Holiday In North Berwick: North Berwick

After yesterday's exertions and 4-hour-round-trip, we decided to explore locally in North Berwick today.

 
We gave Brock his second walk of the day in the Lodge Grounds Park at North Berwick, then headed to the dog-friendly Steampunk Cafe for morning coffee and cake. It was so warm that we were able to sit outside. The coffee was excellent and the staff were friendly, so I would definitely recommend giving this small cafe a visit if you are in town.

Mural at Steampunk Cafe

After a look around the town - there are lots of small independent shops, cafes, restaurants and five charity shops to explore - and lunch back at the flat, we headed out for a walk along the beach as far as the golf course.

 The Law: a volcanic plug that you can hike up, and handy landmark for locating North Berwick!

One of Brock's many new friends: Sula (left)

We had another delicious double espresso ice cream from Gelateria Alandas back in the town, and chips for dinner from the nearby North Berwick Fry.

Sandyhills Beach Walk

Another walk for us, at this picturesque beach in Dumfries & Galloway, Scotland. (Click on any picture to see a larger version).

Our previous walk here (see article below) was to the right, when you get down to the beach. This time we turned left. It is a muddier/silty walk, but still has interesting caves and rock formations to explore.

Lunch afterwards was at the Loch Arthur Cafe in Beeswing. They have an outside seating area overlooking a pond, which is ideal if you have a dog with you. The food is freshly prepared and often includes produce from the farm. I ate the dipping platter (hummus, tomato and tzatziki dips with tortilla chips, salad garnish and vegetable sticks). Rob had the cream cheese tart with mixed salads, and we both had large Americano coffees. Excellent, as always.

Holiday to Inverness 2016: 24 - 25 September: Dunkeld, Inverness and Chanonry Point

Rob, Brock and I have just returned from a week's holiday in Inverness.

We stopped off at Dunkeld on the way up. It is a very picturesque town with hotels, cafes and small shops. Palmerston's Cafe was where we had lunch (jacket potatoes with hummus and salad). The food is pretty good, but one of the waitresses is rather on the abrupt side, which is a bit off-putting, so I couldn't recommend it.

There is an excellent deli in the town: The Scottish Deli. We bought a bag of food there to take with us for the week: muesli, almond milk, cheese, butter, olives, wine, stuffed chillies, bread, hummus, strawberries etc.

We arrived at Rookery Nook, our accommodation for the week, at about 4.00 pm. It is a 'compact and bijoux' apartment with a tiny, private garden area (complete with bird feeder, rockery, washing line, seating area and plants). The apartment is in a very quiet area of Inverness, but only a few minutes drive to the centre or the ring road, so suited us very well. It has an open-plan kitchen/dining area/sitting room, with a bedroom, and a shower room.

Brock made himself at home on the duvet we'd bought for him (no pets on the furniture, please!).

On the Sunday, we headed into the centre of Inverness to do the Ness Islands Walk, only to find that there was a marathon and fun run taking place.

A view from one of the islands. We managed to complete the walk before the main race began.

 Warming up before the race starts.

Just before the race began.

The event was sponsored by Baxters soup and it was quite amusing to hear the commentator trying to work 'his favourite soup' into interviews with the competitors.

Rob and I had a walk around the town, but most of the shops, and the museum were closed. We did manage to get some postcards in The Works!

Chanonry Point near Rosemarkie on The Black Isle was our final stop for the day. The sat nav took us on the scenic route around the Beauly Firth, which is absolutely beautiful.

It was a bit windy on the point, but the beach that runs back to Rosemarkie was quite sheltered. You can see dolphins from here if you arrive in the late afternoon.

Chanonry Lighthouse.

Walking back along the beach towards Rosemarkie.

Brock enjoyed the walk and met some friends along the way.

By the time we approached the community cafe on the beach, the sun had come out and it was hot enough to sit outside for lunch.

The popular community cafe in Rosemarkie. Good tea, and GF egg roll, but very dry cakes :o/

We had a couple of hours rest at the holiday home before visiting a nearby pub for dinner: The Fluke. It was quite lively, with a mixed age crowd, and music from a jukebox. We ate the cauliflower and red pepper curry, which came with rice and poppadoms - quite tasty, washed down with some cider! They had quite a few other vegetarian meals on the menu: most centred around halloumi cheese.

Holiday in Fife: Day 3: St Andrews

Today we walked along the beach at St Andrews - acres of yellow sand bounded by the sea on one side and golf courses on the other.

