Holiday in Gairloch: Day 2: Gairloch, Inverewe Gardens, Ullapool

Redpoint Beach was our first stop this morning. Unfortunately, we couldn't get Henry down to the beach because it involved a hike across a rough field. But it looked beautiful!

Next, we headed to Gairloch, where we went down to the harbour. We were amazed to see huge shoals of whitebait swarming around the quayside. They were being eaten by mackerel, that were jumping out of the water to catch them. The beach at Gairloch was lovely and sandy with a boardwalk down to the sand. Perfect! Here is Henry enjoying the walk.

It was on to Inverewe Gardens after that. We had a cake and cold drink in the cafe (rather pricey!). The gardens cost £9 per adult entry and it is well worth the fee. There are over fifty acres to explore, well signposted to the different areas - pond, walled garden, jetty, view points, beach etc. We spent a couple of hours here and covered most of the pathways. There were lots of plants, shrubs, trees and flowers to see - even in the vegetable garden. What makes the garden, though, are the wonderful sea views. The weather was hot and it was the definite high point of the holiday for me.

We drove on up the coast to Ullapool and were lucky enough to spot a couple of seals basking on a rock.

Every corner turned brought a new stunning landscape and seascape into view.

Holiday in Gairloch - Day 1: Journey up, Dunkeld, Inverness, Arrival at Glendale House

We left home just after 9.00 am on 1 October 2011 for our 6 - 7 hour trip north, to South Erradale, near Gairloch.

At lunchtime, we stopped at Dunkeld and ate in Palmerston's Cafe (interior and exterior shown below).

We both ate baked potato with cheese and chutney, served with very nice salad garnish, which included mixed, possibly home-grown, salad leaves, salad dressing and toasted seeds. We both drank green tea. Everything was good, and the bill came to under £17.00.

Tescos at Inverness was our next stop, for petrol and a bottle of wine! It was absolutely packed: I think everyone in The Highlands must shop there on a Saturday afternoon! As we drove west, and neared Gairloch, the scenery changed, to look boggy, sparsely populated with heather, small, scrubby trees and shrubs. The mountains dominate the landscape, with picturesque lochs and rocky outcroppings around every corner. The road gradually dwindled to a single-track road with passing places.

We arrived at Glendale House, where we had booked a self-catering cottage for a week. It was completely locked up and dark, but we could hear voices from an upper apartment. Not being able to make ourselves heard, and with no mobile phone reception, we couldn't even ring anyone, we decided to explore the rocky shore 200 yards from the hotel. Our first disappointment was to discover that the beach was completely unreachable with Henry in his buggy. There was a high, steep slope, rough ground and fence to negotiate. Our dreams of early walks on the beach every morning with Henry were shattered. (The beach shown on their website is several miles away, and also reached via a rough field.) When we returned to the Hotel, the manageress appeared and showed us to our apartment (the cottage we had booked was still occupied by a long-term tenant). This proved to be another upset, because instead of being at ground level, the flat was up a flight of stairs and poor Rob was to spend the next 6 days carrying Henry up and down every time he needed to go out. (Which is quite often in a 16 year old dog!)

The view from the apartment (above). The main hotel (below.)

The apartment was fine, with comfortable bedroom and sitting room. The kitchen was equipped with a dishwasher and washing machine; but on the downside, there was no shower in the bathroom and someone appears to use the downstairs entrance lobby as their personal smoking room :(

Happy Birthday Henry

A belated Happy Birthday to Henry who was 16 years old on 11 August 2011.

Here is an EtsyVeg Team Treasury to celebrate all things canine.

Click on the picture to see a larger version, or click here to find out more about the individual items and makers.

Mellow Autumn Days

A new Etsy treasury featuring items in subtle, muted tones, all from the EtsyVeg Team.

Click on the picture to see a larger version, or click here to see details of individual items and sellers.

Money Money Money Etsy Treasury

Here's my latest treasury on Etsy, all about money. Make it. Save it. Spend it. Wear it. Count it. Wish for it.

Click on the picture to see a larger version.
To find out more about the individual items and makers, please click here.

Potfest in the Park 2011

We are just back from our trip to Potfest at Hutton-in-the-Forest, Cumbria. There were 100s of craftspeople from 10 countries there: a huge variety of styles, from functional mugs, to jewellery, sculpture, ornamental, wall plaques, animal figures etc etc.

The 'Pots on the Lawn' competition theme this year, was 'Marking Time'. Both Rob and I picked this as our favourite. As you can see the oarsmen are getting distinctly out of time in this piece. The maker is Christine Hester Smith of Dumfriesshire.

These are the three items Rob and I bought: a mug for a gift; an oak leaf bowl for Rob and a 'frog spawn' bowl for me. All three pieces were made by Charlotte and Sigerd Bohmer of Germany.

We also had a nice lunch in the tearoom (all sorts of sandwiches, baps, salads, cakes, ice cream available) and a wander round the walled garden and grounds of the house. The weather was hot and sunny, so it was the perfect day out!

Powfoot

Rob and I took Henry down to the beach at Powfoot on the Solway Firth for his walk today.

It was a bit more overcast than yesterday, but the views across to England were still beautiful.

Rob and Henry.

Henry and I.