Campervan Scotland: Ghosts, Castles, Storms and The BEST Chinese Takeaway Ever! - NE250

Añadido: 2026-05-30

[00:00:00]Hello.

[00:00:01]>> Hello.

[00:00:02]>> Welcome back to Grapes Soda Travels.

[00:00:04]>> Welcome back to the roads of Scotland.

[00:00:06]>> Yeah. So, excuse us if we sometimes get slightly distracted because A, it's beautiful, and B, it's quite twisty.

[00:00:14]We are heading further east today. We're heading toward Aberdeen.

[00:00:22]We're not getting there yet.

[00:00:24]Today is going to be um pretty much a National Trust for Scotland sort of day.

[00:00:31]>> [laughter] >> Mainly because the weather doesn't look like it's going to be entirely kind.

[00:00:36]>> Welcome to Grapes Soda Travels. If you're new to the channel, I'm Neil.

[00:00:42]This is Naomi, and we're currently touring Scotland's NC500 in our trusty IH camper van, Teddy.

[00:00:51]Today, it's more of a wet play day. So, that means castles.

[00:00:56]Two castles, in fact. But, one goes to plan, and the other not so much.

[00:01:01]Eventually, with the rain descending, we decide to cut our losses and head on to our next campsite.

[00:01:08]So, stay tuned for a campsite tour.

[00:01:41]There it is.

[00:01:51]I think oh, it's dry.

[00:01:53]>> Yes.

[00:01:55]It doesn't look threatening, so hopefully we'll be able to enjoy the castle and the gardens.

[00:02:08]>> Oh gosh, look at the hedges.

[00:02:11]>> Now I think I read that they could be a thousand years old.

[00:02:15]I might have misremembered something I've discovered, but they are properly old.

[00:02:26]>> Oh my.

[00:02:35]>> Hello.

[00:02:35]>> Hello, there. We were just a little bit silly.

[00:02:37]Thank you.

[00:02:38]>> Hello.

[00:02:38]>> Hello, how are you?

[00:02:39]>> Thank you. Got that if you need it.

[00:02:42]>> Fantastic, thank you so much.

[00:02:44]>> Question.

[00:02:45]>> Yes, on you go.

[00:02:46]>> How we pronouncing Crathes?

[00:02:50]Good, good. Just thought I'd check.

[00:02:52]>> [laughter] >> Cool, cool.

[00:02:56]Lovely.

[00:03:01]Okay.

[00:03:06]Oh goodness, that bodes well. The first kitchen.

[00:03:13]>> I don't think we're going to be falling over people.

[00:03:16]>> No, it feels quite quiet here today, doesn't it?

[00:03:21]The second kitchen.

[00:03:26]Oh bless.

[00:03:28]Our fake food was made by our volunteers. Please do not touch the food or the volunteers.

[00:03:34]>> I expect both.

[00:03:36]>> [laughter] >> Oh, that's a comforting tick. That's a lovely grandfather clock.

[00:04:11]>> This is not for tall people, is it?

[00:04:13]>> No, it's not.

[00:04:14]I'm not I'm not tall.

[00:04:18]I've got to bend my knees and I'm still touching the the roof.

[00:04:22]Ah, so this is the original front door with the iron grill to keep out intruders.

[00:04:28]>> Oh, yeah.

[00:04:54]>> Oh, this is a grand room.

[00:04:57]The high hall.

[00:05:15]Royalties have been here.

[00:05:18]Christmas card from Queen Mum and from her predecessor Mary.

[00:05:26]So, this is a highfalutin kind of place.

[00:05:31]>> Game of cards.

[00:05:47]>> Make sure you up. Looking at the steps is rather rather pleasing.

[00:06:05]Stair chamber ceiling.

[00:06:09]Oh my.

[00:06:10]All the beams have been painted.

[00:06:14]What can I tell you?

[00:06:17]Oh, it's text from the first mass-produced Bible and was adopted by the Scottish Kirk around 1560.

[00:06:25]Goodness.

[00:06:37]It's quite homely.

[00:06:38]It is, isn't it? It's strangely livable given it's a castle.

[00:06:44]>> [laughter] >> You okay?

[00:06:45]>> Oh, no, thank you. I'm all right.

[00:06:48]What has happened? This is the Victorian bedroom named after the furniture and textiles.

[00:06:55]Ooh.

[00:06:58]The wooden beams of the floor became infested with woodworm. That's not ideal.

