Nancy (revisiting a winter project)

Tuesday 28 April

Firstly, thanks to all the heart warming comments and feedback on the first update of the season: Karen and I had fun trying to guess who was behind all the anonymous ones!

It was another glorious morning on Tuesday so we thought we’d take advantage and have a little cruise after first moving the car. Whilst getting ready, a hotel boat, Horizon II, came past and went into the lock next to us. When we walked over the lock bridge 15 minutes later to retrieve the car, the boat had only just risen to the top of the lock. VNF were there so there’d obviously been a problem with the lock operation.

It reminded us that all the locks we’ve been through so far have worked perfectly even though they’ve all been set against us which isn’t a big issue as they only take five or 10 minutes to set. The guy driving the hotel boat started talking with us and made the comment that we hadn’t moved very far.  We weren’t sure if he’d seen us last year in a similar area or had passed the boat in Port Sainte-Marie when we were back in the UK.  We decided not to question him so just laughed instead.

We moved the car eight km to Maixe and walked back along the canal and noticed that the only trees not yet in leaf, or only partly, were walnuts and ashes.  In fact we tend to find ashes are usually the last to come into leaf. When I was growing up I was led to believe that horse chestnuts are usually the first and oaks the last. I don’t understand why I was brought up with that notion about oaks especially as ashes are such a common tree. I understand that walnuts weren’t mentioned as they are not so common in the UK as they are in France.

Walking through Einville-au-Jard we passed a walnut tree outside a grain silo where Karen had spent a happy 30 minutes or so one autumn collecting nuts.  It had been one of her best hauls ever as the tree was on the offside of the cut and the only access was by boat.  Although the leaves are a lovely deep green colour when they are fully formed they look quite ochrey (is that a word?) when they are sprouting as can be seen in this picture of 'Karen's' tree.

Einville is one of the settlements along this canal that grew up because of the salt deposits.  I know I’ve covered the salt extraction extensively in previous years but as we came across an information board that we’d not seen before I thought I’d include it.

The English translation made us chuckle as it seemed worse than our French which hasn’t really moved on from lockie-French in that we can do enough to get by on the waterways whether by phone, radio or face to face but not much else.  Anyway, a couple of the soundings (derrick type structures) in Einville have been restored. We passed this one standing outside the modern salt production plant:

Arriving back at the boat we set off for Maixe where we stopped for lunch.  We decided to leave the car at the lock there and carried on to Sommerviller after lunch.  As we set off again a hybrid boat from Holland came up behind us and we locked down together until we moored for the day.  The locks on this canal are 40 metres long and as we’re about 17.5 metres and the hybrid a similar size we had to take care in the locks as there wasn’t much spare room.  We don’t usually use lines when locking down on our own but, because we were tightish on space, we used them at both ends of the boat. With Karen holding a line at the front she was able to have a conversation with the guy at the back of the hybrid as we descended each lock. She heard all about how they’d designed the boat and that it could run for five hours before needing recharging or switching over to diesel power.

When we arrived at Sommerviller we moored up for the day outside an old electric locomotive shed.  As with the salt production I’ve covered the history of when barges were towed by electric locos in previous blogs. Needless to say it still fascinates me so I will still occasionally make mention when we come across things like old locos, tracks and engine sheds.

Our mooring at Sommerviller

On Tuesday we cruised 14 km down four locks.

Wednesday 29 April

We decided to stay put for the day on Wednesday and alternate between relaxing and doing odd jobs.  Karen of course, had a run in the morning to retrieve the car whilst I set about getting ready to chill out for the day.  One task I had to do though was to get our VPN working properly which did take half an hour or so but I finally got there.  We rate our VPN but each year I seem to have to remove and reinstall it. That’s fine in itself but I always find it difficult finding out how to download it without additional cost.  We pay for an annual licence so need to be able to re-download the software at any point. That’s where the difficulty comes in as I can never see how to do it without paying.  In the end a live chat session managed to resolve it.    

It was a lovely sunny day yet again but with a fairly strong wind which made it feel cooler than it really was. We had a pleasant walk into Sommerviller and saw our first Painted Lady butterfly of the year on the way.  Sommerviller was typical of the villages of the area with one wide main street lined with large terraced houses on each side.  Nearly all had their massive wagon doors still in place and if not it was easy to see where they’d been updated. Ironically the only picture we took didn’t include many of the houses with the wagon doors, but a few can be seen:

The postcard below was from an old photo that was taken from the top of the church tower.  A woodpile can be seen in front of each house which was a common sight in villages in those days as all heating and cooking was carried out using firewood.

