Return to Dunbar

This is night No.44/2018 staying in my caravan. I'm now at Dunbar C&CC Site near the town of Dunbar.

Last night was my last night at Camlies Farm near Penpont. It's a very basic site located on the banks of Scaur Water, around 0.5mile from Penpont. I had been 'off grid' as there is no power supply or toilet facilities. My van worked fantastically. I was really impressed by the ability of the van to cope with this style of pitching. It was sunny, and my solar panel was more than enough to power everything (including 240v through an inverter) and the toilet, kitchen sink, and wash hand basin were more than adequate. The fridge worked perfectly on gas and I would not hesitate to camp this way again. I have a 'beefy' leisure battery onboard which would probably last 3 or 4 days, but the solar panel is a huge bonus.

In need of laundry facilities, and a shower, I fancied heading to Dunbar. It's a good site, cheap, and is only 2hrs from Camlies. At this time of year, the C&MC Sites, such as North Berwick, can seem expensive to someone like me travelling on my own. I did consider taking a 'no power' pitch here, but I've got a bit of food which needs cooked in the oven (Remoska), so I opted to book a powered pitch.

I got up today around 0600 to, again, glorious weather. It was around 15C in the van at that time, and not much less outside as I walked the dogs along the Scaur.

One real surprise for me is that this area which is well south (if you live where I do) is the midges. They were out in force this morning and biting. First time this year I've needed the repellent, and fortunately this van has all round midge nets, including the door.

Around 0730 with the sun beating down, the midges disappeared. Again, as a treat, I got the bacon out and gave it a good 'alfresco' incineration. With 2 rolls I had left from yesterday, and some tomato sauce, they were delicious! Hounds got their fair share too.

Hitched up and left the site around 1030. There's nothing to disconnect if your 'off grid' and it was a fairly simple routine to get ready to leave.

As I was about to exit, a 'hippy' couple with a few kids passed the site in a horse drawn 'caravan'. It wasn't like a Gypsy job, more like one from the Wild West films with a curved canvas cover/shelter on it. One Horse Power is very, very slow and to my amazement, they turned onto the main 'A' road towards Thornhill! A brave bunch.

The weather was lovely as I headed NW towards Dunbar. The road was blocked by an accident near Biggar and I had to take a detour. As we got nearer the Edinburgh area, the skies greyed over which persisted until I arrived at Dunbar.

Asking the staff, it seems the weather here has been rubbish since the last Bank Holiday! Here's me getting 'fried' for the last week and here it's been freezing.

Took the dogs into Dunbar and walked the clifftop walk from the sports centre to the golf course and back.

Looks chilly, it was probably around 15C.