We drove to Crieff in convoy the night before. Me with the Mazda and the double axle trailer packed to the hilt and Julia with the new Nissan Leaf which will be our island car and our power supply. (More on that later).
We arrived in Oban ferry terminal at 6 a.m. and all was well, Julia had 100 miles of range left and I was relieved to have pulled the huge weight over the hills without incident. The Calmac guy loading the ferry took my ticket and asked me what was in the trailer and if there was any fuel or flammables. He said the load would be checked on the boat. I foolishly mentioned the empty gas canister thinking, (or more hoping) that “empty” would be ok. Calm turned to chaos as I was informed that I would not be taking the canister on the ferry and I must unload it... with about 5 minutes to spare. The problem was that it was in the middle of the load. Mayhem ensued in the dark, with rain lashing on us. I pulled what I could out of the load and found superhuman strength to lift the rebar up with my back while wrenching the canister free, and shouting orders at Julia. Phew! We shoved the contents back in any way we could and drove aboard. I was thinking about the camping gas stove and associated refills that I forgot to mention as the Calmac guy eyeballed me while directing me into my spot. The crossing was tranquil with calm seas, coffees and spring weather. Another phew!
The next challenge would be to see if the Mazda could pull the trailer up the steep track into the plot. I gave it a very good run up, dislodging the trailer contents as I raced over the uneven surface. I could hear the load disintegrating behind me and knew that I could expect an avalanche when I opened the back. We made it though, so who cares about a bit of a jumble!
No-one had set foot in the caravan for 6 months and we didn’t know what to expect. All was good though. My electronics and the anchors had stood the test of time and we had full batteries with daily solar charging and the caravan was found where we had left it.
We spent the day unpacking. We turned the trailer into a workshop and Julia organised our new plywood home. I checked the water butts and we dragged the 1500 litre tank we had brought up with us out of the trailer. That would need to be assembled soon if we would collect enough rainwater to mix the concrete.
We took the damp mattress off the bed and stood it up in front of the gas fire for most of the day. Hoping for a good nights sleep
We wondered around the site but did little else for the project.
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