Two weeks in the Scottish Highlands - bliss! Our favourite part of the country. I make no apologies for having a lot to say about this holiday!
After picking DD up after work we headed north on the M6 for our overnight stop in a Holiday Inn, complete with both dogs. We'd had to book two rooms so I had the two dogs and DD with me, while poor DH had a room on his own (making sure that DD was up in the morning ready to set off on time!). For some reason at 3.20am the dogs decided to have a falling out, waking both DD and myself in the process. Then we were both awake again by 6.30am so opted to take the dogs out, give them breakfast, and wait for DH to get up so that we could make an early start on the long haul up to Ullapool. A quick stop at Stirling services for breakfast, then on to the A9 and our regular stop at Ralia Cafe. If you've been on the A9 and not stopped here, you must do next time. It's a lovely little place and they do fantastic toasted bacon sandwiches, along with other wonderful food and drink.
So, suitably refreshed again we set off for the last stretch up to Inverness, then on to the A835, finally arriving at our cottage in Ullapool for about 4pm. With the van unpacked it was time to head to The Seaforth, again, a regular for us when we stay up here. Food and a pint of An Teallach ale - just what we needed!
The following day we just wandered round Ullapool and chilled for a day. The weather wasn't particularly good unfortunately, with drizzle in the afternoon - after all the nice weather we'd been having at home too!
However, come Tuesday the sun came out and we set off for Durness, complete with packed lunch.
We had fabulous views on the drive to Durness.
And then we got a view of Balnakeil beach, right at the north-west tip of Scotland - it must be the most amazing beach we have ever been to - miles of golden sand.
You could be anywhere when you reach this beach, it's superb. As it was quite quiet we decided to let both dogs off their leads for a while so that they could have a run round. Oscar was really good (as he doesn't like other dogs we had to keep checking that there were no others around) but he wouldn't go near the water as the waves were frightening him!
We had lunch then headed back to the van over the sand dunes……..
And then the second reason why we make the long trip up to Durness each year - the best hot chocolate from Cocoa Mountain. We discovered their chocolates a few years ago when they were selling some on the market in Ullapool. About 3 or 4 years ago we were having a trip round in the van heading up via Lairg and the north coast and ended up at Durness and decided to call in. We've never looked back and now make this an annual trip, just for the hot chocolate if nothing else.
Then the long trip back to Ullapool and pizza's for tea at The Frigate.
Wednesday was a day for me and DH to go walking while DD stayed in the cottage with Molly. We decided that as Molly is now 16 and showing signs of slowing down somewhat, that we would give her a rest from our long walks, and just take Oscar. We decided to head for Lochinver and continue a walk that we started last year and didn't finish. Heading to Lochinver, however, also meant that we had a brief stop to buy lunch from Lochinver Larder. Their pies are amazing! Although they do 'pies by post' we only tend to buy them when we are in the area - our treat for our walks. One savoury pie and one sweet pie between us is enough to keep us going most of the time on our walks. So, pies packed and drinks packed and we set off on our trek, driving up the single track road to park close to Glencanisp Lodge. The route we took takes you close to the lodge and then heads off in to the hills to end up very close to Suilven.
Again, amazing views even though the walk didn't involve much climbing ….
I'll add more photo's to my walks page about this walk as it was so nice.
We walked much further than we'd originally intended to as it was such a lovely day and it was so good to be out. After a stop for lunch with our pies, and a quick nap for Oscar, we headed back the same way.
Time for a curry tonight, and a fabulous curry it was too from the Essence of India restaurant. Empty plates all round for us tonight!
Thursday was Ullapool Hill day, a day when we all go walking together, take both dogs, and head up the hill. Although it's not huge hill, for Molly at 16, and DD who doesn't go walking on a regular basis, it can be a bit tough in places. Even though the sun was shining there was a bit of a breeze to keep us cool as we all walked up to the summit.
Friday wasn't a good day for the weather again. It didn't rain, but was very overcast. DD opted to stay in the cottage with Molly again while we drove out for another walk, this time to start the walk to one of Britains highest waterfalls, Eas a'Chual Aluinn, in the Assynt region. With Oscar with us we decided not to aim for the risky walk right by the waterfall, but opted to stop some way before that at a lovely loch where we had lunch. I'll add a few more photo's when I do a quick write-up about the walk itself.
I have to admit to feeling quite cold doing this walk and even had to put my gloves on to keep warm when we stopped! But it was a good walk and we got to see scenery that we haven't seen before, and vowed to come back and complete the walk to the waterfall one day (probably without a dog!).
A lovely view over Ullapool harbour tonight …
Saturday was change-over day when we said goodbye to Ullapool for another year and set off on our journey heading south to Oban, and a second cottage at Kilchrenan.
It seemed to take hours to do the journey, but we finally arrived at 4.30pm to be met with freshly baked bread, butter, eggs and milk in the fridge, a bottle of wine, tea, coffee, sugar and chocolates! Fabulous!
