Winter Wildlife Watching

Our yard remains open all year round for campervans and motorhomes parking up for a few nights of wildlife watching. Being certified as a 5-van campsite by the Caledonian Touring Club means we can offer some great opportunities for meet-ups, one night stopovers and our wildlife watching events. 

We completed the extension of the pine marten feeding platform, as seen in the photo, and it had to be investigated by the cats. The photo shows the confrontation when one of the pine martens arrived before this feral feline left. Check out the video clip of events on the Frugaldom YouTube channel.

SPECIAL OFFERS

Winter weekday stopovers - £10 for 1 night, £15 for 2 nights, £20 for 3 nights, £25 for 4 nights. Eligible for Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Weekend prices £15 for 1 night, £25 for 2 nights, £35 for 3 nights (Friday, Saturday, Sunday). If you would like to spend a full week, it costs just £60 for off-grid park-up, no services provided. We do have a waste tank for cassette emptying plus grey water disposal via soakaway (no chemicals).

JOIN FRIENDS OF FRUGALDOM

As always, we welcome new members to the project's support group, Friends of Frugaldom. Monthly fees contribute towards feed and care of the resident animals and donations help if you'd prefer not to commit from £5 each month. Find out more about Friends of Frugaldom here.

This Frugaldom Corner of Scotland

Rescued foals

In 2020, with the COVID lockdowns hanging heavy over all of us, we struggled along, devoid of volunteers, gainful employment (or self-employment) and with support at an all time low. Several friends lost their jobs, their businesses and their loved ones. Times were pretty grim. We had just taken in 5 emergency rehomings late 2019 - a Shetland pony, plus 4 colt foals that had been part of a large rescue operation in South Wales.

We survived 2020 and then into 2021. With the support of a few vanlifers and a planning exemption certificate from Dumfries & Galloway Council allowing us to charge £5 per night for visiting campervans and motorhomes, we made it through 2021, having rehomed the Shetland pony but gained a laminitic retiree. Estimated costs of keeping a pony here average £1,000 per year and £10,000 is a huge amount to pay out just on feed, bedding and hoofcare. We are lucky in that we have no rent, mortgage or other debts to service so as long as the animals are fed, we are fine. 

Yard parking

When the council exemption certificate ended, we decided to continue with our 'aire', the certification transferring to the organisation called 'MotorhomeFun'. We remain licensed for up to 5 campervans, only now it is through CAMpRA Rally. 

We remain at £5 per night for stopovers. We are still off-grid with no services other than a soakaway for waste tap water and a tank for emptying cassettes from portable toilets. We are still devoid of visitors, volunteers or supporters most of the time, despite being listed in many of the relevant sites, directories and mobile apps. This makes us a great hideaway for anyone travelling around our part of southwest Scotland. 

 

A holiday park or campsite is something we will never become but if you love wildlife and nature, plus ponies and the odd goat, you are welcome to stop in for a visit, park up, stay a night, a weekend, a week or a fortnight. Just remember that all you get for £5 per night is a safe place to park and a memory of Frugaldom. We recommend you bring peanuts, eggs and apples for the pine marten and badger clan. some dog food for the fox or cat food for the feral cats. Alternatively, you could bring carrots, apples, celery or bananas for the ponies and goat.

Wildlife Watching at Frugaldom from your Campervan or Motorhome

When visiting Frugadom in your campervan or motorhome, you are likely to encounter some of the wildlife that we feed in the garden and orchard around the yard. Bay 1, a corner pitch, overlooks a wildlife feeding station so for any photographers, wildlife watchers or nature fans, feel free to bring along a rail cam and set it up ouside your van. I left a camera out there last night just to see what is visiting.

The badgers were active, snuffling around the feeding station for quite some time, rooting for peanuts that we always put out for them and the pine marten.

Frugaldom is also home to several feral cats that roam around after dark. We very seldom catch sight of them during daylight but we know thet are out there in the same way we know the badgers, pine marten and fox are out there - caught on camera. This is Macaroon, the black cat. She is often seen along with Socks, a tabby and white male. Most have ben neutered under the catch and release scheme so we shouldn't see kittens. 

The fox is here most nights and we think she is nursing cubs somewhere nearby. Unlike the badgers, who have already brought a baby along to Frugaldom, she hasn't ventured within camera range with any cubs, yet. It could be soon - it could be while you are here watching.

This is a photo we caught of one of the mother badgers bringing her cub into the paddock a couple of nights ago. We love supporting the wildlife here and will happily accept peanuts, complete dog food or cat food in lieu of payment for an overnight stop. Likewise, you are welcome to leave eggs for the pine marten as these are his favourite food of the moment.

The pine marten is a little more elusive but if you can't see him, you ofen hear him at the feeding platform in the big tree, where the clunk of the wooden lid of the feeder signifies he is there snacking on peanuts. Leave an egg and peanuts out for him on the platform next to bay 1 and chances are that he will pop by for a late supper.

We can comfortably accommodate three motorhomes or campervans up to an absolute maximum of 7.5m but you need to have your own toilet on board and bring water as we are completely off grid with no services other than our grey water waste soakaway and a toilet tank for emptying cassettes. We have rain water harvesting to a 1000 litre tank for rinsing but during dry weather, this can run out. At £5 per night for an overnight stay, it is still well and truly worth a visit to Frugaldom. Find us on Google maps, SearchforSites, Park4Night and What3Words///Photo.Regal.Fencing will bring you to our main gate. Just search for Frugaldom or better still, join us via our support group at www.ko-fi.com/Frugaldom then visit whenever you can.

See you soon!