Short trip North of the Border

[Ingwe]

Having a week to ten days away in Dumfries and Galloway. Left York yesterday lunchtime and had a pleasant drive up the A1 to A66. Stopped for the night at Woodhead Farm, Catterlen. £25, EHU, with spotless, well planned toilets and showers. Plenty of place to keep your clothes dry while showering and lots of hanging space, mirrors, soap and toilet paper. Other than us, only three tuggers.

Small site, lovely views and sheep bleated and cows mooed and lowed all night. Lulled me to sleep and did not disturb a good night’s sleep. Friendly owner came round in the morning to collect the cash. No cards only cash or transfers. No problem.

After breakfast, we toddled up the M6 to Carlisle where we stopped at a large Tesco to get the few things we normally forget to pack such as humous, squash, water and some other stuff, I forget (again).

Then onto Gatehouse of Fleet. Lovely spot, three other mohos here but otherwise empty. Tide’s out but superb views and the sun’s shining. No rain predicted until Friday. A swift sandwich and a coffee then a walk round the area and to plot my morning run that I cancelled this morning. Quite hilly so may substitute time running for distance. Will still aim for 5-7km.

After Friday may head off further north but not decided yet. Have to be back home for 28th.

 

[Silverman]

We stayed there last week

 

[Gellyneck]

We stayed there last weekView attachment 911872

You might at least have got your dug to take the stick away though!

 

[TheMachMan]

Looks nice, whereabouts was your stopover in relation to Gatehouse of Fleet?

 

[Otter Spotter]

Don’t shop at Tescos if you are in Dumfries and Galloway, there are some great independent food producers/shops, Loch Arthur community shop and Cafe at Beeswing for great food, or any of the butchers in Castle Douglas or the Artisan Bakery for bread and pastries and you cannot miss Moores Chippie in Castle Douglas, then Haugh of Urr Inn great food and booze.

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[lorger]

If you have the bikes with you and like a cuppa and a cake, I can recommend the little art gallery cafe in Laurieston 9 miles from GoF on quiet back roads. I stopped off today on my bike ride and the ginger cake is delicious

 

[Gellyneck]

If you have the bikes with you and like a cuppa and a cake, I can recommend the little art gallery cafe in Laurieston 9 miles from GoF on quiet back roads. I stopped off today on my bike ride and the ginger cake is delicious View attachment 911905

Psssssssssssssssssssst

The tea is meant to go in the cup not on the table cloth!

 

[Ingwe]

Looks nice, whereabouts was your stopover in relation to Gatehouse of Fleet?

Ours was at Newton Hall Farm

 

[Ingwe]

Don’t shop at Tescos if you are in Dumfries and Galloway, there are some great independent food producers/shops, Loch Arthur community shop and Cafe at Beeswing for great food, or any of the butchers in Castle Douglas or the Artisan Bakery for bread and pastries and you cannot miss Moores Chippie in Castle Douglas, then Haugh of Urr Inn great food and booze.

Thank for this. We always prefer to shop at independent businesses even if one has to pay more. Only shopped at Tesco Carlisle as we didn’t know what we’d pass before reaching our stop. Will try some of your suggestions.

 

[Solwaybuggier]

Saw your van on Carlisle Tesco car park this morning - love D&G, we recently stopped on Sorbie School CL which was great- and excellent food at the Pheasant Inn next door.

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[Otter Spotter]

Thank for this. We always prefer to shop at independent businesses even if one has to pay more. Only shopped at Tesco Carlisle as we didn’t know what we’d pass before reaching our stop. Will try some of your suggestions.

If you are really adventurous you could call in at Henderson Butchers in Castle Douglas and try their ‘Haggis Lasagne’ it tastes fantastic but you will need to lie down for at least 2 hours to digest and recover

 

[Ingwe]

Saw your van on Carlisle Tesco car park this morning - love D&G, we recently stopped on Sorbie School CL which was great- and excellent food at the Pheasant Inn next door.

Lol. Were you parked there as well?

D&G is a special place for me, especially Dumfries. My mom and dad went to live in Dumfries in 1950 from home in South Africa. My dad worked in the lab at African Explosives which was part of ICI. They had a factory in Dumfries and my father was sent there. Rationing was still in force and I still have some of his coupons. My mother worked at the Whitesands Hotel and in 1952, my sister was born in Cresswell maternity hospital.

Soon thereafter, they returned to South Africa and my sister has never visited Dumfries. Both my mom and dad are long dead but I often wonder how hard it must have been for them with the cold, rationing and different culture. Everytime I come to Dumfries And Galloway, I think of my parents.

Sorry for going on so!

 

[Solwaybuggier]

Lol. Were you parked there as well?

Yes, but only in the car!

 

[Ingwe]

The weather stayed dry at Newton’s Farm but it was very windy at night; so strong that the van rocked. We couldn’t find enough shelter from the van to sit outside for anything other than short periods. But then, in the late afternoon of the 20th, the longest day, the wind dropped and we were treated to a glorious sunset and an almost full moon. It was still light enough to see outside at 22:40!

