Wednesday 6 July 2011

Edinburgh.

36.0 Miles. Now at Edinburgh Caravan Club site.

Firth of Forth Railway Bridge from the A921.Firth of Forth Railway Bridge from the A921.

Well, so much for summer as this morning was cloudy and cool. We were in no hurry as we were only travelling 36 miles to our next destination. While on the move along the A921 we had been watching for any signs of the Firth of Forth Railway Bridge which suddenly appeared as we drove over the crest of a hill. A short distance further on we spotted a layby with no warning signs to say that there was a parking area. Luckily there was only 1 car in it which gave us plenty of room. With the overcast conditions the view of the bridge was very murky but as we were well ahead of schedule we sat it out for an hour hoping the visibility might improve.

Inchmickery island that had been made to look like a battleship to deter attacks in WWII.Inchmickery Island that had been made to look like a battleship to deter attacks in WWII.

During this time we kept taking photo’s hoping they would turn out better than the previous ones. After a reasonable length of time had elapsed we set off again down into the narrow streets of Aberdour. Things got a bit tricky when a van towing a trailer tried to push his way through even though technically he should have been giving way to me especially with a double decker bus behind me. I could see what was going to happen so I stopped where there was a gap in the parked cars on my right and hoped that he would fit into the space. He just managed to squeeze in between us and the parked cars allowing us to carry on. Every other vehicle pulled over and gave us right of way after that.

Inchcolm Island in the Firth of Forth.Inchcolm Island in the Firth of Forth.

Heading up onto the Forth Road Bridge I felt a sudden sideways push as we came out of the shelter of buildings and trees. There was no indication of any wind, strong or otherwise but I suppose as we were fairly high up with no protection I should have expected it. The journey over the bridge was quite noisy caused by the expansion joints in the roadway.

Firth of Forth rail bridge over North Queensferry. A cruise ship is berthed just around the corner.Firth of Forth Rail Bridge over North Queensferry. A cruise ship is berthed just around the corner.

It wasn’t long before we arrived at the camp site just 10 minutes after the midday deadline for new arrivals. We had no sooner stopped to register in the office when 3 more motorhomes pulled in behind us, two of them towing a small car. There has been a steady flow of new arrivals all afternoon and the camp must be close to full now as we haven’t seen many empty pitches on our walk around the site.

Heading across the Firth of Forth Road Bridge.Heading across the Firth of Forth Road Bridge.

This evening we had intended to go for a stroll to locate the bus stop ready for the morning. As we walked around the camp we spotted a motorhome displaying a New Zealand flag. As the occupants were home we walked over, two hours later we finally dragged ourselves away after a very enjoyable chat. Apparently they had stopped at Lymm on the Bridgewater Canal and spoken to a couple on a narrow boat who said “They knew a Kiwi couple who had sold a narrow boat and were returning to NZ”. A coincidence or is it us?

Gypsy Rover at Edinburgh Caravan Club site.Gypsy Rover at Edinburgh Caravan Club site.

A total of 3692 miles, since 5 March 2011

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