01/10/2024
One of the things I have decided about working from the van is that I want to be on hook up and stationary on the days I’m working. The hook up is to save any worry about draining the batteries. It may not be a massive issue in the summer, but in the winter its a different story. When I’m sat at a desk (the motorhome table) for any period of time I tend to get quite chilly. Despite having a blanket, and this autumn being quite mild, I have been wanting the heating on. Running the heating fan for the day, plus charging devices, using a second screen and doing all of the normal stuff for living in a motorhome, uses a reasonable amount of electricity. Combine this with short days and we’ve found that the solar isn’t always keeping up. Worrying about that while working is just not necessary.
It had got to that time of the week for work so we looked for a campsite near to the Angus glens where we wanted to spend some time. We ended up choosing the Forfar Motorhome and Caravan club site. Mostly because I got the pricing muddled up (the website defaults to the price for a single person which I think is a bit misleading) and I thought it was a bit of a bargain. It wasnt the great value we thought but neither was it too expensive as we’re members so we decided to go for it anyway.
The Aberlemno Stones
On our way Paul diverted us to see the Aberlemno stones. He knew how disappointed I’d been about missing the museum in Arbroath and had found this location to make up for it. He can be thoughtful, sometimes.
It was another just-in-time visit as the stones are insulated from the beginning of October due to their susceptibility to erosion. Aberlemno has been the source of a number of important Pictish carved stones, two of which we had already seen in Dundee and Edinburgh museums (although the village would like to have the stones back for it’s own museum). The latest find was in 2022 and no doubt there are more around as some have definitely been used for later buildings and some have been found buried in farmers fields.
I’ve always been fascinated by the so-called Dark Ages and the remnants of the civilisations of Britain during those times. The Picts were one of those peoples, named Picti by the Romans (maybe because they were heavily tattooed), who left behind carved stones. They also prized silver and we have seen several silver artefacts in the museums we’ve visited.
- Aberlemno I: Probably the oldest stone with pre Christian markings on one side.
- Aberlemno III: Pictish hunting scene

Aberlemno III: Christian symbolism with the cross flanked by two angels
- Aberlemno II: Carved Cross
- Aberlemno II: Thought to represent a battle scene.
We parked by the local village hall where we donated a couple of pounds and took a leaflet created by the local school which told us a little about the stones. Three of the stones were close to the village hall (one of which has no identifiable markings any more). The other was a short walk away in the churchyard where the Sunday service had just finished (a replica can be found in the car park). Paul decided not to join me down at the church, his patience for ‘old shit’ exhausted.

Informative leaflet produced by the local school. We made our donation but returned the leaflet after we’d read it.
Forfar Campsite
After seeing the stones we popped to the supermarket to top up with bits and pieces and bide a little time until we could check into the campsite.
We had the usual C&MC palaver of finding a pitch and then going back to the reception to let them know which pitch we had chosen. I’d really rather just be allocated a pitch and have done with it, but I’m sure some people like the opportunity to choose. We didn’t end up choosing the best pitch anyway as we noticed too late that some have a good view of the nearby loch. Never mind. C&MC sites may be a little dull in their conformity, but one thing that is usually spot on is the bathroom facilities and we were looking forward to a good unlimited hot shower more than the view.
The wardens on site were nice people but we did have a few minutes of entertainment each day as we watched them trying to clear the site of falling leaves and mow a very waterlogged section of grass, each time using a different implement (strimmer, push lawnmower and ride on mower) and each time just pulling out grass and churning up mud. I would definitely have given up until things dried up a bit.
Cycling to the Balmashanner Monument
We took advantage of the Sunday afternoon to go for a bike ride. I’d found the map for this ride, oddly, pinned to the wall in the Larick campsite in Tayport. It was only a short ride but gave us the opportunity to get up to the monument (known locally as the “Bummie”) which is known for excellent views of the town and which was built to commemorate the local lives lost in the Great War.

The “Bummie”
The bike ride itself started around the loch before a boring section through an industrial estate and some housing. Then we hit the climb up to the monument which was quite tricky on a heavily eroded path (Paul didn’t have to get off but I needed to push the last section). At the top of this section were some old quarries which were being used by BMX and mountain bikers to practise tricks and jumps. We had a bit of a play on them, no air for us but the steep and swoopy downhills were fun.
The path then took us past the monument before we were able to pick up a nice little single track route down the hill.
The return was through lanes and then back around the other half of the loch. All in all it had been a good bike ride with a nice mix of terrain and the added advantage of the quarries.

Views from the top of the hill, with the Angus Glens in the distance
Forfar Witches
The next couple of days I spent working while Paul did bits and pieces. He popped into town a couple of times to find some baked goods, including the famous Forfar Bridie which was a nice beef and onion mix in a pastry case but, we decided, was no Cornish Pasty. We have to stay loyal to the South West.
The weather was a bit meh, not too rainy but a bit dismal and drizzly so I didn’t get out much, although I did make it out for one run around the loch which was nice round 5km distance and as flat as you like. On the way I found a small monument to the Forfar Witches, 22 victims of witch trials in the 17th Century. They were implicated by one Woman – Helen Guthrie – who was accused of being a witch herself and turned ‘informer’ to save her own skin. “Just People” said the stone, a phrase which we should all remember when we start to judge others.