May weekend escape – with added excitement!

Being from the West of Scotland, trips north tend to be either of two routes – the beautiful West Coast via Loch Lomond, Tyndrum and beyond, or more likely if heading further north the A9 route past Stirling, Perth and onward to Inverness and beyond. This holiday weekend in May would take us via Dundee on the road toward Aberdeen (a road I know well, but normally only travelled for work), then off into Aberdeenshire and Royal Deeside. I booked us in at a Caravan Club site new to us, at Tarland, near Aboyne and Braemar. The weather was perfect, Ali Bongo was loaded up, and we were off!!

On the way we would have…traffic chaos, Subway lunch, and experience what was very nearly a catastrophic breakdown!! Much more exciting than I had planned, for sure!!

We didn’t get very far from home before coming to a halt again, either! We joined the A78 heading south, my preferred route out of town which takes you via dual carriageway and motorway from the end of our street, practically. Normally on a Saturday morning, we can be in Glasgow in 45 minutes…..not today! Not 2 miles from the end of the road, halfway down a stretch of the carriageway with no option…..we stop! And, we don’t move for nearly an hour!! It turns out some poor soul’s car had gone on fire, surely terrifying for the driver and any passengers. It was about 3 miles further up the road, and still smouldering when we resumed our journey. We exchanged relieved looks as we passed the carnage. Nobody had been hurt, thankfully.

We were now much later on the road than planned, and the traffic was subsequently heavier. Add to that it was a Bank Holiday weekend, with sunny skies, and it was a recipe for slow progress through Glasgow, past Cumbernauld too. Eventually we started to make good time, and as we approached the roundabout onto the A9 past Dunblane, we discussed a stop at the Subway just a bit further on. And then it got exciting again, but for different, more personal reasons! As we turned onto the roundabout, a terrible gurgling, grinding, and not-quite-right noise came from below my feet, This did NOT sound good at all! We pulled into the Subway to investigate, and get some food, we had been on the road a long time already.

Everything seemed to be covered in a fine spray of oil – tailgate, rear wheels, sides of the van, and it was still dripping below! I found the cause. One of the pipes to the power steering rack was spraying a fine mist of fluid, which was also dripping beneath the leak. a pinhole in the high pressure pipe was emptying the system, and the pump was making a racket running almost dry. I had a decision to make. Carry on, buy some fluid and keep topping up until it really gives out? Cancel the weekend and call RAC? The leak might not be that bad…. it might get much worse….but we have breakdown cover….

I decided to press on. After all, what’s a little more stress in your life?!

I pulled into the next service station, bought a bottle of power steering fluid, and topped up the system. This involves tipping the driver’s seat on a Bongo, and the reservoir is right there. It was below the “min” mark. I poured in the little bottle of fluid, which brought it up to the maximum mark. I started the engine – it was dripping about once a second. Let’s go for it!! We pressed on, passed Perth without incident, and onto Dundee, where I remembered a Halfords store. I could buy more fluid there. This we duly did, topped up again(only halfway to “min” this time) and headed off toward Aberdeen. Other than the leak, Ali Bongo was running like a dream. The engine pulled smoothly, and hadn’t overheated despite the heavy traffic at times. We pulled off the main road and headed for Tarland. This narrow twisting route headed upward to summit Cairn ‘O Mount, and off into Royal Deeside we went.

We arrived at the village, located the campsite, and checked in. As always with Caravan Club campsites, we were greeted by a cheery and enthusiastic warden who showed us to our allocated pitch – perfect location.

After a quick exploration of the campsite, we walked into the village to get an idea what was there. It was so peaceful, a sharp contrast to the hectic traffic through the bigger towns en route, and the beautiful wooded campsite and spotless facilities quickly put us in a more relaxed state of mind – leaking power steering fluids could wait until Monday morning! The village too was peaceful, not “touristy” at all, but an honest farming hub, with a conveniance store, a tearoom, and a pub / hotel – what more do you need!? We bought a few odds and ends for breakfast and headed back for dinner at the van. It had been a very long and overly exciting day! A few whiskies and a tasty ready meal, and we were soon sound asleep.

We woke early, the sun was shining, birds singing, and campsite visitors were starting their day. I lazily got up, and it took several coffees to get me going. What a glorious morning! We headed off after a shower for a walk in the woods on one of the Forest Trails we had seen last night. What a well organised setup, biking trails marked out, plus walks with coloured way marker posts made it easy to follow which path. We headed through the woods, passing several families with everyone on their bikes, and found peace and quiet once more further up the hillside. We reached a few houses and some open ground, where the path was still boggy from the torrential rain of the previous weeks, so we turned back the way we had come.

We had worked up an appetite by now, so we headed into the village and had a very nice filled roll and a coffee in the tearoom. We then explored the village boundaries, before returning to the van in the late afternoon. We both agreed we felt much more relaxed, the peaceful campsite and town was working it’s magic. It had a really nice “feel”, not touristy at all, but not a ghost town either, as folk were going about their business, meeting friends, shopping, mowing lawns. We were developing a real fondness for Tarland, and we agreed we would be back. We booked a table at The Commercial Hotel for a meal later on, and treated ourselves to a lovely posh fish and chips, chunky skin-on fries and a side salad, with a huge portion of fish overhanging the sides of the plate – perfect!

And so, we headed back, feeling much more at ease, almost forgetting the fluid leak ( I hadn’t, of course, but I was glad I had pressed on with the trip) and decided to head out for an evening walk – the weather was just perfect, and it was too good to miss. We headed past the woods this time, and toward a stone circle near the village. It was very atmospheric, as the dusk settled and the sun set, and the path was well marked and off the road, fenced off and well trimmed. We explored the stones, pondering their purpose. It was getting darker now, time to head back.

Monday morning saw another sunny start to the day, and we packed at a leisurely pace, showered, then walked to town and had another breakfast in the tea room. I topped up the power steering, and we headed further into Deeside, toward the Snow Roads, past Braemar, Glenshee, and south to Perth and the A9 once more. We stopped a couple of times to top up the fluid – it was leaking all over the place, making a right mess under the van. We arrived home without major incident, without traffic holdups, and I parked Ali Bongo before quickly spreading a tarpaulin underneath to protect the driveway. It had been a decent trip, apart from the obvious drama, and the weather had been glorious, the scenery amazing, good food, great facilities at Tarland campsite too.

Plus, I knew what my next Bongo project would be!!