[00:07:07]Ah. Which is why we are no long longer allowed to walk around in here to try and mitigate the increased damage of footfall.

[00:07:26]Gosh, look at the ceiling in here.

[00:07:28]Oh my words.

[00:07:32]Goodness.

[00:07:38]Crikey.

[00:07:42]This is the nine nobles ceiling.

[00:07:45]Yes, cuz there's all sorts of smart gentlemen here.

[00:07:52]Mhm.

[00:07:53]Wow.

[00:07:59]Oh my word.

[00:08:02]Look at this ceiling.

[00:08:04]Oh, these are amazing.

[00:08:07]How old is this paintwork?

[00:08:17]More upwards.

[00:08:28]This must be the long gallery that she spoke about.

[00:08:35]Oh, wow.

[00:08:37]What a lovely place. My goodness.

[00:09:04]>> [snorts] >> It's a bedroom.

[00:09:10]>> Yeah.

[00:09:11]The gallery bedroom.

[00:09:14]Paintings of um botanical artworks.

[00:09:19]>> [snorts] >> There is no lift.

[00:09:23]>> [laughter] >> Oops.

[00:09:30]Crathie's has become well known for its ghosts, whether you believe in them or not.

[00:09:37]>> [laughter] >> There is a famous ghost story associated with this room. A publication in 1900 described it as an apparition of a lady dressed in green with a child in her arms.

[00:09:52]This is joyful, isn't it?

[00:09:54]Although the author stated that the ghost hadn't been seen in the memory of the present generation, many sightings or spooky experiences have been reported since.

[00:10:05]Dun dun dun.

[00:10:23]Oh my gosh, we brought the armory out.

[00:10:25]Nice.

[00:10:37]Ooh. Ah, I think we're nearly done. This is the set of stairs.

[00:10:41]Oh, what a beautiful painting.

[00:10:44]Oh, that's so gentle. I love that a lot.

[00:10:47]Ah.

[00:10:52]Mhm. Oh, they've reproduced some lots of the people that we've seen in the ceilings to make these little two D's. How nice.

[00:11:04]Ah.

[00:11:10]Right, let's have a look at these lovely gardens, babe.

[00:11:14]Wow.

[00:11:23]>> Aren't they quite grand up here, the gardens?

[00:11:25]>> Yes, they too.

[00:11:27]>> To get to the gardens, there's a code on the door.

[00:11:32]>> Which we are not going to do.

[00:11:39]Tada.

[00:11:42]Oh, hello Winston. See, it makes all sorts of noises.

[00:11:55]Stop teasing me with the red squirrels.

[00:11:57]Want to see a red squirrel.

[00:12:07]Oh, bet this is lovely in the summer.

[00:12:09]Must be an absolute riot of color.

[00:12:36]Oh, that's nice.

[00:13:04]Oh.

[00:13:08]>> Oh, wow.

[00:13:09]>> Yeah.

[00:13:11]Make the archway like this.

[00:13:13]These are old yew trees, aren't they?

[00:13:21]Oh.

[00:13:26]What I like about this place is there's no please keep off the grass.

[00:13:30]>> No, it's a proper garden.

[00:13:31]>> It's a proper garden. It's not sort of held in aspect. It's And this feels very modern, contemporary. I like this.

[00:13:40]Oh, ah.

[00:14:00]Yeah, I bet that's pretty blooming lovely in the summer.

[00:14:05]Goodness.

[00:14:07]Wow.

[00:14:17]Mhm, the smell when you walk in here is oh, heady, lovely. Oh my goodness me.

[00:14:27]>> [snorts] >> Gosh, it really is, isn't it?

[00:14:28]>> Yeah.

[00:14:30]Well, there's a massive jasmine tree, so I'm not surprised.

[00:14:33]>> [snorts] >> Oh my goodness, this is amazing smell in here.

[00:14:44]God.

[00:15:01]A Portugal laurel.

[00:15:06]It's still hugely thriving. God, lovely.

[00:15:10]Nice tree.

[00:15:12]>> There you go.

[00:15:18]Another gate for you to be defeated by.

[00:15:20]>> Oh, shut up.

[00:15:22]>> I like >> This one works fine.

[00:15:26]Oh, there we go.

[00:15:29]>> [snorts] >> What a lovely castle.

[00:15:36]>> Good, isn't it?

[00:15:37]>> Mhm.

[00:15:39]>> And free for us.

