Travel – Shardlows Highs

Beach Hut Addiction

I could have spent all day taking photos!

I have not written any blogs for a long while as we moved house, and I’ve just not found the time, but our recent trip to Mersea, a small island on the south Essex coast, deserved a blog, so I’m back.

With moving house, most of the trips Connie the van made this year were to carry large purchases, like sheds, green houses and wardrobes. The bulk of her trips were to Ikea, so having got most of the big jobs out of the way, and with a new grandson to visit, we needed a holiday.

We wanted to combine a final campervan trip of the year with a visit to my son and family. A browse of available sites found Waldergraves on West Mersea, somewhere neither of us had previously visited.

The forecasts had been dire the previous week, but improved day by day, and in the end we had lovely weather for mid October.

Mersea has a causeway that floods at high tides, and the day we arrived was such a tide, but we got there shortly after the sea had subsided, and settled in for a G&T before checking out the beach.

It was only a short walk from our plot on the edge of the large site to the beach.

The sun was dropping as we walked towards the town of West Mersea.

If you google West Mersea you will find lots of photos of the beach huts, and they didn’t disappoint. There are around 400, and a large section are identical huts painted in soft pastel shades.

The beach has very large tidal ranges, so can be very narrow, or stretch away into the distance.

While the background was not the most scenic, with a disused Nuclear power station, and many wind turbines, the sun on the water, and the groynes and seabirds was very pleasant.

The following day we ventured further along the beach, which the Puligans enjoyed.

As we approached the town, the huts became random, many different styles and paint palets.

I could have spent all day taking photos!

A few yachts were enjoying the fine weather

As we rounded the end of the island, there were many houseboats, all appearing stranded but on closer inspection each had a channel in the shore.

A boardwalk took us into the small town, and then a slow walk back to camp.

As it was Ians birthday we later walked to a local pub with the dogs for a mid week roast.

On Thursday the weather was forecast to be rainy, so we only took a short walk then, finding the weather was actually very warm and sunny, spent the rest of the day sitting in the sun and reading and relaxing.

On Friday we decided to walk the other direction towards East Mersea, but the coastal path has eroded making it unpassable. So we took the diversion inland and found ourselves at a vinyard, which we had to visit for morning cake and drink.

Our route then took us past the back of the site and onto a neighbouring campsite, where we dined on fish and chips, our holiday tradition.

It was then time to continue on to Dartford, but we will probably return as we thoroughly enjoyed our autumn break here.

I must now catch up on my missed blogs.

Costa Rica 2011 Part 2

After a tranquil nights sleep, we were woken by the sounds of the jungle, and some cheeky white faced Capuchin monkeys crawling around the site.

Any food we took into our cabin had to be shut away in the lockable cupboard, as these monkeys happily climb in and raid the cabins.

Todays activity was a Nature walk, and boy, did we see nature!

The scarlet macaws are very noisy, but you wouldn’t believe how well they hide in trees.

After all that adventure, Ian decided to try the sloth way of life

And another sunset to end day 2 here

Day 3 activity was snorkeling on the reef, one of my favourite activities, but Ian is not a great swimmer, so was not as excited.

Off we set in a small boat to the island of Cano would could see from camp.

En-route, our guide spotted a sea snake swimming along – these are deadly, and can jump from the water, so after a quick look we moved on

A few other boats were visiting the reef, but it was very organised, and I was soon enjoying the sea life

Eventually I had to end this adventure and head back to the lodge.

This was our last night here, but we ended with a night nature walk – no photos, as it really was dark, but very interesting – we saw a tarantula hiding in a log, and narrowly avoided a venomous Fer-de-lance snake resting in a branch we crept under.

We left Corcavado Lodge by boat again, and picked up our van for the rest of the trip, plus the remainder of our luggage, as the small plane couldn’t take it all, they had arranged for some bags to be left behind.

First stop was at Canta De Ballenas Hotel, in Bahia, a short distance from the Marina Bellina National park.

I don’t seem to have many photos of this park – I think I might have forgotten to take the camera. The park is shaped like a whales tail, jutting out into the ocean.

On Friday we moved on again, this time to Manuel Antonio National Park.

This park has a split personallity – it has stupendous wildlife all through it, but it also hosts some of the worlds best beaches. In order to maintain the park, there is a limit on the number of people in the park at any time. Despite this, I felt some resentment to people there just to sunbathe, with no interest in the scenery or wildlife.

