TRIP 18 SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST

No foreign holidays this year, again. So, time to explore some parts of Scotland that we don't really know that well. We decided to go to the south west of the country, to Ayrshire and Galloway. We took the opportunity to get halfway there by staying with Sharon's sister and husband, having first stopped in on her parents in Monifieth.

By doing that we could go via the Lecht and avoid going down the A9, which can be a bit busy and tedious. So, this is what we did.

Day1 Monday 28th June 2021.

We set off from home on a warm, sunny day. It did get a bit cloudier as we headed south, but it remained warm and pleasant. As always when we travel this way, we called in at Finzean Farm Shop and restaurant. Given the warmth, a salad was the thing to have. Quiche of the day with a little side salad was just perfect. The 3 cheese quiche was delightful.

Suitably refreshed, we carried on our way. There are some far reaching views on the road, which is also much less traveled by tourists

We arrived in Monifieth in time for afternoon tea, which was good. Sharon's parents were OK and we spent a good bit of time doing a few wee things around the house and just chatting, which they seemed to enjoy. After a while we left them and went through to Forgandenny to stay with Sandra and Chris. We managed to have a nice drink in the garden with them before dinner. Very civilised.

After dinner, drinks, chat and cribbage, it was time for bed before a fairly early start next day.

Day2 Tuesday 29th June 2021

There was time for a bacon roll before we headed south and west. I had detailed our itinerary, down to travelling times and destinations. I was determined that this holiday should go like clockwork and to plan. Of course, I also expected that this would not actually happen and that there needs to be room for happenstance and serendipity in every plan. Nonetheless, we left Forgandenny exactly on time! It didn't take long to be reminded of why we live in the Highlands and not the Central Belt. Traffic, people in a hurry, rush, rush, rush. The weather was lovely, though, sunny and warm.

There were also some things to admire from afar, like Stirling Castle. We have never visited and it is an important part of history. We had planned to go there last year with Millie and Cameron, but Covid kyboshed that. We have rebooked that particular weekend and we will be there in October. Looking forward to it

In accordance with the plan, we turned off the motorway to head for Leadhills and Wanlockhead and our first stop at the Lead Mining Museum. Sharon was unconvinced about the excitement of visiting a lead mining village, but I had high hopes, and it was my plan!

Wanlockhead is the highest village in Scotland, lying at an elevation of 1531 feet. I don't know how they measure this - is it the height of the post office, the pub, the school or, perhaps, most appropriately, the High Street. The museum was only recently opened after Covid restrictions were eased. Unfortunately, you could not yet visit the underground mines. This made the £17 admission charge seem a bit steep. However, they need the money, so we paid up and went round the museum. It is probably fair to say that I enjoyed it more than Sharon. Can you tell?

How can you fail to be impressed by the very first exhibit, which was Scotland's largest meteorite. You don't see that every day.

It is not only lead that was mined here. There is a huge range of minerals in the surrounding hills, even including gold. The area is so rich in minerals that is known as God's Treasure House. The minerals, such as lead, zinc, copper, silver and gold were probably first exploited by the Romans. The village was not actually established until 1680, when the Duke of Buccleuch established permanent miners' cottages and a lead smelting plant. Prior to that the deposits were worked in the summer months only. There were lots of different small mines chasing the seams of lead into the hills. They came and went as deposits ran out. By the 1930's mining had ceased and the village went onto steep decline.

The mines were more important than the miners. They started work with candles attached to their flat caps. Eventually, they graduated to oil lamps, which were cheaper than candles and these tiny kettles were fixed to the flat caps. Electricity was brought to the mines in 1920. The mining cottages only got electricity in 1950!

Water in the mines was a constant problem and various pumping solutions were used to get water out and to move the ore to the surface. The science of separating metal from ore was quite poorly understood and techniques were passed on by word of mouth.

The Rag and Chain method illustrated in the photos above was quite inefficient and was eventually replaced by more mechanical methods, including large Beam Engines, one of which can still be seen in the village. Trust me, we will get to that later.

However, before we leave the museum behind, there was one other interesting exhibit that answered a question, I hadn't realised I needed an answer to. Why are precious stones measured in carats?

Well, it turns out that Mediterranean merchants used Carob seeds as a reliable method of recording the weight of something. Carob seeds are apparently all very nearly exactly the same size and weight, therefor my Carob seeds would weigh the same as yours, and we couldn't cheat each other. So a sapphire or a piece of gold was said to weigh, say, 5 seeds. Over time this became 5 carobs and then 5 carats. Once proper weights and measures came to be invented it was found that, in fact, the seeds from one side of the Mediterranean weighed 0.1885 grams, while those from the other side weighed 0.215 grams. These figures were averaged at 0.204304 grams. Then, remarkably, it was decided to strip the seeds from several trees and weigh all the seeds. They averaged out at 0.197 grams. This is the figure used today - 5 carats are said to weigh 5 per gram, which is, of course, 200 milligrams. Amazing! So, that is why they had a bowl with some Carob seeds in it in the museum.

