Caravan holidays in Scotland

Book your 2010 Caravan Holiday now

Now that Christmas and the New Year have passed and the big freeze appears to be behind us, it is time to turn your attention to the more enjoyable things in life - holidays for this year!! Spending a short break or a full week/fortnight on a holiday park in Scotland is a great way of getting closer to nature with all the creature comforts of your home.

Caravans 109 and 196 (196 is new for this year) are owner caravans at Nairn Lochloy Holiday Park avaible for hire to holidaymakers. Both of them are within 50 yards of the beach so you can enjoy fantastic walks or beach days just ourside your front door. Nairn's East Beach is truly fantastic and is great for swimming on those balmy days in Summer (or at other times for the brave ones!!!)

You can book either caravan now and take advantage of early bird booking discounts. Remember though that you can only guarantee one of these caravans if you book by telephone. Click here for more details. Sadly you cannot book them online.

So if you are looking for a caravan holiday in Scotland on one of the nicest Caravan Parks then don't miss out on the week you want - book now!!

Book your caravan holiday in Scotland for 2010

Caravan 109 is available for booking, and new for 2010, we are also letting out caravan 196. Like caravan 109, it is a 2008 ABI Elan that sleeps up to 4 people in 2 bedrooms. There is a put you up bed in the lounge for an additional 2 people.

Caravan 196 is located a bit further down the park in a quiet corner by the sand dunes. Click here for the site plan. It has a large deck to the rear of the caravan with chairs to sit outside on. For full details on the caravans click here.

Remember you cannot book individual caravans online - you need to phone up and request the Caravan of your choice. Click here for full booking details.

King Eider at Burghead

A very exciting bird has appeared at Burghead over the last few days - a King Eider. We are all familiar with the Common Eider which we see plenty of around the coastline, especially at this time of year, but a King Eider is very special. Burghead is about a 20 minute drive from Caravan 109 in between Findhorn and Lossiemouth and has a nice beach as well.

The Snow Buntings have returned as well on Nairn East Beach. There are well over 50 of them. They look fantastic with their white and black wings as they flit between the shore and the grasses in the dunes.

Another season over at Nairn Lochloy Holiday Park

So that is it. Another season is over and the site closed down for the Winter on Monday 9th November. For those taking a break in the first week of November, the weather was kind with some beautiful clear and sunny days. Great for walking on the beach or touring the local area - and all from the heated comfort of Caravan 109.

The site opens to holidaymakers from the 22nd March 2010 and closes on the 5th November. Caravan 109 will be available once again for the season and next year we are adding Caravan 196 to our portfolio. We will keep you posted as to when the two caravans are available for booking. Hopefully it should be early January, but it could be before.

For full details on Nairn Lochloy Holiday Park clik here. It is the perfect place for your caravan holiday in Scotland in 2010.

Day out on the Black Isle

A couple of weeks ago we had a nice day out on the Black Isle with friends from Yorkshire. It is easy to get to from Caravan 109 and takes no more than half an hout to get over the Kessock Bridge and onto the Black Isle.

The weather was great with some warm Autumn sunshine. We stopped off first at Chanonry Point which is the premier place in the UK for watching Bottle Nosed Dolphins. Apparently there are about 130 of them resident in the Moray Firth. Typical - not a dolphin in sight but a very nice walk on the beach towards Rosemarkie along the side of the golf course.

We then headed to the top of the Black Isle and had a fantastic lunch in Cromarty at the Pantry. No trip to Cromarty is complete without a visit here. They make the best sandwiches around and use what is called a Cromarty 'bloomer' - a huge soft loaf of bread which is very moorish.

After a wander around Cromarty and a look at the Nigg Ferry (still only taked 2 cars at a time!!) we wandered back around the Cromarty Firth side of the Black Isle looking out towards Invergodon. This is where they repair all the North Sea oil rigs and there were 4 in dock as we looked across. They look gigantic!

There was plenty of wildlife on the water as well. There were about 50 Scaup not far offshore as well as hundreds of Wigeon. Further on at Udale Bay, we sat in the hide and watched a fantastic array of ducks and waders. There were Brent Geese, Shelduck, Teal, Bar Tailed Godwit, one Whimbrel, Knot, and probably most exciting, a Manx Shearwater. With the sun starting to set everything had a wonderful orange hue. Another great day out.

Gannets diving in the Moray Firth

At about this time of year the Moray Firth is a great place to watch young Gannets plunging headlong in to the water in search of fish. There is no better sight than fifty or so large brown birds dropping into the water one after the other just off shore. You can see all this from the Nairn Habour breakwater just 5 minutes from Caravan 109.

Also today were 6 Brent Geese - the first arrival of the Winter. They were bobbing around on the choppy water. There were plenty of the usual suspects - Redshank, Oystercatcher, Curlew, Cormorant and lots of Bar Tailed Godwits. There were also about 50 Common Gulls on Ministers Pool.

Loopallu 2009

Last weekend we headed west for the 'Little fest in the west' at Ullapool. It is a small music festival with a difference, the difference being that is is based in the town, and although focused around a main music tent, involves all the local pubs and shops as well.

