T and M

19 October arrived after a straightforward flight from Bristol on time to warm and blue skies. After a short shuttle ride, we arrived at the 5 Star Valamar President hotel in Dubrovnik. Room had fantastic views west to the Elafiti Islands. After checking in and sorting ourselves out we walked the lovely promenade around the Uvala Lapad just to stretch our legs. The Adriatic sea is warm so a dip in it after the long day was obligatory and much needed. You have to negotiate rocks and boulders to be in deep enough but once that is done it is a joy to float and swim. Getting out is challenging as you have to float in until hands touch the gravel when you are then past the boulders. Dinner at the President hotel is buffet style ... read more

30 June Woke to a warm day and sunny sky and visibility across the Loch was magnificent. We decided to explore around Loch Leven and headed south just a few miles and took a B road towards Kinlochleven. We made several stops to take photos and enjoy the magnificent vies at shore level and looked in awe at the huge mountains on the other side. We soon arrived at Kinlochleven, a small town but with good facilities although it did look a little on the tired side. The visitor centre had an exhibition about the aluminium industry and the power station which uses water from a reservoir high in the mountains to generate electricity. There was a choice of walks and we opted for the 2 hour one to the small dam. We should have guessed ... read more

15 JuneThe Road to Elgin. We woke to a warm and still morning and prepared to travel on to Elgin our next stopover. We had a nice chat with our neighbours who it turns out are from Marlborough in Wiltshire. Marina’s starting to feel better. Our trip to Elgin took us through the Grampian Hills and presented some wonderful visitas. After missing our turning twice we eventually found the CL just a mile or so out of town and pitched up. It is a small and uneven piece of land with enough space for 5 vans. We found a fairly level area with an open aspect across fields to the woods beyond and did the usual preparation before settling down for a spot of lunch. The site owner, Dennis, turned up briefly to introduce himself and ... read more

The day started well and we set off to The Glens, a journey of about 15 miles through some beautiful countryside. We finally arrive at the Glen Doll Forestry Commission complex on the eastern side of the Cairngorm Mountains and prepared ourselves for a fairly difficult climb to the huge basin that is the Corrie Fee, Corrie Fee is truly dramatic, a massive bowl scooped out by a glacier, it is a National Nature Reserve. The climb is through forests and alongside a white water stream. It takes about an hour to walk the two miles and when you eventually emerge from the forest it is just like walking into an amphitheatre. It is awe inspiring to think that several million years ago this basis would have been filled with ice about a 100 metres deep. ... read more

2 June what a night the wind just stronger and stronger and neither of us slept well - the van was shaking for the wrong reasons. Still very windy but dry as we packed up to move onto Edinburgh We liked Whins though and look forward to returning there on the way back south. Journey to Edinburgh was easy enough with a following wind we averaged 36 mpg. The road through the Borders and Midlothian was lovely (A702) arrived at caravan park amid strong winds but sunshine. Decided not to put the awning up until the next day when the wind will hopefully have dropped. However this was the start of a number of problems beginning the car making a Strange noise, then the TV packed up followed by a long drive around Edinburgh looking for ... read more