Campervan and Motorhome Stopovers at Frugaldom

Checking for Donations

Thank you for your patience and understanding during this rather hectic past month that has seen us having to close the gate for a day here and there to allow for other things to be done. Sometimes, circumstances beyond our control simply take over and family stuff needs urgent attention. But we are now open again, ready to welcome campervans and motorhomes.

Meanwhile, back at the Frugaldom yard, we leave the cameras running and leave our woodland wildlife friends to keep an eye on things when we cannot be here. Unfortunately, in this instance, the box of eggs we had been left as a donation got scoffed by the pine martens and badgers in our absence. Oops! 

We are now into our 11th year of the Frugaldom project and 4th year of opening the yard up to campervans and motorhomes. We have been debating long and hard about whether or not to continue offering this service after the existing licence expires on 31 March 2025. The decision is not proving an easy one to make, for various reasons. We have ponies, goats and wildlife on site. Frugaldom is completely off-grid with no services and no human residents - we have recreational huts for use during holidays, weekends and whenever looking after sick animals or during woodland and wildlife habitat works. Our 'aire' (see 'What is an Aire' if you don't know what one is) is small, providing basic overnight parking for a maximum of 5 small campervans or 3 motorhomes up to maximum 7.5m, all within the yard by the barn. It is safe, secluded and is hard standing, so OK to drive over all year round. It is not 100% level - we need it like this for drainage purposes because out here in the countryside, there are no drains. Surface water has to run off somewhere so our yard is on a slight slope. If you need perfectly level ground so your fridge works then Frugaldom is probably not the stopover for you, although we do allow levelling ramps. WE DO NOT PERMIT HYDRAULICS, GENERATORS, AWNINGS, BBQs, CAMPFIRES, FIREWORKS OR FLOODLIGHTS and in or around all buldings / structures is NO SMOKING or VAPING. Do what you like within the confines of your vehicles but also respect our quiet hours - we have them for good reason. No walking around after dark with flashlights as these can startle ponies and result in accidents. We have elderly and infirmed animals on site - the yard is a stopover onlym not a mini campsite.

DOGS - we have had to factor in people bringing pets and owing to an incident whereby one of our hut visitors was attacked in the yard, we now insist ALL PETS are kept on SHORT LEADS and kept under full control at all times. We have rescued and retired animals, feral cats, snakes and busy wildlife feeding stations around the edge of the yard. When darkness falls, we are on lockdown so if you have pets that need walked after dark or people who expect to be outside after dark for any reason other than stargazing or wildlife watching then Frugaldom stopover is not the place for you. Likewise, if you expect spectacular views and the freedom to wander whereve you want, Frugaldom is not the stopover for you. We need extra insurance and appropriate signage (which very few seem to read), which costs money. Being completely off grid with no services means we have NO SERVICES - no electricity, no running water, no sewerage and no drains. We have a few tiny solar lights, sloping rain water run off, rain water harvesting off the barn roof and a chemical loo waste disposal tank, contracted to WC in Fields for emptying. As well as this, our main drive and fencing are in dire need of repair owing to more traffic drivers and careless who hit the fences while parking. (Not all were motorhomes, I should add.) Year to date, we have hosted 70 visiting campervans or motorhomes including those who return for subsequent visits. We do not want to impose a fee increase as many of our visitors return and are happy to support the Frugaldom project either by volunteering while her or else contributing what they can by way of donations, be it cash, fresh eggs, peanuts, wildbird food or other items suitable for the project. One of our fabulous campervanners donated a few saplings for planting in the new woodland and then returned with a handmade owl nestbox, which they also hung in the barn for us while here. We love people to get involved and help out. Those staying to do overnight photography and then sharing their photographs online is another bonus we have received, with some absolutely spectacular photos being posted of the night skies and our visiting wildlife. The project doesn't really lend itself to young children when we have no facilities and can't allow them near the rescue ponies for safety reasons but that does not make us 'not child friendly'. If your kids enjoy getting out into nature, there are miles and miles of woodlands, forest and lochside walks nearby plus mud, glorious mud - most kids love muddy wellie weekends. 

Our insurance is for overnight parking only so in that respect, we are risk averse. If the sign says no, then it means NO, no matter what. Rulebreakers can be asked to leave and that information may be shared with fellow aire owners without any breach of GDPR (data protection).

