Cliff Walk on Eigg

We stood at the top of the cliff by Kildonnan overlooking the bay.  It was with near breathless exhiliration that I found myself repeating the words several times, “It’s so beautiful!” I now can’t remember whether I simply spoke the words or shouted them.  What I do remember was feasting my eyes over the landscape and the sensation that I can only describe as my spirit singing.

Jim and I had followed the suggested walk from the Walk Highlands website starting instead from MacQuarries Cottage where we were staying in Cleadale.

It was a warm sunny April day and also ‘lambing season’. Below you can see An Sgurr, the highest hill on the island  which is exposed pitchstone formed as a result of one of the last volcano eruptions a long long time ago.

We also came accross the standing stone which had been erected by the citizens to memorialize the buyout of the island.  I think I remember being told a tale in which this stone was knocked down one jolly night and re-erected and then dubbed by some of the locals as “….’s erection” to commemorate this person’s re-standing the stone after it’s close miss with destruction. If I remember correctly it was a friend of the locals but not one of the locals themselves!

We walked along the sandy coast….

…and then made our way up with cliff.

…where now the guide was telling us it was a steep decline.  I am usually not good with heights and my husband has two artificial knees but I decided to descend part of the way to see how steep it was.  I ultimately decided it was not worth the risk but that was after seeing even more of the spectacular view and spying a couple of wild seals swimming in the water!  Afterwards Jim and I decided to continue the walk on another day by making our way to the bottom of the cliff from a path on the otherside but on this day continued our walk by making our way to the cafe at the pier for a drink and a snack…

…and another gorgeous view.

 

 

Bruges—The Venice of the North

My husband and I recently returned from visiting one of the most charming cities in Europe.   Bruges is located in Northwest Belgium and is known as the Venice of the North.   I am not surprised!   Bruges is a romantic city with canals, parks and over 200 restaurants and several chocolate shops on nearly every street!

We boarded the Eurostar from London and then got off at Brussels.  The next train was every 15 minutes to Bruges.   The great thing about travelling by Eurostar is that unlike flying,we don’t have to arrive three hours before departure and there is no maximum baggage allowance!

We stayed at the beautiful Hotel Dukes Palace thus named as it was the former residence of a Duke.

The staff were wonderful and catering, the room was lovely with a huge en suite and overlooked the garden.  We asked what the story was with the giant red poodle but was told there wasn’t one..it’s just art.  ??

 

The buffet breakfast is probably the best hotel buffet breakfast I have ever had.  It included a seperate table with huge slabs of chocolate for you to cut a chunk off yourself and bottles of sparkling wine and fruit.

Which brings me to some of the things Belgium is famous for…basically it’s all about the food!  Belgium chocolates, waffles, beer and pomme frites (french fries because they were actually invented in Belgium).  Mussles also seemed to be sold at every restaurant and their ice cream was as good as I remember gelato being in Italy!  Every restaurant we ate in was excellent but sadly not cheap.  They know they are catering to tourists so if you plan a trip, be prepared to spend a lot on your meals.  Alternatively, you can choose to get some to go food from the market square or eat from restaurants further away from the market square.

The city itself is beautiful and well worth exploring.  It is a great place for leisurely walks.

 

The archetecture is beautiful and I found myself just wishing I could peak into a typical Belgium home and view those high pointed ceilings.

One of the best ways to see Bruges is to go on the canal boat ride.  A lovely way to spend 30 minutes cruising down the canals.

Or if it is raining, you can choose to do a carriage ride as they often have extra covering for protection.

If you are looking for doing some siteseeing, the Church of Our Lady has an actual Michaelangelo statue of the Madonna and child.

One of the oldest cathedrals in Bruges is the Basilica of the Holy Blood, also one of the prettiest cathedrals I have ever been in.