The cottage was lovely - very remote (6 miles down a single track road with passing places) but in a wonderful part of Scotland. So, Sunday was our chance to get our shopping done in Oban, let us do the traditional walk up to McCaig's Tower, with fabulous views from there ……
…and it also gave us chance to have our regular visit to Oban Chocolate Co where we always buy more chocolates (there seems to be a food theme on our Scottish holidays!). We first discovered these chocolates in February 2004. Unbeknown to us this small company had only just opened the previous December. Once we tasted their chocolates we were hooked and I have made a point of ordering their chocolates as treats for us each New Year, and we always buy some when we visit at any other time of year. Again, they are well worth a visit if you are in the area as they also have a fantastic cafe serving a multitude of drinks and snacks. When we visited we each had one of their waffles with different toppings - I had strawberries and cream - yummy!
Monday we all headed out intending to do a 5 mile forest walk at Barcaldine. However, the route we were going to take was closed due to forestry work, so we ended up doing a shorter walk and then heading back towards the cottage where we found another short forest walk!
Tuesday was yet another glorious day with the sun shining, so we opted to continue down the single track road towards Dalavich, along the shores of Loch Awe and parked up for a walk up to Loch Avich. It was a beautiful day with amazing views across Loch Awe (but lots of midges and flies around!!).
We had a slightly interesting end to the walk as we were coming back through the forest, but I'll save that for the walks page - a very interesting last mile, that's all I'll say for now!
The drive back to the cottage gave us more fabulous views which, of course, we had to stop and take photo's of……
Sadly, for the rest of the week the weather was not so kind and it turned quite drizzly and overcast. Wednesday we headed to Inveraray, having not been there for a number of years. As the weather turned quite wet when we got there we ended up simply browsing the few shops and going for lunch in a lovely little cafe. And then, because we were quite close, we drove to home of my favourite beer - Loch Fyne Ales brewery. Jarl has to be my favourite beer, and DH loves Avalanche and Hurricane Jack (or any of their beers really, as all the one's we've tried have been delicious). As they have a shop at the brewery, we came away with a mixed box of 12 bottles of beer! So, despite the weather, we had a good day out!
Thursday was another disappointing day for the weather, but we still headed out, first to Oban to get a few bits of shopping, and then back to the cottage via Glen Lonan, a road recommended to us when we first arrived at the cottage. And what a lovely road to drive - miles of single track road through wonderful scenery yet again.
And then Friday, our last day. And what a day. The worst day for the weather - rain for most of the day. So off we went to The Green Welly Stop. This is usually our first stop on our way home, to browse the gift shop and to get a quick bite to eat and drink before carrying on. However, because we knew that it wouldn't take us too long to get there, so couldn't really justify a stop on the way home, we decided to go today, so that we had time to browse properly without feeling like we were in a rush to set off. It's a lovely place and has changed quite considerably over the years that we've been stopping there, expanding and improving all the time. And just to make the day more interesting, we opted to go back to the cottage the long way round - via Glencoe, with some interesting views on the way back!
So, two weeks in Scotland. Our yearly visit to the Highlands over for yet another year. And what a holiday! We have had some fantastic weather and seen amazing scenery. We've eaten some of the most delicious food and done some fabulous walks.
Roll on Scotland 2015!
Crete - May 2014
A full week in Crete!
We hadn't been to Crete or any of the Greek Islands before, so this was all new to us this year. After dropping the dogs off at my mum's we headed over to Leeds/Bradford airport (another first, as we usually use Manchester airport) for a late flight. We landed about 9pm local time to quite warm weather!
After waiting for another flight to come in before the coach left, it was quite late when we got dropped off, apparently in the middle of nowhere, heading up a dusty track in the dark. I must admit that we were all wondering what we'd booked!!
However, daylight is a wonderful thing and the following morning we woke up to sunshine and blue skies. Hurray! And a local cat who seemed to adopt us for the week that we were there.
The place we stayed was lovely. We'd opted for self-catering this time and the apartments were really nice - not too many of them and far enough away from the beach front for it to be quiet (not that the main resort area was busy as we'd gone before the main season had fully started, so the whole area was pretty quiet all week anyway).
The trip also included a visit to the monastery of Kera which was lovely.
A full day, but well worth it for the views and being able to see more of the island.
Sadly the weather wasn't what we'd been hoping for. The week before we'd we learned that the weather had been really hot and sunny all week. However, while we were there the wind had changed and was cooling it down, and it was quite breezy for most of the week. A bit of a shame but that's the way it goes when you go abroad I guess.
As the resort area was so quiet, we took the bus to Heraklion on the Friday to have a look round and see what was there, being one of the main cities on the island. It was such a busy place! Lots of shops and cafes/restaurants around. And it was lovely in the sun out of the wind!
Before we knew it, it was time to go home. Having a late flight back meant that we had to spend most of the day just waiting for the coach to come and collect us. Again, all part of the holiday experience. And with having a late flight back, it meant that we didn't get home until the early hours of the morning. So, a long day, but we did it.