As soon as we walked into the park, we saw sloths, weird insects, tree frogs and spiders.

However, when we took a rest on the beach, the raccoons soon appeared, and more monkeys, all very cheeky and unafraid of the people.

You can see why the beach is so popular – Ian even had a swim – this is almost unheard of, but the water was bath temperature.

One animal we hoped to see in the park was the squirrel monkey, but none appeared. But at breakfast at our hotel Manuel Antonio the next morning, this pair turned up, sat on the kitchen roof, so we didn’t leave disappointed.

Costa Rica 2011 Part 1

This is a throwback special. A friend has said they have booked flights to Costa Rica, and wanted to know if I had blogged my trip. This was before my blogging days, so lets do one now!

The trip was Ian and my main honeymoon, we got married the year before, but wanted to miss the rainy season, so chose February 2011 for our trip.

We had no idea where we wanted to go, and I didn’t know where Costa Rica was exactly, but this trip stood out in the travel brochures. It was also an activity trip, whereas we wanted to see the wildlife, but it turned out the best option.

Our holiday began with flights into San José, the capital, and an overnight stay at the Rosa Del Paseo Hotel on the main road through the city. It is a quaint Victorian building, within easy walking of the centre, and here we met the rest of our party and our tour guide.

The second day began with a flight from San José out to Palma Sur airport in a tiny plane, where they had to weigh us as well as our luggage, and they decided that our bags had to follow on the next plane out.

The flight was not going high, so was not pressurized – this meant it could have huge windows, giving us a great view of the scenery as we travelled.

Soon we reached a Palma Sur airport, and transferred to a coach, and then travelled down to the river Sierpe, where we were loaded onto a barge like boat, and set off towards the sea.

However, we had noticed that this boat had rather impressive outboard engines, and once out of the town, the gentle trip turned into a white water ride! Wheee.

After an hour we reached the sea, and then went down the coast to reach our next stay – the Danta Corcavoda Eco Lodge, on the Pacific Coast of the Corcadavo National Park.

CIMG1990 — First sight of the lodges at Corcavado Lodge

There are few roads in the park, so boat is the best way to arrive, even if this meant paddling ashore from the dingy to the beach.

We carried our bags up the hill to find our lodge, a wooden building with mesh windows, and a balcony facing the ocean.

The view from our balcony.

We still had some daylight left so wandered down to the exquisite beach.

The beach was covered in tiny hermit crabs, making it appear as if the sand was alive.

Back to the lodges for dinner, and then time to relax on our balcony. My one ‘must see’ on this trip were Macaws, and on our first evening we saw several fly across the jungle between us and the sea – Wow.

Sunset across this peaceful corner of our planet – bliss.

New Zealand Murals 2019 Napier

Earlier this year during our travels to New Zealand, we came across lots of murals.

Plastic Pollution / Ocean health by Pat Perry at Willix Legal, Vautier Street, Napier

Some were just random art works, but a lot of them had been created by Sea Walls – Artists for Oceans. These are projects that bring together internationally renowned artists to paint large scale murals.

Shark Conservation by Freeman White on Raffles/Bower Street in Napier City Council Car Park

Their purpose is not only to highlight the enhance town they are in, but to highlight the beauty of the oceans, and address pressing issues relevant to local and global communities.

Climate Change / Ocean Acidification by James Bullough at the back of Quest Hotel, Station Street, Napier

In Napier we were lucky enough to find a copy of the map, listing the murals there with a brief description of each, and we followed the map to find many. In Gisborne they had run out of maps, so we found many by chance, others by using Pokemon Go! as many are Pokestops.

We have adjusted my photos to allow for the positions we had to photograph them from, so this has removed a lot of the building and cars around them, so you can see almost their full beauty. However this has possibly diminished their sense of scale.

Some are small paintings on street furniture, or just a couple on a blank wall, while others covered the whole of a car park wall, but I will post them in a random order.

