Sat: A glorious day weather wise, we had a relaxed start and then went to pick the ‘van up. The site was really busy, there were 3 other couples collecting their units just in our stretch alone. First time we’ve had to queue to get out! One poor fella had a jammed wheel brake, which we managed to free up with a bit of reversing. Then another chap on the way out was suffering from 13 pin twist sync, which he didn’t know about. So I quickly deployed the ‘green cap’ and sorted him out. Then a lovely sunny drive up to Scotland, stopping at Gretna for a quick coffee as usual. We arrived at the site soon after, no queue in site and were shown to our pitch by the warden, by going the wrong way around! A bit of reversing and we were on our pitch for the week. These are typical C&CC pitches, so limited space for awning and car, but luckily in front of us, there were some ‘mega’ pitches, so we were able to park the car there. This used to be caravan storage, but have been recently converted to these ‘mega’ pitches, albeit no EHU yet!
Sun: The fab weather continues, so we enjoyed alfresco breakfast and tea. I even tinkered with the satellite as the site has limited TV reception (vertical polarisation). I struggled initially, but then discovered 2 faults, namely the wrong (changed) transponder frequencies and a faulty right-angled connector. Both of these rectified and we were watching freesat TV! The site was filling up again with a queue of units arriving at 1pm.
Mon: Weather has turned and the wind is up. The satellite dish needed tightening up as the wind kept blowing it. We spent the morning vacuuming the ‘van as it hasn’t been done for a while. Stayed indoors for the rest of the day.
Tue: The sun is back out, albeit a little cold first thing whilst having breakfast. We then took a tour of the village itself, admiring the wide street, once a cattle market! It’s only a small affair, but has coffee shops, takeaways, garden centre, narrowest hotel in the world, barbers, Moffat toffee, fish & chips and also just outside the campsite, a Coop and the Moffat Mill department store. We picked up a couple of things from the Coop that we needed and then perused the Mill store. All very pleasant and I’m sure popular with visitors to the campsite.
Wed: A bit of rain and snow this morning, so another inside day!
Thu: Weather back to good again, so we took a stroll around the lakes just by the campsite. Not a very large space, but pleasant enough. The lake was undergoing maintenance as it happens, so no ride on a swan boat this time 🙂
Fri: Fill the car up (just around the corner), take the awning down and reflect on what has been a relaxing holiday. The site is of a fair size and being open all year, will make it onto our hitlist. Especially just being 2 main roads away, inclement weather shouldn’t cause too much of a problem helpfully. The pitches are the usual C&CC style, with hardstanding for ‘van and awning, but grass pitch for your car. Although as mentioned, we were fortunate enough to be able to park the car opposite on some hardstanding. TV reception is okay on the vertical, but clear access to the Astra birds gave us all the stations. Toilet block was fine, plenty big enough and perfectly clean. Showers are push button, but there you go! Coop on the corner along with a high street just a 5 minute walk away are major plus points. Looking forward to returning.
Sat: A very pleasant journey back to storage, with clear blue skies and light traffic. Gretna services was empty of caravans so no problem parking. Enjoyed a very expensive coffee as usual, but that’s what we work for isn’t it!
- Date: 8th March 2025
- Nights: 7
- Pitch #: N/A (55.330015, -3.441372)
- GPS: 55.329764, -3.440671
Approach: A74 > A701 > A708 > Ladyknowe Court