OUR HIGHLAND & ISLAND ADVENTURE
With family celebrations, weekend breaks and our planned trip to Denmark all cancelled because of the pandemic, we set our sights on a destination rather closer to home. Inspired by writer, campervan owner and green activist Martin Dorey to Take the Slow Road – pause for thought and admire the glorious views – we settled on exploring the dramatic Scottish Highlands and Islands.
As last summer’s holidays approached, the Scottish Government issued guidelines and legislation on social distancing, which gave more campsites the confidence to open up to the general public.
Like us, others soon started to come to terms with 2020 staycations, and the sites and ferries began to book up, making it very clear that to avoid disappointment, we would need to plan our trip meticulously.
But at last, there was an enormous cheer in the house as home schooling screens were left behind and we hit the road for our first trip of the year, feeling that great sense of freedom and anticipation of adventures ahead.
Heading over the border
From previous experience, we have found it is best to cover the ‘crunching miles’ at the beginning of the holiday. So after a quick detour to visit a relative in the Midlands, we crossed the Scottish border the following day, driving a further 227 miles towards a quiet farm CL at Lockerbie.
At less than three miles from the A74, we had not expected Whins CL to have such peaceful views towards the Lake District, the Solway Lowlands and the Isle of Man. We all needed to stretch our legs and refuel, so we unhooked and went off to explore the village of Powfoot. With its stretch of coastline along the Solway Firth, this was an opportunity for son Ben and our dog, Lucy, to leap over the mudflats and play on the salt marsh and shingle before returning via Annan, just four miles from the site, where we