NZ Endangered Seabirds by Celeste Byers in the car park off Dickens Street, Napier

Detail from NZ Endangered Seabirds by Celeste Byers in the car park off Dickens Street, Napier

Plastic Pollution by Kelly Spencer in Theatre Lane, Napier

Ocean Health and Wellbeing by Cryptik on the front of Napier City Council building in Hastings Street

Shark Conservation by Noelle Anderson, on the corner of Routledge Street and Nelson Quay, Napier

Detail from NZ Endangered Marine Animals by Morag Shaw, on corner of Waghorne and Routledge Streets, Napier

NZ Endangered Marine Animals by Morag Shaw, on corner of Waghorne and Routledge Streets, Napier

Ghost nets / Marine Debris by Mica Still, on wall on corner of Waghorne and Bridge Streets, Napier

NZ Endangered Sea birds by Vexta, at back car park behind Speights Ale House, West Quay, Napier

Plastic Pollution Affecting Sea Turtles, by Phibs, in the Herschell Street private car park, next to Byron Street

NZ Endangered Seabirds by Twoone, in the Spreights Ale House car park at West Quay, Napier

Hammerhead Data Translation by Lauren Ys, at West Quay, Napier

Ocean pollution by Elliot Francis Stewart, at West Quay, Napier

Global warming and Rising sea levels by Carly Ealey, in alleyway by Shed 2 in Lever Street at West Quay, Napier

Ocean Acidification by Leanne Culy, at back of Shed 2, West Quay, Napier

NZ Marine Animals, by Flox, at the Bach cafe, Marine Parade, Napier

Plastic Pollution, by Rustam QBIC, at MTG Hawke’s Bay, Browning Street

Shark Conservation by Faith 47, on the far wall in the Te Pania Scenic Circle car park off Byron Street

Climate Change by Onur, at the back of Kitchen Thing, Vautier Street, Napier

I hope you enjoyed these, but if you get the chance, go to Napier and see them full siz.

I will try to blog the Gisborne murals soon.

USA Part 4, Onwards to Boston, MA

So with the wedding celebrations over, we leave Sturbridge and head towards Boston.

As we couldn’t book another night at the lodges, we had arranged an Airbnb in Westborough, not too far from either end.

When I mentioned this to Jenn, she asked ‘Why?’.

We had told the host we thought we would arrive around 17:00, so she had got painters in. But we arrived earlier, so stopped in town for lunch. And as Ian put it ‘You can’t even watch the traffic lights change, as there aren’t any’.

But we had a pleasant pizza and lasagna, and then stopped at a nearby reservoir for a while.

Our Airbnb was a huge rambling old house, full of lovely furniture and decor. Our host, Geraldine was very welcoming, explaining she was going out for that night. Then she mentioned that there was a lodger who had been in the loft for 4.5 years. Oh, not up there all the time, he did come down sometimes!

After some card games to end Ian’s birthday, we all needed some sleep so had an early night.

As we only had the hire car until the afternoon, Kirsty requested we visit Boston Zoo, as zoos are a bit of a family hobby. When we arrived at the zoo there was a marathon being run though the zoo, but a policeman guided us the wrong way up a street and to some parking, and we set off into the zoo.

The first animals we saw were red pandas, a favourite of us all, and they were very active, we we stayed here for a long time.

While this is a fairly small zoo, and some enclosures were rather mean, overall it was good, and we had a good visit. I won’t bore you with yet more animal photos, as I know I have posted a lot before.

This big

One exhibit we got excited about was a kiwi, which Kelsey said must have got lost on it’s way to their wedding.

With car return time looming, we got permission to enter our Boston Airbnb a bit early, so once the cleaners had left, we settled in and Jason returned the car.

We then walked along part of the greenway to Back Bay Fens before deciding we were hungry.

Kirsty and Jason chose The Cheesecake Factory, and as reviews suggested it could be busy we headed there early.

We needn’t have worried, we were seated right away, and presented with a HUGE menu, including dozens of cheesecake options.

I decided to be sensible and leave lots of room for dessert, so chose a delectable small beetroot and avocado salad, but Jason opted for a chicken sandwich – there were two huge battered chicken breasts topped with a bun and chips, and Kirsty chose the burrito – about a foot long. Of course, I helped them out when they couldn’t finish their meals.

Then to choose dessert! Go check out the menu

I had Key Lime, and we all decided they were heavenly, and were pleasantly surprised by the low cost of the meal, given the huge mouth-watering portions.

So fully fed, we headed back to the apartment, which sadly only had comfortable seating for three, and our bed creaked every time we moved, and the second bed just had a futon mattress. For some odd reason it also only had 1 fork, and 3 knives?

On Monday Kirsty and Jason had a trip to the Sam Adams Brewery, while Ian and I decided to follow the Freedom Trail through Boston, a walk recommended by our guide book. The route is marked by red bricks along the pavements, and takes you to the prominent places in American Independence history.

