Perth

Once the capital of Scotland, Perth is a picturesque city with a gorgeous architecture. 

Starting our trip from Loch Lomond, we drove to Perth, where we stopped for about 2 days (more than enough to explore the city!). While walking beside the River Tay, we could not help but notice the beautiful architecture throughout the city!

The city has plenty of parks (which Sangria enjoyed very much) and pubs to spend the evening while trying delicious drinks and getting to know the locals. 

A very nice place to spend a couple of days!

Stirling

We arrived in Stirling at night, and we didn’t lose the chance to explore the city at dark: it’s an incredible experience which I highly suggest. 

The old town has a gorgeous architecture and the medieval castle, situated on a craggy volcanic rock, will take you back in time. 

The Old Town Cemetery, situated next to the castle, covers a large area and it has an amazing viewpoint over the city. This is a well kept and monumental graveyard well worth a visit. We saw it by day and night but, I must admit, I preferred the night time as it was less crowded and we had all the time to enjoy our visit!

The next day, we went up to the National Wallace Monument, not far from the city. The imponent tower overlooks the city from a hilltop, and it commemorates the 13th century hero William Wallace. The walk to the top was pretty easy, and the viewpoint together with the monument was worth the effort!

Later in the day, we drove to the Doune Castle: as an Outlander fan, I was so excited to see the castle that appeared in the series as Castle Leoch! 

The castle was built in the 14th century, and it is surrounded by an impressive nature trail close to the riverside. Unfortunately, it was closed for restoration work when we got there, so we were unable to see it from the inside. However, from the outside it was just like I expected it to be: very fascinating!

Arbroath

Arbroath was a hidden gem we were glad to discover. We liked this place so much that we spent about one week here. I’d highly suggest this place to anyone visiting Scotland by campervan!

We slept next to the ocean shore, not far from the city centre. Waking up in the morning with the sound of the waves was one of my favourite moments in those days. The place itself was very calming, and it had a lovely beach where we admired several sunsets. 

The city centre was very nice, with a spectacular Abbey which, again, was closed for renovations when we got there. 

But my favourite part was the walking on the cliffs. The red cliffs overlooking the ocean were absolutely stunning, offering magnificent views created by the incredible natural landscapes. Numerous trails allowed people to go down on the beach, but we preferred the walk on the top to better enjoy the amazing views.

If you’re visiting Scotland, make sure to take about two days of your holiday to check out this place!

Penrith

After many relaxing days spent in Arbroath, we started to head South. It didn’t take us long to leave Scotland behind and enter England, and we could see the difference straight away: the wild Scottish scenery left the place to the immense English fields of very well kept grass, so green it didn’t look real. 

The first city we stopped in was Penrith, a nice little city with an even nicer castle, situated in a park characterized by very colourful flowers. We had some lovely walks here, and the city centre itself did not disappoint us. 

Despite this, we did not stop for long as we were eager to admire the Lake District, as we had heard so much about it.

Lake District: Keswick

Keswick was a pleasant surprise, in our opinion one of the prettiest town in the whole UK. 

The place itself is really quiet, with its characteristic Victorian architecture and the many small shops of craftmanship.

We had dinner at Dog & Gun, a traditional English pub that delighted us with a superb chicken katsu curry and excellent beer. The pub itself made us feel like if we went back in time: the interior was very antique, recalling hunting scenes. Very suggestive!

Castlerigg Stone Circle

This was one of the places I liked the most in all our 2nd month adventures.

Castlerigg Stone Circle is an historic landmark not far from Keswick, characterised by British stones thought to have been constructed in 3000 BC (making it older than Stonehenge!). 

The original purpose of the site is unknown, although one hypothesis is that it was used as a trading post.

The site offers panoramic views and a fairy, unique athmosphere. However, when we got there it was VERY crowded, with people making picnics over the stones and playing all over the place. I was very disappointed to find out that such historical place was treated this way. We decided to wait in the van until the sunset, when it was way less busy. 

Sunsets from there are really stunning, everything is colored in a magical golden light creating an even more mystic athmosphere. Really worth a visit!

Grasmere

Grasmere is a touristic village in the centre of lake district, and we almost lost the chance to see it! 

We were lucky a friend told us we absolutely couldn’t miss the famous Grasmere Gingerbread. And we were so glad we listened! 

The Grasmere Gingerbread Shop definitely sells THE best gingerbread I’ve ever had in my whole life. The shop opened in 1854, when Sarah Nelson invented the Grasmere Gingerbread and started to sell it to all the surrounding villages. Definitely a place worth a visit… so tasty!

The small village is lovely, and it has links with the lake poets: Wordsworth, in fact, lived here for 14 years and his grave is now in St. Oswald Church, a lovely church next to the lake. He defined Grasmere as “the loveliest spot that man hath ever found”.

We spent the rest of the days wandering around in wild nature, unwinding and enjoying our time.

Stay updated for the next month’s adventures!

Vanlife Month 2 – Eastern Scotland and Northern England

MINI VLOG

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