As Covid19 continues to hold a grip on foreign travel, campsite space is limited and we turned to the Caravan Club, now re-branded as the Caravan and Motorhome Club. They have a range of Certified Locations which are non-tent, five pitch sites for Caravans or Motorhomes. We paid our annual fee (joining fee waived apparently) and then had access to their online site search etc. and found a CL at Coldingham.
Bee Edge CL is a mile inland (uphill) from Coldingham Beach and is ideally placed near a pub serving food. We drove there from Killin, skirting Edinburgh, making full use of the Roamerdrive (overdrive), which reduces the engine revs and consequent noise in the Land Rover, to the level where you know the other person is saying something.
This is more new ground for us and we have no knowledge of the Scottish Borders and the next few days would be a pleasant surprise. The Bee Edge CL is quite new and although it is just the requisite five pitches, the owner has spent time and money creating the hardstandings, each with electric hook up, water supply and grey water drain. There's chemical toilet disposal too and even a charging point for an EV.
The best bit was that the next morning was sunny and we were able to eat outside and admire the distant view to the sea.
The EV connection is free during the day which surprised me and I had a look around. The charging point has this screen which indicated that there must be solar panels somewhere and a feed-in to the grid.
Just across the farm road there's an array of solar panels. They didn't look much until I tried to count them and I think there's forty. That would amount to almost 12KW of potential power which is about x4 what you are allowed on your roof the last time I looked.
Each of the panels is supported on a frame and then held-down by eight 6" concrete blocks. 8 x 40 panels = 320 blocks which makes that a lot of concrete.
Coldingham has religious roots, with a Priory (not a priori) established here many centuries ago which has been rebuilt over the years, now sitting in the midst of large sprawling tombstones. The long grass around these was being cut by a guy operating the loudest strimmer I've ever heard.
At the entrance to the village it looks as though there has been some jostling for front spot in the 'entrance sign competition'.
Then we walked to St Abb's Head, initially following an old Monk's path down to the harbour at St. Abbs. Someone told us that the harbour is like the Cornwall you go to see but is no longer there. They were right. It is beautiful, unspoilt, quiet and a very long way from London.
We watched this fisherman from the other side of the quay, wondering why he was having so much difficulty hauling-up his catch. He was using an electric hoist, holding the pendant in one hand but the baskets kept getting snagged in the lines on the boat and he climbed down the ladder and then back up, to have another go.
Then I realised that he had a hook on one arm. That would make it a bit harder. If I'd been on that side I could have helped, I can operate a hoist.
It's a nice walk to St Abb's Head from Coldingham and once there, the world becomes one of seabirds. You can hear the noise from the cliffs well before you see them and when you do, it appears that they are covered in snow.
There are various breeds here at different times of the year, including Puffins. At the moment there are Kittiwakes and Guillemots. The latter stand on the rocky perches, many facing inwards, as it's such a scary drop and you wonder how they are able to squeeze together and land without knocking each other off.
The Kittiwakes are more like a conventional seagull and sit on flatter perches and are clearly aggressive creatures, much like the Herring Gulls that are addicted to human food.
Paths around these cliffs are very exposed with convex slopes dropping away. Late Spring / release from Covid lockdown, has also meant there's a lot of grey and white haired humans around and several were taking precarious positions with very long and cumbersome camera lenses which can't be good for balance.
The lighthouse was built by members of the Stevenson family, who later included Robert Louis and was first demonstrated in 1862. It had been commissioned following a sinking of a ship in 1857. It's 68m above sea level and flashes every 10s.
The weather had improved markedly since Mull and we walked back across the beach at Coldingham Bay and then had a great meal in The New Inn, which curiously doesn't have a website but does respond to a Facebook message.
Map is taken from the Ordnance Survey / Bing Maps
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