Back at the boat we spent some time planning the next few weeks and came up with a plan that would ensure we would be able to get water and go shopping at least once a week. We then sat outside for most of the rest of the day.  There were a group of teenagers hanging around a picnic table on the bank and after a while they came over to talk to us. It soon transpired that they wanted to dive off the canal bridge as they needed to cool down. They were worried that we would call the police. I assured them that we wouldn’t and to be fair we’ve never thought about it in the past when coming across other lads doing the same thing. Only three of them actually dived in and they obviously enjoyed it as they kept doing it. It’s not something we’ve ever fancied as we know what goes into canals in France. Rivers are different, as they have a flow, so we swim in those but I’m sure the water would be too cold for me at the moment.

Thursday 30 April

Whilst carrying out some planning yesterday we decided we would get rid of the car so it wouldn’t be a constraint on our travelling.  It took a while on Thursday morning to decide how to do it but in the end we thought the best idea would be to take it to Pont-à-Bar a little way north west of Sedan where we’re leaving the boat this year. It would be a journey of 200 km by car but by boat will be twice that because of the canal closure we’re having to navigate around. The plan was that I would take the car there on Monday, have a pleasant five km walk along the Meuse to Nouvion-sur-Meuse railway station where I'd catch a train to Reims. After an hour’s wait wandering around Reims, I’d get a train back to Nancy on the assumption that we’ll have the boat there by then!

Soon after midday we left for Laneuveville-devant-Nancy, Karen by car and me on the boat. It was another windy day but at least it was lovely and warm for the cruise. It wasn’t long before I was heading into Dombasle-sur-Meurthe one of the industrial homes of the great Solvay company. In their heyday Solvay had over 200 péniches bringing raw materials into the factory and transporting the finished product, sodium carbonate, out to customers mainly in northern Europe. I’d spent many a happy hour during last winter researching the Solvay fleet and searching for old pictures. I also managed to contact a couple of the bargees who furnished me with a lot of information too. Please click here to open a new tab containing the section in the blog that covers my findings to date.

Dombasle port that would have been filled with dozens of Solvay péniches waiting to be loaded

Heading into the still operational plant

The péniche on the inside was Solvay 79 and has been moored there since it was taken out of service in 1988. It does move because we’ve seen it facing in the opposite direction.

The locks from Dombasle down to the Moselle at Nancy are all in pairs as there was so much Solvay traffic.  Nowadays only one of each pair is kept operational:

I picked Karen up soon after the lock above and we saw a stork on its nest:

Next we crossed over the river Meurthe on an aqueduct that was opened in 1853:

Even though we’d thoroughly cleaned the boat a week ago, it was already covered in dust which was a bit annoying as we wanted to start repainting the burgundy on the roof; the blue was last done two years ago. We could moor near a water point at the lock at Laneuveville-devant-Nancy so the idea was to stay there for three days before heading into the centre of Nancy. As it was labour day on Friday when everything including the canals and rivers are closed we went through the lock and moored up next to a couple of supermarkets so Karen could do some food shopping whilst I filled up with diesel and replaced a gas bottle.

We’d been to these shops before and as we neared we could see the same old down and outs at the mooring that have always been there. Although there were now about a dozen whereas when we first visited six years ago there were only four or five. As usual they were quite affable and interested in the boat but it did cross my mind why these sort of groups are heavily male dominated.

I made a couple of trips to the fuel station for diesel. As with elsewhere the price had rocketed since last year when a litre cost €1.50 and was now €2.15. Replacing the gas wasn’t a simple job. Fuel stations other than autoroute service stations are generally unmanned and have automatic dispensers where you select the gas you need and after swiping a payment card a door opens to release a full bottle. This station didn’t have an automatic dispenser so I went into the supermarket to ask at the information desk.  You may laugh but as I’ve come across this set up before, I go into the supermarket with the empty bottle on my sack barrow. That way it’s easier to explain the type of gas and size bottle I need. I still misunderstood the instructions and thought I had to go to the drive (click & collect) area so off I went. The assistant there explained that I had to go into the supermarket and pay at a till and then bring my receipt back to the drive in order to complete the transaction. Once again I trundled through the shopping mall and queued up at a till with some really strange looks from shoppers with trolleys.

Back on board we spun the boat around, headed back to Laneuveville-devant-Nancy where we took on water as we went up the lock. We remembered that last time we moored here there were storks nesting near the mooring. Looking for them we soon realised that an anti stork nest device had been installed.

Anti stork nest building device

The device acts like an anemometer so as the wind spins it around the long stick spins around as well thus preventing storks from landing on the pole.

Moored above the lock at Laneuveville-devant-Nancy

On Thursday we cruised 16 km down four and up one lock and saw no boats.

