Caeverlock Castle - Dumfries

Another early start this morning after an exceptionally quiet night, you'd never have guessed we were just a short walk from Chester city centre. First stop Higher Tranmere to visit John's daughter, coffee and cakes were waiting, today had started well. After a couple of hours catching up with her and taking advantage of a facility to empty our waste and top up our water, we set off, our destination Carlisle.

As the M6 wound its way through the mountains of the lake district we wondered if there was a better view from an English motorway. Arriving late afternoon in Carlisle we were greeted by the cheers of the football crowd at Carlisle United's ground in the Warwick road , perhaps they had just scored one of their winning goals against Salford City. Our destination was Rickerby park, recommended on park4the night. It turned out not for us. Some undesirables had set up a tent alongside a VW crafter van (as Marge is). Straight away their eyes were drawn to her. Don't worry Marge we're off, there was no way we felt comfortable about spending the night let alone leaving her whilst we took a walk. Decision made we decided to cross the Scottish border.

Just before 5 pm we crossed into Scotland. Failte Gu Alba Marge, Welcome to Scotland. Now in Scotland Marge soon found herself on narrow country roads but she wasn't fazed. Been here and done this before, bring it on.

The site at Caeverlock castle was busy, including Marge there were thirteen vans. Last year when we stopped here around the same time there were seven vans. Seeing how busy it was we expect to be vying for space in some locations as we travel further into Scotland. For now, Marge is tucked in near the service point next to a van called Maxine, although we know she would have preferred at Mark or Malcolm. The owner of Maxine had an accident with his drone this morning, he likes to film the motorhomes!! Each to their own. 

After showering we walked out leaving the two couples opposite in conversation. They were from Yorkshire and one of the women had an exceptionally loud voice, echoing everything her husband said and then talking over him. Well into a second bottle of prosecco she was celebrating being back in Scotland. Lucky Scotland. We agreed with Marge, bet she's not so chipper in the morning.

Conscious that the light would fade just after eight we took a path along the edge of the salt marshes offering a clear view across the Solway firth, and then into castle wood where we were surprised at just how much the leaves on the deciduous trees and shrubs were changing colour.

The red and purple of berries and last yellow flowers on a nearby honeysuckle showcased in the fading vegetation.

By the time we arrived back at Marge the evening air had cooled, a reminder we were just that little further north, but hey, we were on our travels, and Scotland is where you visit for the views not the weather, so we don't mind. Before we left Poole we invested in some new waterproof jackets and trousers to ensure we were comfortable whatever the weather decided to throw at us whilst we were here. 

Tomorrow we must plan a route for our onward journey. This year's visit will be different as we know that a Scottish A road can be a single-track road with passing places so there will hopefully be no surprises for Marge, but we can't promise!