Rounding up now to say that despite rules, regulations, health and safety issues and the not so great Scottish weather, I do consider Frugaldom a fantastic place to visit for an overnight and let's face it - where else can you taje the famiy for a fiver and have to possibility of sitting in your van watching badgers and pine martens through your windows. If you have one, bring a trail cam.

If yu would rather just send us your money or join us from afar, see the various options on our page at www.ko-fi.com/Frugaldom or just paypal it to frugaldom@gmail.com 😃

FRUGALDOM CLOSED UNTIL TUESDAY 29th OCTOBER 2024

Owing to circumstances beyond our control, Frugaldom is CLOSED TO ALL VISITORS Sunday 27th October and Monday 28th October 2024. We will reopen on Tuesday 29th as usual. Apologies for any inconvenience or disappointment.

Here at Frugaldom, we are totally off-grid and have several sanctuary animals on site, as well as all the native wildlife that visits our feeding stations. This means we cannot have people, pets or vehicles moving around after dusk so we would ask that all CAMPERVAN or MOTORHOME owners and any other visitors arrive between the hours of 12 noon and 4pm at latest to allow animal care work to be completed in safety during daylight hours. Times will be reviewed throughout the winter months. The campervan and motorhome stopover aire will remain open throughout the year, subject to rules concerning daylight hours. Overnight visitors are expected to leave by 10am to allow us time to tend to sanctuary animals unhindered.

Thank you to all who have helped keep Frugaldom open throughout 2024 to date. We hope you may support the project in future. You are welcome to join the online support group via our fundraising page at www.ko-fi.com/Frugaldom

STRICTLY NO ARRIVALS DURING HOURS OF DARKNESS

Food Price Comparisons Over 25 years

Food price comparisons

These figures are based on cheapest supermarket prices found locally but they can be reduced if you are fortunate enough to live near a community larder, stores offering Too Good to Go or are in an area where food rescue via the Olio app is possible. Nowadays, we have so many options available to us to help cut food waste and food costs. Stick with the basics in your kitchen cupboards, keep tabs on your condiments, herbs and spices and anything is possible. The pennies make the pounds and a penny saved is a penny earned. Frugaldom is, ultimately, about frugal living and freedom - it is in the name. 

I began publishing articles about frugal living and money saving in 1999. The first ever challenge was known as 'The Scottish Pound' and was published in a local Scottish newspaper (Now You Know) as part of a challenge to make a main meal for a family of four every day for a week for under £10.00 The recipes and ingredients were all listed at the time and we did come in under budget.

As the years progressed, the challenges grew, then in 2007 almost all were transferred onto the Moneysavingexpert.com forums. Initially, it was the 'Living on £4,000 per Year' challenge but it later became known simply as the Frugal Living Challenge, as everyone's budget is unique to their household and circumstances. Other challenges included starting a business with £10, buying a house without a mortgage, £1,000 in 100 days, and the sealed pot challenge - one I am about to reintroduce, but with a slight twist. There was also a rather quirky little savings challenge knowns as the 'EEK', which represented the Everything Else Kitty. The original frugal living challenge still continues to this day. The motto remains the same, 

"The less I spend, the more I can afford."

Brocktoberfest at Frugaldom

Badger at hut 2

The Brocktober Festival runs from Tuesday 1st October to Thursday 31st October 2024. This year, it is also celebrating 25 years of Scottish Badgers. Here at Frugaldom, as many of you will know, we have the fabulous 'Clan MacBrock'. Our badger family regularly visits the various feeding stations around the yard, to the great enjoyment of our visitng campervanners and motorhomers.

Badgers in the paddock

Our badger clan increased by 4 this year, with two females (sows) producing cubs. They have been visiting the feeding stations for the past couple of months, growing quickly and becoming more mischievous by the day.

Badgers like to climb

We feed the wildlife every night, putting out mainly peanuts, eggs (for the pine martens) and mealworms. Recently, the badgers discovered the eggs so we now have to hide them up much higher for the pine martens to find them before the badgers reach them.

Badger on the decking

The badgers think nothing of coming up onto the hut deckings to look for food but hadn't been touching the eggs. That all ended when one egg got broken when clumsy baby badger stood on it. That was the beginning of the end for supplying the pine martens with their favourite treat. It is now a race to find the eggs.