[00:15:41]>> National Trust.

[00:15:43]So, obviously this is National Trust for Scotland, but if you're a member of the National Trust more generally, you also get the free entry. If you're not, it's £18 per adult.

[00:15:55]We could have easily spent all afternoon here, though.

[00:15:59]>> Yeah, you could easily do that.

[00:16:00]>> Huge walks through the grounds.

[00:16:02]>> all afternoon, yeah.

[00:16:02]>> Yeah.

[00:16:03]>> Plenty.

[00:16:04]Plenty to do and see.

[00:16:05]>> Absolutely lovely.

[00:16:07]And do come back when things are in bloom. Those gardens must be a riot.

[00:16:14]But >> we've got to go and look at another castle, though.

[00:16:17]>> Castle number two.

[00:16:34]>> Bye-bye, castle.

[00:16:40]How's that for our next stop?

[00:17:00]There's the castle.

[00:17:01]>> Mhm.

[00:17:03]>> And that's the vine in the distance.

[00:17:05]>> [laughter] >> Wow.

[00:17:17]>> Looks like it's been extended at some point.

[00:17:19]>> Yes, it doesn't all look like it's the same period, is it?

[00:17:26]Oh, that is chucking it down over there.

[00:17:28]My goodness, that is proper rain.

[00:17:31]Now, let's see if I've messed this up cuz I did research and I think it's open and it might not be open. So, we shall see.

[00:17:40]>> Are we 2 months early?

[00:17:41]>> I think we're 2 months early. I don't think it's open on a Wednesday.

[00:18:03]>> The weather is turning before our eyes.

[00:18:05]>> Yes, I we might not even make it all the way back to Teddy.

[00:18:09]Woo!

[00:18:10]Here it comes. Oh my blimey.

[00:18:13]>> It's windy now.

[00:18:14]>> Yes.

[00:18:17]SHOULD WE GO BACK TO TEDDY AND GIVE IT UP AS A BAD JOB?

[00:18:25]>> Looks like it's a good car park but the weather's changing quickly.

[00:18:28]>> We moved county.

[00:18:31]Woo!

[00:18:33]>> Made it before the rain came.

[00:18:35]>> Yes.

[00:18:36]Looks like it's going to tip it down so that'll be fun for setting up on the campsite.

[00:18:42]>> [clears throat] >> Well, I'm sorry about that. I did Googling.

[00:18:46]I thought Drum Castle was open today.

[00:18:49]They're not open on Wednesday.

[00:18:51]Guess what day it is.

[00:18:53]>> [sighs] >> Never mind. [snorts] >> If you've been, could you send us some pictures?

[00:18:57]>> [laughter] >> Have we missed something stupendous?

[00:19:03]>> Given the weather, should we head to the campsite?

[00:19:04]>> Yes, I think we have to now call it a day, I think, and hunker down.

[00:19:10]>> We've done quite a lot of walking for the last few days as well.

[00:19:12]>> Um, [gasps] we're knackered.

[00:19:14]>> And we've got quite a lot of walking tomorrow.

[00:19:16]>> Yeah.

[00:19:18]>> Let's have to the site.

[00:19:37]Do you like a cup of tea or coffee?

[00:19:39]>> Yes, please.

[00:19:41]>> Which one?

[00:19:42]>> [laughter] >> I'd like a coffee, please.

[00:19:44]>> Okay.

[00:19:45]>> Thank you.

[00:19:57]>> Cup of tea if the weather improves.

[00:19:59]>> Yes.

[00:20:02]Let's see.

[00:20:05]>> Otherwise, we're in for the night.

[00:20:08]>> This is true.

[00:20:09]>> There's other places to be.

[00:20:11]>> Yeah. Thank you, Teddy.

[00:20:19]>> Didn't stop raining.

[00:20:20]>> No, if anything, it got harder.

[00:20:22]>> [laughter] >> So, we haven't taken you on a tour of the site.

[00:20:27]We'll try and do that when the I was going to say when the rain stops today. I don't think it's going to stop today.

[00:20:33]>> No.

[00:20:33]>> But maybe uh >> Sometime before we leave.

[00:20:35]>> Yeah, sometime before we go. Um, we did venture out very briefly to get some travel advice for tomorrow.

[00:20:42]>> Yes. Have we even said where we are?

[00:20:45]Hm.

[00:20:46]We're at the Deeside Holiday Park.

[00:20:47]Apologies if I've already told you that.