Some other highlights for me include:

•  Groeningemuseum which houses flemish art through the centuries including a beautiful Jan Van Eyck.
• Choco-story which calls itself a museum but what you get is the history of chocolate which ultimately leads you to a chocolate gift shop.  Great place to go when the weather isn’t great and you’ll pick up some interesting informative facts about chocolate.
• Lumina Domestica or the Lamp museum will give you the history of interior lighting.  We bought the ticket as a combined one with choco-story which is located in the same building. The museum houses the world’s largest collection of lamps, over 6000 of which are antiques.  Great if you are an interior design student!  Sadly no gift shop for lamp lovers at this museum.
• Minnewater or the ‘Lake of Love’ a beautiful lake for lovers!

 

I look forward to returning one day to Bruges.  I hear they do a great Christmas market in December.  I recommend it for those looking for a romantic getaway or even a short break with your girlfriends.  Great for shopping too!

 

Saying Goodbye (for now) to Eigg

Yes, I have written more than a few posts about the enchanting Isle of Eigg and maybe I am a wee bit obsessed with Eigg in a honest-to-goodness healthy sort of way.  Can I try and explain why?  Do I even need to?  Some may understand, some will not.  Although I am not a decent photographer by a long way, I think my pictures show that Eigg is a beautiful place.

 

 

 

My photos don’t do it justice and funny enough, no one else’s photographs do either. I have seen some photographs taken by amazing photographers and those reveal only a bit of the beauty of Eigg. The reason I think is this: Eigg is a place of more than just visual beauty.  Eigg is a place of experiential beauty.  It may not be for everyone.  One reason, I suppose is that when you are there, you bring yourself there too.

There is a sense of freedom on the Isle of Eigg.  I got the distinct impression from my conversation with Charlie that the human residents also enjoy this sense of freedom.  Yes, they are still Scottish but when I asked Charlie about it he said they feel a bit separate too from the rest of Scotland.  Some rules don’t seem to apply on Eigg such as wearing your seat-belt in the car and dogs being on leads.  On the other hand, there are no police on Eigg as there never seems to be any crime.  People who live on Eigg, live here because they love the place.  They don’t need much because there is natural beauty all around them.  Life is slower here.  Charlie talked about being able to sleep late most mornings.  People seem to have more time to breathe, live and create.  There are several creative individuals on the island, like Charlie’s wife Libby who makes beautiful felt artworks, All About Willow who supplied willow baskets for the TV series Outlander and A’Nead Hand Knitwear makers of beautiful cobweb lace products.  Obviously, this slow-paced life is balanced with lots of hard work as well.  Many of the locals are farmers or simply keep a few chickens and grow their own produce.  I am attracted to the idea of living here.  It isn’t for everyone and it has its own difficulties what with having only one shop and often having to do without if the shop has run out of something.  However, I sense people simply go with the flow and live life with less care and more child-like freedom than those on the main land.  I think I certainly would if I lived here.  As an outsider, I am not privy to any other acts of rebellion the islanders get up to but I get the feeling they have some (though I am sure quite innocent) good times here.

My last day on Eigg came after several days of non-stop rain.  I looked out through my bothy window and saw the Isle of Rum once more after not  being able to see it because of mist and rain.  I quickly got on my shoes and went outside breathing in what felt like freshly washed clean air.  I was relieved that the rain had stopped because that would mean my ferry wouldn’t be cancelled (or so I thought).  I went to Laig Bay and was met by Faolan.  It was a joy to spend time with my favorite dog on Eigg. As usual for Faolan, he left me first and went back home.  I saw him again when I was passing his house.  He was behind his fence and I went over and stroked his face and looked into his beautiful amber eyes and said goodbye.

On my way back from the beach, I looked over at Rum to see a rainbow rising from the sea right in front of it.  I remembered that a rainbow is a symbol of promise and I stopped and admired the rainbow and vowed that I would return to Eigg.