Friday 1 May 2026

Friday was an enforced no cruise day as everything including the waterways closes down for labour day. The wind of the last two days had completely subsided meaning we were in for a hot one so Karen went for her run nice and early while I set about prepping the burgundy areas on the roof before the steel boat became too hot to touch.

After lunch we went to the brocante in the town hoping to find a small wall mirror and a washing up bowl, both of which we’d broken.  Although it must have been the largest brocante we’ve been to we couldn’t find any items to purchase.

We never cease to be amazed at how long it takes the French, Spanish and Italians and no doubt other nationalities to don summer clothes like the Brits do as soon as there is a bit of sunshine. It was 25 degrees or more and still many locals looked like they were dressed for winter. 

Returning to the boat we potted up some geraniums and petunias and then carried on cleaning the cratch cover. The cratch cover is the canvas cover at the front of the boat that covers the front deck, or cratch. We’ve been most remiss at keeping it clean but we finally decided enough was enough and after seven years couldn’t put it off any longer. Since we’ve got back to boat we’ve been doing a little bit every day and it’s starting to look better, well not so much lichen as there was when we arrived.  Karen insisted on taking a picture when we’d finished, although it looks like an old drunk with two glasses of wine rather than a cratch cover:

Saturday 2 May

Once we were up and about our first task of the day was to move the car to the centre of Nancy. Karen wanted to spend the day in Nancy on Monday whilst I took the car north to Pont-à-Bar and leave it there for the rest of the season; a job that would take the best part of the day. As Nancy was a city we needed to find an area close enough to the centre without parking charges. We found such an area around the university which was only five minute’s walk to where we would leave the boat.

We were glad that we walked back to the boat along the tow path as it afforded plenty of shade from yet another day of sun. Once back at the boat we set off straight away topping up with water as we dropped down the first lock.  After another couple of kilometres we were dropping down the second and last lock before reaching Nancy. In the winter I’d read in the local news that the pleasure boat port in the centre of Nancy was being tidied up.  Over the years it had become populated with liveaboards and abandoned boats and really was quite an eyesore for tourists and townsfolk alike. When we passed the port we were really surprised at the change as it almost looked tidier and practically empty so clearly they’d done a good job.

Empty pleasure boat port

Next to the port is Sainte Catherine’s dock, named after Porte Sainte Catherine one of the remaining gateways into Nancy old town. The town side of the dock is reserved for hotel, restaurant and disco bar boats but, apart from a péniche at the far end housing a jazz club, it was empty as work was going on repairing and tidying up the quayside. On the towpath side are two mooring rings which we’ve managed to moor on during our previous two visits here. Fortunately, there wasn’t a boat there so we were able to take advantage of the rings thus avoiding the unnecessary cost of going into the pleasure boat port. Typical narrowboaters many people say, but why should we bother when we don’t need water or electricity?  The mooring is really handy as it’s only a 600 metre walk through Porte Sainte Catherine to Stanislas Square.

Our weekend mooring in Nancy

It was a shame the quayside was shut off from the public whilst it was being redeveloped as it meant we couldn’t spend the evening watching the promenaders. We fondly remember the first time we came to Nancy as a couple with a ghetto blaster started Salsa dancing, soon attracting a crowd of onlookers.  During the evening other couples joined in and there were about a dozen couples dancing at one point.

You may have noticed the national flags in the picture above and realised they represent the EU nations. Sadly, the pole that used to carry the union jack is now empty.

On Saturday we cruised 5.5 km down two locks and saw no boats.

Bauzemont (feeling at home already)

Friday 24 April

If you’re reading this then you probably know that we’re back on the boat at Port Sainte-Marie. Due to other commitments it’s been the longest we’ve ever left her, so we were a little concerned what state she’d be in with all the Saharan rain that’s fallen since last summer.  

We’d had a rather unusual trip down to Port Sainte-Marie as we started in Norway where we visited Matthew and Vero and their new baby Samuel, our ninth grandchild. When planning the trip Karen had the bright idea of flying to Norway from Heathrow rather than Birmingham, our usual airport.  That way we could pack the car for France and then head straight there from Heathrow on our return without having to drive all the way back to Flecknoe just for a night.  We’d booked a hotel near the Channel Tunnel and headed there when we arrived back in London so we could have an early start in the morning. It all worked out well and with no delays we were soon on our way to the boat.  We had to call in at Metz on the way down to pick up our new residence cards from the préfecture (city hall).  The original ones run out this year and are due to be replaced by permanent ones under the Brexit withdrawal agreement.  With typical French bureaucracy we could only pick up temporary cards as the proper ones were only handed over on Mondays and Thursdays.  We’d turned up on a Friday and hadn’t been informed of this incongruity. Anyway, we were pleased, that apart from the mix up on days, the process had been smooth and we would just have to return to Metz on a Monday or Thursday.

