UK Holidays

Scotland Tour – Day 3

Carol 6 Comments

We left Ullapool in the mist, heading north along the North Coast 500.

We saw the ruins of Ardvreck Castle on the shore of Loch Assynt.
The views were amazing – dramatic coast,
rolling hills,
lochs and heather.
We waited for the sheep to pass.
We followed the coastline.
We stopped at the Drumbeg viewpoint.
We crossed the Kylesku bridge.
The Kyle of Durness reflected the lovely blue sky.
We stopped for a picnic overlooking the ferry to Cape Wrath, the most north westerly part of the Scottish mainland.
Balnakeil beach,
where a game of cricket was in progress.
Beach near Tongue

The Bettyhill hotel, our hotel for the night, overlooking the beach at Torrisdale Bay.
We went for a walk on Farr beach, just up the road.
Jellyfish
Andy on the beach.
Looking inland from Farr beach.
View from the hotel.

Tomorrow we are headed for Wick, via John o’Groats.

Stay safe

Carol

Scotland Tour – Day 2

Carol 2 Comments

We left Hamilton and continued north to Strathpeffer.

We passed through a lot of rain.

In Strathpeffer we met up with friends Linda and Mike, at the Railway Cafe. The station has been closed for many years, but the line is being used as a walk/cycle track.

Strathpeffer was a popular Victorian spa town.

After lunch we continued our journey.

We arrived at the Caledonian Hotel, Ullapool.

After a walk around the harbour we had fish and chips for tea.

More pics tomorrow.

X

Scotland Tour – Day 1

Carol 4 Comments

Day One

We set off this morning to travel the 340 miles north on the M6 from Dursley to Hamilton, just south of Glasgow.

We stopped for a picnic at Tebay services, one of the ‘Farm Shop’ services, like the Gloucester ones, which are run by the Westmoreland Group.
We drove through the Yorkshire Dales
and on into Scotland.
The weather changed – strong winds and heavy rain are forecast!

Tomorrow we drive past Inverness to Ullapool, meeting up with some friends for lunch on the way.

Carol

Scotland Holiday 2020!

Carol 2 Comments

Many months ago we booked a holiday to Scotland, stopping off at the Shetland Isles. We have been luckier than most this year as we managed to have a trip to India just before Lockdown. Our long weekend in the Isle of Man was cancelled in May, but we have kept our fingers crossed that the Scottish trip will go ahead. All looks good so far. So, hopefully, on August 20th we will be off up north!

I will post each day, as I did from India. The posts may not be so exotic but I’m sure there will be some amazing scenery to share with you.

This is our route

Looking forward to sharing my photos with you.

Stay safe

Carol

I-Spy Cam and Dursley

Carol 2 Comments

Members of our community here in Dursley, Gloucestershire, have produced an ‘I-spy’ booklet to encourage families to explore the local area. As we have had our grandson to stay for a few days we went out and about this week, armed with our copy of the book and a pen.

Spotting historic buildings in the town centre.
Into the woods to follow the Sculpture trail.
Fox and cubs designed by children at Dursley Primary School.
Shadows on the trees
Den building
Lion mosaic
Off to the quarry hunting for fossils.
We spotted many different butterflies at the quarry.

Many thanks to the people who produced the book, we spent a very happy three days exploring the area.

Points are given for everything spotted and we scored 1,060!

It was so nice to be able to spend time with family again. Long may this new freedom continue.

Stay safe

Carol

Slimbridge Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust

Carol 2 Comments

Slimbridge WWT has recently reopened, with limited numbers, following the latest Government guidelines, to keep staff and visitors safe.

As it is only about 5 miles away we thought it would make a nice day out. After a cloudy start the day brightened up and we enjoyed our visit. The indoor areas were closed, as were the play areas, but with 100 acres of wetlands, with swans, geese, ducks, moor hens, coots, flamingos etc to see, we had plenty to do.

A moor hen family with chick
See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil
Peter Scott founded the trust in 1946
There are several types of flamingos here. These are Caribbean Flamingos

It is wonderful to see places gradually opening up again. We hope things continue to improve.

Stay safe everyone

Carol

Pandemic Picnics

Carol 2 Comments

Now we are allowed out a bit more, we like to go for a drive on Sundays and take a picnic. We don’t have to travel far to find beautiful places. This week we went across the River Severn to the Forest of Dean.

It was lovely weather for ducks at Cinderford Linear Park as it started raining.
We moved on to Cannop Ponds where the rain stopped and we had our picnic.
On the way back we stopped by the river looking over to where we live.
the sluice gate

We enjoy our days out but we are looking forward to having days out with friends and family.

Hope you are all enjoying your weekend,

Stay safe

Carol

Saturday

Carol 7 Comments

As it was such a beautiful day we decided to head to the coast with a picnic, keeping a safe distance from others.

Portishead, about 45 minutes from our house
‘Sea glass’ I collected
Portishead Lake
Portishead Marina
Clevedon Pier
Clevedon bandstand

We had our lunch on a bench on Clevedon promenade, looking across to Wales. I’m sure the sunshine and sea air did us good.

Stay safe everone, Carol