While on Eigg, I had some adventures and mishaps and joys and surprisingly many teachable moments.  I followed where I was led and learned when I was taught and on my last day thought this was the end of such adventures.  I think now, it was only the beginning…

 

Urban Highlander (Or a Former New York Yank in Rural Scotland)

The Isle of Eigg is home of the famous ‘Singing Sands’ beach.  Basically, the sand is made of quartz crystals and when you shuffle along it makes a chirping sound.  The drier the sand, the better the sound.  This is Scotland however and though I heard the sand sing in August when the sand was still rather damp, this time around in October I could procure no sound at all.  Still, the beach with its rough and wild paradisal beauty is well worth visiting. That is why one morning I left the bothy at 8:30 and made my way there again.

It is simply breath-taking.

I cannot describe the elation I felt when I spotted the familiar Welly-boot Bridge and the sheer joy of being back on that shore even if the sand didn’t sing for me this time. I spent a good hour gazing through my binoculars and taking photos in total bliss.  

I visited Singing Sands beach several times in the past and found my way there easily enough again. Which makes what happened a bit strange I guess for I managed to get lost coming back. Perhaps the beauty of the scenery played against my usual directional impairment.

Sheep?  Did I pass sheep coming here?

Didn’t I pass these ferns?  I am sure I passed these ferns.

Wait!  I am sure I went over this stone wall…or did I go over this stone wall?

The trouble I had with finding my way back wasn’t because I didn’t know which direction to walk. The Isle of Eigg is small and the bothy was not that long of a distance away from Singing Sands. However, there was more than one route I could take.  The route I ended up on seemed to want to take me through somebody’s farm.  Perhaps it is because I was brought up a city girl but I just thought it would be rude of me to trespass…and I dunno maybe dangerous?  I kept envisioning old-time American movies I had seen of men with rifles protecting their land from trespassers (and Charlie had made a few comments about wanting to shoot things and I never knew if it was in jest or not).  The way I had always taken had been less cumbersome and had less boggy areas.   I didn’t want to go by just any route, I wanted to go via the same route I had previously taken which didn’t bother anyone and was less of a hassle.

After trying different directions, I decided to go back toward Singing Sands to get my bearings.  Only yet again I was coming at it from a slightly different direction and managed to fall going over some slippery rocks…into a cow pat.

Luckily, it was just one of my water-proof hiking shoes which went into the cow pat. I decided I was going to have to go back to the beach to clean my shoe.  Maybe that decision made me further careless as I then managed to get both my feet ankle-deep in boggy mud while beginning to lose my balance and caused me to instinctively reach out a hand for support… on a barbed wire fence.  My fingers were now bleeding and I was muddy and embarrassed and hoping that after cleaning my water-proof hiking shoes I’ll be able to find my way back to the bothy without passing anyone.

I washed my shoes by the shore as best as I could but as luck would have it (and I was having none that day) I misjudged the tide and managed to get my water-proof hiking shoes completely submerged.

After cleaning my shoes, I made my way back to the bothy with the help of some volunteers who I happened to come across.  It was now about 1:30 and I hadn’t had breakfast and I looked a state but I was glad to be back and not stranded in a land full of cow manure!

My state of mind at that point was one of practicality.  My shoes had gotten muddy again on my way back and my jeans and socks were muddy as well.  So I washed them and laid them out to dry.  I started a fire in the stove, made some lunch as there was no point having breakfast at this time and because I intended to have a much-earned glass of wine.  I think I had two.

After a conversation with a fellow blogger (dhammafootsteps) who is Buddhist about many paths which possibly lead to the same direction, I was able to reflect upon the day’s mishap in a more thoughtful light.  Why do we choose a particular spiritual path? Do we avoid other paths because of fears we may have?  Are we afraid a different choice might offend or lead us down boggy paths?  Did I choose my path because I thought it was ‘cow pat’ free?

Actually, I think I chose my path in spite of the cow pats I expected to find.  After a while, I learned to dance around the cow pats.  After more time, I realize there were never any cow pats to begin with. I wish that had been true on the Isle of Eigg that day though.

