Two trips, four seasons, Bongo shakedown part two

The second outing of the long weekend, Sunday into Monday, was planned to take in a visit to Ecclefechan to visit some Bongo friends there, then head back up the A74 a bit to Moffat, a historic Borders market town, where there was a Caravan and Camping Club campsite. I had booked the campsite the week before, and as a non-CCC member ther is a surcharge, taking the booking to £25.45, for two adults, hookup and a hard standing pitch. Not unreasonable, and as it turned out, a lovely spacious campsite, plenty of space between level pitches of gravel which had loads of space for awnings etc, 16A electric hookup, huge toilet block with ten showers, all heated and spotless clean. I planned to take Lorraine out for dinner, and there were loads of places to choose from in Moffat, with hotels, restaurants and bistros everywhere, it seemed. The weather on Sunday morning was pretty wild, high winds, heavy squally showers, with the prospect of snow in the air. This was going to be a proper road-test!

We headed off around 1045, via the filling station to top up. The roads were quiet enough, and although it was gusty, which is always interesting in the Bongo, it was manageable. We reached Kilmarnock and joined the A77/M77 to Glasgow, where we would pick up the M74 to Ecclefechan. As we headed toward Glasgow, the heavans opened, and at times it was like driving through a river, several inches of standing water on the road, with car-wash like rain battering us too. But, Ali Bongo was running sweetly enough, and we progressed through the water, which worsened until we got through Glasgow and headed further south again. Now it was the wind I had to contend with – really strong and unpredictable gusts buffeted us violently, with faint flurries of snow in the air as we rose over the highest part of the road toward Elvanfoot and our normal toilet stop. No dramas, we pulled in for ten minutes, and messaged ahead to Kath and Heather to let them know we were still coming through.

45 minutes later, we pulled in at theirs in Ecclefechan, and were warmly greeted with some banter and a fantastic feast of a fryup breakfast roll. We stayed a while, trading stories and catching up on kids and holidays, before heading up the road again some 25 miles to Moffat. The weather was all over the place, throwing every type of rain, snow and wind it could muster, interspersed with sunny spells when the wind would drop to a breeze. Weird! We checked in, and were given the choice of several empty pitches, so chose one near, but not next to, the toilet block. I plugged us in to the hookup, got the heater on ( a small 600W convector heater, perfect for keeping the van cozy if hookup is available), filled and boiled the kettle, and we had a coffee/tea and relaxed. It was still reasonably quiet out, the wind having died down a bit, so we headed up for a wander round Moffat, exploring the narrow streets behind the main street, soaking up the old-town atmosphere. Loads of shops for the next visit, antiques, art, wool and tweeds, an amazing sweet shop, as well as a host of pubs and hotels. We chose the Star Hotel, famously in the Guinness Book of Records as “The World’s narrowest hotel!!”, at a mere 12 feet wide, I don’t doubt it!

Pouring over the menu, I chose the chilli, Lorraine plumped for the Sunday roast beef dinner, and I sampled the Aspall’s cider on draught, lovely! The food was excellent, the staff chatty, and it was a lovely few hours in the bar, after which we headed back to our van, to watch a movie with a wee nightcap.

Very heavy rain, some wintry bursts of hail and snow overnight and strong gusts at times too, but the van was comfy and warm, not too warm, but perfect in the sleeping bags. In the morning, I fired up the diesel heater to show it off to Lorraine and it was again impressively quick to heat up, with windows open it soon had the condensation shifting and the van toasty, even with the door open a bit too. I just think what a bargain it is, and well worth doing if you plan on using your van all year round. The benefits of warm blown heat are huge, and with at least 4 hours on a litre of fuel, even flat out, running costs are minimal.

We finished packing up after another cuppa and a shower, and drove up to the town for breakfast ( we had seen a sign advertising breakfast yesterday!) and a bit of a browse in the shops. We found a fantastic sweet shop, the kind with every single sweet you remember as a child, and more! Lorraine got some Moffat fudge for the boys, and we headed up the street for breakfast to the Garden tearoom, which is on the back of the Tweed and Wool shop. Worth noting we were impressed once again with the quality and value, Lorraine having the six-item breakfast, and my cheese and onion toastie with salald and coleslaw was just so fresh, crispy granary bread, red onion through the cheddar filling, with a cup of lovely ground coffee, superb!

Suitably fed and watered, we headed back to the van, fired up and started for home. By now, the snow flurries were getting quite heavy at times, and the strong winds were making the road treacherous, demanding full concentration. Luckily, most drivers were behaving sensibly, speeds were moderate and braking distances were for the most part maintained….although there is always one who knows better!

We arrived home around 2pm, without incident, although as we passed through Glasgow again, the standing water on the M8 was horrendous. I stopped and filled the van up again at the same pump, and estimate 33mpg, at motorway speeds at times, in high winds. Really happy with the way the van performed all round.

As the day drew to a close, the winds picked up to full gale force, and heavy falls of snow came in, broken by deluges of rain to wash it all away again, but a shocking night, weather wise. Glad we are home, and glad we decided to go our planned trip anyway. If the roads had proved more treacherous, I would of course have turned for home, but it was actually fine for the most part, and with sensible driving the Bongo is very capable of handling bad weather on the move. With the diesel heater installed, it is now capable of handling the chilly winter nights as well!! As always, a few ideas floating around for improvements after the trip, and this is the nature of Bongo ownership, I think, fine tuning, compromising, inventing, and having fun!

The plan is to get at least one, possibly two trips away every month this year. All-in, the weekend costs – fuel, camping, eating out – come in around £200. I drove over 400 miles. We ate out twice. We stayed at a campsite and enjoyed electric hookup. I think that’s value for money, and bear in mind I have a full tank as well, so if you subtract the cost of that, around £150. Bargain!