Hoddom Castle Ecclefechan Scotland September 2021

For our first trip, to learn the basics in a safe environment, we choose to stay at the Hoddom Castle camp site near Ecclefechan in Scotland. The idea was to enroll the assistance of our fellow campers should we need any help.

On D day we loaded the motorhome with necessities and arranged a bed for Finn between the two front seats, and set off on our trip. To say we were excited is an understatement, and Finn soon sensed that a new experience was in progress.

Within minutes of arriving at our pitch at Hoddom Castle we had our first panic, there was no electric hook up!

But luckily, before heading off back to reception to remonstrate with them we noticed another late arrival connecting up to his neighbour's pitch, where a multi hook up point was available.

After a quick reconnaissance we found our hook up behind a neighbouring awning and successfully connected. It was then time to switch the gas on and make a cuppa, but then we remembered that there was a bottle of Prosecco in the fridge, along with oodles of cheese savoury for sandwiches. It was time for our first picnic.

But first Finn was tethered up outside, and soon got into a raucous conversation with the two Tibetan terriers on the next pitch, their owners coincidentally hailing from our local town.

All our neighbours had dogs, lots of bottom sniffing went on!

Once the table and chairs had been taken outside and the awning erected we sat down to enjoy the break and do nothing, bliss. Nothing to do until pub time at the on site pub and restaurant, The Coach House on the link below:- https://www.hoddomcastle.co.uk/coach-house

After a well deserved meal and drink that night at the site's bar and restaurant we returned to the motorhome to amuse ourselves in constructing the bed for the first night. Although this had looked simple on the handover video they hadn't advised that the operation was not to be attempted whilst under the influence of alcohol.

We then found a small area for Finn's bed but he had other ideas as to where he was to sleep.

The end of day one ended with us attempting to sleep on a gradient as the levelling ramps that we had bought were insufficient to deal with the less than horizontal pitch. Note to self to buy better ramps once back at home.

Day two arrived, a perfect day, we were experiencing one of the hottest days in Scotland on record. Finn was eager to escape the confines of the motorhome and to be served his breakfast al fresco, so we broke our habits and became early risers. Disappointingly the pub and restaurant were closed (out of season) and not providing the full Scottish breakfast that I had planned for.

Some cheap bacon and a pack of rolls were purchased from the shop and an unsatisfactory alternative for a cooked breakfast was prepared. As our next appointment was a booking for 6.00pm that evening at a 'nearby' Thai restaurant we sat back for a lazy day. But Finn complained of our laziness and forced us to take him for a walk around the site later on.

The day turned into a scorcher and we had to retreat to the motorhome for some respite, the prosecco wasn't doing it's job!

At 4.30pm we turned our thoughts to the trek (3 miles) to the Thai restaurant, and began our preparations for the walk. The sun was still beating down with a vengeance, and there was little wind to temper the heat. Idiotically, I had left my hat at home, and being far from hirsute I knew that I was to suffer from the sun beating down.

Finn, with his thick coat of fur was also likely to suffer from the heat, but in his ignorance he set off with his tail wagging, unaware of the ordeal ahead of him.

Sue, a regular walker, set off looking forward to an amble. Myself, with a foot injury and a disposition to excessive sweating was far from looking forward to the walk.

I was right to be worried as I soon became sodden, with Finn and myself taking respite under the shade of any tree we walked past. He was able to keep out of the sun by walking in the shade of the hedges.

I don't know whether it was an intentional action but soon after we had set off Finn had a poo and Sue had to carry the full poo bag for the entire walk!

I found the walk an ordeal, with every turn in the road bringing another disappointment as I expected our destination to be around the next corner. The miles dragged on, and at one point we had to check the SatNav to ensure that we were still on the correct road. This proved to be a mistake, with Sue giving the detailed distance to our destination every few minutes thereafter. It's surprising how long a mile is when you are walking with the sun burning down on you.

After over an hour and a half we reached our destination and Sue disappeared to find a bin within which to dispose of the poo bag, whilst I stripped off my soaking T shirt and let the cool shade outside the restaurant dry me out. Finn stayed with me to enjoy the shade.

Once I was decent we entered the restaurant,The Thai Orchid at the Murray Arms (https://www.thaiorchiddalton.com/) and ordered two bottles of ice cold Magner's cider and a bowl of water for Finn. We then settled down to our meal.

