‘September 14th – We arrived in Saltcoats around midnight and slept in a car park on the seafront. Katy put all the window covers up inside the van, which we don’t usually do if we’re staying in built-up areas; typically, we’d leave the front covers off if we need to make a quick getaway, but it seemed safe enough. A strong onshore wind pleasantly jostled us all night.
The outdoor lido, one of the main reasons for our road trip, is nothing more than a series of derelict, stone-filled paddling pools on a grand scale. Disappointed, we went into Ardrossan in search of a supermarket and the makings of a fried breakfast.
Ardrossan reminds me of many once-thriving seaside towns, rundown and deprived of money, jobs and tourists. You won’t see coachloads of American tourists wandering around this Scottish town, snapping up overpriced tartan hats and shortbread.
What Ardrossan does have is the ferry to the Isle of Arran. We cooked breakfast in the ferry terminal car park and boarded as foot passengers.’