Many of our family are very keen butterfliers and three of them often go to Norfolk to see the British swallowtail in the only part of the UK that it can be found. Karen and I never go with them as we’re always in France during the flight period but ironically the first butterfly we saw in France was a swallowtail. It was a European swallowtail which is a different sub-species to the British one which is a deeper yellow.  In my mind I could already hear the Norfolk contingent poo-pooing our sighting as it wasn’t a ‘proper’ swallowtail.

Arriving back at Port Sainte-Marie

We arrived at the boat in the late afternoon and found that she was indeed covered in sand and looking rather forlorn but as we’d had a long day travelling we left the cleaning until the weekend. As is always the case I went in first to remove all the spider webs but for some reason there were very few and we soon had the car unpacked and were feeling at home. 

As we’d left the boat for a long time we thought we should drain the water tank and refill it with fresh water, a job we’ve never done before. Being moored in a port we had access to water so it was simple enough to do, even though it felt a bit wasteful. We also had access to electricity so took advantage of that and got out our electrical equipment such as a kettle and induction hob. It seemed daft to waste our gas reserves especially as we probably wouldn’t get electric hook up for the rest of the season.

Saturday 25 April

I was recently taking to Bob, a friend in our village, about the fact that we’ve rarely heard cuckoos in the area but we find the distinctive call quite common in France. They appear to be so common that it would be unusual not to hear one in rural areas at this time of the year.  When we awoke in the morning we were happy that one of the first birds we heard was a cuckoo and, not only that, we could also hear the unmistakable call of the beautiful golden oriel.

As is my habit I got up first and made myself a pot of coffee and a pot of tea for Karen. Having said that there’d been few spiders when we arrived it was just as well I’d got up first as nestling inside the cafetière were two dead spiders! Once we were up and about Karen went for a run along the towpath to Réchicourt where in the 1960s six locks were replaced by one 16-metre deep lock which we’ve been through a few times. She ran along the line of abandoned locks and then across the wide lake with the deep lock at the far end.

While she was on her run I set about washing the boat down. Before starting that I thought I’d check the engine first and, to my intense satisfaction, it started on the first turn of the ignition key.  When Karen returned she concentrated on cleaning the inside of the boat and by mid-afternoon we had the boat shipshape as they say and ready to start cruising. Rather than leaving that afternoon we got the table and chairs out and relaxed outside with some well-earned glasses of wine. Much of the evening was spent watching the exciting FA cup semifinal which sadly Southampton lost but at least it was a thrilling game.

Sunday 26 April

We’d received an email from VNF, the French canal authority, informing boaters that a stretch at the upper end of the canal de Meuse had to be closed in order to conserve water.  This was disappointing news for us as we’d intended travelling along that canal this year. Understandably, VNF’s priority is to keep commercial waterways open to the detriment of those used primarily for pleasure. Unfortunately for us, the upper end of the Meuse isn’t often used by commercial traffic so water reserves are best used for further downstream where the commercials operate. 

All this meant some replanning on our part. We were heading for the eastern end of the canal des Ardennes where we would leave the boat for the winter. This would have been a straightforward journey west along our current canal (the Marne au Rhin) to Nancy, then a short stretch on the Moselle and onto the Meuse which has a junction with the canal des Ardennes just north of Sedan (black line on map below).

Red star marks the closure

The shortest alternative would be to go past the junction with the Meuse and continue west along the length of canal du Marne au Rhin to reach the Marne valley. We would then be in our much-loved stomping ground around Châlons en Champagne where we’d spent much of the great Covid debacle. From there we would travel north to reach the canal des Ardennes at the other end to the one we wanted – detour shown by the blue line.

We’ve had bunting hanging inside the boat for many years but it had sadly faded so Karen had purchased a new length that was decorated with bees as an homage to my bee band. The bee band is a group of us who are learning to look after bees under the excellent supervision and tutelage of Gary, another friend of ours from our village.

Many beehives we see in France are brightly painted and I was pleased when we decided to paint our hives during the winter. I’m trying desperately to get the bee band to get bee suits to match their hives: I already have a lilac coloured suit to match the hive allocated to me.

Over breakfast we’d decided to start cruising and, as we’re keeping the car with us this year, we drove it down a couple of locks and walked back to the boat.  On the walk back a couple of hire boats came past us with happy families on board enjoying the lovely weather.  Back on board we spun the boat around and were waved off by our Alsatian neighbours.