By now, I could tell that Sharon was losing the will to live and we went, blinking, into the bright sunshine outside. There was a signed walk around the village and we had enough time left in my timetable for us to have a wander, so we did. We were not alone!

It really was a glorious day, by now and we really enjoyed the walk, which was a bit like stepping back in time and into a bit of a ghost town at times.

The village church was now a house. I suspect the pink window surrounds were not like that back in the day.

Heavens above, there was a red kite soaring above us. Not the best photo, but I was a bit surprised to see it, but I think they were actually re-introduced here before they came to the Highlands.

There were still signs of the last mine to be worked, which was still in production in the 1950's, with some reprocessing going on into the 60's. 

There were loads of Wheatears about and it was nice to see them.

There are old ruined mine buildings to be seen everywhere.

And, you can see old mine trucks, gently rusting away. It was so interesting.

Of course, there was also the Beam Engine, which really was pretty large and impressive.

There were other engines of this type associated with other mines, but this is the last one remaining and it is unique in Scotland. As large as it is, the little miner's cottage nearby was pretty small and dinky.

By now, lunch was calling, so we walked up to the highest pub in Scotland, the Wanlockhead Inn. It might be quite high, but this was not matched by an elevated cuisine. It was burgers or paninis. It turned out to be paninis, because there is nowhere else to eat for miles around!

The view was some compensation, to be fair.

To be honest, the panini was reasonably good and the seat in the shade was very welcome. 

It was time to move on to the next attraction and we were actually ahead of schedule, which turned out to be a good thing as there was a bit of serendipity awaiting us. Before the serendipity came the bizarre. As we drove down from the heights of Wanlockhead, we came across loads, and I mean loads, of campervans and tents, with whole families, barbecues, dogs, children. It was like the Klondike. Bizarrely, that's exactly what it was. These were families that had decided to camp wild for their holidays and pan for gold! Who knows how successful such an enterprise might be, but they obviously thought it worthwhile. We were amazed and a little shocked.

We passed through Sanqhuar, which has the oldest post office in the world. We saw the post office, but didn't have the chance to stop. It was opened in 1712 and still occupies the same building, but we had a timetable to adhere to. I didn't even manage a photo!

Just outside Sanquhar, we saw a sign to the Crawick Multiverse. Intrigued, we turned back, even though this was not on our timeline. How could you not want to see whatever the Crawick Multiverse was? That turned out to be a great decision.

The Multiverse turned out to be a huge landscape renewal project in an old open cast coal mine. It was the vision of a well known American landscape architect and artist Charles Jencks. He is also famous for being the husband of Maggie Keswick Jencks. She died of cancer, but before that happened they founded Maggie's cancer centres. These buildings have all been designed by world famous architects and are well known for their quirkiness and the sense of peace that they bring to sufferers.

Jencks designed the Multiverse for the Duke of Buccleuch between 2010 to 2015. The design is based around the concept of theories of the formation of the Universe. Materials were mostly found on site and then the landscape arranged to form interpretations of cosmological events, like Andromeda, The Milky Way and cosmic collisions. It felt to me like a vast reworking and reimagining of Stonehenge, Callanish and the Ring of Brodgar. It was amazing. Rather than explain every installation, here are some photos. You should go, you would like it!

What a find that turned out to be. We were a little out in my timing, but it was well worth it. Our next stop was equally impressive, but in a completely different way. We arrived at Dumfries House, which is in Ayrshire. Odd you might think, but it is named for the Dumfries family and not for the county of Dumfries. The family are, perhaps best known for Mount Stewart in Bute and for Johnny Dumfries, the racing driver, who was the 7th Marquis of Bute. The house is famous not so much for the architecture of the building, but more for the completeness of the interior fittings and furniture. It is said that the collection of Chippendale furniture was unparalleled in the country. Indeed, it is thought that one piece alone was worth between £2 and £4 million. The Marquis had intended to sell the house and furniture to pay off death duties and this was in the process of happening, when Prince Charles and others stepped in to save it all. It is rumoured that the furniture was already on the back of a lorry on the way to auction at London when the deal was concluded!

Restoration of the house and gardens cost well over £40 million. You can tell. The gardens were outstanding. The house is a fine example of Palladian architecture by the famous Scottish Adams brothers. One of the stonemasons was reputed to have been Robert Burns' father in law. You could spend the day there, even though the house is not yet open due to Covid restrictions. It was brilliant.

The first thing we saw after leaving the car in the boiling 25 degree heat was this delightful doocot. Dating from 1671, this predates the house itself. It was used to keep pigeons for food, but also for their droppings, which contain saltpetre, used in the manufacture of gunpowder! How did they know? Who found out?

The house does not disappoint from a distance.

Face on, you can admire the symmetry of the façade, although some classicists argue that it is not a very original interpretation of Palladian architecture. Andrea Palladio was a Venetian architect living in the 1500's. His style was based around symmetry and perspective and it found favour in Britain, especially for large country houses.