We started in Boston Public Gardens, where a children’s fun run was taking place – this was Columbus day weekend, so a holiday.

Massachusetts State House

Not the real Cheers

Holocaust memorial

It was a very interesting walk, with lots to see. We stopped in the Haymarket for a bagel for lunch, which we ate in the Rose Kennedy Greenway, then continued over the bridge to USS Constitution museum.

From here we caught the inner harbour ferry across to near the Aquarium.

and continued around the Harborwalk

until we reached the Tea Party Museum.

We then strolled back along the Greenway

A rabbit!

and through China town. As Kirsty and Jason were not very hungry, we walked round to Frenchie restaurant, for a light meal, delectable mussels for me and a succulent beef bourguignon for Ian.

And so we reach our final day, but as our flight was early evening, we dropped our bags at a Bagbnb, and caught the ‘T’ railway to Macy’s, where we had to buy some beautiful clothes for my future granddaughter.

Ian and I then followed the South Side walk in our guide book, through the stately houses and elegant streets,

look at the number

then back to the park to see the Make Way for Ducklings statue

We met Kirsty and Jason again, they pointed out that we had seen the fake Cheers bar, the real one was next to the park.

With a couple of hours left, we asked to visit the Mapparium, a huge stained glass globe created in 1935 of the world as it was then, that you can walk through. We were just in time for the next tour, and found it fascinating, noting changes in ‘ownership’ of the planet. Sadly, they don’t allow photos.

Oh, did I mention, we popped into The Cheesecake Factory again, well, it was scrumptious?

And so our time in Boston, and USA came to an end, picked up our bags and set off on the T to the airport, meeting Pete and Jess there.

Thank you to Andy and Kelsey for giving us a wonderful reason to visit, and choosing the best time of year, and to New England for putting on a grand show for us.

Our favourite places were Wilmington (in Part 2) and Boston.

Can’t wait for our next adventure, see you soon.

USA Part 3, Portland to Sturbridge

and THE WEDDING !!

If you missed part 1 and 2, here they are : USA Trip Part 1, and Part 2.

You find us on day 8 of our trip, leaving the peace and tranquility of Toddy Pond, near Surry, and setting off down to Portland, retracing some of our step from 2 days ago.

This time we took pictures of the Penobscot Narrows bridge, and Fort Knox on Verona island as we passed by, plus a house with crazy stuff outside. I love the watering cans feature.

Crazy stuff outside a house, I love the watering cans

Penobscot Narrows bridge

Fort Knox

As we had to leave Portland early the next day, we hurried this trip to give us time in Portland.

Our Airbnb was a good walk out of town, but through a nice park. However, having arrived in town, we struggled to find anything of interest. After a lot of walking around, and finding a restaurant recommended by Kelsey, but finding they only offered sea food, and the men saying no thanks, we split up (not with the men!).

Ian and I stopped for an ice-cream, then wandered around the few posh shops we found, and saw a couple of old buildings.

We then decided to just find food, and go back to the apartment.

We dined in Rosie’s, and cut across the hill, a rather dull and uninspiring walk until we reached Back Cove Park. We realised later that Kirsty and Jason had dined, in the same seats even, as us, just before we arrived at Rosie’s.

That evening I googled what to do in Portland for a day, and most of the suggestions seemed to suggest drive out of Portland! Sorry Portland.

Even though we had to leave early, I insisted we stop at at least one lighthouse while on this coast, so Jason drove us over to Bug Light, a cute light lighthouse across the Fore River for a few photos.

Bug light

View of Portland

Sculpture at Bug Light

Bug Light

Satisfied with that, we set off down the coast, and as I never obtained a pencil (did I mention I collect Souvenir Destination pencils?) or a patch for my camera bag from new Hampshire, we stopped off in Portsmouth, as it sits just below the border from Maine.

After a couple of circuits of the one-way system, we parked and wandered into town, finding more cute shops, and a patch, but no pencil. We had a delicious Maple Mocha coffee and set off again, and arrived early afternoon at Old Sturbridge Inn Lodges

The plan had been for me to join a hike with Kelsey and Co as part of her hen do, but the weather was turning wet, and our delays travelling and checking in to the Lodges meant I was too late. However Kelsey, Jen and Susan had a good hike despite the rain.

We got ourselves ready for the evening. The men were off to a relatives barn for Andy’s stag do, and we girls first went to Cedar Street Grille for food to sustain us.

