Recent Posts…

  • Craighall Den autumn walk

    In Scotland, a den is a narrow, often wooded valley, usually following a small burn or rivulet. Craighall Den, the subject of this post, is hidden on the outskirts of the town of Ceres in Fife, and it offers a gentle walk through some woodland, ending at the ruins of an old limekiln. It is…

  • Isle of Skye, Part 4 – rainy day and reflections

    We knew that the second day of our time on Syke was going to be wet – it was predicted to start raining at about noon, so we got on our way relatively quickly in the morning for the hour-long journey to Dunvegan Castle. It was the one and only castle I insisted upon visiting,…

  • Isle of Skye, part 3 – Hunglader to Fort William

    Hunglader is one of those place names that erases any question that the Norse settled in Skye. It was our home for most of the week, and our final morning dawned bright and blue as we packed up and tidied up the Homer. Before finally leaving the north, we ventured down to the local beach,…

  • Isle of Skye, Part 2 – the north coast

    I’ve skipped ahead in my story-telling to the third day we spent on Skye – the second was standard Highlands rainy, and we visited Dunvegan Castle before eventually retreating to our cottage for the afternoon. Thursday dawned clear and bright but increasingly windy as the day went on; the car was buffeted about and on…

  • Isle of Syke, Part 1 – from Fort William to Uig

    The Isle of Skye is a destination that everyone tells you is a must-see. First off, everyone is correct. But for any number of reasons – the distance, time, work – I have never managed to get there, even when most of my family have done so, usually as an add-on to a visit with…

  • Dunvegan Castle

    It has been longer than usual since my last post, but for the very happy reason that I have been on holiday with family. We went to Skye for my first time ever, and it was absolutely extraordinary, even on the rainy day we had when we chose to visit Dunvegan Castle. (and please be…

  • Stonehenge

    Epic. Spiritual. Mysterious. Ancient. All words that evoke one particular place: Stonehenge, one of the most easily recognisable World Heritage sites that has fascinated and baffled Britons for millenia. I visited Stonehenge more than fifteen years ago, as part of a trip through southern England with my mother, and it took my breath away. The…

  • Nevis Gorge and Steall Falls walk

    I first came upon this walk while perusing my well-used Pathfinder guide to Fort William and Glen Coe, and was immediately sold by the phrase, ‘one of the country’s most scenic waterfalls’. While the book also describes the path as ‘short and easy’, we soon discovered that while the waterfall description was accurate – and…

  • Carcassonne Part 2 – Medieval Cité

    As I mentioned in my first post about Carcassonne, our first attempt to visit the château was stymied by industrial action, leaving Mum and I with an unplanned day of exploration of the restored medieval cité and surrounding town. It was a stunning sunny day with brilliant blue skies, and only towards the middle of…

  • Loch Linnhe Seal Cruise, Fort William

    As anyone who has read my two posts on the Nevis Range may have guessed, Fort William – and the surrounding Lochaber – is one of my favourite places in Scotland. One of my favourite features of Lochaber is the way in which the mountains and hills sweep down right to the lochs and sea,…

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