We were away over Easter at a family birthday and whilst we had a super time, usually sunny Dumfriesshire was afflicted by an east coast style haar (sea mist) so things weren't boding well weatherwise and even though I was fairly confident we wouldn't provide any of the more interesting features as there had been no burnt out cars in our yard when we'd left, well you can never be too sure.....
Anyway Easter Monday dawned and we made our way north in increasingly sunny weather, even the roadworks on the A82 didn't slow us down for too long. Could this good luck last?
Now, obviously there would be a lot more scope for amusing stories if I were to say the heavens opened and luckily, extinguished the flames from our smouldering garage...
But that would be mean. Glamourpuss and the Prof are really nice people who work very hard. They deserve a good holiday.
And they got one. Well the weather and the scenery came up trumps and I think they enjoyed the company. Plus I got a chance to be a tourist at home, which was great because I want to know what to recommend to future guests.
The tourist season had begun with the Bank Holiday so we were able to visit one of our local attraction the peaceful and pretty garden at An Cala in Ellenabeich, newly open for the season. http://www.gardens-of-argyll.co.uk/view-details.php?id=447. It was lovely to walk round the garden which was waking up from its winter rest. I also took notes on what grows well here, though I've not got the green fingers GlamourPuss has inherited.
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| Primroses |
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| Cherry blossoms at An Cala |
While we were in Ellenabeich we booked a trip with Seafari http://www.seafari.co.uk/oban/ ,without checking the 5 day forecast; now we were really putting ourselves at the mercy of the weather. Why? Because we'd committed ourselves to a trip out on a RIB, down the Sound of Luing through the Gulf of Corryvrecken returning past the uninhabited Garvellachs. It could be quite a bumpy ride if the wind picked up and we'd only have waterproofs to shelter us from any rain.
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| cosy if not chic in the waterproofs |
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| Jura in the distance |
As you can see I needn't have worried. we had the most fantastic trip and even though the famous Corryvrecken whirlpool wasn't active* just being out on the sea on such a gorgeous day was a thrill in itself. We also saw some lovely animals living on the islands undisturbed by humans.
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| Shags |
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| Feral goats, apparently very stinky. We didn't get that close! |
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| common? seal |
In fact the only downside was that DogStarke couldn't join us but we took her on a lovely walk to another local garden at Ardmaddy instead. http://www.gardens-of-argyll.co.uk/view-details.php?id=473
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| late afternoon sky over Ardmaddy |
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| Daffodil lawn and Camelia tree |
Could our luck last? Our final planned trip was again over the sea, this time to Mull and Iona. It would be a bigger boat, with a roof so not so vulnerable to the elements but still...
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| white sand, turquoise sea and Iona Abbey |
It was sunny and gorgeous once again. We even managed to have lunch outdoors albeit wearing coats.
We finished the week with a great dinner at one of Oban's fab seafood restaurants EeUsk http://www.eeusk.com. Lovely food, great company and the promise of more things to explore in future.
*the Corryvrecken is active at certain tides; you can book a dedicated whirlpool tour.
