Post It from Garlieston CC site, Dumfries & Galloway, Scotland. Tuesday 17th September, 2013.

We arrived here late afternoon on Sunday 15^th September in full sun which was a stark contrast to the torrential rain we drove through on our way north from Coniston. It was not long though before the heavy rain descended but at least we managed to get pitched and set up. Tony, the warden, assisted us in being able to get onto the last sea wall pitch with a good view across the bay rather than the only other one which looked out at other vans. It was a tight squeeze with the bikes on the back but with our nose almost touching the perimeter fence we just fitted on and was clear of the road. It was almost level so that helped by not having to put the front wheels on levelling ramps and the view was great and a far cry from the trees at Coniston Park Coppice where we had left. We were grateful for him letting us try that pitch for lenght, it would have been so easy to have simply said we were too long.

We had shopped at the relatively large Sainsbury’s supermarket in Newton Stewart, and at Aldi for my favourite cereals, before arriving so Sharon excelled herself in cooking a full Sunday dinner of fresh chicken crown with all the vegetables followed by cheesecake for desert, I was stuffed. We missed the Yorkshire puddings as we keep the small freezer space for more important items like Sharon’s home made Spanish meatballs and chilli, perhaps we should just pack a couple in there in the future just to round the meal off in true Yorkshire tradition.

That night the winds howled and rocked the van around but from the weather reports it seemed that further north in the Highlands it was much worse with all the bridges to the Highlands closed to high sided vehicles. We don’t like the rain but at least if you have a good view from the windscreen then staying inside the van is not so bad.

First impressions of the site were good, it was small and friendly and the views from the 15 pitches that front the sea wall were excellent. The toilet block is old and the two showers were in demand as the site was almost full. From our pitch we could see across Garlieston Bay, taking in the seafront houses and across the Solway Firth with its green gently sloping hills with woods spread amongst the farmland. A bit further around we could see the north coast of Cumbria, when it was not raining of course. The other significantly good point about this site was having internet access.

As the tide was out we could see a couple of small boats berthed on the mud and just around the corner was the harbour itself with a few small fishing boats moored up on the quayside. A large lifeboat from an ocean going ship was being used as a lobster and crab fishing boat. There were a number of dog owners exercising their hounds on the sandy beach but when the tide comes in it fills the bay. Reading a notice on the site it said that when there were the high tides there was a probability of the site becoming flooded in parts. I checked the dates and luckily we were leaving before the next high tide of 9.9 meters, especially as I was on a grass pitch.

Between the showers, some very heavy I might add, we ventured out on foot around the small village which was yards from the site entrance. There was a pub doing food, a post office, grocery shop, bowling greens a play park and good walking and cycle routes setting off from the site. Had the weather been better and drier during our stay we would definitely have enjoyed a ride or two to Isle of Whithorn along the disused railway line and to Wigtown, the book capitol of Scotland! In fact if it was not such a poor forecast we would have happily stayed longer to do the cycling rather than moving on to Ayr where we had plenty of things to do that were not dependant on it being dry.

The bird food attracted lots of Sparrows, a Blackbird and a couple of Great Tits and the bay was full of Oyster Catchers and other Gulls feeding on the mud flats. All in all it was a very pleasant environment to relax in with the only noise to disturb the tranquillity coming from the winds.

After a stormy night by Tuesday morning the winds had died dramatically and the showers were less frequent and not as heavy so we headed off along the coastal footpath to Rigg Bay. This is where the Mulberry Harbours were developed for the Normandy landings at Arromanches in 1943. The work was carried out in deep secret and according to information held in the camp site office the importance of Garlieston was not recognised in this regard until around 2006. The last remnants of the Mulberry Harbour in the bay are marked by a buoy and they had been securely chained to the seabed.

From Rigg Bay we walked up into the public accessible gardens of Galloway House, a very large and impressive listed house built in 1740-42 for the Earl of Galloway, and back along the road into Garlieston. On our walk we had seen Grey Herons and Cormorant’s but no seals and a lot of the trees had black spots on their leaves which I assume is some disease.

We also discovered that the campsite was formerly a timber mill but became a caravan touring site in 1965 charging 5 shillings a night. I wonder how that compares with today’s charge of around £15 a night. The Caravan Club acquired the site in 1971 and from its location you can see why it is a popular member's only site. The weather forecast is improving and tomorrow we are moving off to Ayr, but taking the scenic route all along the coast from here.

Regards, Roy