[00:20:49]We're so unprofessional.

[00:20:51]Well.

[00:20:52]Yeah, I know.

[00:20:56]>> So, yes, we're heading into Aberdeen tomorrow.

[00:20:59]>> Yeah, looking forward to that. It's going to be an interesting mooch, hopefully.

[00:21:03]>> But not only did the nice people at reception give us some advice about which bus we need to get and how to get there.

[00:21:11]More importantly, a Chinese takeaway menu.

[00:21:15]>> Yeah. And recommended, apparently, the Royal China.

[00:21:20]Yum yum.

[00:21:21]>> So, given the weather, we're going to see if they will deliver a takeaway.

[00:21:26]>> Yes, please.

[00:21:33]>> Food ordered.

[00:21:34]>> Well, very swimmingly, so that's all good. Let's see if they actually turn up with some food.

[00:21:40]>> Estimated time about 50 minutes.

[00:21:42]>> All good.

[00:21:43]>> Great.

[00:21:44]>> Mhm.

[00:21:45]I'm hungry now.

[00:21:46]>> Yeah, bring it sooner. Bring it sooner.

[00:21:48]>> [laughter] >> That That didn't work.

[00:21:53]>> You're a Wally.

[00:21:55]>> Apparently, our food is here.

[00:21:58]And it's just stopped raining.

[00:22:06]Cash in. Thank you very much.

[00:22:08]>> You're welcome.

[00:22:09]>> Cheers. Thank you.

[00:22:10]>> Bye-bye.

[00:22:18]Chinese delivery, please. Ooh, comes in a cute bag.

[00:22:23]I've got it. Oh, it's a good bag, too.

[00:22:25]It's a little insulated job. Oh, my life.

[00:22:29]Oh, I'm getting excited now.

[00:22:33]>> [snorts] >> Oh, they've even got fortune cookies.

[00:22:36]This makes me so happy. Oh.

[00:22:40]Is that one to share?

[00:22:41]>> No.

[00:22:42]>> one each?

[00:22:42]>> There's five.

[00:22:43]>> There's five?

[00:22:45]>> [snorts] >> That's a lot of fortune.

[00:22:48]Ooh, look.

[00:22:49]Dum dum dum, pancakes, duck.

[00:22:53]Mhm, I'm happy.

[00:22:55]Don't know what you're eating, but I'm happy.

[00:22:59]That is possibly one of the nicest Chinese takeaways I've ever eaten in my life.

[00:23:05]Mango chicken.

[00:23:07]Who knew? Delicious.

[00:23:10]>> Royal China.

[00:23:11]>> Mhm. Yes, if you're staying here, >> that's a recommendation.

[00:23:15]>> Yeah.

[00:23:15]>> Most definitely. Yum.

[00:23:17]>> I had honey chili chicken.

[00:23:19]It's very nice. It's like a spicy sweet and sour.

[00:23:21]>> Oh, good. Well done.

[00:23:23]>> There was a lot of food.

[00:23:24]>> Yes.

[00:23:26]There is too much food for two people.

[00:23:27]>> Yeah.

[00:23:28]>> Yeah.

[00:23:30]We managed.

[00:23:31]>> [laughter] >> You have got a fortune cookie though.

[00:23:34]>> Can I open mine?

[00:23:35]>> Yes.

[00:23:36]>> I love a fortune cookie. They're ridiculous. Sorry for the rustling.

[00:23:44]Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. There we go.

[00:23:47]3 2 1.

[00:23:51]There are riches headed your way.

[00:23:54]>> Oh.

[00:23:55]>> Ooh.

[00:24:03]You haven't got your reading glasses on, have you, babe?

[00:24:05]>> No.

[00:24:07]It says Mhm. With content like this, subscribers you will lose.

[00:24:16]So, in the morning, we're venturing into Appledore.

[00:24:20]>> Yes, we've been told there's a bus, so we're going to go and check that out.

[00:24:25]>> But that will be in a different video.

[00:24:26]>> See you next week for that one.

[00:24:28]>> So, in this video, we'll see you the day after tomorrow.

[00:24:33]>> Mhm.

[00:24:34]And we'll hopefully, weather permitting, give you a little bit of a tour of the campsite.

[00:24:39]>> And tell you where we're going next.

[00:24:40]>> Mhm, looks nice. Yes, it does. Yes, good.

[00:24:44]Exciting times.

[00:24:45]>> And with that, so goodnight.

