Motorhome meet, characters & Andy Murray.

Such a beautiful clear and star studded sky with only the intermittent haze of woodsmoke from the bonfire misting the view at the whim of the breeze. 

"Wow! Did you see that shooting star Trish?" 

She did and reluctantly tore her eyes away from the vista to briefly tend to her expertly set woodland bonfire.

Trish and her self modified transit van complete with woodburner and two dogs were pulled into a convenient spot on a wee road through the forest. I had stopped, as you do, to have a chat which at the offer of a redbush tea had me backing Sadie alongside and disgorging Tanya to meet her two new doggy companions, Kelsey and Merlin. All three dogs were soon best of friends and exploring the forest as Trish and I sipped Redbush tea and, as you do, shared stories.

Trish lived and worked in Dundee and was re visiting some of the camping spots she had used on her epic walk a few years ago from John O Groats to Lands End. A fascinating lady with a fascinating story to tell.

I had some quality beef and lamb burgers left over and cooked up a scrumptious meal with the wild mushrooms Trish had gathered. Agreement was reached that I also do the washing up while Trish, a real outdoors lady, got a campfire going where, after our hot chocolate and tot of whisky we quietly and in hushed awe viewed the universe above us.

I was slowly wending my way back to Glasgow after attending a social weekend at Brin Herb Gardens. Our hosts Angus and Margaret had once again hosted a successful gathering of Motorhomers together with Barbeque and visit to the Dores Inn on the shore of Loch Ness for a very tasty meal.

It was at the Dores Inn where wee whisky drinking civil engineer, and sometime Scottish Buddhist Drew suprised us all by stripping down to swim trunks and leaping into the Loch for a quick swim before the meal. Brrrrrr! For once I was quite happy to see someone else taking the plunge as it was a non sunny day with a cold breeze blowing. He survived and joined us positively glowing & just in time to order his 'todays special' of roast pork loin with an extra portion of the caramalised onion and apple gravy.

Drew and his wee dog Hamish were another two interesting characters. They were on a two week trip around the area in their small camper van which was very basic but again Drew was a real outdoor food forager type of guy whom I was delighted to get to know better as we shared a long walk on the Monday after all the other Motorhomers had left.

I'm now settled for the evening in a Forest car park not too far from Perth. We had a great walk earlier to the forest hilltop and lovely views of Dundee, the Tay Estuary and all the way back to the Cairngorms where we had travelled through since saying cheerio to Trish and her dogs earlier this morning. Poor Tanya is now back to once again having to put up with just me after the last few days of having a real variety of other dogs to converse and sniff bums with.

Well we finally made it back to East Kilbride but not before a visit to Perth Caravans where I drooled for sometime over the motorhomes on display. I left after discussing battery 'happenings' with their service department and decided to wait and see before forking out an uncomfortable two hundred quid for new batteries. I also had a quick look around Sadie as we rolled down the A9 and thought; 

"you're an OK motorhome and you and me has a few years of travelling to do yet." Tanya of course fully agreed with me.

The Dunblane sign hove into view. Well! With Andy Murray just winning his first grand slam and becoming US champion how could I NOT visit. For a town with such tragic a history (1996 Dunblane Massacre) forever lurking in its archives there was a good feeling tinged with poignancy attached to this visit. To walk from the memorial stone in the cathedral to the Andy Murray Olympic Gold painted post box is to walk from a gun enabled tragic waste of human endeavour to the peak of human perseverance and sheer guts. Yes, Dunblane was a vibrant and sun blessed place to be on such a day.

Sadie seemed to roll on a little lighter and faster afterwards and it was not long before we were settled and plugged in on Chris and Michele's driveway. Big hugs and shouts of delight from grandchildren Becks and Aidan made the arrival a welcome return to East Kilbride.