I would love to go back to Crete, despite the fact that we didn't have such good weather, as it seemed a lovely place.
Gatehouse-of-Fleet, Scotland - March 2014
The cottage we stayed in was lovely - in a very quiet location just outside Gatehouse-of-Fleet, with a huge garden, a real fire, and overlooking fields and hills - bliss.
Sadly the weather wasn't brilliant all week, with 3 days of rain. However, it didn't stop us getting out and about. Nothing doing on the Sunday, but a lovely walk round Loch Trool on the Monday with glorious sunshine for some of the walk (see my walks page for more info and photos).
Tuesday was another good walking day - leaving DD behind in the cottage with Molly we headed out to Cairnsmore of Fleet, a really good but extremely tough walk for us (more on my walks page).
Wednesday was a bit of wander day. The weather was a bit drizzly to start with so we headed out to see the wild goats and red deer along the Queens Way, or so we thought. A few of the goats were out, but no deer at all today. We've visited the same spot for many years so it was no surprise really. Then on to Clatteringshaws Loch, a lovely spot if the weather is good. Maybe not so good if you sit in a motorhome with the rain coming down and the wind blowing all around. But we sat there looking at the loch having sandwiches and hot chocolate (no cafe open at this time of year). And then a trip up to New Galloway and back down the side of Loch Ken and a quick stop at the Cocoa Bean Chocolate Factory, a new place we'd spotted on our way up on Saturday. This looks like it would be a really good place to bring young children if you get stuck for something to do with them as there's a big play area outside, and a play area inside too. And for the grown-ups? Well, there's plenty of delicious looking chocolates to buy, if you can bring yourself to choose just a few - there's so many to choose from! We ended up getting a couple of small bags each when we'd managed to decide which ones to have.
Thursday was World Book Day, and what better place to head to than Wigtown, Scotland's National Book Town. With lots of small second-hand bookshops and cafes to go in, we spent a while just browsing the books, and then had some lunch in a lovely bookshop/cafe called Readinglasses.
Friday was another nice day, so with DD tucked up in the cottage with Molly again we headed off along the Queens Way again and parked up near to the Black Loch and just wandered with Oscar. Although it was bitterly cold at times, it was a lovely walk (see my walks page).
And then sadly it was time to go home on Saturday after a quick tidy up and general clean of the cottage.
Watching the wildlife from the windows was fantastic all week. It was definitely a place we would consider going back to again.
Albufeira, Portugal - February 2014
Ok, so we were supposed to be going to London for 3 or 4 nights when we were planning this holiday. The idea was to go and see a show and have a bit of shopping time.
Then I started looking at prices and realised that we could get a few days abroad for less money. No competition really - less money and no temptation to go and spends loads of money in the shops!
So, last Thursday I found myself driving to the airport with DD and we headed off to Portugal. I've never been before, but DD went a few years ago to Albufeira on a girls holiday. This was going to be a bit different however, with no clubbing, just chilling for a few days. We'd had to work round DH working away and when he could get home to look after the animals so we ended up with a late flight and only landed at 11.15pm. With a bit of a wait for the transfer it was 1.15am before we arrived at the hotel so we were both very tired and headed straight to bed.
What a lovely way to wake up Friday morning - blue sky!!
The supermarket was the first stop to get supplies in, then a leisurely stroll down to the beach and a wander round the shops, followed by a snack and a drink at one of the cafes. What a lovely place! When we got back to the hotel I went down for a swim in the indoor pool and managed to persuade DD to come with me for the jacuzzi. We had it all to ourselves which was lovely and enjoyed a relaxing time before heading out for a meal at the cafe close to the hotel.
On Saturday DD decided she wanted to show me where all the clubs were that she'd been in with her friends. So, after an early swim for me, we headed out. With us going out of the main season it meant that most of the places were shut, so not quite the same atmosphere there'd been when DD was there. Sadly it also meant that the restaurant she wanted us to go in for a meal was also shut. But we found a lovely little cafe on the beach front and stopped for a drink and a snack looking out to sea.
Sunday wasn't such a good day. It had been a bit breezy on Saturday, but it got worse on Sunday, and then the rain started. After another early swim for me, and lunch in the apartment, we headed out towards the old town again, aiming for the path on the beach front, but the weather was so bad that we ended up running in to a little cafe for shelter! (such a shame, we had to order a drink while we were there to dry off!). We didn't stay out very long and spent most of the day in the apartment, with us both reading and generally just chilling.
Monday was a much better day for the weather - blue skies again and just a bit of a breeze. Another early swim for me, then lunch, then we wandered out in the sun, just taking our time with me taking lots of photos!
We stayed out until the light started to go, and then it was time to head back to the hotel to make our last meal and pack our suitcases ready for the journey home on Tuesday.
A wonderful few days away, and I suspect we had much better weather, and spent less than we would have done had we gone to London.
Time to plan the next holiday!
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