Our campervan and motorhome stopover aire has parking available overlooking the feeding stations so we invite anyone to come along any night in October, bring some peanuts and park up overnight for just £5 and watch for the wildlife. Likewise for the Friends of Frugaldom who want to badger watch - get in contact to book space in the yard and/or huts to ensure the best possibilities of seeing Clan MacBrock up close. You need to get here and be settled quietly before dusk but once the badgers appear, they are sometimes out around the feeding stations for upwards of an hour. In between times, the opportunist pine martens often put in an appearance. They love eggs but also stop for some peanuts or peanut butter. Through the winter months they will eat berries and fruit so we sometimes see them taking apples.

Get in contact to arrange our visit and if you haven't already joined our support group, you can choose your preferred membership via www.ko-fi.com/Frugaldom/tiers 

What's Happening During Summer 2024

Hut 1 at Frugaldom

 So far, summer has eluded us here at Frugaldom. Yes, we have had several dry, warm, sunny days with time in between for some fabulous exploring and for our wildlife watchers, the overnight antics of our ever-growing badger clan have kept everyone entertained. The youngsters are all growing fast - badgers and fox cubs. Right now, it is pouring rain again but there is a badger cub sitting eating peanuts at the end of the decking of hut 1, several more cavorting around beneath the decking and 2 fox cubs mooching around the paddock. A pinr marten arrived to collect an egg from the bowl on the decking and at hut 3, our newest pine marten arrived at 6pm for peanut snacks. No doubt, our wildlife gang would also have visited hut 2. We are still inviting up to 10 individuals to join us as Happy Hutters and Wildlife Watchers here at Frugaldom.

IT IS EXPENSIVE RUNNING A WILDLIFE & NATURE PROJECT

Peanuts, of which we get through at least 25kg each month, are fast approaching £50 per bulk bag so we need more financial help. Inviting in campervans and motorhomes at £5 per night isn't even covering the cost of providing safe space for them to park, so things are going to be changing once our current licence expires. No more being open to the public 7 days a week, 365 days of the year. Our yard will revert to parking, turning and working space for Friends of Frugaldom who are actively supporting the project.

SANCTUARY PONIES

3 of the 4 rescued foals here since 2019

The four rescued foals are now five years old. After a rather shaky start, during which time BB Dobin was gone for 4 weeks without us knowing where he had been taken, he was finally delivered to Darcy's Equine Assisted Therapy Centre in Chapelton, which is near Strathaven in Lanarkshire. 

BB Dobin and his new friend, Carlos

Having done his preliminary training here at Frugaldom, BBD will now be schooled within a busy yard setting alongside working therapy ponies and the centre's other animals. Susan K. and Susan P. attended Darcy's to await the arrival of baby Dobbin and see him settled into his new quarters earlier this week.

Pine martens: 3 Spot, Comma and Jigsaw

Our wildlife surveillance project has been paying dividends with possibly 3 separate pine martens being recorded. We are absolutely delighted to have finally caught another pine marten on camera. 2 badgers have cubs and the fox vixen we though had only 1 cub has returned with 2, which is great news.  To share in all the news, updates, photos and videos, please join us via our funding page at www.ko-fi.com/Frugaldom We offer various options for Friends of Frugaldom, including Pony Partners, Wildlife Watchers and Happy Hutters with all funds raised contributing towards the feeding of the sanctuary animals and wildlife. 

PROJECT PROGRESS

• The pond has been receiving plenty of attention to recover it from the proliferation of duckweed.
• The new sand pit has been completed in the paddock
• New fence posts have been installed ready for replacing electric fencing in the corner field
• A length of post and rail fence has been built along the edge of the pond bog garden
• Wooden boards have been purchased for completing more fencing
• More nest boxes have been hung outside the barn
• An owl nest box has been donated and hung inside the barn
• A grand total of 35 campervans have visited and stayed overnight, year to date (Rethinking this one as it's not really financially feasible)
• Sage Cottage (one-bedroom cottage with separate storeroom and garden in Glenluce) has become vacant. On completion of work, it will be available for residential tenancy at around £400 per calendar month. Interested parties should contact Frugaldom @ gmail .com