2019 Holiday in Inverness: Days 1 and 2: Journey Up, Dunkeld, Findhorn and Croy

Rob, Brock and I were on holiday last week, staying at The Bothy, near Croy, Inverness.

We set off at 9.30 am, stopping just up the road at Johnstonebridge Services for coffee and a dog walk.

Lunch was at Dunkeld, a convenient half way point for us. It was warm and sunny so we decided to have a picnic in the park overlooking the River Tay, with food from The Scottish Deli. I had a hummus and sundried tomato salad; Rob had the same in a roll.

[Please click on any photo to see a larger version].

Findhorn was our next stop (via a 'Google Special' back route). We had a walk by the sea, then afternoon tea at The Bakehouse Cafe, again sitting outside - all four of the outside tables were taken on this sunny day. This was one of our favourite places to eat on our previous visit, and it was as good as we remembered, with fresh 'real' bread baked daily, homemade food and cakes, including gluten free options. I had a GF cranberry slice and Rob had the citrus cheesecake - both were delicious.

It was time to head to our holiday cottage, and we were soon in and lighting the wood burning stove to warm it up, before giving Brock a walk nearby. I saw a roe deer, and heard another crashing about in the gorse. The Bothy looked to have had a make-over since our last visit, and had a new bathroom and kitchen. All very nice and cosy, with a vase of yellow tulips and a packet of shortbread awaiting our arrival.

The countryside surrounding the holiday cottage is quite flat, and you can see distant views of the mountains and sea. The photo above shows the fields and trees nearby.

On Sunday we headed to Culbin Forest for our morning walk. There are dozens of small trails to follow, including ones that go down to the sea. The pine trees are growing on an area that was once sand dunes, and run to many acres.

Our next stop was at the Findhorn Foundation. We always enjoy looking at all of the eco houses on the site. There are also craft studios, a wholefood and craft shop, two cafes (I recommend heading into Findhorn itself to the Bakehouse Cafe, rather than eating here, however) and The Moray Art Gallery on site.

We headed back to the Bakehouse Cafe for a filo vegetable pasty for Rob and a GF chocolate brownie to takeaway. There was a mixture of bright sunshine and heavy showers, so we could not leave Brock in the car, nor sit on the wet seats, so bought some tomato soup to take home for lunch at the holiday cottage. We had a quiet afternoon reading the Sunday paper, walking Brock, watching tv and generally relaxing.

 

Farfield Mill Visit, Including the International Textile Exhibition 11 Jan - 27 Feb 2019

My friend, Margaret, and I had an enjoyable trip to Farfield Mill in Sedbergh today. Many thanks to another friend, Babette, who mentioned it to me following her own visit!

The Mill is about five miles off the M6 at Junction 37, and has plenty of parking on site. There was a road closure in the town centre today, so we had a bit of a diversion, but made it there eventually!

The entrance cost is £4.05 per person, or you can visit Level 3 and the cafe for free.

There are many, many things to see over the four Levels, including:-

• demonstrations and 'have a go' areas
• 2 second hand book shops - including a huge variety of craft books, other topics and fiction
• Artists' studios - there were a number of artists and makers 'in residence' and hard at work
• gift shop (of course!)
• heritage displays
• 2 galleries with a changing programme of exhibitions
• a cafe

We began in the cafe with coffee/tea and cake - always a good start!

Then we made our way to the top level and worked down from there. Here are some of the items on display. Click on any image to see a larger version.

What a wonderful project for the children, and the person who put the whole thing together was a genius! It reminded me of the cardboard looms that my Mum used to make for me as a child to weave on. (And, indeed, there were some of those available to 'have a go' on).

Tapestry Weaving by Rita Quick

Cabinet of beautiful woven fabrics from The Shetland Islands

One of the many working looms on site

Then it was on to the two galleries of art quilts that formed the International Textile Exhibition, which runs until 27 February 2019. The theme was the four seasons. This is a small sample of those on display.

This lovely quilt make me think of traditional Japanese woodcuts and I loved the plum tree with the added surprise of the little green bird in it, and Mount Fuji (I think!) in the background.

This was such an unusual subject for a quilt, that it caught my eye, and then the brilliance of the three-dimensionality of it struck me, together with the great fabric choices.

This quilt vibrated with colourful machine stitch and applied rhinestones and made me think of nerves tingling and brain cells being activated.

This stunning quilt glowed and shimmered like a subtle kaleidoscope pattern. The three dimensional insect was beautifully realised and there was also a layer of hand stitch in places that only became apparent close up. I think that this was made with silk fabrics.

This quilt was a beautiful representation of a snowy woodland, with many textures and details to discover.

I think that this had to be my favourite piece out of a very strong exhibition. The individual units making up the quilt, looked like ploughed autumn fields. These were interspersed with suspended, marbled, felted wool balls to represent the gourds. We wondered if the green and orange fabric had been hand dyed specially. A really amazing and surprising piece of work that certainly represented autumn in its subject matter and colour palette.

This is a view of one small section of the exhibition, showing mainly autumn-themed art works.

