ScotVlog 32 Towing my caravan in Arran
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- čas přidán 16. 05. 2015
- A slow film about a slow tow from Brodick to Lochranza on the Isle of Arran after a visit to Brodick Castle. Bumpy roads, stunning scenery, and a bit of waffle.
- Auta a dopravní prostředky
Hi Andrew, Once again another insightful big, yes indeed the roads Scotland, a throughback to a more quiet, slower era!
The holes in the road are Arran's alternative to speed bumps but don't worry - they have a good cave rescue team to help if you fall into one of them ! Seriously, as you said yourself, who wants to race round the island? The whole atmosphere of the island can be summed up in one word: "relax", so do just that, slow down and enjoy..
Cave rescue - ha ha! Yes, natural speed bumps indeed. Arran is way too pretty to speed through :)
What an amazing island. I loved your twittering Andrew. You exuded happiness despite the “tw-t” who nearly ran you off the road! Pity about the coach 😭 I shall look for 33 now 😊
Glad you enjoyed it Jan! I need to get back to Arran soon.
Gorgeous views of Arran through the camera's eye, Andrew. Reminded me of my trip to Arran in 2017. Fortunately my trip via the local bus around Arran was uneventful. Lunch and a tour at the Arran distillery was delightful and of course the island is as you described absolutely gorgeous..
I find your Airstream aesthetically extremely pleasing inside out and can see how light, comfortable, spacious, and well thought out the living space is. Whenever I hear you talk about hairy 3 point turns though, or see wing mirrors being hit by white van men, or the lovely hind of your Airstream not quite being in the appropriate lane on a ferry, etc., I am immediately thrown back to my childhood memories of caravan holidays (in the 70s an early 80s). For some reason, I mainly remember exactly those things: Car engine going up in smoke whilst trying to tow up the Alps (my dad paid little attention to trying to match engine size to task...), driving too fast in wind and my mum having a panic attack whilst driving because the caravan was starting to handle the car rather than the appropriate way round (is that called scissoring? If so, we once watched a full on scissoring almost ending in a very bad accident), getting stuck in corners or causing cues whilst trying to reverse. In my memory reversing was just so counterintuitive, that, especially when stressed, there always seemed to be a very good chance indeed to get it very wrong and get completely stuck whilst blocking the whole road (that did happen at least once, though my memory may have added shouting and gesticulating Italians just for local colour). I hope you don't take my reminiscence as "oh same old, same old, people always bring up issues with caravanning". In particular through your videos (I have been a bit binge watching, oh dear) I am rediscovering the beauty of it too, and the freedom it allows. It just is quite a few steps closer to a proper home you are carrying with you compared to a campervan. And I know I will most definitively find lots of inconveniences caused by having chosen a campervan. But I am pretty confident the driving will be just a wee bit less stressful.
Thanks for all the lovely videos and all the entertainment and info you have provided over the last couple of weeks.Sadly, I am slowly running out of videos. I don't know how to say this, and not that you need my approval, but you are a natural on camera, very genuine, funny, and warmhearted. And no it's not only (;-)) the dog.
Ahh, thanks for your kind comments and your memories. No, it's not whinging, it's fond - 'colourful' - memories! One of my favourite catch phrases is: 'Adventures suck while you're having them.' I'd love to do more videos but at the moment I can barely cope with doing one a week. It's that need to earn a living that stops me doing as many as I'd like. All the best and thanks for tuning in! ;@)
Andrew Ditton Appreciate however little or much you enjoy (!) making, just bemoaning the imminent end of the discovery phase - when you find a new channel you really like and there seems to be that inexhaustible source of enjoyment.
But speaking of money, I assume you have thought about Patreon and decided against it?
At the moment, I have decided against Patreon. I am already feeling the pressure of trying to make ends meet, and ironically I don't want the added pressure that a Patreon would bring. I know that if it all gets too much I can suspend or reduce the blogs - something I could not do with patrons! Not ruling it out, but trying to make it work without for now.
Hmm yes, I see perfectly how feelings of increased pressure are most likely unavoidable even if the expectation of content / schedule isn't there.
With that in mind, the following is just to explain how I, as a viewer of your channel, feel about the concept. I for one would never want a patreon donation (!) to feel like I'm 'paying for a service' and I would not want the creator to think that at all. I only support creators that I feel connected to, and the monthly amount I support them with is so small that I avoid ever feeling they owe me anything (but for the creator of course 7,700 x £1-2 would still add up....;-)...). It's more a "thank you for what you did so far - I admire you art and you had a positive impact on my life." Granted if someone unannounced hadn't published anything for a very, very long time (a year maybe) I would probably eventually end my patreon subscription, but if they would just have a break I wouldn't mind at all.
