Vanlife Road Trip - Part 5: Dumfries and Galloway (with a quick stop in Cumbria!)
8th - 14th August 2021
It's finally time to hit Scotland... whoop whoop! This has been in the planning phase for nearly two years, and it feels so good to finally be heading north of the Lakes. After my night near Ulverston, I headed towards Tebay Services to meet up with George. Her van was finally roadworthy again and neither of us could wait to get to Scotland and start exploring. There was no formal plan, after I deleted my carefully researched and scheduled spreadsheet in an attempt to be more loosey-goosey and spontaneous (tricky one for me that!), but we knew I needed to be at Loch Lomond in 10 days time to meet up with the Milford's and 'Dougie the Motorhome'.
I was thinking of taking George on a whirlwind tour of my favourite spots in the Lakes, but after careful consideration we decided it wasn't the best time, as holidays were in full force and parking was getting more challenging in the National Park. So we decided to head the coastal route to Scotland, with a quick overnight and breakfast stop at Derwent Water for a swim; plus I needed to pop in to Keswick to see the awesome staff at the Keswick Boot Company for new shoes! We had a quiet night parked up just below Cat Bells and in the morning walked down to the lake early for a peaceful swim. The old jetty was safety checked (yes she made me check it out first!) and provided half hour of entertainment for jumping and diving from. Once back at the vans we set off towards the coast via Honister Pass and Buttermere.
The views were stunning as always but the roads were very busy with visitors, so we didn't stop at all until we found a lovely park up right on the coast at Beckfoot. The tide was out when we arrived, but the sandy beach provided a lovely walk and we could see right across the Solway Firth to Scotland. There are a few places you can park overnight along this stretch and it's certainly worthwhile for a lovely view, stunning sunset and peaceful night's sleep. We had breakfast on the deck and enjoyed the views once more before we set off further up the coast road to Bowness-on-Solway where I wanted to go to see part of Hadrian's Wall and an old Fort. Unfortunately, there wasn't much to see, but we got chatting to a lovely couple who had just toured Scotland and advised us of some great park ups in Dumfries.
The coast road continued to follow the remains of the Wall up o Carlisle, where we broke north on to the M6 and in to Scotland... I cheered as we crossed the border, and the dogs looked up at me as if I was insane! We weren't on the M6 for long, as we turned off at Gretna to follow the A75 to Dumfries before heading on to the coast road to Dalbeattie.
After a few dead ends and park up fails, we were tired and hungry by the time we pulled into a layby at Loch Ken. Situated next to the campsite, it was a great spot to get our heads down for the night. We parked up, gave the dogs a quick leg stretch and checked out the beautiful Loch beyond the old viaduct that ran over the top of the river by us. George had a call, so set up her office on the edge of the road – what a chav! – and afterwards we donned our cossies and Dryrobes for a swim in the river. The water was warm and clear; and we swam for around 30mins as the rain started to fall. Back in the van all toasty warm; we set about throwing together some food before an early night. The next day, we got up and went for another swim, where we were joined back a couple who were keen wild swimmers but had never met before, so were on their inaugural outing. The weather was perfect for a swim… I didn’t want to get out as it was warmer in the water! The rest of the day was spent ‘working’ and chilling in the vans, before a few glasses of wine with dinner, and a little walk up to the viewpoint behind where we were parked. A lovely little walk, part of the Kite Trail, but we didn’t see any Kites (probably with the red squirrels in hiding!), alongside fields with grazing coos and woodlands promising sightings of reds, before coming to a picnic table with views across the local area and the Loch below. George a little tipsy from her glass of wine was in a silly mood; so we headed back and went for a sunset swim to sober her up!! It was stunning, the light reflecting on the water and the bridge creating dancing shadows.
We decided to stay another night (we’d had a drink and we were both shattered), and in the morning we set off towards the forest.
I had read that there was a small Loch and a couple of waterfalls, not far from Clatteringshaws Loch, plus it looked like there were plenty of parking spots for the vans, so off we ventured... The drive through the forest, past the beautiful Clatteringshaw Loch and up the forest track to the car park was stunning. This was our first real sense of Scotland and so far it was pretty epic. We parked near Black Loch in a large open carpark with no restrictions. The Loch itself is postcard perfect; it's quite small, really pretty, teeming with trout and features a unique obelisk sculpture on its shore, made up of hundreds of red brick tiles. The walking and mountain biking in the area is said to be pretty impressive; so we set off on foot with our swimming gear and picnics to search out those waterfalls. Official 'Waterfall Chaser' status was about to kick in!
We hiked along the forest tracks, watching the skies for Osprey and the trees for Red Squirrels; no luck with either, but we soon came across our first waterfall of the day. Grey Mare's Tail (not the huge one of the same name in the Moffat Hills!), is a pretty fall just a short walk from the main track. As you walk through the shrubs you can hear it thundering away in the distance and suddenly you are rewarded with a view of it plunging between the jagged rocks in to an inviting deep plunge pool. There was no one around, so we whipped our kit off and dove on in! It was pretty fresh (read cold!), and the current strong, despite it being a small fall. We swam around and played in the water for a while before hopping out to get dried and warm and setting off to find waterfall number two... Note to readers, always check your shoes and bags etc after leaving everything in the grass, as I had a snake in my bag!!!! The snake shimmied off, rather put out that I had disturbed it from its new warm home, but after a few girly screams from the shock of a snake in my gear, we set off back through the shrubs to the main path. Another note dear reader; remote spots aren't always that remote... As we were walking back to the track we came across another couple looking for the falls. It transpired it was quite popular with groups for a picnic and toe dip; so not a suitable skinny dipping spot! Hey ho!
