Friday 3rd September
Destination: Lochmaben
We’ve been waiting for this day for so long! The camper_versions tour has finally begun and our final destination is The Outer Hebrides of Scotland. Day 1 of our trip consists of us loading up our trusty 2008 VW Transporter 5 campervan with all of the necessities and supplies we’ll need for our 16 day trip. When we’re good to go, we hit the road!
We leave our hometown of Darwen in Lancashire and head for our first scheduled stopover in Lochmaben, just a few miles west of Lockerbie. 120 miles later, a service stop-off and a diversion through Preston, we finally arrive at the Kirk Loch Caravan Park and we have a beautiful plot waiting for us.
Our pre-reserved electric hook-up plot faces the water at the edge of the stunning loch. As we begin to pitch up, immediately next to us are 3 beautiful, inquisitive swans which swim over to greet us…and hoping for food of course!
We noticed swimming in the middle of the loch are over 100 Canada Geese. Within a short time of our arrival, we heard one of them ‘honk’ which signalled for 6 of them to take off in our direction. They instantly fly low with their necks outstretched and make a ‘V’ formation. The rest of the geese started to follow suit and further batches of ‘honking’ geese decided to fly off into formation also. It was truly an incredible sight of the local wildlife.
Once we’re pitched up and settled, it’s time for a quick bite to eat, which consists of some lovely supermarket sandwiches, a shared tin of custard, plus an Eccles cake for dessert! We walk off our 5 star evening meal with a stroll down to the stone ruins of Lochmaben Castle, which dates back all the way to 1384.
The facilities at Kirk Loch Caravan Park are great, really clean and include free showers. We paid £24 for the night. The actual site had once been a shallow, outdoor curling rink which would quickly freeze over in the winter, so the players didn’t have to wait long for the Loch to freeze over! The caravan park is now on the site of the rink, but a small hut still remains and forms the reception.
