The Scottish Trip - It'll be Nice when it's Finished!

Although this isn't entirely a camping weekend I've turned a trip to Perth (the Scottish one) into a road trip with a couple of nights in Dai on the way to and from the hotel. I'd decided Durham would make a reasonable break point on the journey up so looked at the map for a suitable stop on the way. I've never been to Pontefract, it's got a castle, so I thought, "Why not?"

Unfortunately the castle is undergoing a multi-million pound restoration at the moment so much of it is inaccessible. Genuinely, it'll be fantastic when done and the new visitor centre, in a restored Arts and Crafts building, will be a huge improvement. As it is though it was a bit of a disappointment.

I had a stroll round the town centre and picked up a few bits of fresh food for lunch/dinner (the latter in the end) before rejoining the A1. I was thinking of calling in at Ripon but with deteriorating weather (it had gone from a bit drizzly to torrential) I didn't bother. I stopped at Scotch Corner for lunch as I was a bit early then got on site.

The Durham Grange CC site is an ideal stop over, being only a couple of hundred yards off the A1M. That does also mean it's noisy. It's also very handy for visiting the City as there's a park and ride in easy walking distance.

Having got pitched, which now takes all of 5 minutes, I sat down with my usual beer (a tradition I've kept on from when I had the folding camper, but that took a lot more effort to get sorted) thinking I'd just relax. Miraculously the rain stopped a few minutes later and the sun came out so I decided to explore. There's only one way to go on foot, that's out of the site, across both carriageways of the A690 and across two slip roads, not for the faint hearted. The view from the bridge over the A1M, shown above, is one that makes a lot of people realise they're nearly home! Penshaw Monument is certainly an icon from my childhood and probably that of many others.

With the sun setting, the temperature dropping and the traffic getting busier I decided it was time to brave the road crossings again, get back to the campervan and finish my beer. I don't need a very early start in the morning as it's a bit under 4 hours to Perth but I'll probably stop somewhere on the way.