Saturday:
We had a good journey to the site. All was plain sailing although the twisty windy B16357 kept me on my toes! We pulled into the site and were very warmly greeted by the owners, Gillian and Eddie. We were allowed to take our pick at the pitches, we chose #17 as it was a good size and open from the trees. We were soon set-up and enjoying a drink and a sandwich. Newcastleton is well known for it’s lack of mobile signals. The TV reception was meant to be okay, but I only managed to pull in around 15 channels, not enough to satisfy for a Saturday evening! Thus the satellite dish was deployed and we were soon enjoying a full range of channels. Tea followed and then we settled in for the evening. With the temperature being sub zero I made sure the Aqua Roll was full before nightfall along with it being on its side and thus off the ground a little. We don’t want our first instance of frozen water!
Sunday:
Following breakfast we headed off for Gretna Green, well this was our wedding anniversary day after all! The weather was pleasant although still chilly, we enjoyed the sites of the Blacksmith’s shop and all the other buildings that are there to cater for the needs of the tourist. Following this we went to the shopping outlet in Gretna and perused the many shops there. Back at base, we headed off to fetch water, this time accompanied by Cath with here new matching head torch!
Monday:
Another sub-zero day so we headed North to Hawick (Hoyk!). This is a small town about 20 miles North of Newcastleton accessed via the B6399, which provides a very interesting drive. Again lots of twists and turns and single lane access, fog at the top of the climb, everything! Hawick has a small high-street which we walked through. We picked up some cooking pans whilst there from Home Hardware, a nice shop. Temperature had now gone from -2 to zero, so things were warming up! Back at base I purchased some internet connection from Gillian so that I could catch up with work and all things email and internet. The winds and rain provided some entertainment for the evening. The poor satellite dish took a nose dive on a couple of occasions, the wind and rain persisted all night. We ended up watching a DVD when the dish took off again late on.
Tuesday:
Winds and rain still persisting following storm ‘Angus’. I had in mind just to take in the sites of Newcastleton today, but with the weather we just decided to head to the Spar for a couple of things and call it a ‘sit in the van’ day. Weather is supposed to improve tomorrow, we’ll see!
Wednesday:
Weather much better although still cold! We went for a walk, a fairly small one at around 2 miles which took us along the riverside, back around the woods by the now non-existent Waverley Railway Route. Following the woods we then returned to Newcastleton via the old railway line, which is pretty much non-recognisable now with many new developments on the site since the Beeching Report. The only building still left standing is the old stationmaster’s house, which we found right at the end of the walk. Following this we spent the rest of the day in the ‘van, as the darkness and coldness hit once again.
Thursday:
Normal morning routines were going ahead when suddenly the electric went! Thinking we had tripped, although not sure why as the supply was 16A – I headed to the office to report it. The owner then reported that the whole site/town was down, so nothing to do but put the gas on and wait it out! We therefore decided to head to Langholm, a town nearby that should provide some entertainment whilst we await the electric to return. What I hadn’t realised was that Thomas Telford was born near here and indeed built the bridge here across the river Esk. Who would have thought that in the same year we would see two of his bridges! Now this isn’t a big town, so we were soon through it. Although we did manage to locate the cairn of the old railway station, which was nice to see.
Returning back to the site, the electric was back on, whoohoo! We then relaxed before putting the awning away. Now this was a bit interesting. This is the first time we have encountered -7 degrees and no sun. The awning was covered in ice and wasn’t drying. We took it down never-the-less and got it back in its bag. We’ll dry it back at home! Tea and night TV followed, the end of a nice week, despite being sub-zero!
Friday:
The coldest night so far. We awoke to the pump being a little frozen! A quick soak in some warm water soon freed it up though. This was an interesting pack up, as everything was frozen solid. Water had to be used to free the bolts on the satellite. The steps had to be thawed out with warm water. The Aqua Roll we brought home to defrost the ice buildup in it. The satellite cable had frost running all along it. Everything we picked up off the ground had stones and leaves stuck to it. Very different to what we’re used to, but an interesting experience all the same!
We finally finished packing and headed home. The return trip was very pleasant. A couple of hold ups on the A69 and A19 but nothing to stress about. The got the ‘van back in storage (filthy) and then headed home. We’ve enjoyed this week very much, I think we’re starting to really like Scotland 🙂
The facilities at the site are first rate and well though out. You are never far from a water point, where fresh water, grey waste and bins are provided. Taps have hoses, grey water is angled just right complete with tap for washing down. There are two toilet blocks, one lads and one lassies! These again are superb, heated and tiled. There are two cubicles complete with sink, shower and toilet and one cubicle with just a toilet. All very well kept and makes for a nice stay, just like at home. Hand dryer and washing up sink are also provided. During our stay and due to the cold weather, the outside water taps were turned off mid-afternoon, perfectly understandable. Water is then collected from the washing up sink, hose again provided. CDP is enclosed and again well though out. Good height and area complete with hand gun water hose, you can’t ask for anything any better! Internet connection is good and at a fair price from the site. Mobile signal was not as bad as I first feared. Vodafone and EE are okay, I couldn’t get a ‘3’ signal though. TV reception limited, satellite fine though.
- Date: 19th November 2016
- Nights: 6
- Pitch #: 17
- GPS: 55.181935, -2.813002
- A7 > B6357 > Moss Rd