A Faolan Islander

Wow, to be a dog living on the Isle of Eigg!  They really have it good here.  These canine residents enjoy a sense of freedom.  I have not seen a single dog on a lead.  One often sees them playing by the sea bounding about with a lot of energy which I can testify is part due to the cleaner, fresher air on Eigg.  These lovable creatures are very trusting of everyone and are super friendly. Comically enough, they appear to be always smiling much like many of the human residents on the island!

We made friends with many dogs here when our family visited last August, but two dogs in particular stood out for me. First there was Moss.  Moss belongs to the owner of Eigg’s only shop and luxury restaurant.  Moss is a sweet small collie who never got tired of playing fetch or tug-of-war…or rather she got tired but refused to give up. She followed us to the house we stayed in and played with us for hours in the garden.

 

Then there is Faolan (pronounced Foo-lan and is Gaelic for Little Wolf).  Faolan would meet us at the top of the path leading to Laig Beach and accompany us down to the beach to play fetch.

However, he didn’t do this with just us.  He seemed to play with every visitor who went to the beach.  Faolan is an interesting dog.  He wasn’t affectionate, he just wanted to play.  I guess he was used to people coming and going that he didn’t allow himself to get too attached.  There was a look of intelligence about him. His beautiful amber eyes would gaze deeply into my eyes as if he was trying to communicate telepathically. He and I would play for quite a while on the beach until he would suddenly decide he had enough and then quickly leave me.  He’s a sort of independent dog who seems to make his own decisions and everyone else just has to work around him.  I love dogs in general but as crazy as this may sound, he almost seemed like an evolved dog or even a dog who chose to be a dog but on his own terms. I found him quite fascinating.  So you could imagine how I felt on my first day back on Eigg, when I saw Faolan again by the road near the Laig Beach path.

This time however, it was a whole different story.  When he saw me, his tail began wagging and he walked over to me with a grin (I am not kidding!) and greeted me with a nuzzle.  I like to think he actually remembered me and because I came back, I no longer had ‘stranger’ status. We were now old friends.  After meeting again for the first time in two months, I was now permitted to pet him.

I had the privilege of playing on the beach with Faolan a few times last week.  However, a couple of times, I would find him already engaged in play with some other visitor.  Which leads me to the reason why I see something a bit more in Faolan than other dogs.   On one particular day, I went down to the beach and Faolan was playing with a man and his little girl.  When Faolan saw me, he bounded up to me smiling (again dogs do smile!) and stood in front of me looking me in the face for a few seconds and then turned around and bounded off to play with the little girl and her father.  I understood what Faolan was saying to me.  It was so well communicated that I am sure he said something like this:

‘Hi there!  I just came over to make sure I greet you so you don’t feel I am ignoring you or anything, but I have a promise to keep to these other people.  You see I have already started playing with them and it would go against my sense of loyalty to abandon these nice people.  However, I see you and acknowledge you and maybe we can play later if we’re both free.’

I understood of course and I caught up with him on another day.

Having a Bothy Time, Wish You Were Here!

Staying at Cuagach Bothy felt like a leap back in time.  When I thought about it, I have always had a sense of attraction to long ago rural living.  I have read enough books in my life time which took place during time periods where people’s lives were lived a bit more simply and yet a lot more vigorously.  The characters in the books I read included those real live men and women in history and the fictional characters often written by people living within that time period themselves.  These people were born into their lives.  They were taught their way of living by their parents or care-givers.  They were physically strong and mentally obstinate and persistent.  They lived their lives with the conviction that it was a thing of merit to always get their jobs done.  Life was harsh compared to the lives we normally live in our present Western society but though they were aware of that fact, they knew it was just life the way they had it and they had to go on with things and survive.