They were a lovely couple that we’d occasionally chatted to over the last couple of days.  I say chatted but it was incredibly stilted as they spoke no English and, of course, we spoke no Alsatian.  They were also fluent in German, so although we know very few German words, that’s how we muddled through. Our understanding was that they were either spending 15 days getting their boat ready for cruising, going home for 15 days, cruising for 15 days then going home for five or even staying for the weekend and then going home. So you can see how confused we were. Reading up on the Alsatian language later I discovered that fewer than 700,000 people speak it and also the surprising fact that there are around 7,000 Swiss Amish in Indiana who speak Alsatian.

We were soon approaching our first lock which we had to operate with a télécommande (remote control unit) that had lain unused for many months. Fortunately, the batteries were still good and the lock operated smoothly for us.

Sharp eyed amongst you may have noticed we have new lines, including multicoloured centre lines. We have also bought new lines for when we were in deep river locks such as those on the Moselle and the Rhine. In those locks we often have to use two lines at each end of the boat and when they are the same colour it can get confusing which line is tied where. We now have two different coloured lines stowed at each end of the boat so we will have no chance of confusion.

As usual there was a lot of mistletoe in evidence and we have yet to understand why it seems to be more prevalent in France than in the UK.

We passed the car where we’d left it at the second lock and carried on cruising to Lagarde where we moored up above the top lock and walked back to retrieve the car and left it in the village outside a German war cemetery. We can’t have been popular as we disturbed dogs in the neighbouring houses which carried on barking long after we’d walked away from the car. 

Moored above the top lock at Lagarde

There were a few butterflies flying on the bank by the boat and I was pleased to see my first Small Heath and Dingy Skipper of the year. Later in the evening Karen retrieved the car and parked it next to the lock where we were moored.

On Sunday we cruised seven km down two locks and saw no boats.

Monday 27 April

At 6 o’clock in the morning we knew we were back in France because not only could we hear a cuckoo but the church bells in the village were chiming. Once we were up Karen moved the car 15 km further downstream and started running back. Meanwhile I started moving the boat so I could pick her up as I passed her. First we had to set the lock next to where we’d been moored so as part of her warming up Karen took the télécommande and walked back to the receiver to set the lock in motion and open the top gates for us.  She said she would leave it by the controls at the side of the lock. I have to use these controls once the boat is in the lock in order to empty it and open the bottom gates.

Try as I might I couldn’t find the télécommande anywhere around the lock so I had to phone Karen to find out where she’d left it.  It turned out that she’d been worried I’d kick it in the water by accident if she’d left it on the side of the lock so had put it somewhere more sensible but forgotten to tell me. I must have been thinking a bit slowly as I was also shocked to see the car wasn’t parked by the lock until it suddenly dawned on me that it hadn’t been stolen, Karen was driving it further downstream. Once I'd dropped down the lock I cruised past the large hire boat base at Lagarde:

After I’d travelled about 1/3^rd of the way Karen came into sight and I picked her up next to a télécommande receiver; note the masses of mistletoe in the tree beyond it.

Passing through Parroy where we’d left the boat one winter it started to feel muggy as wispy clouds moved in and ended up staying for the rest of the day but at least it remained warm. There was only one boat moored in the port at Parroy so we wondered what the reason was – maybe the mairie is planning some improvement works and has asked the boats to move elsewhere.

Soon after Parroy we were approaching the penultimate lock of the day and we noticed a hire boat in the distance behind us.  We waited in the lock for them and as they got closer we waved at them in a way to make it obvious they should join us.  They were a German family who were halfway through their week’s holiday but were thoroughly enjoyed it.

We went down two locks together and we then moored up for the day whilst they continued their journey.

Moored at Bauzemont for the rest of Monday

After a quick lunch we drove back to Metz to hopefully pick up our cards. It was a pleasant hour’s drive that took us through some wonderfully rural villages and we spotted our first lavoir of 2026 in a place called Réméréville.  Unfortunately it was locked up and looked like it was going to be renovated. I managed to get a shot of the inside through a small opening and could see that rather than a traditional rectangular basin it had two lengths of washing stones in parallel.

Once we parked in the city centre we went straight to the préfecture and were seen within 10 minutes and presented with our new residence cards.  On the way back we called in at Action – the go-to downmarket French store where you go in for two things and come out with 22.  There were EV charging points outside the store so we topped the car up while we shopped.

On Monday we cruised 15 km down six locks and saw just the one boat, the hire boat we went down the last two locks with.

I mentioned earlier that we’d been to Norway before returning to France to spend some time with our new grandson, Samuel, so here he is with his proud grandparents.