We always enjoy visiting this town. It has beautiful old buildings, lovely shops and restaurants and you can walk around it easily. There are lots of other things to do, such as visits to the:- botanical garden, castle, cathedral ruins, golf museum and university museum.

Lunch was at the dog-friendly Byre Theatre Cafe, where we had a very tasty lunch (GF mushroom salad for me and vegetarian platter with cheese, olives, bread, hummus, roasted tomatoes and peppers, etc, for Rob).

We spotted the poster above in the Theatre Cafe and it reminded us of a certain little dog of our acquaintance. He is due for a fur cut in a few weeks time so he won't be quite so 'Hairy Maclary' any more!

We bought some delicious blue cheese, and bread from IJ Mellis and gorgeous (but outrageously expensive - £1.40 each!) chocolates from Iain Burnett Highland Chocolatier. Cakes from Fisher and Donaldson - a GF meringue for me and a coffee tower for Rob. All the food groups covered!

Then it was back to the Crail Posthouse for a relaxing read by the fire!

A Trip To Alnmouth

Rob, Brock and I had a few hours at Alnmouth, Northumberland on Wednesday.

It is a very attractive seaside village, with a marina, golf course, lots of restaurants, pubs, hotels and cafés (for its size). There are also a few gift shops and delis to browse in.

We enjoyed lunch at The Red Lion Inn: a 'starter' of crisps, followed by Stilton and red onion sandwich for Rob; omelet and salad garnish for me. (The latter was a special request that they kindly cooked for me, since they didn't have any vegetarian, gluten free dishes listed on the menu.) The food was tasty, and it was a nice place to sit and relax. I see from their website that they do Bed and Breakfast, and also have a beer garden overlooking the sea, which we didn't spot. The Inn allows dogs into the bar area and beer garden, which is useful if you happen to have one with you.

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

Next we had a walk on the beach, which is beautiful: wide sandy expanses and very few people, even on a sunny day in August.

Brock found a new friend to play with: Becky.

We enjoyed an ice cream and Brock showed quite a bit of interest in getting some. And succeeded.

The nearby market town of Alnwick is also worth a visit for the shops, Alnwick Garden and Alnwick Castle.

The Beach - An Etsy Treasury

A gift guide, inspired by the beach...

The Beach

The best place to be at this time of year...

Rag Rug Denim Striped Cushion FireHorseTextiles £75.00	blue and yellow variscite and beach pebble sterling silver pendant necklace laurenmeredith $174.00	Beach Wedding Bridal Package (Hinewai Dandy Style). Made to Order Custom Details .DEPOSIT romanticflowers $205.00
Antique Whale Lapel Pin Enameled Orca Sparkly Iridescent Purple Blue Yellow Gold Metal Bar Pin Vintage 1940's Marine Ocean Beach Jewelry SpringJewelryThings $29.96	Crochet Rag Bag Blue Green Yellow and White Market Tote Bag Purse Beach Bag Recycled Materials RaggedRevival $69.00	Forget me not Necklace Original Artisan Crochet Jewelry Multi Strand Pastel Blue Yellow Gold Beach Wedding FestiJe $54.00
Hair Comb "Kraken" - copper hair asseccories - octopus - beach jewelry - blueyellow hair pin - ocean - sea theme wirefoxjewellery $64.00	Airborne Beagle - hound, dog, beagle, beach, animal, canine, happy Fine Art Photographic Print tarakatephotography $21.00	Coastal Bird Photography White Yellow & Gray Seagull Ocean Water Fine Art Wall print 11x14 Beach Cottage Chic decor Nautical Home decor SCPerkinsPhotography $45.00
Straw hat , Unisex fedora hat , Vintage style , decorated with a stunning ribbon. LeopardValley $44.00	Pennants fabric flag banner, Fabric Bunting, Flags in Summer beach blue, yellow, Aqua Wave BillieBellaBunting $34.95	Blue, Orange or Yellow 15" w/ White Straps / Life ring preserver - Nautical Home Decor / Beach House Decoration / Coastal Living NauticalBeachDecor $29.49
ocean beach polymer necklace blue gold handmade cotton string baublearcadejewelry $22.00	beach photograph, beach hut photograph, blue, triangle, beach hut, architecture photography, yellow, beach decor, rainbow, seaside oohprettyshiny $35.00	abstract watercolor painting print, indigo blue, yellow, aqua, brown RanchoParadiso $15.00
Colorful Beach Glass Earrings, Sea Glass Earrings, Green Beach Glass Earrings, Blue Beach Glass Earrings, Yellow Sea Glass Earrings, JewelryJustMyStyle $12.00

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