After Charlie dropped me off at the bothy and made sure I was settled (thanks Charlie!), I looked around and actually chortled.  It reminded me of the Little House on the Prairie only made of stone instead of wood.  Actually, the bothy is probably bigger than the Ingalls’ home and it does have electricity, a calor cooker and a stove and an adjacent room with a shower and toilet which is more in keeping with 20^th century than 19^th.  Still…I was elated!

This was going to be fun!

This is an adventure!

However, unlike the Ingalls family or other people in history, I was born in 20^st century New York City.  I was also used to certain luxuries which leads to this one rather humbling fact: I am a bit of a soft wuss.

One challenge I had was keeping the fire going in the stove so that the water for my shower was heated.  I didn’t quite get the knack until the day before I left.  I think this was because I was for the first few days trying to conserve wood and coal.  There was a generous supply of this left in the bothy but I didn’t know how much I was allowed to use or what the added expense would be until Maggie (the owner) assured me I could use as much as I wanted to keep warm and that the charge would be minimal.

 

The other small challenge was the notice hanging in the cottage stating that as a precaution, water should be boiled.  I boiled it the first few days but then the water started to come out of the tap in a not very pretty yellow. (I found out later this is the norm on Eigg when it rains). In the end I did what men and women did for hundreds of years, I fetched water from the well, St Columba’s well to be exact which was a short walk away.  From my last trip here I remembered the water being clear, drinkable, delicious and above all safe to drink.  I loved going to the well each day and filling my water bottles up.    It offered another feeling of oneness with the island…and well it gave me some work to do.

Bothy living was certainly different than what I was used to having been raised a city girl.  One week was probably not long enough for me to get the full experience of it all.  Yet, it stretched me and it was where I feel I was meant to stay.  Cuagach bothy is rather charming and considered one of the best bothies on the island (from what I gathered from both locals and visitors).  I enjoyed my stay there. It beats camping for me and at least the loo was within the bothy unlike other bothies which have the use of an outhouse.  The views from my window were gorgeous.

I was prepared for the colder temperature with a warm sleeping bag, hot water bottle and thermal clothing so I was warm and comfortable. Best of all, I had days of quiet stillness and no interruptions which was what I had been craving.  I had brought with me Elizabeth Gilbert’s latest book, Big Magic which gave me lots of inspiration and offered me a sense of freedom and purpose.

I got hours of writing done which I wouldn’t have had if I had been staying at a place with a TV, strong wifi signal and mobile network.  I had a nice welcome too, as Maggie had left a vase of hand-picked flowers on the windowsill.

 

Return to Eigg

Simply put, if my spirit says GO, I must go. That isn’t the only way to explain why I went back to Eigg but it is the best way.  I could go into long narratives as to what I was thinking and what I had hoped to gain by re-visiting Eigg but in the end I went for no reason at all except that I felt I should.

As I was travelling alone this time, I decided to economize as much as possible.  The payoff is beautiful natural scenery so where I stayed or how I got there had only nominal importance. Here’s a tip I learned if you’re travelling from England to Scotland by train: book each train separately to save on costs.  Why?  I don’t know, but doing it that way saved me hundreds.

I caught the 6:20 Virgin train from Milton Keynes and arrived at Glasgow about 6 hours later.  How cool is that?  Much quicker than driving.  I did have a two hour wait in Glasgow between trains but I managed to get my first pumpkin spice latte of the season from Starbucks (Yum!)- one of life’s little pleasures which I look forward to every year.

The journey by train was super.  I saw beautiful scenery through my window including Ben Nevis and Lock Eil and we went over the Glenfinnan viaduct, otherwise known as the ‘Harry Potter’ viaduct.

At one point, the train was zooming by a lake with trees in front of it and bright sunshine bursting through at intervals. The effect was simply dazzling.

I arrived at Mallaig about 5:30 and checked in for an overnight stay.

