Dumfries

Sunday 15^th was an enforced day of rest as the bad weather came in earlier than predicted…Boris rocked and rolled in the strong winds most of Saturday night, it rained heavily all night and continued through much of the day which was spent indoors reading, watching television, sleeping, eating and doing little odd jobs to pass the time.  It was still raining heavily on Monday morning though the wind had eased to very, very light, so we packed and left, had a drive through tour of Oban as we couldn’t see much point in walking around in the rain and headed for Kilmartin, recommended to us by Michelle.  On the way there we stopped to walk the ¾ mile uphill to Carnassarie Castle and we arrived at the very same time as the rain!

          

By the time we reached Kilmartin, it was pelting down so we opted for coffee and cake in the warm and dry café, hoping that it would clear up enough for us to go exploring but no…it just went on and on.  As there had been heavy rain for about 48 hours and the ground was boggy, we really didn’t fancy squishing through the mire getting soaked through so thought we’d just have a look inside the church before moving on.  However, there was a funeral in progress so it was not good timing.  We stopped at Cairnbaan to have a look at the Crinan Canal and then followed the A83 along Loch Fyne to Inverary where we parked Boris and had a wander around the town, as by this time the weather had improved enough for us to venture outdoors, albeit rugged up to keep out the cold and rainjacketed to keep out the now light showers.  As we’ve found in many towns, the Woollen Mills Shop was very busy, with coach loads of tourists flocking in to spend their cash but we managed to resist the temptation. Ther was even a piper outside. 

  On then through the beautiful Argyll Forest Park to Tarbet on the shores of Loch Lomond and about 9 miles down the road, near the village of Luss, we found our overnight free camp site in a parking bay overlooking the lake and settled down for a quiet night.

Tuesday 17^th began with the sun shining feebly and we were hopeful that it would become stronger as the day got older but alas, it was not to be.  We had decided that we would go on a boat trip on Loch Lomond whatever the weather so with that in mind, headed for Balloch, about 8 miles away on the southern tip of the lake, bought tickets for the two hour cruise on the Silver Marlin leaving at 12.30pm and went to the nearby holiday park to book in for the night, returning in time for the cruise.  We began the cruise out on deck but didn’t last long as it was bitterly cold and raining on and off.  Now and then the sun made an appearance so we rushed back outside each time…it was a lovely boat ride, the lake is enormous, 23 miles long and 5 miles wide at its widest and is awesome. 

Returning to the dock, we then walked through a gorgeous park to the Lomond Shores which is a big shopping village and to make  the walk even more enjoyable, the sun came out!  A walk back to the town, beer at the pub and a drive back to the holiday park and that was our day.  Relaxing and most enjoyable.

This morning, which I believe was Wednesday 18^th, we left Balloch and headed to Dumbarton for a visit to the Scottish Maritime Museum to see the Denny Tank, the world’s first commercial ship model experimental tank which we both, but Mike in particular, found very interesting. 

Then on to a distillery in Clydebank…you can’t come to Scotland and not visit a distillery!…after which we made our way south through lovely, lovely farming land with fat, woolly sheep and contented looking cattle, green hills and valleys, little rivers, sunshine, rain, the occasional village, narrow roads and the odd major road, until we reached Dumfries and our camp by the river, in the long term carpark…another freebie!  After a walk through town and a cheap pub meal, we are about to settle down for the night. 

This bit added by Mike: Yesterday was a real winner.

Several times over the last few months the hinges have come loose on Boris’s entry door and I have been able to tighten them each time with an allan key. However they kept on coming loose again and the door threatened to fall off. I spoke to the man in the tourist info who directed me on to an “ironmonger” who turned out to be a little old fashioned hardware shop with a man in an apron greeting us at the door. When I told him I wanted three new screws he went out the back, found some with the right thread and the cut them off to the right length, then charged me the princely sum of 90 pence. I went back and fitted them and adjusted the door and it is now as good as gold. Very happy.

Remember the smashed mirror? I went to a repair shop and they directed me to a spares shop who had nothing but directed me to a “breaker”. After getting lost trying to find them from his directions, I went “online” and found their address. There I met a most helpful chap who went away for quite some time and came back with a mirror that would fit, although not exactly the same, and fitted it for me. Even though I offered he wouldn’t take any money so all in a great day in Boris’s life.