Most of the ladies chose the Cedar Mac’n’Cheese and were not disappointed, while I opted for the Pumpkin and Squash Risotto with Scallops – this was definitely the best meal of my trip, delicious. It was also a great chance to finally meet the ladies in Kelsey’s family.

We then moved on to Rapscallion Brewery for beer, and fun and games, and a few tears when Jen played the video of messages and photos the ladies had sent in for the happy couple.

Being a sensible bunch, and as many of the party had driven out to the brewery, we all departed fairly early (and fairy sober), back to our residences.

I later found that the men were not so well behaved, and Andy (the groom-to-be) was so drunk, he had fallen over and cut his eyebrow, and was taken back to Richards where he was sick in his bed. Men! Luckily, the wedding make-up artist managed to cover his black eye for the wedding.

Thursday was a free day until the evening, so after breakfast at the Hotel ( a very poor affair with lots of single use plastic dishes/cups etc), we wandered around town to while away the morning.

Later on we visited Old Sturbridge Museum, a village of buildings rebuilt or recreated to show New England life in the past.

It is really pretty and lots to look at and do. The tavern here was the venue for the wedding reception tomorrow.

Pete and Jess arrived that afternoon, and a minibus came to take a crowd of us to the wedding rehearsal meal.

This was held at The Lost Towns micro brewery, they had named 2 beers after the bride and groom, and a mobile catering van provided a delicious spread for us.

We started with wonderful nibbles, then had pulled pork, and some beef, all very tasty. The bad news is that Ian swallowed a chunk of pork belly Burnt Ends that was too large, and it stuck, meaning he couldn’t eat or drink any more, but hoping it would clear itself we stayed to the end, and had a good chat to Kelsey’s relatives and friends

The minibus driver eventually dragged us out and took us back. Ian was still not right, but felt OK, and managed to get some sleep.

However the next morning (wedding day!), he was still unable to swallow, so Jason took us to the local hospital, where they gave him a couple of injections, and when that didn’t clear it, suggested we go to a larger hospital.

But we had come here for the wedding, and while in discomfort, he wasn’t in any danger, we chose to go to the wedding, and then find the hospital, so he discharged himself.

So again we got our glad rags on, and all glammed up, set off to Richard and Susan’s house, where the ceremony was to take place.

What a gorgeous house, set in lovely fall woodlands.

The wedding ceremony was wonderful, with charming readings, and Andy and Kelsey had appropriate vows, and their dog, Higgs, got lots of mentions, and was there in cardboard form if not in ~~person~~ dogson. Thank you to the official photographer for these shots, I’m sure Kelsey will post more in her blog.

Congratulations to the happy couple, and welcome to our family Kelsey ❤️.

And a huge thank you to Richard and Susan for helping arrange such a wonderful day, and their great hospitality.

With my son married, the rest of the guests headed back to Sturbridge for the reception, while we went to Baystate Hospital, where we were treated like royalty, due to our finery, and us missing the wedding party, and eventually the offending Burnt End was removed, and Ian was sorted. So we caught an Uber back, and managed to join the last hour of the party. I won’t embarrass everyone with the drunken photos.

To finish on a happy note, the next morning was a post wedding brunch, in the Garden Room at Sturbridge Museum, and Andy had arranged a cake for Ian’s 60th birthday.

My crazy family!

It all turned out well in the end, so I will leave here, to pick up the end of our trip in Part 4.

USA Part 2, Vermont, New Hampshire

Following our hectic few days in New York, USA Trip Part 1, on Friday we picked up our hire car and set off for New England, while Pete and Jess picked up another and set off for Rhode Island to start their trip. We planned this part of the trip with the help of our trust Lonely Planet guide, and using Google maps to plot the track and work out mileage and time for each journey.

It didn’t take us long to reach the forests in their wonderful Autumn colours,

and we enjoyed a few hours travelling through the incredible scenery along Route 100 until we reached our Airbnb in Wilmington, VT.

The apartment is above Ratu’s Liquor Store, a wonderful store with every kind of liquor. Part of the rental was a free growler, which Kirsty grabbed as they had an alcohol free beer, but Jason acquired some cans too, and we bought more still. Well, its a long trip..

The apartment backs onto the Deerfield River, with lovely views.

The back yard

view up the river

the deck

from the deck doors

As it was still early afternoon, we wandered into Wilmington for a nosey, and loved the town.

It is full of quirky little shops and eateries, and pretty buildings and river views.

