AMBLESIDE - Lakes District

Eventually we arrived in Ambleside - once again another very pretty town - almost all houses & buildings in the town are made from stone.

Apparently a great area for walking, so if the weather permits we'll see just how many we do - but first - time to find a local establishment -  the White Lion Hotel looked inviting & happy to say we weren't disappointed.

Next morning - overcast but no rain - so off we set - once again Cliff found a walk - of all places - to a pub - problem being we needed to walk 6kms just to get to the pub - so off we set

Up a very steep road to start the climb to Loughrigg fell (mountain range) one advantage is we had great views of Lake Windermere.

then past Loughrigg tarn (mountain lake) 

The public pathways actually go through private farms - we even had to climb their stone walls

Finally we got to our destination - thank goodness it was on the downhill run  (I hate walking up hill, especially very steep hills)

Lovely pub - as the sign said "Comfort food for hungy fellwalkers" & believe me, I needed some comforting as I still had to walk back :-)

ON THE ROAD TO LAKES DISTRICT

After too many whiskies the night before, Cliff was unsure if he acutally saw a deer with extra large antlers but our hosts Felicity & Chris confirmed there had been a very large stag hanging around the town - plus - the legal alcohol limit in Scotland is .0375 - so it was my turn to drive - I was anxious  - even though we paid for me to be a driver, I didn't actually think I would have to drive. The road through Loch Lomond was absolutely incredible - it is indescribable -  and - the picture does not do justice to the sheer beauty and the size of the mountains. 

Once on the coast the sun was shining so we drove along trying to find a place to stay for the night, but to no avail.  We stopped at Dunure which would have made a great stopover -  sadly they were booked.

and the Dunure castle was a little too shabby to stay - it was lacking walls

So - on we went until we found a little town called Ballantrae - great pub with very friendly staff & pretty good accommodation - we got their last double room plus a very hearty breakfast was thrown in.

A walk along the beach at Ballantrae

 Nessie was feeling a little lost so far from home.

Off to the Lakes District tomorrow.

LOCH NESS - FINAL DAY

Our last day was finally dry enough to go for a walk - we were going to try to find Nessie -  Cliff was so busy reading the walking map he didn't notice the hitchhiker I had put in his back pack :-)

We walked a steep but pretty walk to view the lake but alas - the only Nessie we found was our cute little puppet.

Cliff had lots of fun playing hide & seek with Nessie

A couple of hours later it was time to try out one of the local pubs - Cliff had found a new companion 

After lunch - another walk but this time it wasnt as steep - more to my liking.

Even the cows in the field seemed to like Nessie - they all gathered around for a look.

We meandered along beautiful back roads

Across a very old bridge

and finished off in a local cemetry before heading home  

That night Cliff wanted to try out another pub - I was too exhausted from all the walking he made me do, so I stayed home & fell asleep on the lounge - when I woke it was dark which meant it was well after 11pm (when the sun sets) - where was Cliffy - well he met a very friendly chap at the local & was too busy exchanging stories & sampling local whiskies to come home - finally he got home & couldn't stop telling me about the deer with very large antlers he ran into (at least it wasn't a leprechaun) - he didn't know who got the biggest fright - him or the deer.

SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS - Part 2

5 nights was definitely not enough time to explore this area of Scotland - As the weather wasn't great there was no point in trying to walk so we did lots of driving. The ruins of Urquart Castle on the shores of  Loch Ness. 

We drove to a pretty place called Glen Affric - it looked like the whole area was maintained  by the Scottish Hydro system - there were lots of lovely walks.

The sun actually came out which was a pleasant surprise.

Detour on the way home along unknown roads - the countryside was exceptionally pretty.

We had - once again - another day of rain so we decided to take a train trip from Fort William to Mallaig. This was the train used in the Harry Potter movies. Unfortunately we didn't board on platform 9 3/4.  It was a 2 hour train trip,

Over the viaduct (also in Harry Potter)

It was sooo cold when we arrived (This is summer??) We had a couple of hours to kiil - we found a local pub for lunch & left just before our train was ready to depart.

Hopefully tomorrow the weather will start to improve.

THE SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS

The village of Fort Augustus is a beautiful village on the southern tip of Loch Ness

it has a series of 5 locks for boats to enter or leave the Loch plus a couple of very nice pubs.

It was traditional Scottish weather -pretty bleak -  so we spent our first day visiting the Isle of Skye - what a panoramic drive - the countryside was breathtaking - the size of the mountains indescribable

We went via a back road to a little ferry to take us across to the Isle of Skye - that was fun. The operators actually pushed the top of the ferry around to line the cars up with the ramp. Our car was the first one off the ferry.

The drive was a bit scary (well for me it was) blind crests on hills & not knowing where the road was going. The landscape was barren, very cold & rainy

We drove up to Portree which was another very pretty village.

found a cosy cafe -  had local mussels & sea bass for lunch mmmmmm Cliff was happy with his meal (as was I) he felt very satisfied - the look on his face says it all.

a little bit of sight seeing & back in the car for the long drive home. 

We stopped along the way to view Eilean Donan Castle (which was owned by Connor McLeod in the movie "Highlander") and as we all know "There can be only one" but which one???

What a full day - back to our welcoming apartment for a blissful nights sleep - although the sun doesn't set until 10:30pm - by the time its dark it's 11:15 then we wake when it starts to get light at 5:30am - the nights are just not long enough.

SCOTLAND

EDINBURGH - our apartment was in the old part of the city - very close to the castle.

We spent a few hours touring the castle & then the Royal Mile (which is the road that leads directly to the castle)  Edinburgh doesn't worry about the state of the buidlings (unlike Paris) most of the buildings appeared very dirty & looked like they needed to be washed down.

We spent our first night in this little pub, the atmospere was incredible. 2 guys from a group called "The Gorm" were playing scottish music - some very traditional songs from the 1700's & then some they had changed the lyrics & all you could do was laugh. Of couse I had to buy their CD.

We picked up our hire car & boy, what a stressful time trying to get out of the city but eventually we made it & headed towards Loch Ness.

Our first stop was to visit Castle Campbell - it was very enlightening to find out my clan was not as bad as history portrayed them.

LOCH NESS - Our apartment in Fort Augustus was in " No. 3 The Old Convent" we were on the top level & I would thoroughly recommend it. The furnishings were extremely tasteful, a very large bedroom, full kitchen & cosy loungeroom - after a full day of driving it was a wonderful surprise, much more than we expected.

A good nights rest & then 4 days of sight seeing.

BRUGGE - BELGIUM

What a pretty city - dating back to medieval times, the architecture was very different to the other countries we toured so far. 

The sun was shining, it was a good day to see the city from the canals

This is Fidel - he's the dog that appeared in the movie "In Bruges" he apparently just sits at the window everyday & looks out over the water.

We saw Michelangelo's "Madonna & Child (1500's) " in the Church of Our Lady

the church was displaying beautiful artwork by Adriaen Isenbrant (1530) "Our lady of seven sorrows"

We finsihed off our 2 days in Brugge at a great pub/restauant - sorry for the blurry photo - I think the bar maid had too much to drink as well :-)

Friday 12th June - farewell to our European holiday, the time seems to have passed so quickly. Back to London on the Eurostar & off to Sheffield to catch up with Emily & John.

Rob & Doug dropped us off in Edinburgh on their way to explore the Orkney & Shetland Islands, meanwhile Cliff & I had 2 days to wander around Edinburgh - pick up our hire car - off to find Nessie.