As we continued along the track, we were rewarded with views across the forest to the hills beyond, and small natural springs trickled down the sides of the bank running near the path, offering fresh cool water to fill our bottles with. After a few kilometres, we headed down the hill, Murray's Monument stood proud to our left (apparently not in recognition of Andy Murray!) and we could hear running water gathering pace as it flowed towards the river. We crossed the road, and the river came in to view, its full force rushing by over rocks and under the bridge to the gorges and valleys further downstream. It didn't look feasible to climb down to Clugie Linn Waterfall; so, we ventured off-piste following a (what transpired to be) MTB trail to see if there was another route to the river.
After walking along the trail, hoping nothing came hurtling around the corner; we realised there wasn't another route down, so continued to loop around the side of the granite slabs to a beautiful viewpoint overlooking the valley for lunch. These great grey slabs of granite looked totally out of sync with the surrounding landscape and I wondered how they ended up here in these formations. Not long after my pondering and also thinking that the descent off the slap was pretty gnarly on a bike; a cyclist came tentatively along the ridge of the slab, commenting how it’s a tricky ride and probably easier to walk… Next, he hurtled off the drop making it look far too easy for my liking! Hope he didn’t fall off around the corner and just do the drop to save face around two women!
We climbed back down to the main path back to the waterfall and the bridge that spans over it, gutted we couldn’t conquer the fall. As I was walking back up the path, I noticed a little deer track in the woods and decided to investigate. After a bit of scrambling and a few twigs in the face, we made it down to the river directly beneath the falls. A quick change out of our kit on a precarious perch, and we dived into a deep pool flowing from the falls before it ran out to the large river below.
The water was again cool but revitalising and fabulous against our warm skin. We didn’t stay in long as the dogs were becoming restless; so, we got dressed and mooched on back to the road and Murray’s Monument in search of waterfall three.
Buck Loup falls are just off the road and easily accessible from a carpark. We walked through the ferns for a couple hundred meters to the foot of the waterfall, to find a small pool and some large rocks. Perfect for a quick dip but not conducive to a swim as such. We popped our cossies on (very public spot!) and climbed over the rocks into the pool before clambering up the rocks to stand nearly under the fall itself.
Now, we were under the impression this was the last waterfall that we could access on this route; but as we climbed up the steep hill under gathering storm clouds, we could hear the rush of water nearby… a small track led through some undergrowth, so it seemed rude not to take a look. Well, what a turn out; a stunning fall (Foot Loup) was cascading in to yet another beautiful plunge pool. It looked like not many people ever ventured up this way, so last strip for the day and in we got. This was a super quick dip as we were starting to feel the cold and the weather was definitely on the turn.
We reluctantly left the last waterfall for the day and continued the final part of the trek back to the vans for tea and medals (also known as cake!). So our waterfall hunting was now officially underway, after an epic day seeing such stunning scenery and enjoying four beautiful waterfalls in a rather peaceful and non-touristy spot. We spent the night at the carpark, which we had all to ourselves, before leaving early to retrace our tyre tracks back towards Clatteringshaws Loch, to a beautiful large pull in overlooking the water. It was a ‘work day’ for us both, so we caught up with social media, editing and writing, before a swim and bath in the Loch (blooming windy and cold!). A quiet night was on the cards after such an amazing day the day before; so a movie in bed with a drink was in order whilst watching the sunset out the side door. Bliss.
Water was getting rather low, so we pulled into the visitor centre up the road and the café owner kindly let us refill. She wouldn’t accept a donation; so to say thank you, I treated myself to one of their delicious coffees and brownies (I know; more a thank you to me than them!)…sooooo yummy; I had missed lattes!
We clambered back in the vans and started the beautiful drive through quaint villages, over pretty bridges and through woodlands, before arriving at our next point of call… Hell’s Hole Waterfall. Now, as a professional waterfall chaser (I gave myself a title; I know!) you’re never quite sure what you may discover in a dark, scary, potentially haunted woodland. On this occasion, thankfully not too much; but we did manage to find both waterfalls noted on the map, but unfortunately the bridge was derelict to get to one (which transpired was not in spate so very tiny) and Hell’s Hole was just too inaccessible due to the steep drop and fallen trees (so no pics I'm afraid).
Sometimes, you just have to look at them and not touch. So, we walked at pace (it was haunted remember) back to the vans, where we consumed our pack lunch by the side of the road, before continuing the stunning drive into Ayrshire towards Loch Doon and what promised to be a great spot for more waterfall chasing and epic parkups…
So, please don’t bother visiting Dumfries and Galloway; it’s really horrible. There’s nothing to see, a boring landscape, no nice park ups or wild swimming spots, and the people are clearly awful… OK; I’m lying. It was wonderful, everyone super friendly and some absolutely jaw dropping views and beauty spots. The walking and cycling in the area is top notch and it’s so sad that this wonderful part of the country doesn’t even feature in most guide books. We could have happily spent a few months in the region exploring the Lochs, forests and coast, but alas Loch Lomond and my date with the Milford’s was looming! I know I’ll certainly be back though to explore more and continue my ventures in this corner of Scotland.
Join me next time for more vanlife adventures in Scotland; as we head to Loch Doon, nearly die in a waterfall related incident, get stuck in some mud, meet some faeries, swim in a crystal-clear Loch and continue our hunt for Scotland’s best waterfalls.
If you'd like to see the videos showcasing our Scottish travels, plus many more of George's escapades (!); please visit us on YouTube at 2born2travel for more crazy adventures and giggles!
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