Talk Morgan Forums Community The Malvern Arms Carry On Camping

Believe it or not, I’m typing this from next door to the Steam Packet! We love the area too and have been coming up for the past 10 years. Never seen it so busy though!

Sadly John passed a few months ago, but the pub is still going strong. Johns son Alistair has taken up craft brewing and is concentrating on that side of the business (Five Kingdoms Brewery) and the new pub managers have taken the food side of the business into a new league (which TBH it needed).

Re “Staycation” - to me, that is staying at home and going out for days. Time spent away from your house in the U.K. (such as we are doing in Scotland) is a holiday in Scotland.

I did shoot a quick video of the harbour area https://youtu.be/e9c95QDZ-40 if anyone is interested in what it looks like here!

Dumfries and Galloway was a part of Scotland I'd always whizzed by on the M74 on my way somewhere else .... but one year I was racing down south then at Craigantlet in NI without going home in between so I drove up through there on my way to the ferry at Cairnryan with a day to kill in between .... really nice area with some interesting rocky bays ..... must spend time there looking about sometime.

K

Depends on what your requirements are. Dumfries and Galloway is a lovely place to visit from my perspective. Interesting towns, plenty of castles and ancient stuff, the amazing Logan Botanic Gardens, and of course great scenery and quiet roads.

I thought a staycation was holidaying at home rather than abroad so looked it up and it can be that or stay at home and have day trips as in Wolfies definition.

Thanks for the update and trip down memory lane with your video, it must be 25 years ago when I was last there but it still looks unspoilt.
Sad to hear about John passing away, if my memory is correct he started out as a cartoonist in Fleet street but soon realised the error of his ways and moved back home to run the Queens Arms and then graduated to the Packet.

Have a nice stay, the weather looks good.

I too thought a staycation is day trips but home based.

All the villages around us, and most certainly the N.Norfolk coast, are packed with holiday makers and why not? We all have to live through this together so whilst all the city dwellers are in our respective areas why not take the opportunity to visit theirs. Our major cities especially London ( Capital of the World !! ) have some fantasic sights.

Been looking at booking a broads cruiser for the last few years and looked at early September when there is normally page after page of available boats when kids are back to school - now only a couple of expensive boats listed for hire on Hoseason.

Just checked Blake’s - no boats available.

Just about (fingers crossed) to set off for a Morgan Scotland break in a few weeks time, daisy chain of hotels ditched in favour of a ‘hub and spoke’ holiday so we are staying in one location and having days out.

Plan to have a day over towards Oban via Rannoch Moor, another up to Braemar and Aboyne to drive the Cairn O Mount and finally a loop through Dalwhinnie and Fort William. Going with a couple of Morgan pals one of whom has seen none of that so it’s very much a driving holiday (200+ miles every day) rather than a stop and see. I still need to avoid groups so lunches will be a Loch side fry up of bacon sandwiches etc. Shades of my youth rough camping with just a sleeping bag and a bivvy sheet and an eye on empty barns! Probably last all of a day before I start looking for a cafe but it’s fun to dream.

BR
Colin

So far we have just been out on a couple of short-ish runs. Definitely staying clear of the coastal hotspots as aerotaff indicated the crowds and behaviour.
Luckily we have many places to visit that are away from busy areas. One of the joys of living here in West Wales!

There are always plenty of quiet routes known only to locals where the SUV fears to tread, all it takes is a little imagination and we are all happy here in deepest Devon.