[00:24:46]>> [laughter] >> Morning.

[00:24:59]>> Morning.

[00:25:00]>> We're moving on today.

[00:25:03]So, we thought we'd just give you a little tour of the site before we go.

[00:25:07]>> It's nice.

[00:25:08]>> Plus, we need to work out where a few things are.

[00:25:09]>> That's true.

[00:25:11]>> We've got jobs to do before we before we head off.

[00:25:14]Here are the rabbits.

[00:25:17]There's a lot of wildlife here, isn't there?

[00:25:18]>> Yeah, there's >> That's rabbits.

[00:25:20]>> gang gang of ducks over there.

[00:25:23]>> I think I've liked this site more than I thought I would. I was going to >> It reminds us of Valley Castle when we were in Northern Ireland.

[00:25:31]It's a sort of collection of static caravans and pods and then space for tourers.

[00:25:40]But, it's been super quiet, hasn't >> Super quiet. Great facilities.

[00:25:44]>> And it's spotlessly kept.

[00:25:45]>> Yeah.

[00:25:48]Even the bins are better than most places. You can split out all your recycling.

[00:25:52]>> Yeah.

[00:26:10]>> It's about saying you remember how many pitches are but there's a map here.

[00:26:14]>> Let's see if I can work it out then.

[00:26:16]62 including some space for tents.

[00:26:23]>> Then, you even get a little carry around map.

[00:26:26]>> Yes.

[00:26:27]But, they they the email that you get before you arrive contains everything you need. It's got a copy of the map.

[00:26:35]When you arrive, if you've pre-registered your registration plate, you just drive on in.

[00:26:41]You can choose any pitch you like as long as it's the sort that you've bought.

[00:26:46]It's easy peasy.

[00:27:24]>> Ah, this is what we need before we go.

[00:27:30]It's the drive over for the grey.

[00:27:37]I do like it when they have soap or hand sanitizer around at the chemical disposal.

[00:27:47]Single facilities block.

[00:27:49]They're really good, aren't they?

[00:27:50]>> Really clean.

[00:27:51]>> Push button shower.

[00:27:53]But uh you can understand it in terms of saving water.

[00:28:00]Three showers a piece.

[00:28:02]>> Three showers, four sinks, five loos.

[00:28:07]>> Yeah.

[00:28:07]>> That's [laughter] what I had in the ladies.

[00:28:14]>> So yeah, just a good decent site.

[00:28:17]>> Mhm.

[00:28:18]>> And it was very easy to get into Aberdeen, wasn't it?

[00:28:20]>> Yeah, you walk to the bus stop, which is 20-minute walk.

[00:28:25]>> Yes.

[00:28:26]>> Something like that.

[00:28:28]>> Packed up, ready to go.

[00:28:30]>> Yes. Yes, just last few things to put away.

[00:28:34]>> On the road.

[00:28:37]>> So this was fairly reasonably priced, I thought. So we're on a hard standing with hookup pitch.

[00:28:44]Um £28.80 per night.

[00:28:47]>> That's pretty good.

[00:28:48]>> I don't think it's too bad.

[00:28:50]Yeah.

[00:28:51]>> Like I said, it's a really nice site.

[00:28:53]>> Mhm.

[00:28:53]>> Mhm.

[00:28:55]But thanks for joining us again.

[00:28:58]Hope to show some support. You know the things to do.

[00:29:02]A thumbs-up.

[00:29:03]>> [laughter] >> Leave a comment.

[00:29:06]And if you're not subscribed, have a subscribe and ding the bell. Completely free. Really helps.

[00:29:12]>> Yeah, it does, doesn't it? YouTube thinks, "Ooh, people want to watch this. I should show it to more people." That'd be lovely.

[00:29:19]And we're all over social media, so come say hi.

[00:29:23]>> If you come back next week, you'll see what we got up to in Aberdeen.

[00:29:26]>> Mhm.

[00:29:27]Yeah.

[00:29:28]>> Well, as you said, we're about to hit the road.

[00:29:31]Going to head out to the coast.

[00:29:33]>> Oh, I've been looking forward to this.

[00:29:35]Yes, please.

[00:29:37]You'll have to wait for that.

[00:29:38]>> Yep.

[00:29:39]>> Quite a while.

[00:29:40]>> [laughter] >> We'll see you on the road.

[00:29:42]>> Bye-bye.

[00:29:50]>> [music]