How do you squeeze a large motorhome through Edinburgh? Carefully and on a Sunday was our strategy.

After the tranquil calm of the Dunbar coastline, even our Sunday arrival in Edinburgh quickly reminds us we’re in a big city.

It’s actually pretty rare for us to venture into a city with Beatrix. We’re usually scared off by the traffic, lack of parking or low emissions zones but Edinburgh has a massive caravan club site and welcomes us with open arms.

Booking in, we find ourselves a space at the back, near the water filling point. It turns out we’re parked next to a club volunteer worker. As we’re getting plugged in we have a chat. He tells us that the Edinburgh site is one of the busiest and most profitable sites in the club. It’s easy to imagine.

After 4 weeks of coastal quiet on the half empty seaside sites, it feels like we’ve just arrived at Grand Central Station. As well as the Brit vans, there are number plates from Germany, Austria, Switzerland and France adorning every type of vehicle you can imagine from Roofbox Tents to full on Adventure Trucks.

We’ve booked to stay for 5 nights. With a workday, we figure this will give us time to enjoy the city and get a proper feel for the place. Pretty quickly we realise this is longer than most, as campers ebb and flow each day like the tide.

A short walk from our base, there’s a convenient bus into town and in 20 minutes or so we find ourselves on the Royal Mile. Along with everyone else.

After a stroll up the hill, we admire the castle which is as magnificent as ever. It’s being set up for the Fringe or a concert or both. It’s typical as the last time we were here in 2016, with Rich and Ian on a motorbike tour, the view was the same! Except looking back at the photos I had a more hair.

Drifting down the Royal Mile is beautiful and although it’s busy there’s so much charm. We find ourselves a quiet coffee stop in the shade to escape the crowds and then wandering on we find a perfect birthday present for our friend in a little boutique jewellery shop. Good fortune continues as we stumble across a café with a sunny courtyard for lunch which is so good we stay for tea and cake.

After a full day of exploring and with tired feet and paws, we find the bus home.

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We’re both a little surprised to discover that Edinburgh has a beach.

The next day we break out the bikes and check it out. It’s another sunny day and Silverhowe beach does look inviting. We stop to watch a few brave souls go out swimming but judging by the way the get into the water, I reckon it’s pretty cold.

We cycle along the promenade to see the Royal Yacht Britannia, which appears to have been retired to Edinburgh dock. As we see it, we’re reminded of a story we heard when visiting the Castle of May in 2022.

In her summer retreat, the Queen Mother had apparently run out of gin. The story goes that she signalled the Royal Yacht and asked the Queen to sail around northern Scotland to bring reinforcements. It felt like it could have been true.

Sadly, we don’t get on board to check out the booze cupboards. In fact it’s not really possible to see much of the yacht without paying to go aboard. Given all the building works it’s not really suitable to visit unless you arrive by bus or coach. We head back.

On the way, we come across the Old Chain Pier pub which almost appears to be clinging onto the sea wall. The view from inside the restaurant is amazing and we settle for a pint and some lunch outdoors in the sunshine. Be nice to come back here sometime.

Water

So our fresh water still isn’t right.

Whilst we’re in Edinburgh, we try a Puriclean sterilisation of the system. Essentially, we fill the tank, add the cleaner and leave it for 12 hours. The tricky part is that we then need to drop the tank, fill the whole tank again to rinse then drop that. After this we can fill again for drinking.

Our difficulty is that we need 300 litres to fill the tank. This not only takes ages to fill but it also takes ages to drop. Although we are paying for services, we’re never quite sure if passing close to a ton of water through the van is going to upset them.

A benefit to parking close to the water fill point is that we don’t need to move in order to start the cleaning process off first thing in the morning….. or so we think. Our helpful neighbour politely points out that the tap next to us has a ‘no motorhome’ sign on it.

Taking a deep breath, we drive round the site to the correct motorhome fill point. Fingers crossed it works this time.

The Kelpies

After a few great days enjoying Edinburgh, it’s our turn to leave.

As we journey across to the West Coast, our first stop is really close by. We visit The Kelpies.

Unsure of how we’ll fit in, we’re welcomed by a super helpful attendant who allows us to park with coaches for motorhome rates. Brilliant.

The Kelpies are awesome.

You can see them from the motorway, as we’ve done a few times, but it’s well worth checking them out close up.

The Kelpies are a silver, steel sculpture of two horses that stand 30 meters high. Built in 2014, they are a tribute to the heavy horses that drove so much of the early industry in this part of Scotland.

In between the school visits, we’re lucky enough to have a few moments alone with them which feels really special.

Culzean Castle and the West Coast

So we’re off to see friends in Ayr.

Not everyone is fortunate enough to have as many days off a week as we do. So we find ourselves with a few days to spare and decide to check out somewhere new in Ayrshire.

Culzean Castle is perched right on the coast. It looks beautiful and there’s a handy club site next door. Arriving, we’re greeted by a cheerful warden wearing an uncertain smile that suggests he’s not realised how big Beatrix is.

Sure enough, we’re told they just gave away the largest pitch to a little VW van. Despite that, the wardens are a super lovely couple and help us wedge Beatrix in. We have a spot at the top, overlooking the site and out to the sea with the Isle of Arran beyond.

Although our bum is facing the sea, we break out the chairs and enjoy the sunset across the water. It’s so unexpectedly beautiful, we have an impromptu BBQ and eat out to enjoy the evening.

This turns out to be a good plan, as it’s the only dry day we get!

Culzean Castle is described as a bit like the playboy mansion. It was never a defensive castle but rather built as the ultimate bachelor pad. To be fair, the Earl did a fantastic job and the castle is stunning. It has quite the history too as the upper floor was donated to the American General and then President Eisenhower who stayed here several times. Allegedly there are seven ghosts too.

Walking from the campsite, there’s a little path down to the castle that bypasses the main gate. We have the castle and grounds to ourselves which is pretty special. Although we don’t see any ghosts, we do come across a nesting Oyster Catching on the battlements which is amazing.

Sometimes it’s these unexpected little stopovers that are the most special.

That’s it for us this week. We’re meeting friends in Ayr and are hoping that our water system is finally sorted. We’ll pick you up in Liverpool as we go to meet family there.

As ever, thanks for reading. Love Sally, Toby and Merlin