Since the last blog update Polly and Loch presented us with grandchild number eight, Paisley.  Here’s a picture of Pastry, as I call her, again with proud grandparents.  Emmy, her next sister up is looking rather bemused.

 

Scotland in a camper - part 2

Our van view of the 3,219 feet high mount Slioch on Thursday evening

Wednesday 22 October

We’ve been travelling in the van for a week now, nearly all of which time has been in Scotland. Starting from home in Flecknoe we headed up to the north coast via the Lake District. We then travelled along the top of Scotland and are now making our way down the west coast.

Our trip around Scotland so far

As expected, Tuesday was another van-rocking windy night although we felt nice and cosy inside. We also heard it raining hard several times in the early hours, but it had stopped when we got up in the morning. Before setting off on the next stage of our trip we stretched our legs by walking down to the beach and then having a look at the small harbour in Scourie.  We then headed off for Ullapool which, with a population of 1,500, is by far the largest town in northwest Scotland and consequently has a superstore which was lucky as we needed to do a bit of food shopping.  The sun was out for much of the journey which was through yet more bleak and rugged countryside.

Arriving at Tesco we soon realised it was only a superstore as far as Google maps was concerned, in reality it wasn’t much bigger than a 7-11 shop but at least we got what we wanted. We filled up with diesel at the first 'proper' fuel station we'd seen since leaving Dingwall nearly a week ago.  The garage was opposite the harbour where as well as some dinghies tied up there were a few fishing boats in and also the ferry to Stornoway on the Isle of Harris.  

After travelling another few miles we stopped at Corrieshalloch Gorge, a National Trust for Scotland location.  The gorge is famous for its depth (60 metres) in relation to its width (10 metres); it really was an impressive sight along its 1.5-kilometre length.  It’s so hard to gauge the depth of the gorge from a photograph but I’ll include one anyway.

Waterfall at the top end of the gorge

The two pictures above were taken from either side of a suspension footbridge erected in 1874.  It was designed by John Fowler who also designed the world's first underground railway (the Metropolitan line in London) as well as the Forth Road bridge.  The area also had some woodland paths to the side of the gorge with a few more streams and waterfalls making their way down to meet the river at the bottom of the gorge. Here’s the daily selfie we took in front of one of the falls for our children.

After our walk around Corrieshalloch Gorge we continued our journey to a place called Gruinard Bay where we parked up for the night overlooking the sea once again.

Wednesday night’s view

It was a small campsite with room for about a dozen vans and a field set aside for tents.  Once we settled in we went for a walk around the area and found a rare sight for this part of Scotland - a village store.  It also operated as the post office and had self service fuels. I know other places in Europe and the rest of the world are very remote but the sign saying 41 miles to the next fuel stop rather brought it home.

Thursday 23 October

We awoke to clear blue skies with views across to the Outer Hebrides from our pitch at the Gruinard campsite.

I went for a walk along the coast while Karen had a morning run.  She went off piste when she found a moorland track that wasn’t on the route we’d planned but fortunately didn’t get lost.  Here’s a couple of the pictures she took whilst running.

Once we were both back at the van and had tidied ourselves up we set off for the National Trust for Scotland gardens at Inverewe.  The 54-acre gardens were in the 2,000-acre Inverewe estate and planting began in 1862.  The plant specimens were stunning, having been collected from around the world. Apparently, the effects of the Gulf Stream are such that so many exotic non-native plants are able to thrive in the gardens. At the furthest point on the garden walk we came out on a loch and Karen just caught her first glimpse of a seal, but as I'd been lagging behind a bit I didn’t get there in time to see it.  

Among the many amazing species of plants were over 100 species of fern and also some specimens of the Wollemi tree that were reminiscent of Monkey Puzzle trees.  These trees were thought to have been extinct for millions of years and could only be found in fossilised form until 1994 when some were discovered 200km west of Sydney, Australia in a rainforest gorge in the Blue Mountains.

A Wollemi tree

The only part of the gardens that made us feel like we were in the UK was the walled garden which had traditional flowers such as dahlias together with the range of vegetables and fruit trees normally found in a country garden.  The walled garden was very sheltered and we were fortunate to see our first butterflies of the trip, a Red Admiral and a Peacock.

We wanted to get near Kinlochewe by the evening which was at the southern end of the 13.5 mile long Loch Maree, one of the largest freshwater lochs in Scotland.  Mentioning a loch reminds me that a new word we've both learnt on this trip is lochan which is the Scottish term for a pond or small loch. As we didn’t fancy staying in a campsite, we looked for likely spots to stop overnight as we drove along the side of Loch Maree.  On our way we passed a sign to Victoria Falls so we stopped to have an explore. I know we’ve seen many waterfalls on this trip but I never cease to be in awe of the force of water as it cascades down a rocky mountainside.  The falls were so named after Queen Victoria visited them in 1877.