After three nights, we moved onto Kings Green site in Port William. Almost everywhere this little gem is called Port William but when you get there the signs in the town say Portwilliam. No matter, this is a delightful lttle town and there is a community-run site that has EHU or not, as one prefers, clean toilets and showers and a washing up room with laundry. It is right on the beach.

It was very rainy and windy when we arrived but it soon stopped raining although the wind continued. There was a rotary drying stand and the wind blowing through the three rows of nylon clothes-line made an eerie whistle, almost musical. Quite disconcerting at night.

There is a Spar shop/post office and a café run by Port William In-shore Rescue committee (Pirsac) an alternative to RNLI which apparently declined to station a life-boat there. The café is open all day to 8pm and has a small bar too. The food is standard fare for cafés such as fish and chips, quiches, bangers and chips, toasties etc. Also lovely local ice cream. Staff are very welcoming and friendly.

We have decided to cut short our trip my 2-3 days for reasons not connected with travel. So tonight we’ve arrived at Winshields farm where we are parking for £25 with no ECU. There are however toilets and showers but no black or grey water draining. You can get fresh water however. ‘A very short scramble to Hadrian’s wall’ is how it is described. But we found it quite steep and rather further than we’d anticipated. So we’d brought no water, sticks etc. anyway, once at the top, the view is stunning and the wall is pretty impressive. We were pretty much alone.

Portwilliam

Now down and refreshed with orange squash, we’re preparing our supper of gnocci in tomato and garlic sauce. Been a lovely short trip. Home tomorrow, deo volenti.

 

[lorger]

Ingwe The factory your dad worked in is still there, I’ve worked there for the past 30 years. ICI sold it in 97 to DuPont who have just sold it to Celanese in November 22, it’s now called Mylar Speciality Films. The site has an archive section with loads of photos throughout the lifetime of the site, be interesting to see if your dad was there.

Not sure about the hotel on the Whitesands but my parents owned the Whitesands inn during the 80s, actually the reason we moved to Dumfries.

It’s a small world.

Our favourite quick getaway is Port William, lovely place to just get away from it all.

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[Ingwe]

Ingwe The factory your dad worked in is still there, I’ve worked there for the past 30 years. ICI sold it in 97 to DuPont who have just sold it to Celanese in November 22, it’s now called Mylar Speciality Films. The site has an archive section with loads of photos throughout the lifetime of the site, be interesting to see if your dad was there.

Not sure about the hotel on the Whitesands but my parents owned the Whitesands inn during the 80s, actually the reason we moved to Dumfries.

It’s a small world.

Our favourite quick getaway is Port William, lovely place to just get away from it all.

How very interesting! It is a small world. I would love to see the archive photos at the old ICI plant. My dad would have been there for only a couple of years I think between 1950 and 1962. AECI (African Explosives Imperial Chemical Company) sent him to Dumfries but he was recalled back to Modderfontein where there was (still is) a huge dynamite factory, then owned by AEICI. I was born in Modderfontein in 1955.

Now you say it, it was Whitesands Inn not hotel where my mom worked. What a series of coincidences with your parents owning the Whitesands!

Thanks for the info and really pleased you also think that Portwilliam is great.

Are you still working at the factory?

 

[lorger]

Are you still working at the factory?

Yes unfortunately I’m still there on a serious note yes been there nearly 30 years, will take early retirement before September.

The site also had a munitions factory called Noble’s so this is probably where your dad worked, they also had another munitions factory in Powfoot and both were still in production when I started.

One of my old golf buddies left Dumfries to go work on a site in South Africa in the mid 70s, he back in Dumfries now but ended up travelling the world building Polymer plants.

The Whitesands inn is now closed, it became a Land Rover spare place after my family sold it and is now closed and up for sale.

 

[Ingwe]

Yes unfortunately I’m still there on a serious note yes been there nearly 30 years, will take early retirement before September.

The site also had a munitions factory called Noble’s so this is probably where your dad worked, they also had another munitions factory in Powfoot and both were still in production when I started.

One of my old golf buddies left Dumfries to go work on a site in South Africa in the mid 70s, he back in Dumfries now but ended up travelling the world building Polymer plants.

The Whitesands inn is now closed, it became a Land Rover spare place after my family sold it and is now closed and up for sale.

Thanks for the further info on the munitions factory. Shame that the Whitesands is closed and up for sale but I guess that’s the nature of things!
I hope you enjoy your retirement when you take it. I retired in 2016 and every day since I get a small frisson of pleasure as I remember that working days are over!

 

[hja]

We stayed at the port William site on our recent trip to d & g. Only for one night however. Great little site although grey water drainage is a bit tricky.

 

[Ingwe]

Here is the singing clothes line I referred to in my post about Portwilliam.

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[Gellyneck]

Not sure about the hotel on the Whitesands but my parents owned the Whitesands inn during the 80s, actually the reason we moved to Dumfries.

I know my dad used to drink in The Globe when he was a lecturer at Dumfries Tech back in the 60's but I think he and the others taking evening clases used to alternate between there and The Whitesands (or maybe The Coach Inn(?).

