Jan 8th 2025 – Jan 14th 2025
Moffat – Dumfries And Galloway
To break the journey to the Highlands we stopped over at the club site in Moffat (Moffat – Camping and Caravanning Club Site). The site is within easy walking distance of Moffat which is quite a charming little town and worth a longer visit. The site itself was what I have come to expect from a Caravan Club site. It was expensive (£35 for January), the shower block was heated to just above freezing (more for the benefit of the water pipes than the customers), the showers were low pressure, luke warm and operated via push valve so turned off every 30 seconds. Add to that the lack of fresh water as all the pipes were frozen. For an all year site at £35 per night I expected more.
Here are a few photos :
Grantown On Spey – Highland Speyside
We arrived to more than 8 inches of snow and temperature of minus 7. The site was the same as we used last year – Grantown-on-Spey Caravan Park. It is a private site and cheaper than club sites but don’t let that put you off. The pitches had been cleared of snow, the roads and paths gritted, the staff super helpful and the shower block is superb. Under floor heating, warm and with red hot showers without push buttons. I can’t praise them enough.
We managed 3 days of walking in the snowy hills totally some 26 miles. The scenery, especially in the snow, is simply awesome. Worth travelling 400 miles. Just look at the photos.
Here are a few photos :
The weather was very cold, even for the Highlands. The coldest for 15 years we were told, dropping to minus 18 for a couple of nights whilst we were there. The site coped admirably, and inside the motorhome it was cosy and warm, although we did struggle a little in these extreme temperatures.
We needed water so I defrosted a standpipe and filled up. Even at minus 10 this wasn’t to much of a problem. However my hose then froze up and wouldn’t feed back into the hose reel. The hose reel then dropped to pieces. Then the connector valve froze and had to be removed. But we had a full tank of water again – yah. Emptying the waste was more problematic. The waste valve had frozen and wouldn’t budge. To defrost it I had to lie under the motorhome in the snow and slowly pour warm water over the valve and the base of the waste tank. Eventually it freed up and I managed to empty the waste water tank. Weather 0 – Hodson 2.
Whilst I was busy defrosting various aspects of the motorhome, two other motorhomes were preparing to leave site. Both had the same problem. Their rear brakes had frozen which effectively had the same effect as leaving the handbrake on. So I thought I would check mine as the motorhome had been sitting in temperatures below minus 10 for 3 days. Sure enough my rear brakes were also locked on. I tried defrosting the callipers but there was so little traction at the front wheels because of the snow, they wouldn’t free up. As we weren’t planning of heading south for another 24 hours I decided to let the warming weather do the work. The thaw was as impressive as the low temperatures – going from minus 18 to plus 10 in a few hours. We we came to leave, the rear brakes were no problem.
The extreme temperatures caused another couple of problems for the motorhome. The first was the entrance step. It refused to retract (without encouragement) when we came to leave, and the second was the tv aerial which refused to retract and caused the handle to break. Minor stuff that I am sure I can fix.
Cressfield Caravan Park – Ecclefechan
I was disappointed (again) with Club sites, so I looked for a private site in the Boarders to break the journey home. As it was January, there wasn’t much to choose from, but the website for Cressfield Caravan Park looked great and it was in an ideal location close to the M74. I gave them a call and sure enough they had space, so we headed to Ecclefechan. The site is under new management and the new owners are making a big impact. The frontage has been re-tarmacked and landscaped with a fresh looking reception and statues of Stags adorning the entrance. But that is where the good aspects finish. The touring part of the site was very poorly maintained and very poorly lit. The toilets and showers were effectively temporary structures that either hadn’t been cleaned in some time or there had been one hell of a party. Toilets blocked, waste bins overflowing, floors and showers cubicles brown and dirty. We didn’t use them. We awoke, washed in the motorhome and came straight home. I am sure the new owners will improve this site, but I would give it at least 12 months before I even thought of a stop-over there again.
Round trip distance 815 miles according to google maps.