I boarded the ferry the next day just after 2 and decided to stay on the top deck to see the views. It was warm enough that I didn’t mind the wind whipping through my hair.  I had been hoping to see dolphins and I wasn’t disappointed.  I saw several in the distance diving in and out of the water.

As we neared Eigg, it was so exciting to see the familiar shape of An Sgurr.

When I arrived on Eigg, I gathered my bags, disembarked and began to walk quickly down the pier avoiding the temptation to skip…which would have been difficult to do with a backpack on my back and a duffle in one hand and a bag for life in the other. In no time at all, I spotted Charlie (y’all remember Charlie from my previous Isle of Eigg post right?) coming to meet me.  It was at that point that I should have reminded myself that besides refraining from skipping, I should have also tried not grinning quite so boldly! Seeing Charlie the local taxi driver, was like seeing an old friend as he had made our family feel so welcomed when we were last here.

He drove me to the shop where I picked up the goods I ordered ahead of time.  Afterwards we drove to Cuagach Bothy, my home for the week.

Views from Eigg look quite different in Autumn and I couldn’t get over how beautiful it still is and how the Isle of Rum seemed closer than I remembered.

Isle of Eigg Part 2

 

Eigg is a place for families and for those who value solitude.  It is a place for those who find perfect bliss in gazing upon the majestic in nature and listening to the music of silence. It is for those who…

–love the sound of the ocean waves crashing against the shore

–love the sound of brooks babbling

— love to explore and discover

–love trekking and climbing steep slopes

–love wildlife

As for me, my time in Eigg has offered all this and more. I have spent wonderful moments here with my husband and each of my teen-aged children as well as spent some time alone.  The Isle of Eigg has been on my bucket list for a few years ever since I read about it in a magazine.  I wanted to discover the ‘Singing Sands’, the quartz beach where the sands chirp when you shuffle your feet in it.

I new that Eigg would be a place of beauty and serenity but I discovered more than I expected…

I had a happy shock when I realized that I could walk for several hours up and down slope-y paths and not feel tired or achy afterwards.  It was a phenomenon that I couldn’t get my head around at first.  To begin with, I am flat-footed.  I get constant back, shoulders and neck pains.  Generally, if I walk for an hour, I tend to come home feeling exhausted and achy so that I feel the need to take some pain relief (or a glass of wine) and put my feet up.  Not so on Eigg.  I even walked one day for six miles in a downpour and though I found it tiring going uphill, when it was over, I was absolutely fine.  No aches, no exhaustion.  I puzzled at this and have come to the conclusion that it is the combination of purer air and the salt from the ocean.  I have been to beaches before of course but on Eigg there is green energy and only a few cars so very little pollutants.

The second thing I wasn’t expecting is a bit hard for me to explain.  I feel as if my spirit has found its resting place.  There is a sort of spiritual recognition about this place.  I feel like I have come home.

So you see, I HAVE to come back here.  Also, if any of you decide to visit Eigg, one week is not enough!  There are so many walks and places to discover.  I have only explored a bit of the eastern side of Eigg.

Here’s another fact for all you Tolkien lovers: Charlie the taxi-driver told us that Tolkien used to stay here. Across the sea from Eigg is the Isle of Rum.  We think the mountains and inactive volcano may have been the inspiration for Mount Doom.  What do you think?

 

Isle of Eigg Part 1

—-Isle of Eigg

The beautiful Isle of Eigg is located in the Scottish Inner Hebrides.  What it lacks in size (about 5 1\2 miles long by 3 miles wide), it gains in immense natural beauty.  Population here is less than 100. The island boasts of having nearly 200 different varieties of birds and electricity powered from renewable sources (wind, sun and water).

When we first arrived, we headed over to the shop to pick up the groceries I had ordered a week and a half before. The Shop-keeper introduced us to the Island’s only taxi driver, Charlie and told him where we were staying.  Here on Eigg, everyone seems to know where every house is and who owns it.  So we got into the taxi and Charlie entertained us by telling us some of the local gossip and who lived where.  We drove down a narrow road which we were informed was the only road –the M1 (with a wink).