I'm still puzzled why I found the walk such an ordeal as I have undertaken much longer treks under the summer sun in both Spain and Switzerland without too much of a bother. Anyway, we organised a taxi ride back, which took in the region of five minutes to return us to the campsite. Even though the meal was restorative there was no way that I was prepared to walk back.

Back at the motorhome we again arranged the sleeping area and settled down for the night, not before taking Finn for a walk under the starlit sky. The lack of background light meant that the thousands of stars of the Milky Way were clear to see.

Day three arrived, again a beautiful sunny day, with only a bacon roll for breakfast (at least we were testing out the cooking facilities on board!).

We were attracted to the site by the pictures of the historic castle and were interested in looking around the site, however when I asked a young girl in the shop for the castle opening hours I received the following reply. "What do you want to go in there for, it's an old ruin falling to bits, you don't want to go in there!"

We then settled on taking Finn for a walk around the golf course, with beautiful views of the River Annan and the Scottish lowlands. It was another hot day and the number of golfers were exceeded by the staff busily keeping the grass to a playable level. Being a one-time golfer I was enticed by the course. Halfway through our walk we sat down by the river and noted a heron, looking for salmon, on the opposite bank. It remained there for a long while oblivious of our presence.

Finn couldn't understand why he was being kept on his lead and prevented from splashing around in the river, his favourite pass time, but the site rules were that dogs needed to remain on a lead at all times.

He rebelled by pooing on a fairway as we crossed the course back to the motorhome. Another poo bag to carry!

That night we returned to the site pub and restaurant for our evening repast where we met a young man who was due to play a football match in our home village on the following Saturday. Finn, jaded by his holiday, stretched out asleep under the table. On the way back to the motorhome we were again treated to a myriad of stars in the black sky above us.

After reorganising the settees and cushions we settled down to night number three with Finn again deciding where he was going to sleep.

Day number four dawned with a grey sky and rain was forecast for the day. It didn't matter as we were due to leave on this day. First I needed to visit the shop to buy the breakfast as the rations of bacon had been used up. After looking at the meagre offerings on sale I decided on tinned tomatoes on toast, hoping that Sue would agree with my choice upon my return.

When I returned Finn was tethered up outside, displaying his failing eyesight given that I was nearly upon him before he recognised me. Note to self, get Finn's haircut round his eyes in order that he can see better.

Although Sue agreed the choice of breakfast she was dubious about the toast, as the grill was yet to be used for the first time. She was right to have concerns as the grill did give us problems. After many attempts to keep the gas grill alight we had to refer to the manual to see what we were doing wrong, but, maybe because of the slope the motorhome was on, the grill still refused to play. (We were to find out later that an essential component to ignite the grill was missing, and we had to visit the dealer at a later stage to have it put in place, under warranty). Tomatoes on fresh (untoasted) rolls was then delivered to the table for breakfast.

All this time Finn was crying by the motorhome door desperate for someone to play with. But given the jobs ahead disconnecting the electric and gas, and tying everything down to stop the rattles on the journey home there would be no time to play. Even after taking numerous bags of rubbish to the bins it was still surprising to see how much more we were taking home, compared to what we had brought.

Everything had to be packed away to prevent any rattles and bangs as we travelled back. This was done without much forethought, and whilst travelling back we needlessly panicked about what we might have left behind! We, of course, had everything with us.

It was symbolic when the awning was wound back down, as our claim on the pitch had officially come to an end. On the way out of the site we had to stop to empty our grey water (washing water from the sinks) and the cassette toilet. This was a first, remembered from the video, and went without a hitch. The site provided a purpose built area for these tasks.

All the time we felt we were among friends as most the other motorhomers were couples of our age with a dog in tow. It was difficult to move around within the park without Finn meeting a new friend, and more experienced travellers giving us some advice on how to deal with any hitches we were coming across.

The trip did not go entirely free of problems however, as one morning when I was smugly washing the dishes I heard a remark from outside, and discovered that our grey water tap was open and all the dishwater and suds were flowing from the tap at the bottom of the motorhome. It was then that I discovered that the grey water tank had a leak between the tank and the drainage pipe. Note to self to check the connection before the next trip.

As I have mentioned above, on our exit from the site we emptied, what was left of, our grey water waste and the cassette toilet. Now is the time to come clean. In order to conserve water, and avoid the need to deal with a smelly toilet we did avail ourselves of the sites showers, and toilets for number twos.

Other than the problems I have mentioned above we all (including Finn) had a great time, and we have booked a second trip in October.

End of first foray.