10th Sept 2021 to 23rd Sept 2021
More by chance than planning, this years Motorhome tour of Scotland takes in some of the greatest of the Scottish rivers – famed for their Salmon fishing and providing the key ingredient for the local single malts.
River Tyne – Dunbar
Bet you didn’t realise that the Tyne runs close to Dunbar in south east Scotland. Well the smallest of the two rivers named Tyne does.
The campsite Dunbar Camping and Caravanning Club Site is one of the best we have visited in Scotland. Lovely open pitches, plenty of space, a view over the sea and Dunbar itself, and great facilities. I must mention the pitch we used (Pitch 102) because when I go back to Dunbar I will try and find a similar spot.
The site is in easy walking distance of Dunbar itself, either via the shorter road route (circa 2 miles) or the much more picturesque shore-side route by the golf course (circa 4 miles). Here is a Relive of the golf course route.
At the mouth of the harbour is the Dunbar Harbour Fort and Lamer Island Battery. The fort was built to protect Dunbar from invasion in 1871. The Lamar Island Battery was constructed after an American ship had attempted to raid the habour in 1781. It once had a battery of 16 cannon (24 pounders), but only a few remain, as the rest were moved to Edinburgh Castle when the battery was decommissioned at the end of the Peninsular War.
Another big plus point of the Dunbar site is its proximity to Edinburgh. It takes about half an hour to drive into the city from the campsite and there is plenty of parking for Motorhomes down by the Scottish Parliament building at the foot of Arthurs Seat. From there you can “walk the mile” which takes you to the fabulous Edinburgh Castle.
River Tay – Blair Atholl
The River Tay is the longest in Scotland and the 7th longest in the UK. It originates in the west and flows through the Highlands to Dundee on the east. Part of it’s journey takes it close to Blair Atholl and through Loch Tay near Pitlochry.
Enroute to Blair Atholl, we took a little detour to see the Kelpies and Falkirk wheel. If you are ever in this area of the country, you must visit. Both are breath-taking in their own particular ways – form or function.
As you will have seen from earlier posts over many years, Blair Castle Caravan Park is one of our favourite sites. This time we used Pitch 68 which is parallel to Castle Drive and has a lovely sunny aspect. Something we took advantage of with the canopy up and the BBQ out.
River Spey – Grantown-on-Spey
Speyside single malts are produced along the course of the river Spey in northeast Scotland. The Spey is the second longest river in Scotland and also famed for its salmon fishing where 5622 fish were caught in 2020 (up 10% on 2019).
Our site in Grantown was the Grantown-on-Spey Caravan Park and we used Pitch 15, a Super-pitch (fully serviced). This is a real gem of a site and rates just ahead of Dunbar as the best find of the year so far. The site is exceptionally well manicured and is only a short stroll from the town centre with access to shops, pubs and restaurants. Not only that but the showers are superb – the best I’ve used in Scotland.
It is also ideal for those like us, who like to walk, with a number of circular routes available from the campsite or close by. We will definitely return to Grantown.
River Dee – Banchory
Another surprise – the river Dee runs through Banchory in north east Scotland. It is the Dee, but probably not the one you are thinking of on the England-Wales border. In fact there are 5 rivers named Dee in the UK – who knew.
Our campsite in Banchory is alongside the river – Silverbank Caravan and Motorhome Club Campsite. We used Pitch 48 which we chose as it was further away from the main road and closer to the river bank. I mention the main road because it is a busy road and does produce a fair amount of vehicle noise.
The town centre ia an easy walk from the campsite past the old Banchory Ternan Parish Churchyard with its rather unique but macarbe – body snatching lookout tower. Banchory town was almost as we left it last year, but with a few more charity shops and empty premises. The pandemic obviously hit Banchory quite hard.
The following day we decided to take a trip to Findhorn on the southern shores of the Moray Forth. Findhorn has a terrific beach and harbour area. I think we could actually see seals on the sand banks, basking in the sun.
River Eden – St Andrews
The river Eden runs near St Andrews, but I am stretching a little with this one. The real attraction here is St Andrews itself rather than the river. This year our visit coincided with the start of the new University year, so the city was bustling with students. Not in a drunken freshers way, but rather with a sense of those eager to learn and experience life with that naive but irresistibly positive attitude.
I find St Andrews a great source of dichotomy. The ancient abbey and town walls alongside the new University. The Old Course with it’s older clientele, alongside the young student population.
The site we used was up on the cliffs to the East of the city above East Beach – St Andrews Holiday Park. Our pitch was 89 on the Clifftop Field. The location is stunning with views over St Andrews and the beach, but it is windy even when St Andrews itself is calm. I would also not recommend the facilities here. In comparison to Grantown, they were old, very basic and not very comfortable.
Motorhome Niggles
Nothing to speak of really but a bit of bad luck. A peice of debris caught the side panel of the motorhome as we were heading up the M6. The debris was in fact the front valance of a car that had been in an earlier accident. It was flipped up from the central reservation by a vehicle in front and came bouncing down the motorway hitting us and several other vehicles as it went. Replacement plastic panel needed.
Round trip distance 923 miles according to google maps.