Morse

Morse
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Sunday, 7 July 2013

Scottish Summer Dispatch V - Sunday, 7th July, 2013


Dear Friends, it is post-breakfast and Wes has just gone for a walk leaving me in control of the laptop, so I thought I would update you on our latest adventures. But before that I need to explain something and make a confession. At Inveraray Castle I got very excited when I saw a herd of deer sitting quietly under a tree and pointed them out to Wes, who said they were the fattest, laziest deer he had ever seen and more resembled Scottish Highland Cattle….and he was right. I haven’t lived that down.

Also I need to explain that when I said we were getting in free at lots of National Trust places because of our Australian membership, there are just as many places that are run by Historic Scotland (previously Dept of Works) and they don’t recognise National Trust. Plus some of the castles are privately-owned and operated. However, we have more than redeemed our membership fees by visiting the many places that are run by the National Trust of Scotland.

Our last full day in Oban was wonderful. We walked Jacob’s Ladder to visit John McCaig’s Tower, which is the highest spot in town and a magnificent unfinished monument built in 1900 in the town’s botanic gardens. We strolled back down to the Museum with all its old photos and history, and finally drove for 45 minutes to Ardfern, where we caught a 5-hour Wildlife Watching Cruise into the Atlantic Ocean.

What a thrill that was! The water is clear and shining and very blue. We saw (or had pointed out to us might be more correct) red deer, seals, a nesting osprey with three babies, mountain goats and porpoises (pronounced by the locals as poorpoys, which gave us the giggles). Wes was happy to be on the Atlantic Ocean, but the highlight for me was the whirlpool at the confluence of tides, which spun our flat-bottomed boat around and around!

 

When we got back to Oban, we had a fish tea at Rick Stein’s favourite fish and chip shop, which was doing a roaring trade. We had a glass of wine in the garden of our B&B afterwards and enjoyed the stunning views. I hope we get back to Oban; it was a very enjoyable experience.

The next morning, after another lovely breakfast, we set off for Girvan, on the West Coast. On our way we detoured to Alloway, where Robbie Burns was born. They have a wonderful interactive museum, you can visit the cottage where he was born, and then walk to the Kirk where his parents are buried.

We were surprised to find our current accommodation The Auld Creamery, was actually in Pinwherry, about 11 kms out of Girvan. It is on the main road, which isn’t very busy, and is fairly basic with a bathroom the size of a large cupboard slotted into one wall. However, our hosts are very generous and we have full use of their kitchen, lounge & laundry. So we have taken advantage of all three as there is nowhere to sit in our room.

On Friday morning, Martin gave us a cable to connect the laptop to the TV, so we watched the Carlton vs Collingwood match on a big screen. Afterwards we drove to Hendrick’s Gin, one of the two reasons why we are staying here…we parked in the car park, followed the welcome signs for visitors, reported to the front office and were told no visitors were allowed! How disappointing.

We decided to park and walk the foreshore to the lighthouse and back, and were very sad to discover the current Council removed a Victorian bandstand, bathing boxes and a children’s train about 5 years ago, which is why we had the beach almost to ourselves. As well we drove to see the famous golf courses at Turnberry, where a round costs £190. We then had a late lunch at a local hotel, which is the only place around offering all day dining.
 
Yesterday we set off for Wigtown, Scotland’s Booktown, and although it is much smaller than Hay-on-Wye, we did enjoy our visit and spent 2 hours wandering in and out of the bookstores and having a cuppa in one of their two cafés. We came away with 9 books, not quite the 63 we brought back from Wales.

Our next stop was Dumfries, where Burns lived most of his adult life and where he died. We followed most of the Burns Walk around town including the Museum, his Mausoleum and his Cottage. We had a late lunch, before setting off back here via Ellisland, his farm, and then spent time at Threave Garden, with a wonderful walled garden, a secret garden, a lily pond, a sculpture garden and a woodland garden to wander through.
 
Once again Martin connected the TV for us to watch the Geelong vs Hawthorn game, and he even joined us for the last three quarters and thought Hawthorn’s comeback was very exciting. Martin cooks our breakfasts and Linda does all the cleaning & washing etc. They both enjoy chatting as they live in such a small, isolated spot. Breakfast is a very basic affair, so we have opted for soft-boiled eggs & toast each morning.

We are planning to go to Ayr Races later today and then tomorrow we leave here and have a big drive to Bradford, our half-way point on the way to Nottingham and the 1st Test at Trent Bridge. We are meeting Jeff & Kev for lunch on Tuesday, and, after three weeks on our own it will be good to spend time with them again.

 

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