Victoria Falls

View down Loch Maree from the falls

A few miles after leaving the falls we found a small car park at a nature reserve where overnight van parking was allowed for a suggested donation of £10 towards the upkeep of the reserve.  There was room for half a dozen or so vans and only one other turned up in the evening so we practically had the spot to ourselves.  Looking out of the van windscreen we had wonderful views of the 3,219 ft high Slioch mountain.

As you can probably imagine we had a very peaceful evening.

Friday 24 October

The cloud was quite low when we awoke so we couldn’t see a lot but we as we fancied an early walk we went out anyway. We walked through the woods at the bottom of Beinn Eighe, the mountain opposite the one we could see across Loch Maree from our overnight stop. Once we got above the tree line it became quite misty so we decided not to climb any higher and stayed within the wooded areas.

Grey morning at Loch Maree

We’d booked into a campsite on the Applecross peninsula and set off soon after our walk and having breakfast.  We were still on the NC500 and most of the journey was yet again on single track roads. It rained on and off during the day so the views weren’t particularly good but we could see that they would be quite stunning on a clear day.

We stopped at one of the many beaches we saw on the way so we could have another walk before reaching the campsite.  It wasn’t until we'd donned our wet weather gear and got out of the van that we realised just how much the wind had got up.  It was easy walking down to the beach with the wind behind us but walking back up was a real struggle.

We arrived at Applecross a few miles after setting off again and immediately we could see that it was an old fishing village based around a large bay and natural harbour.  The campsite was part way up a hill overlooking the village and once we’d settled in we went to have a look around Applecross.

On the way down to the village we passed a deer that was happily grazing and totally ignored us.

We also passed a derelict looking croft and looking inside we could see it was full of what we guessed was thatching material. As one of our friends back home is a master thatcher I sent him the picture below to see what he thought of it.  His response was. ‘Ah yes, a few bundles of ye olde Scottish water reed. Cunningly hidden from the haggis, who voraciously consume it if left out in the open’.

There was a busy pub at the harbour, so we popped in for a couple of pints.  

Applecross Inn

Old fishermen's cottages next to the pub

Whilst in the pub we had an interesting chat with one of the older locals who’d retired to Applecross 30 years previously.  It transpired that he’d lived most of his life in West Sussex in a village next to one I lived in for many years in the days before I had so many children. We also drank in the same local, the Onslow Arms at Loxwood which sits on the, now being restored, Wey and Arun canal.  Even though our paths probably crossed before we didn’t recognise or remember each other.

View from the pub

The pub was busy with holidaymakers and seemed to be doing a good trade and as we were enjoying the atmosphere we decided to stay and have dinner there. When we went on a walking holiday in south Cornwall a few weeks ago we both ate seafood every night. We also had different dishes apart from the night we both had lobster so you can imagine that we tried quite a few different types of fish and seafood during our holiday.  One thing we didn’t find though, was locally caught crab but as they had some available in the Applecross pub I had to have some. 

Some of the holidaymakers were being taken around the NC500 in a group of Defenders with roof top tents and towed sleeping quarters.  The group stayed over at our campsite and here is one of the set ups with the roof tent stowed away.

Needless to say it was pitch black by the time we staggered back up the hill to the van. 

Saturday 25 October

The forecast was for sunshine and showers and we definitely had both during the morning.  Karen managed to get a run in around Applecross bay and only got caught in one shower. Today was going to be the day we left the NC500 as we near the end of our trip around Scotland. First we headed for the small fishing village of Plockton which, once again took us along miles of single track roads.  As much as we love driving on these roads we hadn’t realised how much concentration is required when in a van.  As not only are we constantly on the look out for approaching vehicles and roaming animals, we have to keep an eye out of the rear in case a local comes up behind and we have to pull in at a passing place to let them by.  To make it worse on today’s journey we had hailstorms to contend with and then on the tops we had snow which at that height was settling on the road. We heaved joint sighs of relief each time we got back down to sea level where the roads tended to be wider too.

It started raining when we arrived at Plockton which was a shame as we didn’t see it at its best.  The fishing village is advertised as the Jewel of the Highlands and it had also been recommended by two sets of our friends.

Plockton harbour as the rain started

Plockton from the main quay

We found the old post office which still had its original posting box:

The box was now out of use and had wood across its aperture to stop people using it.  Strangely there was no indication of the age as there was no monarch’s cypher to be seen but at least it still had the enamel 'LETTER BOX' plate attached.