Ian found himself the second hand bookshop, which extended out into a yurt, full of books, cd’s, even 8 track tapes, while I found the Norton House Quilting Store and the 1836 Country Store, both full of gorgeous stuff begging me to buy them.

We dined in Jezebel’s Eatery, a lovely cosy restaurant, where we enjoyed some Mac’n’cheese, before retiring to test the beers.

The steps down from our apartment, with autumn leaves

Saturday morning, we first stopped at the aptly named ‘100 Mile View’, where a walkway along the side of the Hogsback Mountain provides distant views, looking their best at this time of year.

As you can see, the weather was endless blue skies all day.

and a wonderful gift shop full of maple syrup, moose souvenirs, and anything else you should want to remember your trip here.

Still full from last nights dinner, we bought picnic supplies and set off up route 100 on the look out for a lunch stop.

And found the best! The end of Lake Penelope, a picture postcard place to stop.

Next we called in at Killerton for supplies, and the gentleman in the Visitor Centre told us to take the road opposite for a couple of miles, where we would see snow and fall colours together. We stopped at Mad Hatter’s ice cream cabin, where we found great photo opportunities, and saw the snow at the top of the ski resort in the distance.

mmm ice cream

Cheshire Cat

Snow on the mountain

After many more beautiful miles, and interesting buildings

we arrived in New Hampshire, and reached our next destination, Bethlehem.

Our Airbnb here was a little out of town (or we were feeling lazy) so we drove into town looking for somewhere to eat, but it seems the whole of Bethlehem eats out at 18:00 on a Saturday, so we gave up and bought dinner from the supermarket.

It was only later we realised the irony of this, there was no room in the inn for my pregnant daughter, in Bethlehem! Only that story didn’t end with frozen pizza, beer and TV.

Sunday we set off for Surry, stopping at Walmart, Jason wanted to see if they had a gun store, just out of curiosity. They didn’t, so we just stocked up on food.

Miles and miles of scenery passed by.

The cog railway for Mt Washington.

Then we called in at Belfast, a coastal town with some nice shops, for a leg stretch.

We found a great children’s shop where we bought baby stuff and a 2000 piece jigsaw just made for me!

We eventually reached our cabin, set right on the shore of Toddy Pond.

We had bought marshmallows, with the plan of lighting the fire pit, but by then it was getting cold and dreary, so instead we got the fire inside going, and cosied up in the blankets for a relaxing evening.

With showers forecast, we drove into Bar Harbor, a pretty harbour town, but now overrun with souvenir shops selling Bar Harbor t-shirts and hoodies.

I finally got my lobster roll!

The weather was drizzly so we decided to drive around Arcadia Park, rather than go for a walk, and then went back to the cabin for cards, food and TV.

Next morning was still and bright, after heavy rain all night, so more photos of this gorgeous spot. I thought I spotted a Loon, but it might have been a cormorant instead, but we did see chipmunks.

Chipmunk

Our cabin

I will leave you as we set off down the Maine Coast to Portland, back soon..

Scotland NC500 and more, Week 2

We went into Dunbar the next morning, and I love the place

I trust you have read the first part of this blog Scotland NC500 and more, week 1, and you pick up our trip as we leave Inverewe gardens.

Our Saturday night was spent at Ullapool. where the site is right next to the town, on the shoreline. There is a walk down to the shore where the Puils had a great time running through the dunes.

The views from the site are spectacular, especially under the clear blue skies.

We ate fish and chips on the shore in the sunshine.

Ullapool Broomfield Camp site

Loch Broom

The road from here goes inland, and is more moors, but when you reach Loch Assynt you find Ardvreck Castle.

Can there be a more typical ruin? And with a waterfall across the road for added interest.

The coast road then follows a B road around the next part, and rejoins the A road near Unapool. For the past few days we had been kept company by drivers following the ‘Knights of the Islands 2019’ road trip, with their vehicles all over 20 years old.

We met some on various site and view points.

Finally we reached the North Coast, and stayed at Sango Sands, again, right on the coast, with a walk down to the beach.

This had to be my favourite beach, with wild waves crashing on looming rock, and 2 crazy beasts dashing around like loons.

No wonder the van is full of sand! But I declared this our Happy Place and would happily have stayed all day/week.

After a morning bacon buttie, and another visit to the beach, we took the short trip to a nearby beach where enterprising souls had set up a Zip wire across the bay.

We had to have a go!

A girl zipping across before us

The landing site

It was a peaceful glide, enjoying the views across the bay.

