Solway Firth and we were rewarded with some beautiful scenery, no traffic and some more ruins to explore.

Managed a distillery tour along the way also.

Finally we arrived at Sundrum Castle Holiday Park just outside Ayr and set up in our allotted spot.

Maybe it was fortuitous, maybe not, but the kids playground was “L” shaped and our camp site was in the elbow of the “L”. We got the benefit of all the hyper kids yelling and screaming (and some of those little girls really screamed loud!).

At the same time we got to watch the grandkids while they played and we sat in our lounge chairs!

The weather after being great for the whole summer virtually, now took a turn for the worse, but not a really bad turn and most days let the kids play in the playground or we all took a ride into Ayr for shopping therapy.

Grand Kids

I asked Niall to take 5 pictures for me

He did an amazing job with my phone.
These are unedited.

Wednesday was predicted to be the best day of the whole week and we took the opportunity to travel to Edinburg and explore the castle there.

Edinburg from the castle

Its a great place to visit but you need to buy tickets in advance. In addition the “Military Tattoo” was being held in the courtyard. This traditional exhibition of Military skills and traditions is held every year and it’s very difficult to get tickets.

"MY" grandstands! I designed the top bit the camera gantries and lighting towers.

We didn’t attempt to get tickets but I got to brag about the grandstand because way back in the 1970’s I drew all the structure for the Camera Platforms and Lighting towers when I worked as a contractor for BICC in Liverpool that designed and built this PORTABLE grandstand. Yes portable. Every year it is assembled and afterwards disassembled and stored away offsite. It takes about 2 weeks at each end to do that.

Sally and the kids

Gray Friars Bobby, remember the story??

Best of all was getting to spend time with our Daughter and the Grand Kids. We are going to miss them when we leave, but luckily we still have a few weeks to visit them before then.

Steam Rally Welland

There is both a Titanic Experience and a monument to the Titanic’s Engineers who perished that night.

We headed vaguely North and a little West from Southampton aiming for a little spot named Welland for a Steam Rally. By chance we passed a sign for Highclare House which for all you Downton Abbey fans is the actual place where the TV show was filmed. Unfortunately when we got there they told us to keep moving as all available tour spots were full and only advance reservations made on line would get us in.

Highclare Castle

In another of those chance happenings Barbara posted a picture of Highclare on Facebook and my Cousin John and his wife Claire asked where we were because they lived not far away! We found a really nice pub stop at the Two Watermills Inn, had a great evening in the bar and lunch with John and Claire the next day before we left. Another confirmation that NOT making plans can pay off in wonderful ways!

Some of our neighbors along the way

Welland was next.

Some explanations may be helpful.

For the Facebook haters we have to say “Sorry”. We love Facebook and we have got back in touch with people we have lost touch with otherwise. People we have known since we were teenagers or even before that.

When we posted that we were coming to UK and thinking about buying a Motor Home one of those old friends Keith Arthurs popped up and offered help and advice.

Thanks Kit!

Then he told us about a club he belongs to the “Motorcaravanners Club” who have great rallies. Being rally fans we were interested. When he told us that one of the rallies was at a Steam Rally and it would fit our timetable we were even more interested.

We have been looking forward to this.

Keith fixed us up with membership to the club, even putting up the cost of membership for us when there was a problem with our US debit card and the club website! Good man Kit!

We now got to meet up with him and Carol, Poppy and Daisy (the last 2 being their dogs).

Keith and Carol

The venue was a HUGE farm and took up I would estimate to be seven massive fields. It looked like every RV club in the country had a section for them to camp together. “Our” club, the Severn Valley chapter had over 100 RV’s on site and a wild guess had me thinking there were over 1000 total RV’s camped around the event.

Part of the Motorcaravanners club.

It was a 3 day affair although we arrived a day early and got set up ahead of most people, giving us a chance to explore the place before the big crowds arrived.

Large and busy beer tent

Vendors and fun fair

For the uninitiated a Steam Rally is an event where enthusiasts of antique steam powered farm and industrial equipment can get together and show it operating as it would have when it was new.

A steam powered truck

My favorites the Steam Traction Engines

There were Steam powered traction engines, saw mills, road rollers, trucks, stationary engines, operating scale models of them too and most fascinating of all a STEAM POWERED FUNFAIR!

Yes that's a steam powered carousel

The traction engines provide the electrical power for the rides too.

As if that wasn’t enough there were vintage cars, motorcycles, trucks, tractors, military vehicles, construction and earth moving equipment. Models of all those too including radio controlled construction equipment digging miniature holes and moving the dirt around in RC trucks.

Tanks!

Working steam models

Radio controlled earth moving equipment

Working model steam locomotives

Just in case you got bored there was a market area that sold everything under the sun, a food area and a massive beer tent selling micro brewery beer. Oh and tractor pulling in the evenings!

For the finale on Saturday night they had an ABBA tribute band and a fireworks display.

Antique Motorcycles

Gorgeous cars

What with “Happy Hours” with the club, dinners with Keith and Carol, a club raffle etc., the weekend just flew by and before we knew it it was time to pack up and head off again.

Great meeting everyone, thanks Keith and Carol see you again soon we hope!

Suddenly it’s August!