Charlie pointed out a rather large and pretty house, “That is where the Headmistress lives.  She is about a hundred–retiring this year.” He further informed us that the school has only five students currently and pointed out the school house. He showed us the ‘swap house’ where locals can leave things they no longer need for other residents who may have use of them.  He pointed out a chapel which was good for taking cover in if you happen to be caught out in the rain whihc he said was something he has had to do from time to time, which are the only times he goes to church (not being a church-goer). Charlie was a wealth of information.  The last place he showed us was his own house which was close to where we were staying in Tigh Eilidh.  He said we could either phone him or knock on his door if we needed a cab.  The only food shop is located by the pier which is 4 miles from our accommodation so his service is pretty valuable to us.

The house is lovely with spectacular views although I guess any place on Eigg would have spectacular views. Still the photos I had seen of the place had not done it justice.

Behind the house, you can see what Charlie told us was “the hand of God pointing to heaven”.

Here are some views from the windows of the house:

 

Outside the house there is this bench which I sat on to write yesterday.

 

Here is what the plaque reads:

I don’t know who Stuart Millar was but I agree with him!

 

On our first day, we took a little walk and discovered that just a few feet from the house down a tiny obscure dip off the road was a bench by St. Columba’s well.  St.Columba was an Irish missionary who brought Christianity to Scotland.  The small area is completely hidden from the road, surrounded by tall reeds, thistles, buttercups and other wild plants.

 

There was a mug lying on the bench which I first thought was left there accidentally by someone having a cup of tea or coffee by the well.  Yesterday, I went back there and saw the same mug placed now upside down nearer to the well which made me realize that someone has left it there to drink from the well.

 

I hope the cup was meant for anyone and that the owner of it didn’t mind as I did use it to drink from the well.  I enjoyed the solitude by the well …until I discovered I wasn’t quite alone as there were a multitude of ‘midges’ and I thought it wise not to stay too long.  I am sure I will be back though.

 

A Week in Largs

Largs, Scotland-

When I was planning our family holiday, the plan was to drive to Scotland and eventually make our way to the Isle of Eigg.  However, between work and my daughter’s trip to Uganda, half the planning got delayed.  So just a few weeks before we were due to leave, I was frantically searching for accommodation somewhere for the first half of our Scotland trip.  We wanted a place that was located less than four hours drive from Mallaig where we catch the ferry to Eigg and that was how I learned about Lars and without any recommendation or a whole lot of information, I booked a self-catering house for us to stay there.

Largs is actually a very pretty seaside town in the Firth of Clyde located in the North-west coast of Scotland.  You can walk along the beach and visit quaint shops and there are many restaurants and cafes.

 

 

It  is home to Scotland’s best ice cream parlour which is found at Nardini’s (also a cafe and restaurant).  If you ever go to Largs, Nardini’s do fantastic Italian meals and pizza!  I didn’t count the number of flavour ice creams but there were quite a few including Bailey’s, Turkish Delight and Scottish tablet.  Great for a treat!

One of the highlights for me this week was visiting Kelburne Castle and estate.

 

I knew I was going to a colourfully painted castle but it turned out to be so much more! Picture a family with three teenagers exploring a “Secret Forest”.  You would think it was going to be something for only little kiddies to enjoy but it is definitely for all ages.  I have to say it brought out my inner child and I never really was a child per se.  Whoever designed the Secret Forest did an amazing job.  There were places to climb over and places to climb under, fairy-tale cottages, goblins’ prison, giant’s lair with a bean stalk to climb, crocodile swamp and so much more.  We all really loved it!

 

 

 

 

All in all, I would say Largs was a huge success.  All the shops were close by so very convenient for non-drivers to explore on their own.  I wouldn’t even mind living here (as I keep hinting to my husband)!