Adrenaline fix over, we continued along the top of Scotland, with wilder scenery but still many great beaches.

Our site for the night was Thurso, but as we had made good time, we headed first for John O’Groats, a tacky touristy place with a quaint harbour, for ice cream, and Signpost selfies.

Then we continued to the real top of Scotland, to Duncansby head, with its lighthouse, and true end of the country feel.

There were many people looking out for Dolphins and whales, but we didn’t see any. However, 2 Orca were spotted from the ferry here the very next day.

Thurso Bay site was yet another shore site, this time with steep cliffs down to the beach, and a short walk into town. We also found that the nearby Lidl was open on a Sunday evening, so restocked our cupboards.

From here, everything goes downhill, or South anyway.

The coastline down the east of Scotland Highlands is more about the fishing industry, with Herring harbours and fish farms.

One delight was Dunrobin Castle, this one is not a ruin, but a fairytale castle.

The road crosses some spectacular bridges, and the scenery changes constantly. However, drizzle was starting to arrive after a quick visit to Inverness.

Our next 2 nights were in Glenmore near Aviemore. I was expecting a small quiet site in the Forest, as this is run by Camping in the Forest, a joint venture between Forestry Commision and the Camping and Caravanning Club, but this was the largest site we visited,and we were close to a shop and bar. It was also raining, and our pitch was a puddle. The site was quiet and the staff very friendly and helpful.

To cheer us up, we spotted a red squirrel a few feet from the van, but he scuttered off before I could grab my camera.

Determined not to let this weather stop us, we cooked a hearty meal onboard Connie, and the next morning the rain stopped for long enough for us to walk around the Loch, and after lunch at the non-dog friendly visitor centre, we walked up to the green loch, An Lochan Uaine, despite the shower that turned into rain.

A quick visit into Aviemore before we set off, and the weather brightened as we headed south.

We crossed the new Forth bridge, but panels along the bridge prevented any reasonable photos.

In bright warm sunlight we reached Dunbar. The site is high on hills past the town, with great views across. We quickly emptied the wet awning and dogs beds, towels etc. out onto the bank and with a stiff breeze, soon had everything dry again, while a skylark sang away just above our heads.

The site has its own small castle

and a walk from the back of the site takes you to the lighthouse.

As the site was not in town, we went into Dunbar the next morning, and I love the place.

It has a great little castle, very cleverly upgraded with information and gardens, and a small amphitheater where they hold concerts, a working harbour, and other interesting shops and buildings.

Next stop was St Abbs, with the intention of another lighthouse visit, but we decided against the walk round, and just visited the harbour and shops instead.

2 Puli waiting for us outside the visitor centre

Lunch at the cafe near the car park, and off on the road again.

We followed the coast road down past the wonderful Northumberland castle of Bamburgh, Dunstanburgh and Alnwick, and views across to the Farne Islands and Holy island. A leg stretch and run on Seahouses beach refreshed us all.

view across to the farne Islands

Our last night was at a small working farm site in Gibside, Rowlands Gill, with views across the green farmland, and horses and sheep in the nearby fields.

From there it was a walk on Seaham beach, where I had stiff competition for my sea glass collecting, but still managed a few very pretty items. Ian said most people on the beach had their heads down.

Further research says this is one of the worlds best sea glass beaches, as a glass factory used to sit at the top of the cliff and multicoloured waste scraps were thrown away into the sea. I didn’t find any of these wonderful, prices, but I will return to this beach whenever I can.

And then through the Yorkshire moors and home. Two happy sunwashed humans and 2 sandy happy tired Pulik, with loads of great memories and many photos.

One thing I failed to mention is that at almost every site and pit stop we heard cuckoos calling, and skylarks were everywhere.

But we must start planning our next trip with Connie already, once we have removed the sand from inside Connie and the dead flies from the windscreen.

Scotland NC500 and more, week 1

We found one of the most incredible beaches, almost deserted

With the weather forecast for Scotland looking warm and sunny, yes, that’s right, we decided to make our desired trip to Scotland in May, when the midges are not yet in their thousands.

So we sat down and planned a route, as since the North Coast Road has been turned into a must-do drive, the campsites can be busy.