Anyway, it's just a pity that we all have to make money isn't it - would be so much easier without needing this blooming stuff.
I like the look of the brodick harbour
That is exactly the same experience we (hubby and self) had touring Arran on our motorcycle. Very rough and not enjoyable at all, it was so busy we were stopping every few metres. A cyclist had been knocked off his cycle.. It must have been very difficult with your van etc. Not enough infrastucture for touring for us, ok for walking/hiking and cycling (at a push). My hubby enjoys your vlogs. Best Wishes.
Hi Lynda, yes indeed, a combination of reduced ferry fares, more folk holidaying at home and the UK being cheaper to visit (exchange rate) AND idiots making CZcams videos promoting the place (ummmm....) mean that Scotland has, in places, become the victim of its own success and now the infrastructure is at or beyond its limit. My solution is to now visit off season! All the best.
Yes we are fortunate in living in Scotland and do go at all times of the year. We have often had good weather in Nov when we have had wee touring trips for our anniversary. Now the NC 500 is marketed as such the roads are sometimes similar but to swim in Sango Bay is worth it. Happy touring.
Went to Arran with a school trip 30 years ago and again a few years later. Wonderful place. Thought I might take the family this summer, so I got a quote from CalMac - to go AdrossanBrodick. Turns out that I'm too long to be classed as 'domestic' traffic and have to pay the commercial rate of £420. If the caravan were 25cm shorter, I'd be 'domestic' (even if the car was a metre longer). Grr.
Sad but true. My Airstreaming friends had EXACTLY the same issue for a rally I ran in North Uist in 2016. It meant that they didn't come and the island lost out on their tourist spend. But, that is the way it is, and one thing I have discovered is that caravanners and motor-caravanners don't have a very influential voice when it comes to authorities in Scotland unfortunately.
At 20 m/hr you can see the world.
Joan Hall Very good point Joan! :)
Make me a bit nervous, driving along on that road.
Glad you went nice & slow at 7:34, that wall's been bashed in a few times by the over enthusiastic motorist. :D
Re island survival at 10:00, I guess they never noticed the main Co-op in Brodick (and its smaller outlet at the other end), which does home delivery, and of course big chest freezers are popular. Plus there's a large ASDA in Ardrossan now, at the harbour, though in reality a heck of a lot of people use mail order. An islander might ask a Londoner, don't you have mail order on the mainland? Perspective is a funny thing. :D
Btw, your vid ends at the exact point I blew out my rear tyre on my racing bike when coming down the hill from Lochranza about 20 years ago. I was going so fast (yeah, too fast, but it was fun), it removed a 6" long stretch of the rubber when the brakes locked the wheel. I commenced repairs at the side of the road (gaffer tape's a good temp substitute for tyre), some nice tourists on rented bikes stopped to offer assistance, I thanked them but said it's ok, I'm a bike mechanic and actually normally work at the place where they hired their bikes, hehe. Repair was enough to get me back to Brodick.
Thanks for the vid! Been a while since I was up that way.
Happy to have brought back some memories for you. I made a video this year about the 'Five Ferries Challenge' although I of course cheated and did it on the motorbike ;) I'll put a link here, hope you enjoy it, specially the Arran bits: czcams.com/video/cP16HSKebfY/video.html
Thanks for the link ref! I'm back on Arran atm, helping my step-Dad for a bit, waiting for a time chunk when I can watch your vid. 8)
Hello Andrew - I am planning a trip to Arran, Spring this year, with our motorhome and towing our VW Up on an 'A' frame. In total this would be 12m long and 2.3m wide. A you know it is difficult to reverse with the 'A' frame (on short distances in a straight line possible whilst hooked up). We would only be travelling from Brodick to a campsite (not decided which one yet) whilst towing and returning to the mainland via Lochranza. Watched this video with interest! Any advice for us please? Would it be better to not travel with our tow car?
The trip to Arran is part of a longer tour up the west of Scotland with Arran as our only island hop.
Many thanks in advance for any advice you have.
Alan
Hi Alan, I'm afraid it's been so long now I don't feel confident to give you a correct answer. I guess the main thing with ALL Scottish single track roads is to take it slow and take it easy, letting traffic pass at every opportunity, so you never end up overshooting a passing place. I don't think I have EVER needed to reverse towing my caravan in this manner. Have a lovely trip!
@@andrewjditton Many thanks Andrew; appreciate you taking the time to reply. I suppose I could guess that common sense should prevail and having thought about it further we drive separately to and from the campsite whilst on Arran - no doubt less stressful!