Leaving Plockton we headed for the Isle of Skye where we planned on staying for a night at a community run motorhome stop at An Crùbh that had been recommended by campervan friends.  We found the spot which had wonderful views and also a café which was community run too, so we had to make a visit for afternoon tea. There were spaces for five vans and surprisingly we were the only van there. 

Our spot at An Crùbh motorhome park 

After settling in we walked just over a mile down to the harbour where we’d booked to have a meal in the hotel there.

An Crùbh harbour

Many signposts, especially those for village names, in the Highlands are bilingual but we noticed that the majority of those on the Isle of Skye were in Gaelic only.  We found out later that Skye is where the majority of those who still speak the language live.  As with Welsh we haven’t a clue how to pronounce the words.  After wandering around the harbour we went into the bar attached to the hotel for a drink or two.

We got so comfortable in front of the fire that, as the menu in the restaurant and the bar was the same, we ended up eating in the bar.   Funnily enough four other people came to the same decision as they’d got cosy in the bar.  They started talking to us as they recognised us from Plockton, we’d take photos for them as they were holidaying together.  We hadn’t recognised them as it was raining at the time and they were togged up in their wet weather gear. We had a lovely meal of locally caught fish and when we returned to the van found that one other had turned up for the night.

Sunday 26 October

We’d been unaware that the clocks had changed until we realised how light it was when we checked the time in the morning – that’s the trouble with modern phones that automatically update at the beginning and end of daylight saving time.  As we’d stayed at a community run campervan site overnight we thought it would be rude not use their café for breakfast especially as it was my birthday. After a hearty Full Scottish, which means haggis in place of fried bread, we set off for Glencoe where we planned on finding a layby by a loch to park up for the night. It turned out to be the worst day for weather of the entire trip as it rained on and off for the whole journey, consequently we didn’t really get any views on the way. 

Our journey took us through Fort William and we’d forgotten how busy it is in that area and were contending with coaches for the first time since leaving Inverness ten days previously.  As with the previous day the rain was falling as snow on the tops and for the sake of the ski resorts we hope it turns out to be a good winter for them. The last time we went to the area was to walk up Ben Nevis and it looked like a great many of the tourists were going to be or had been doing the same thing.  When we arrived in Glencoe we went to the National Trust for Scotland visitor centre to follow one of the trails we’d seen advertised.  We were a little disappointed as the longest trail was only a couple of kilometres long, so we ended up having to devise our own walk afterwards.

Looking in the general direction of Ben Nevis

Glencoe sits at the end of the sea loch called Loch Linnhe so we walked around some of it.

Looking down Loch Linnhe from Glencoe

The main road from Fort William to Glasgow that we’d been travelling on was quite busy so after our walk we took a side road out of Glencoe to find an overnight stop.  We drove alongside Loch Levin which feeds into Loch Linnhe and found a convenient layby overlooking the water. 

Monday 27 October

We were making our way further south today, leaving Scotland and visiting the Lake District as we did on the way up. As it was going to be a long driving day we set off after our morning coffee, tea and pain au chocolate intending to stop after an hour or so for a proper breakfast and a walk.  After yesterday’s rain we were driving under lovely clear skies and stopped at a place called Tyndrum where, after breakfast, we went for a walk along part of the West Highland way.

After our walk we drove alongside Loch Lomond to reach Glasgow and after another hour or so we were back in England and heading for Keswick in the Lake District. The 22-mile drive along Loch Lomond seemed to take forever as were in a line of traffic following a very slow tanker.  If you’d read part 1 of our Scotland trip you may recall that Karen lost her National Trust card near Ullswater on the way up here.  The office had rung her and said it had been handed in so we made a detour to pick it up. While we were there we went for another walk, this time along part of the Ullswater Way.  At least we had some decent views compared to when we came up a couple of weeks ago.

We then carried on to Braithwaite at the far side of Keswick where we set camp for the night.  We've now travelled 1,300 miles since leaving home and this is the route we took around Scotland.

Tomorrow we have a further 250 miles to go to finish our trip which we have thoroughly enjoyed.  We loved our time in the van and would have no hesitation in doing it all again.  What would we do differently next time?  We would make sure we had time to spend more than a night in each place as we’ve been on the move every day.  This is something we quickly learnt when we started boating too but in our defence, as we’d hired the van for a set period of time, we were working to a timeframe whereas on the boat (or if we had our own van) time is not so important and if somewhere takes our fancy then we can always tarry a while.  

Favourite beer of the holiday?

Also available on tap