The GPS Blog| Activity | Activity date | Activity description |
|---|---|---|
| Balranald - North Uist | 2022-05-11 | A short yomp around along Balranald beach to keep Scooby Hound happy and then continuing on round the headland that is Balranald nature reserve.
Avoided most of the rain and the bogs and only got slightly lost once (which is hard to do on a headland and with a GPS with 1:25000 OS maps on it)!
Liz has joined the "stone bothering" sorority - can you spot her effort in the photos?
Tags:
North Uist
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| North Uist and Stone Cairns | 2022-05-12 | Another rainy day with 40 mph winds so we set off in the van to do a circumnavigation of North Uist with a gtrip up to Berneray in the north.
The drive round North Uist is maybe 30 miles on very good single track roads with the usual (for the Hebrides) very well marked passing places every few hundred yards. Makes for a lovely, slow, unstressful drive.
At the top of North Uist we took the causeway across to Berneray to give the hound his daily beack walk.
Noth Uist is approximately 50% moorland and 50% water. Masses of inland lochs and also convoluted sea lochs. If the damn wind had dropped a little, there were some ideal spots to go kayaking.
On the way back round, we stopped on a 5000 year old cairn. The tourist guide books talk about it being one of the earliest stone "buildings" in northwestern Europe. It then goes on to make comparisons to the Pyramids. I'll leave you to judge but "pile of stones" I say! Especially, as after 5000 years of just sitting there there had apparently been a dangerous collapse meaning we couldn't go into the burial chamber for a nose around.
We did stop at a stone circle shortly after but they'd neglected to build it next to a parking spot and as it was pissing down (yet again) we headed back to the campsite.
Still - top day out.
Tags:
North Uist
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| South Uist | 2022-05-10 | A shorter ferry trip today from Ardmhor at the north of Barra to the ferry jetty on Erisksay.
The winds hadn't really abated that much and 24 hours of winds to build the swell meant I feared for the worst with Scooby and Liz. However, they both took the 40 minute ferry crossing in their stride. Yay!
When we landed the rain had stopped for a bit so we thought we'd find Scooby's next beach. And my did he love the beach near Gearraidh na Monadh! Liz still searching hard to find her three pieces of plastic to pick up from the beach.
Went in to South Lochboisdale to buy some 2nd hand books to replace the wholly inappropriate ones Liz had brought for me in the van "library". Very friendly shop keeper in the "bit of everything" store and very slightly stroppy teenager in Liz's card shop.
Then back to Kilbride Campsite in West Kilbride before the wind gusts upped a force and two and the horizontal rain brought the visibility right down. Very glad I'm too old and creaky for tent camping - nice and dry and warm in the camper van.
Tags:
South Uist
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| South Uist and Benbecula | 2022-05-10 | A bit of a road trip around South Uist and Benbecula.
The first "panoramic" photo is the view from the Co-op car park on Benbecula.
Top lunch at the "Marine Supplies and Seafood Cafe" in Kallin. £3.50 for an excellent salmon sea food chowder and roll.
Tags:
South Uist
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| Horgaborst on West Harris | 2022-05-13 | Ferry from Berneray (top of Uists) to Leverburgh on South Harris.
Wish I'd had the GPS on as the ferry took an amazing number of left and right turns to avoid the various reefs and rocks. Looking at the navigation buoys (and rocks) directly head of the ferry at times, I was amazed by the journey.
Then on to Horgabost campsite with views across to Taransay.
A late camper van arrival parked between Liz and Ben Fogle so she let the van's tyres down.
Beach good but not Scooby's best as we were right at the top of tide. Will be better tomorrow.
Tags:
South Uist
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| Morthoe and north Devon coast | 2012-09-04 | A stomp around the North Devon coast on the only misty day of our stay at North Morte campsite
Tags:
North Devon
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| Lynmouth to Watersmeet | 2012-09-06 | A walk up the valley gorge from Lymouth to Watersmeet. Very like the Teign Valley from Dogmarsh Bridge to Fingle Glenn except bigger. Much bigger. Path detailed in the guide book didnt seem to exist.
Tags:
North Devon
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| North Lees Campsite | 2016-09-03 | An over night stop in the peak district - near Kinder Scout - on the way up north.
First injury to my back falling over pushing a stalled motor home out of a rut.
Tags:
North Lees
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| Woolacoombe to Putsborough | 2016-10-31 | Camper van at North Morte farm for the last day of their season. Took the hound for a walk along Woolacombe beach at low tide.
Tags:
North Morte
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| Woolacombe and Putsborough | 2017-09-22 | Scooby wouldnt have been happy if we'd come to north Devon and not given him a run along Woolacombe Beach at low tide. In a fairly wet and windy two week holiday, this was the only walk where we actually got soaked by the rain. However, we dried out a bit in the cafe at Putsborough and then the walk back in the wind meant that we were dry by the time we got back to the camper van on Marine Drive.
The photos include a couple from North Morte campsite looking at the sunset over Lundy Island.
Tags:
North Morte Campsite
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| Back to Morthoe | 2019-04-25 | Back to Lizzie's favourite campervan site - North Morte Farm at Morthoe.
A rather wet and windy day (it got windier!) so we did a pub crawl of all of Morthoe's pubs (the Chichester Arms and the Ship Aground) and then took some rather good fish and chips to the bench below Morthoe Cemetary for a stunning view over Woolacombe Bay.
Tags:
North Morte Farm
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| Morthoe Fish and Chips | 2021-05-17 | First campervan trip of the year. To North Morte Farm as usual. Got lucky with weather - much better than forecast.
Out towards Morthoe Point for our fish and chips.
Tags:
North Morte
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| Back to England - and a rip off | 2022-05-28 | Left Portavidie and crossed the Argyll peninsula to get a ferry across from Dunoon.
Unfortunately, we didn't read the tiny icons on the CalMac timetable and turned up in a campervan at a ferry for foot passengers only.
After a minor panic, we saw there was a "Western Ferries" car ferry at the other end of town. No sign listing the prices on the way on to the ferry. Turns out the bastards charge everything over 5m at some sort of commercial rate as it cost us over £40 for about a mile of travel. So unlike CalMac who charge reasonable prices for small/medium size campervans (up to 6m), this lot scalp just about every tourist in a van. We won't be back. Bastards.
Then past Port Glasgow, through Glasgow on the M8 and then down to the Lake district on the M74 / M6.
Now trying to get used to the hordes of friendly northeners at our North Lakes campsite (a bit of a culture shock after a month of small sites and few people).
Tags:
North Lakes
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| Moretonhampstead dog walk | 2022-08-21 | Took the Tribby for a run and gave the hound a walk from Moretonhampstead to North Bovey. Scooby left the sheep and cows alone but thought he might be hard enough to take on some horses. Why he can never be let off the lead in the countryside.
Tags:
North Bovey
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| Morte Point | 2023-09-16 | With Scooby now a bit of an old boy, we did a shorter than usual walk round Morte Point. Age is no barrier to him lunging for sheep (he's on the lead) and eating sheep shit.
Tags:
North Morte Farm
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