Introduction Bertie came into our family in mid-February. He’s a 2013 VW Crafter campervan conversion, very well looked after by the previous owners. We knew some things needed fixing and after a health check and the fixes he now is ready for the road. Why “Bertie”? We both enjoy Alexander McCall Smith’s 44 Scotland Street books. One of the characters is the six-year-old Bertie who has a very domineering mother. Bertie wants to be less programmed, he wants to be free and, with a sigh, is counting the years when he’ll be eighteen and no longer has to listen to his mother. We are setting Bertie free now. The space is very compact. It’s a lounge-cum-kitchen-cum-dining space-cum-bedroom. There is a two-burner gas hob, a kitchen sink with running cold water from a tank below, a little fridge, a wardrobe and table which can be hung on the inside of the back door when not used. The top of the wardrobe is called the attic. In the front of the van there are two front attics as well, above the windscreen. Both side windows open. The comfortable front seats can be swivelled around and there is good lighting for reading. We can stand up straight on the single side stair (our staircase) but not in the living space. There are two USP ports for charging up our gadgets. We have solar panel and a diesel heater so we can go off grid. We also have an electric fan heater. There is a fancy radio we haven’t figured out yet. We haven’t even figured out finding radio stations. The previous owner is in IT. We are not. The bed is the rock and roll type for campervans. Quite simple to open. Not that simple to pull back up. Bill nearly sprained his back pulling the bed back up one morning so we got some W40 and applied it on the hinges and runners. It got a bit easier but it still needs a vigorous yank and push, something neither of us wants to attempt on our own. When the sofa is opened out as a bed there is about one square metre of space for us to stand in – actually less as the port-a-pottie takes up space. Sounds like there’s not much space. There is not much space, but surprisingly, it works. As long as you put everything in its own place when you no longer need it. Bill spent quite a few days figuring out what to store where. Food, pots and pans, cutlery, dishes, kettle (for when we have electric hook-up) and a whistling kettle (for when we don’t have electric hook-up), the cafetiere and stove-top moka pot (crucial), clothes, toiletries, books and “toys”, walking gear, where to hang the towels. We don’t expect to do a lot of cooking as such. We certainly won’t be frying anything inside. We’ll probably mostly just heat up ready-made food, store bought or home-made. To make the space look homier we bought a plant. I took a picture and used Google Lens to identify it. Artificial fittonia plant. Pretty. We seemed more or less ready to go but to make sure we have everything we decided we needed a test drive. Would hate to be find ourselves in some remote area without something we really, really need. The Test Drive to Appin and Dunkeld, 16 - 21 March We already have three longer trips booked. For our test drive Bill booked a three-night stay at Achindarroch campsite in Appin on the west coast and two more nights in Invermill Farm campsite near Dunkeld. On 16 March we drove down the Great Glen adjacent to Loch Ness to Fort William and stopped to admire Neptune’s staircase, a series of eight locks at the end of the Caledonian Canal. We often have a walk at the other end of the canal in Inverness. Now we walked along the other end. The locks look magnificent, but the photo comes out flat, unfortunately. There’s a very good M&S Food Hall in Fort William where we stopped for some food shopping. We had lunch next to the Ben Nevis carpark and afterwards another nice walk, though looking uphill towards Ben Nevis, not climbing it. You can’t even see the top from down below. We arrived at the campsite in the late afternoon. After a show-around by the owner, campsite rules and wifi codes we settled down. The campsite website mentions heated shower and toilet blocks. The showers and toilets were very neat but heated they were not and the windows were open (do not touch). The shower was nice and hot, but the space Itself was freezing. Schockinly freezing. Yes, schockinly. Our first night in Bertie was comfortable for me but cold for Bill. His sleeping bag is older than mine and he sleeps next to the outside wall. I sleep between the wardrobe and him. He had to get up several times in the night because of bad cramps in his legs and thigh. The following nights were better, wearing a heavy jumper and warm socks in addition to everything else in his sleeping bag. When camping you are very much at the mercy of the weather. The next day was rain-shine-rain-shine, so we went for a drive in Port Appin. Another test as the road was a very narrow single track road. Bertie managed well. Having your kitchen with you is handy. We stopped at one point to make some coffee. The following day was sunny and very windy. After a walk we drove down to Cuil beach for lunch, sitting outside Bertie. Taste of things to come. From Appin we drove to Dunkeld on 19 March through some really amazing scenery in Glen Coe. There wasn’t a scrap of cloud in sight, well, maybe a wisp. Cars parked by the roadside were proof of people being out there, walking. The tourists were out as well, loads of tour buses. Tourists from Asia, from Central Europe, judging by the languages. We had a nice morning walk in the Hermitage, originally designed as a pleasure ground in the 18th century for the Dukes of Atholl. The bridge we’re sitting on was built by the 3rd Duke of Atholl in 1774. The weather was very pleasant in the morning but turned quite cold in the afternoon. Our second walk of the day, to Dunkeld, was therefore not pleasant. Dunkeld itself is quite picturesque. Although this is still off season, it was already quite busy. The cathedral and its gardens were closed. The café was full. By the river, we had some cold water from my rucksack, shared a flapjack and a bar of chocolate and walked back to the campsite. On our way back home the following day we stopped at Pitlochry. It’s a nice little town, an old Victorian spa town. Our destination was the Pitlochry Station Bookshop at the railway station. It is a charity shop where paperbacks cost just £1. Came out with six books. We also stopped at the House of Bruar, the “Harrods” of the Highlands. Had a browse in the shops and lunch after trying to get to the top of the Bruar Falls. The path is closed after the lower falls as there still are trees felled by storms across the path. All in all, our test drive was a success. No problems with Bertie. Had we forgotten something? Was there something we really, really would have needed in some remote area? Well, I need to take more warm clothing with me. The days may be getting warmer, but spring can be so very fickle.
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AuthorI'm Piisa and I will be sharing with you my thoughts on this and that, maybe even on whatever. Archives
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