After spending our first night at Lytham St Annes for a family visit, our next site was Hoddom castle a beautiful site near Lockerbie, set in the grounds of the castle, and with facilities inside the castle. It was special to take a shower inside a castle.

doorway at Repentance Tower

View from tower looking down at castle and site

the tower

the castle

pods

hobbit pods

bridge over the river

where the Salmon go

woodland walk

under the castle arch

view from the field behind

the river

There are also lovely walks around, including up to Repentance Tower, and along the river. They also have cute pods if you don’t have your own accommodation.

After a lovely quiet night and a morning walk along the river we set off north, stopping briefly at Lochmaben Castle, very much a ruin, and most of it closed off due to crumbling masonry.

Lochmaben Castle

Rita getting delusions of grandeur

This part of the journey took us past Glasgow on mainly motorways, but there were still lovely sights to see.

Our next night was spent near Oban at a site set within a walled garden. You can walk down to the loch shore, but there is a Fish farm factory alongside. However from the back of the site there is the delightful balcadine walk through the woods, with fascinating iron railing down steps to an enchanting chasm.

Wrought iron gate looking through walls to site

Rita posing

sun dropping through the trees

the chasm pool

ooh, that looks a bit scarey

The shore near the site

tree growing in fence post

From here we stopped in Fort William, a fairly drab town, for some supplies, then detoured a little off our track to visit Fort Augustus and the bottom of Loch Ness.

While the town is small and mainly filled with tourists, it is charming and the locks on the canal are worth a walk up, and then walk down to Loch Ness. Of course, everywhere we go Reggie and Rita create a stir.

We set off on the A87, enjoying the mountains and lochs, and crossed the bridge to the Isle of Skye. However, we didn’t find Skye as enchanting or picturesque as other places, and our site, though lochside, was a bit bleak, but did provide a colourful sunset and a bright start to Thursday .

Our next stop was Applecross, the the faithful among you will travel the famous Bealach na Ba road, with hairpin bends and steep hills, but we decided Connie was a bit big for the road, so we took the alternate road up to Sheildaig.

En route we stopped by a loch for lunch, and I walked down with the Puli to the lochside, started taking photos, when 3 deer appeared and calmly walked towards us.

The road from here becomes single lane, but with plenty of passing places. The road is popular with not only campervans, but motorcyclists and flash cars, but was not too busy to enjoy the drive.

Shortly before arriving in Applecross, as we were early, we stopped at a small car park, and found one of the most incredible beaches, almost deserted, with a vast stretch of clean soft sand.

The pulis has a wonderful time, and we even caught a glimpse of a seal in the bay.

the perfect beach for hide and seek

Rita came for a paddle

shaking off after a paddle

The site at Applecross had been in a list of top 10 site on NC500, but as they were building a new shower block, the existing facilities were very poor, with insufficient showers, and the field we were on did not have much view. Hopefully this will improve later this year.

For dinner we walked down into Applecross and had a delicious meal at The Junction, where they allowed the dogs upstairs, and there was a great view across the shore to Skye.

As we had 2 nights here, on Friday we took the walk to Applecross walled garden and beyond, a lovely walk with forest, rivers, hills, and the sweet gardens where we also stopped for lunch and both had Haggis and Cheese melts – mmm.

Applecross house

Deer

Muckle Coo!!!!

On our way there we met 10 red deer, just standing by the public footpath that goes along the roadside. They didn’t care about Reggie barking at them, and just stood grazing and watching us pass within a few metres of them.

Showing how close people were passing the deer

On Saturday, after revisiting the wonderful beach just up the road to gather more sand into the van, we swapped driver and set off towards Ullapool, passing many pretty fishing towns and lochs.

One pit-stop was to Inverewe Gardens, a lovely sub tropical garden, kept warm by the Gulf Stream. The azaleas were in bloom, and the lovely handkerchief tree.

Wrought iron gateway

Walk along the terraces

Inverewe house

Handkerchief tree

Candelabra primulas

Azaleas

Office with a view to die for

Luckily, the weather had stayed warm and sunny, reaching 22 degrees some days, and not too many midges had found us.

Stay tuned for week 2, as we head further North and around the top of Scotland.

Upnor Castle

Quirky windows and doors caught my attention

While in Kent, we took a short trip up the Medway to visit Upton Castle.

This is an Elizabethan Artillery fort, to protect the Navy docks further up river.

Between the car park and the castle is the delightful village of Upnor, which demanded I take photos. I hope the residents don’t mind.

We then entered the castle, which the Dutch Navy raided in 1667, as Rochester and the Medway became the main harbour for Royal Navy ships during Henry VIII’s reign..

It overlooks the Medway and is solidly built.