Short tales about my experiences and travels with my two Spaniels in an Eriba Caravan.
Dingwall
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This blog entry is a record of my most recent trip, a 4 night stay at the Dingwall C&CC Site in the town itself. I was from the 3rd 'til the 7th July 2022 and took my tally for nights away in the van this year to 39.
I've been to Dingwall a few times before in both caravans and camper vans and I've found it to be an excellent base for exploring the surrounding area. Dingwall is a bit of a crossroads between Inverness to the Highlands and to the Far North Coast. It is also on the (in)famous NC500 route and sees a lot of through traffic on the way up the East Coast or towards the West Coast.
The site itself can get quite busy in the early evening with arrivals from the NC500, but is deserted as they head away the following morning.
The site is near the Town Centre is is fine for an evening walk. A sort of hybrid pedestrianised/traditional Main Street with a small selection of shops.
Apparently, the Beatles only attracted a crown of around 15 to this show, but they hadn't broken into the 'big time' yet.
Got a lot of walking in on this trip, all within just a few miles of the site. This was Knockfarrel, a hill between Dingwall and Strathperffer. A steep grunt in very warm conditions!
The great, gravel track from the cemetery at Fodderty.
Looking back down from where we started.
A culinary first here...I read online about a technique for using the Ridgemonkey (a 2 sided frying pan) for cooking a pie. You line the RM with ready rolled shortcrust pastry, then add a filling, put in on the hob, and flip it over occasionally. I opted for a Chicken Korma Pie. It was delicious!!
This trip also included the 10th Birthday of my Cocker Spaniel, Bonnie.
And as we always do on this occasion (and for my other Spaniel, my birthday, and Burns Night!) it was a special dinner of Haggis.
They absolutely love the stuff!
A memorable walk was a return to the coastal circuit from Kiltearn, past Balconie Point.
A great, and quiet coastal path.
It return inland past some nice ponds.
And very old knurled trees.
We also returned to another favourite, the forest walk at Strathpeffer including the stone maze art installation.
Looking at the OS Map for the area, I noticed the Memorial to the author Neil Gunn, of 'The Silver Darlings' fame. A very impressive structure overlooking The Braes.
We also headed up towards Little Grave on the Ullapool road to was the riverside path near Black Water. This is a stunning stretch of very 'Highland Scotland' scenery.
On our last evening, we walked the long Dingwall circular route taking in the coast, up the hill to the Hector McDonald Memorial Tower, returning back through the town. A great walk.
The town from above the Tower, with it's huge Tesco!
This was a really enjoyable trip. We had great weather and some fantastic walking. We met some really nice people, and dogs, and I look forward to returning.
As usual, we stopped at the Binn Hill near Huntly on return for a break and a dog walk.
I thought that after having spent 50 nights this year in my Troll, this would be a good opportunity to offer my views and opinions on this caravan. Overall, I'm very impressed and there are some features which I really like, and others not so much. I've only ever owned Eriba's, having switched from campervans a few years ago. The switch was really an attempt to minimise the ongoing costs associated with a 'leisure vehicle'. I've had a Puck (a 120), a Familia (a 320GT), and now own this Troll (a 530GT). The Troll was a substantial investment for me, it's a (used) 2017 fixed bed model with a number of extras fitted, such as awning, high back seats, 3 ring hob, etc. I first started touring in the Troll back in April of this year and have covered a good part of Scotland and North England in my travels. The Troll is actually probably a bit 'overkill' for my needs. I normally tour alone with my 2 spaniels, and rarely have guests. However, I do sp
I'm often asked what arrangements I have for generating power when I'm touring 'off-grid' in order to keep the 12v electrics operating. This equipment needing 12v includes the lights (all bulbs changed to LED), my 12V TV, and inverter (which powers my MacBook), and also for charging of phones and speakers etc. I have a 100W folding panel which even over a good few days, I find this works fine with my fairly small leisure battery and I've never ran out of power yet. I've used this panel for years which is an advantage of a portable panel. I've used it on 4 different Eriba's I've owned, and a camper van before that. Importantly, it has a solar charge controller mounted on the rear of the panel. This is essential for any solar panel. I do move the panel during the day to get optimum light and try to avoid shadows from the van or trees and buildings. It fits behind the cars front seat when travelling. I didn't want to have an arrangement where I r
With the weather being really nice today, and with the prospect of touring again in the next wee while, I took the caravan out of the garage where it was being stored and returned it to my drive. I really didn't have any projects for the van over the winter, unlike last year when I completely re-upholstered and redone the internal decor like curtains, carpet, door facia's and the likes. Like my 3 previous Eriba Caravans, I've had trouble with the original plastic door shelves and decided to order an improved aluminium set from Darren at Eribastuff. I've ordered other odds and ends from Darren over the years and everything has always been top quality. He's an enthusiastic Eriba Puck owner himself, a Scot based in France. The original door configuration above, plastic shelves (or rather shelf fronts?) which turn the Eriba door into effectively a very useful storage area, just like a fridge door! I purchased the van 'set' which comprises one with an 'Erib
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