The site also had a munitions factory called Noble’s so this is probably where your dad worked, they also had another munitions factory in Powfoot and both were still in production when I started.

Their big place, of course, was at Ardeer Point and way back when it produced dynamite, gelignite, cordite, etc.

 

[lorger]

Their big place, of course, was at Ardeer Point and way back when it produced dynamite, gelignite, cordite, etc

When Ardeer closed in the 90s quite a few of the guys came to Dumfries.

We have two Globe inns in the town, one famous for being Robert Burns local and the other for being full of nutters so I let you decide which one your dad frequented

 

[Gellyneck]

When Ardeer closed in the 90s quite a few of the guys came to Dumfries.

We have two Globe inns in the town, one famous for being Robert Burns local and the other for being full of nutters so I let you decide which one your dad frequented

Think it was the one on the left of the main street after crossing the bridge over the Nith. Is it down a close or something or other?

 

[Ingwe]

Yes unfortunately I’m still there on a serious note yes been there nearly 30 years, will take early retirement before September.

The site also had a munitions factory called Noble’s so this is probably where your dad worked, they also had another munitions factory in Powfoot and both were still in production when I started.

One of my old golf buddies left Dumfries to go work on a site in South Africa in the mid 70s, he back in Dumfries now but ended up travelling the world building Polymer plants.

The Whitesands inn is now closed, it became a Land Rover spare place after my family sold it and is now closed and up for sale.

I came across this link when researching the ICI plant in Dumfries.
It may be of interest.

ICI Dumfries Photos

ICI Dumfries Photo Collection

www.icidumfriesphotos.com

 

[lorger]

I came across this link when researching the ICI plant in Dumfries.
It may be of interest.

ICI Dumfries Photos

ICI Dumfries Photo Collection

www.icidumfriesphotos.com

This is the photos from our archives, I forgot an ex employee had put them on a website.

Lot of old colleagues in them.

It reminds me of how big and busy the site used to be, we still own all the ground but only have 2 plants now. At its height the site employed nearly 2000 people plus contractors running in to several hundred, now we have less than 200 staff and around 50 contractors on site on a day to day basis.

Site even had its own railway that ran round all the plants, we had our own fire station and medical centre with 3 full time nurses and a Dr now we have 1 nurse 3 days a week.

With the amount of people we had the social side was great, even had our own social club in town.

Although a lot smaller it’s still a great place to work especially for us still on ICI contracts, I sincerely hope the youngsters get a lifetime from the place but unfortunately I don’t think it has that time left.

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[Ingwe]

Back to our short trip.

After a very peaceful night at Winshields Farm we breakfasted with sun streaming into the van. Malcolm, who owns Winshields, is very friendly and helpful and he and his wife provide simple but lovely accommodation. True there is no hook up or black and grey waste facilities, but the toilets and showers are excellent, clean with plenty of hot water. There is also a washing up area with hot and cold water, bins etc. All in all, a lovely spot to stay and I highly recommend it.

We set off about noon to Homestead, a Roman fort on Hadrian’s Wall. It was only about 10 minutes drive away and it has a large car park with bays marked for motorhomes. Run by English Heritage, parking was £4.50 for up to 3 hours. Admission to the fort and the museum was £11.80 each which is the non-members’ concession rate i.e. for old farts like us. We regard this as quite expensive, as this charge didn’t include any information at all, not even a single A4 sheet with some historic detail. For that, you had to splash out a further £4.00 which we declined.

Anyway, the fort is something to see, especially on such a beautiful day. It was hot (25°) and still. After the wind we’d had previously, this made for a pleasant change. There is fairly long, steep walk from the carpark to the fort and museum and, if you just wanted to walk in the grounds surrounding the fort, you can do so for the price of the parking. There was a number of people doing so, walking dogs, using the decent café etc.

Once at the fort, there are a few boards but they could really do a little more to explain things and provide historical context but what board there are, are fine. We also watched a 10 minite video in the museum which was useful and we had a look at the artefacts dug up from the site.

All in all, an enjoyable experience and we had expensive sandwiches and tea for lunch at the café. Then we had a hapless trip on backroads until we joined the A68 and headed to Darlington. We deliberately avoided the A66 and are pleased as there was much less traffic than found on the A66. We then joined the A1 south near Darlington and home to York.

We thoroughly enjoyed our short trip North (just) of the Border and are looking forward to further trips to Scotland.

I’ve posted some photos of the Roman site.

Walk from the carpark to the fort and museum.

 

[Ingwe]

Two corrections to my post #26:

1. The Roman site is Halstead not Homestead.
2. When I referred to the ‘hapless’ journey south, I meant uneventful not hapless.

5/10. See me!

 

[Ingwe]

Two corrections to my post #26:

1. The Roman site is Halstead not Homestead.
2. When I referred to the ‘hapless’ journey south, I meant uneventful not hapless.

5/10. See me!

Further correction: Housesteads not Halstead.
I must pay attention. I must pay attention. I must pay attention.