Dougal's Dog Blog. Entry 16: Clachan, Stirling, & road to Oban
If you get the feeling that the last few entries have been a little sketchy, you wouldn’t be wrong. Clachan was the fourth consecutive site we visited for a quick stop, not for a nice relaxing break.
The Human That I Own drives to Oban (which, apparently, should be pronounced ‘Oh-BAN’) frequently. ‘I’m not driving up the side of Loch Lomond again’ he wittered as we headed north up the M6 and A74(M). The Human started to tell me tales of the horribly narrow A82 road skirting the loch north of Tarbet, where lorries and tour buses come hooning around corners in the opposite direction leaving you very little space to squeeze your caravan or motorhome past a jagged wall. ‘I’ve had to scream to halt on more than one occasion’ he added.
So this time we were going to take the route via Stirling between the M74 and Crianlarich. And a bonus of going that way is that both Maragowan and Clachan Caravan Club Sites are on the way.
Clachan was our chosen spot as the Human had two friends who were already staying there in their Tin Can on Wheels. And what a stunning choice!
Quiet, remote, and stunningly scenic. Having no WC or shower facilities for humans gives it a nice relaxed feel. And the human was delighted about the super-reasonable pitch fees. But what about the facilities for dogs?
In the corner there is what looks like a sizeable dog walk. But once you get to it, you realise that a lot of this area is in fact squishy marshland. There’s plenty of space to take a comfort break, but not enough space to play ball. However, at Clachan you’re in the heart of the countryside so you don’t have to walk very far to come face-to-mountain-face with a stupendous array of walkies opportunities.
I can’t tell you about any local hostelries as we spent the evening with our friends on site. Once again, I don’t think that we stayed long enough to do the site or the area justice, so no bones score. Sorry about that my furry friends. Normal service will be resumed at the next entry.
Comments
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Paul... good point! We can only go by experience, and that is that on the May night that we visited there were no problems. Our tin can friends have since moved on and are now at a site right up on the North Coast... and the last we heard they were held
hostage in their van by 'wee beasties'! That was something that was never a problem for them at Clachan. It could have been that May is a good month?And Brue... yes, now we've found the alternative route via Stirling we will never take the 'Breath Stopper' route via Loch Lomond again!
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My owners take me to Clachan because it's great for dog walks! Never used the actual site walk is yes it is squishy and although I would loooove rolling in that, owners aren't so keen!
Just behind the site there is a woodland path that takes you up the hill to join miles of forestry walks with great views. That does my morning constitution then it's off to explore the surrounding countryside including some hill climbing up Ben Lawers. Magic!
Sula the choc lab.
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Thanks for filling in the gaps Sula. We're hoping to get back up north of the border in September and will no doubt be stopping at Clachan again. I will breathe over the Human with my worst Doggy Breath until he takes me on that walk that your humans do
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