Blue skies and hurricanes. Camping trip to Scotland and the North of England. (Sept 23)
A last minute trip to visit an old friend in Scotland ended up taking me on a detour via the Lake District, Northumberland and Scottish Borders. The weather played a big part in most decisions which is why I ended up zig zagging across northern Britain trying to miss the worst of the conditions created by the remnants of two hurricanes hitting in quick succession.
I have been trying to hook up with Jamie since my last visit to his place near Glasgow in January, but the stars hadn’t quite aligned. We wanted to see if we could manage a night or two camping – given his wheelchair…
So when Emma and a few of her close friends booked a girls’ weekend away (at Butlins Bognor 🙄) at short notice, the opportunity arose.
There being no time like the present, I packed the car and headed northward – straight after my weekend in Southampton with my son, Natty.
I planned to stay a few days, but exactly how long would depend on how much Jamie got on with camping, and as I was to find out, just how long it would take to get me there!
Lake District – Cumbria
My first stop was in Cumbria; it was initially designed to break up the journey, but my timing wasn’t ideal as I arrived just as the remnants of “Hurricane Lee” hit the west coast. When I arrived the conditions were far too treacherous to put up my bell tent, so I spent the first night being buffeted about in a tiny “solo” tent as strong winds and driving rain ripped down the valley all bloody night… it wasn’t a pleasant experience, but neither was it the end of the world! The yellow rain warning came good and flooded one of the camping fields forcing one group of campers to leave earlier than planned, before the shores of the new “lake” reached their tent!
As the storms were forecast to last longer in Scotland, I decided to stay put in Cumbria for a few days so that I could pitch the larger tent in order to get dry and enjoy a good nights sleep.
The weather had improved dramatically here, and the whole place looked amazing with waterfalls in all directions, bursting steams, empty trails and green valleys. Unsurprisingly, there were plenty of tent pitches available and the site manager was relaxed about me extending my stay on a daily basis. So I decided to stick about and explore!
Sykeside campsite (https://sykeside.co.uk/) the place I had chosen to stay, was perfect, and had every amenity that you could wish for including a pub and restaurant right next door. It was in a breathtaking location too right in the heart of the Cumbrian mountains along the Kirkstone pass.
I spent a few days exploring, hiking the trails around the nearby hills and mountains, as well as kayaking on Ullswater, which had risen at least three feet since the start of the rain.
The weather could not have been better so it was an easy decision to extend my booking, especially with Scotland’s west coast being battered. I met some lovely people on site including a couple from Kent doing a road trip (next stop for them is Cheddar Gorge), a couple who were mixing camping and spas! And a German couple with the cutest dog ever.
We were all camped in a huddle, beneath a hill at the southwest edge of the site, and close to a dry stone wall which offered a bit of protection from the wind, we swapped stories and suggestions for walks in the region. One of the couples headed off to climb Helvellyn, the same route Emma and I did last March, I caught up with them in the evening, wandering around the nearby picturesque village of Glenridding, their legs still wobbling from the experience!
I stuck to the hills local to the campsite and didn’t see another soul all day. I had headed off the main path about a half mile after Brothers Water, just before Deepdale Beck. No better way to spend a day.
I checked the forecast again but the weather in Loch Lomond looked awful for a few more days, this time with persistent heavy rain, so I switched my plans yet again and headed for the Northumberland/Scottish Borders where sunnier weather was forecast.
Northumberland and Borders.
I found a small campsite called Shepherds Rest (https://shepherds-rest.co.uk) which is just across the Scottish border and settled in for the night. It was ideal, permitted fires, and had tons of extras, including ultra clean facilities and plug points for phones.
The following day I spent exploring Berwick on Tweed.
Berwick on Tweed has amazing history, having been taken and retaken by the English and Scots over many centuries… the bridges are a pretty awesome sights too, with the Victorian railway crossing being the most iconic.
In the afternoon I headed for St Abbs just across the border into Scotland, where I found pretty coves, a quaint harbour and remote lighthouse.
I had a superb sunset hike along the cliff tops and was kind of taken aback as I hadn’t expected the coast here to be so beautiful and rugged. The campsite owner recommended this as a “must see” location – she was right, what a beautiful place.
I discovered this coastline is a Mecca for divers, with some amazing underwater dive sights and the bird wildlife here is awesome.
Of the very few people I saw out on the hike, most were obviously here for the wildlife.
I checked in with Emma, who was having a blast with Carla, Meera et al, before planning the final leg of the journey to Loch Lomond to meet up with Jamie.
I could see conditions weren’t perfect for camping (now that’s an understatement)… but couldn’t keep putting off our rendezvous for ever! So I just pushed onwards.
Loch Lomond – Scottish Highlands
Well – just as I arrived at Beinglas campsite near Inverarnan, at the north end of the Loch, the heavens opened. As I registered my arrival, the lady on reception told me another storm was about to hit, this time with the remnants of “Hurricane Nigel” – it was going to be stronger than “Lee” a few days ago. And to make matters worse, a flood warning had just been issued for this valley, on top of the wind and rain warning!
So all bets were off about sticking to the rules regarding tent pitch location. All tents that were pitched lower down the valley needed to be moved in order to avoid the impending floods, campers were advised to find any high ground possible and to use multiple guy ropes to make sure that tents didn’t fly away in the 45-60 mph winds that were now forecast. Luckily there was little wind as I put up the tent, but boy did that change an hour later. I needed four or five guy ropes and heavy duty tent pegs per node (on the windward side of the tent) to spread the load and make sure it stayed on the ground. Thankfully it worked!
Jamie arrived just before the height of the storm, I had phoned him earlier in an attempt to warn him but nah. A little bit of water and a stiff breeze ain’t gonna get in his way!
With the River Falloch having just burst its banks he simply drove his car through the gate, into the flooded fields, past one sad looking abandoned tent (which was already under water) and found me in my tent perched on the flattest and highest piece of ground that I could find. Waterfalls were everywhere, even where they weren’t supposed to be… So with the log burner raging and in a warm and cosy tent we settled down with some beers and food. We then spent a long night playing catch up with news and recounting stories from the old days.
Around us tiny brooks has turned into raging torrents, rivers had burst their banks and fields had completely disappeared. But I knew the winds had peaked, and the tent would remain standing! We’ve both experienced worse, 1984 and North Wales springs to mind!
Quite honestly we were oblivious to what was going on outside and the campsite managers were kind of surprised when they came to check on us, as almost all of the other campers had headed for the comfort and safety of the hastily arranged emergency refuge areas set up in the site pub and other buildings.
Others had elected to sleep in their cars, which incidentally all needed to be moved from the car park which was now at least two foot under water. The gate that Jamie had passed through earlier was now underwater to chest height, according to the manager who waded out to lock it to prevent anyone driving through without realising!
So Jamie’s first camping experience in over 15 years, and his first ever in his wheelchair, and it was in the middle of multiple weather warnings…
…where to next?
The last day arrived and we decided to quit whilst we were ahead as a third (and the first UK named) storm was quickly approaching, this one was called Agnes and threatened to be wilder and heavier on all counts.
Soon after Jamie headed off, I did too, stopping a few times along the shores of Loch Lomond to take in the views and then head on a 8.5 hour journey back to see Emma in London.
I’ll sign off this post with a few pictures of 1984 – we did a lot of camping and outward bounds stuff back then during our training. That’s coming up to forty years ago!
