It’s safe to say that the weekend didn’t get off to the best of starts! Richard in all his wisdom decided to start work early on the Friday which meant a ridiculous 4.30am wake up call for all of us. On top of that it was chucking it down outside and to make matters worse our motorhome was letting in water through the habitation door causing the steps to fill with water. But hey, that’s all part of the fun!
It was onwards and upwards as Richard managed to finish work early and the weekend began as we set off towards our first destination; Barlochan Holiday Park, a small campsite close to the village of Palnackie on the Solway Coast. The weather was pretty miserable and the rain continued into the evening, but that didn’t stop us from venturing out to have a kick around and a little play on the playpark. In all honesty, we didn’t have much choice as the kids spotted the playpark almost immediately, with Piper asking to go and play and Jack repeatedly shouting “Park”. After dinner we ventured back out, but this time to check out the on-site games room where they have a pool table, air hockey and the classic 2p machines.
On Saturday morning, we set off to our next destination. We decided to stop off along the way to visit Dundrennan Abbey. The ruined abbey dates back to the 12th century and was where Mary Queen of Scots spent her last hours on Scottish soil. We found this out by reading the information board positioned at the entrance to the abbey, in the same spot as the admission charges, and at £6 per adult we decided to take a more distant view of the abbey, so we pulled out the camping chairs, popped the kettle on and enjoyed the view from outside the motorhome.
After a short drive along the coast, we soon arrived at Brighouse Bay Holiday Park. It wasn’t long before we grabbed our towels and headed to the swimming pool for a splash around. We haven’t taken the kids swimming for a while, and we were a bit unsure how they would take to the water so we started off in the shallow toddler pool. Jack being Jack was more than happy to get in the water and start having fun, but Piper was a little more cautious hovering around the swimming pool edge before plucking up the courage to dip her toes in. We eventually managed to get her into the big pool and with her Peppa Pig armbands to help her along she even swam a tiny bit by herself. Proud parent moment! It was back to the motorhome for a cup of tea and after all the excitement of swimming, Jack crashed out on the sofa pretty much immediately, so Piper went off with daddy to try their luck at a bit of fishing.
The next morning, we all ventured out for a walk through the woods carpeted with bluebells and onto the beach, a must have if you’re visiting this holiday park as the bay is simply beautiful. We spent a good hour searching amongst the rock pools for crabs, of which we found plenty, albeit all dead. But as any child would tell you, one of the best things to do at the beach is hunt for shells (or as Piper likes to call them, “Shelves”) and she had plenty to collect and pop into her bucket. Jack on the other hand was busy climbing rocks or eating sand, what a boy!
And with that, our weekend on the Solway Coast had come to an end, but not before we left our mark in the sand…
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