We stayed in a lovely Bed and Breakfast called Tanglewood House which was about a mile out of town. Anne only had one room left so the girls took that and I was given the linen room. Fantastic!!

We had a few drinks in the Seaforth Inn in the early afternoon and then had a wander around the shops. Friday's musical highlight was Alabama 3 who did an acoustic set (without Devlin Love who is expecting). After the music had finished in the main tent, it started in the town and we headed to the Ceilidh Place to take in Family Mahone. Fronted by Mark Radcliffe (Mark and Lard fame), they do drinking songs from Chester. A great night followed by a long walk home.

Saturday was another nice day so we headed to the Ceilidh Place again for a coffee. We met up with the Fired Art crew who were manning the pottery painting and face painting marquee next to the main music tent. The music highlights were the Dangleberries and Family Mahone on the main stage. The girls were doing big time Highland dancing!

After the music had finished on the main stage we headed up in to town and had a few drinks at the Ceilidh Inn (different from Ceilidh Place). We had a schnifter in the Arch Inn and then went to the Ceilidh Place again to listen and dance to Polly and the Billets Doux (this means love letters!). They are a great band - well worth a listen.

Once again we took the long walk home - longer than the night before but we were quieter when we got to the B & B!! Anne gave us a great breakfast on Sunday morning before we headed back over the hills to Nairn.

Swimming with the Seals

Last Wednesday we took a trip down to Fort William so we could go out on the SeaXplorer fast boat down Loch Linnhe and swim with the Seals. Fort William is a good 2 hours from Caravan 109 at Nairn Lochloy Holiday Park, but it is well worth the trip for a wildlife excursion on the RIB (rigid inflatable boat).

The boat leaves from the pontoon by the Tourist Information Centre at Ballachulish (next to the Isles of Glencoe Hotel). We headed out under the Ballachulish Bridge and then across Loch Linnhe to a few small islands on the far side. The tide was a bit high for there to be lots of Seals, but there were half a dozen lounging on the rocks.

We put on our wet suits and plunged in to the 'freezing' water!! The seals were very inquisitive and although they didn't come right up to us, it was a great feeling to be capturing their curiosity. There were a couple that came quite close, mimicking our moves. After about 15 minutes we decided to leave them be so as not to disturb them too much. After all it is their natural habitat.

As we swung round to head back across the Loch, a young White Tailed Sea Eagle flew out of the trees. It had a white wing tag on it which indicated that it is two and a half years old and was hatched on the Island of Mull. A fantastic end to a perfect evening.

If you would like to swim with Seals from SeaXplorer this year or indeed next, please e mail here and put Seals in the subject box. Please add any comments or questions.

Day out in Findhorn

Yesterday was a grey day but we had a friend visiting from Appin, so took a drive out to Findhorn which is about 20 minutes from Caravan 109 at Nairn Lochloy Holiday Park.

We arrived at lunchtime so went straight to the Kimberley Inn for lunch. As always it looked great and we settled down to their huge Haddock and Chips, Chilli and Baked Potato. The sun was shining when we came out so we headed round to the Captain's Table as they have a marine shop and we needed to buy a wetsuit (swimming with seals tomorrow).

We took a stroll around the headland onto the beach and there were around 100 seals basking out on the sand banks. Out to sea there were lots of Gannets diving in to the sea for fish, and there were still a few Sandwich Terns squawking over the shallows. Back in the Findhorn Bay estuary there was a flock of about 50 Mute Swans, hundreds of Redshank, lots of Knot and around 20 Grey Herons. The highlight of the day though was an Osprey fishing overhead. After a couple of unsuccessful lunges, the youngster managed to catch a fish before heading off over the Pines of the Culbin Forest.

We rounded off the day with a cup of tea outside at the Captain's Table, whilst watching the kids on a sailing lesson. Just as they set sail the wind got up and the instructor spent the next 20 minutes rescuing them off the sandbanks and righting capsized yachts!!

Golf around Nairn Lochloy Holiday Park

Friends have been up in Nairn over the last week and we have taken advantage of the fine (if windy) weather to get out and play some golf.

First up was Nairn Dunbar on Tuesday evening. The wind was blowing (so strong you could not stand still in one spot!!) but we were game for it. The course is literally a 5 minute drive from Caravan 109 at Nairn Lochloy Holiday Park. They offer a twilight rate after 5.00pm so we managed to play 14 holes for £20. Not bad on a quality course like this.

On the Wednesday we decided on Lossiemouth New Course. Not so new really as it was built in 1979! The sun was shining but the wind was still blowing. The front nine was playing into the wind so the scores were not great. However the course was in fantastic condition and looked so picturesque right next to the sea. Lossiemouth is about half an hour from Caravan 109.

The final day of golf was played at a course that we had not visited before - Hopeman Golf Club which is about 20 minutes from Caravan 109 on the way to Lossiemouth. It is a beautiful little course with a spectacular back nine. The signiature hole on the 12th (Prieshach) is a par 3 with a 150 foot drop from tee to green with the Moray Firth looming on the right!! It is great links golf and not a particularly long course. This year is their centenary year!