If you are visiting the Mill, it is well worth while paying a visit to Sedbergh town centre, with its many independent shops selling books, arts, crafts, food, clothing, hardware, kitchen utensils and more. We had a delicious lunch of soup (made with beetroot and red wine!) and sandwich in the Three Hares Cafe and Bakery. We also bought some cake slices to take away. They have vegetarian and gluten free options available, and they aim to use high quality and local produce.

A final point of interest was the local community charity shop, where I foraged out some wool fabrics, yarn and a new top, all very reasonably priced. They had drawers of ribbons, tapestry wools, fabric remnants, and jars of buttons, so for anyone interested in textile crafts, there were plenty of bargains to find.

Trip to Caldbeck in Cumbria

Rob, Brock and I had a day out last week to the charming Cumbrian village of Caldbeck.

This is the village green or commons, where sheep were grazing.

The beck running through the village. Our walk was around the surrounding roads and lanes, although there are longer walks in the area if you are feeling energetic.

A small bridge over Cald Beck, with overgrown steps leading down to the water.

There is a church, a pub, several shops and two cafés in the village. We went to the Watermill Café at Priest's Mill. There is a small car park nearby, or a larger one in the village. Unusually for Cumbria, both are free of charge!

Interior of the Watermill Café. I love the old, beamed roof and stone walls. There are preserves and flour and other items for sale. Rob had the quiche of the day with salads and I had a jacket potato with cheesy beans and side salad, with two coffees, the bill came to £22.50. The salads were very good.

There is a tiny shop called Little Crooked Tree opposite to the entrance of the cafe, selling a range of crafts and gifts. I bought a lovely sheep/patchwork card by artist, E B Watts; and then we visited The Wool Clip next door, which has a host of handmade, wool-related products for sale, including supplies, such as the darning wool I bought made or dyed by Wild Woods Wool (although, not for darning with!). They also had some beautiful handwoven scarves by Jan Beadle and tufted rugs and wall hangings.

An enjoyable trip, and it was fairly quiet now that the summer holidays are over, so it was a good time to visit.

Holiday in Yorkshire - Day 4 - Scarborough and Bridlington

After breakfast, we set off for the one hour+ drive to Scarborough. We parked in the South Bay area and walked down to the beach. Brock found a friend to play with on the beach, but it was much quieter than our last visit, and a bit chilly, so we headed up into the town. (Please click on the photos to see a larger version.)

The seaside has lots of arcades and typical tourist shops, and the town centre has the usual chain stores, with a mix of smaller businesses. We had planned to go to The Gallery Cafe, but it was closed. We happened across Cafe Heart, near the covered market and saw that it welcomed dogs and also had vegetarian and gluten free menus. Bingo!

Rob had veggie sausages, mash, peas and gravy. I had jacket potato with cheese and beans and salad. With two large coffees, the bill was less than £12! Excellent value, and our waitress was very friendly; Brock got a lot of attention, three biscuits and a bowl of water, so he was delighted.

We drove on to Bridlington next. Neither of us liked it very much: it had a rather run-down feel to it and the beach front was very commercial, with arcades and fair rides etc.

Last time we had visited nearby Filey. It was a more genteel place, with an old fashioned parade to walk along next to the beach, nicer architecture and a more unspoilt ambiance.

It depends what you are looking for really, as a child I would probably have loved Bridlington! Nowadays, I prefer country walks, art galleries, independent shops and good food ;o)

Holiday in Yorkshire

Rob, Brock and I are just back from a week's holiday in York, staying in the village of Askham Bryan, five miles from the city. We stayed in Blacksmith's Cottage, which slept five and had a nice, big garden for Brock. The next door neighbour was very friendly and advised us on places to visit.

[Click on any photo to see a larger version.]

Blacksmith's Cottage. Photo from owner's website.

There was a fantastic pub in the village, called The Nag's Head. We ate dinner there twice. The food was brilliant, and the landlady suggested some vegetarian and gluten free dishes they could cook for us. Brock was allowed into the bar area, which he enjoyed.

Here are some of the interesting places we visited:-

 Whitby

Brock loved this beach at Scarborough - lots of dogs!

 Scarborough

 Pirate ship ride

 Brock at Brimham Rocks

  

Weird rock formations at Brimham Rocks - some look like grotesque faces or creatures

 The Shambles in York

 Lunch at Russells of Coppergate in York 

(More suited to meat eaters, but they did have jacket potato with cheese! 

We ended up here on a day with torrential rain.)

 York Castle

We also walked part of the city walls

 Grassington - a very picturesque village

 A walk at Grassington

 The weir and river at Grassington

Our favourite places to eat were The Nag's Head at Askham Bryan (mentioned above), El Piano in York (a vegan, gluten free restaurant with a very interesting menu) and we also had a tasty curry with my brother, Philip, at Sonali Indian Restaurant in Tadcaster. 

Harrogate had a branch of Wagamama, where we enjoyed a delicious lunch with great service (the staff were very helpful in suggesting gluten free, vegetarian options), and we also had a great coffee at Harrogate in Hoxton North. There was a vegetarian restaurant that we had hoped to go to, called Goji, but it hadn't opened for the day when we got there - next time!

Many of the towns and villages had a good range of independent shops. We particularly enjoyed York, Harrogate, Ripon and Grassington for shopping.