You can see the symmetry of the main block and then the perspective provided by the two wings which project forward of the main block, but join to it at the rear.

In case, you can't see the symmetry, the fountain makes it very clear where you should be looking!

Interestingly, the flag flying at the house is that of the Lord of the Isles. A bit odd, thought I, until I found out that the current holder of the title is, Prince Charles.

There were fragrant roses everywhere, buzzing with bees.

They were rambling all over the house frontage.

As we could not get into the house, we wandered around the gardens for some time.

Unfortunately the maze was closed as well.

We could see the Japanese Bridge some way off, and we would get to that later.

There was a lot to look at.

Irises at the edge of one of the many ponds.

Fountains aplenty.

A gentle river.

If there is a river, then there must be a bridge and the Japanese Bridge was very cute.

Seats, to rest in the sun with your ice cream.

We could have stayed for hours and explored further, but we really were running up against time and needed to get to our first hotel, which was Wildings Hotel at Maidens on the Ayrshire Coast, named after the Maidens of Turnberry, a series of rocks that form a natural harbour.

Wildings is not the most attractive building in town, but it overlooks the harbour and it has a good reputation for food. They had softened the edges of the hotel with some extravagant and colourful planting, which I did not photograph. 

Once we had checked into our very nice and spacious room, we headed straight to the bar as we were about to expire from lack of a cold drink, it being pretty hot, still. The very friendly barman quickly obliged.

In fact, he went above and beyond with Sharon. He gave her a miniature of Rock Rose gin, which happens to be one of her favourites along with a wee bag full of different tonics which had just arrived at the bar for tasting! He was really helpful and chatty, I think we had a winner.

We had a walk around the harbour after our drink and then headed to the room to freshen up before dinner.

They don't look much like maidens to me.

It was very nice and peaceful, though.

I was actually the third famous Robert to visit here. Robert the Bruce landed here on his return from exile in Ireland in 1307. Robert Burns visited on a number of occasions and his poem, Tam O' Shanter was about a Tam who lived at Shanter Farm just outside town. There was a plaque to commemorate both Roberts. I'm sure mine is being prepared as I write this.

Dinner.

I started with a salt and chilli tempura chicken.

 

Sharon had avocado and prawn Marie Rose, with a tomato and basil vinaigrette.

Poached paupiette of sole stuffed with salmon and crayfish on a spinach sauce.

Sharon had blackened Hake with rice and a coconut curry sauce.

The food was really good and the service excellent. We also sorted out a picnic lunch for the next day. Then the sun went down outside our bedroom window on a varied and very good day to start our holiday way down west.

Day3 Wednesday 30th June 2021

After a good breakfast, we picked up our chicken Caesar salad, some ice and some free sparkling water from the friendly barman and headed inland again to start the second day of our travels around the south west. Our first stop was to be at Crossraguel Abbey, which was founded in the 13th Century. The monks supported Robert the Bruce and the Abbey suffered substantial damage as a result. It is, apparently, hugely interesting, with lots of remaining detail of how the monks lived and worked in the centuries after it was rebuilt. However, we could not see these as it is closed for restoration works. It is impressive looking, though.

We were travelling north to go further south. That sounds a bit odd, but I had wanted to take in the road alongside Loch Doon. At the end of that road was a forest track that you are allowed to drive on, that would take us back south. the forest track is one of two in the Galloway Forest Park and good views and wildlife were promised.

There certainly were some nice views.

Part way along the route was the Dark Skies Observatory. The Galloway Forest is one of the darkest places in the country and there are three viewing points where you can marvel at the night sky. Given we were just past the longest day, dark skies were in short supply. Even worse, the observatory on the Loch Doon road had only just burned down in an accident. Undeterred, we went for a walk on the estate where the observatory had been sited.

We started by crossing this very nice old footbridge.

We passed through woodland with lots of tent caterpillar nests. These tent caterpillars, which will become moths, can strip trees bare of their leaves. This does not often kill the tree, but repeated attacks will certainly weaken it.

It was a very pleasant, but quite hot walk by the river.

Back to the car and we soon got our first glimpse of Loch Doon in the distance.

There were increasing signs of wild camping the closer we got to Loch Doon Castle. The car park there was busy, but most people seemed to be staying, rather than visiting the castle itself. It was slightly bizarre.

The Castle is thought to have been built in the late 1200's either by Robert the Bruce, or his father. It was originally built on an island in Loch Doon. It was dismantled and rebuilt in its present position in 1935, when the Loch level was raised as part of a hydro-electric scheme.

Disaster then struck. We were on schedule but things went wrong when we discovered the forest track was closed! I had not seen this during my research, but a later look again at the website revealed that my research was clearly substandard. So, we started back up the road we had just come down. We stopped to have our really nice chicken Caesar salad picnic, which we greatly enjoyed. Much better than a sandwich from a superkarket.

We actually sat on part of this concrete aqueduct that was part of the original 1935 hydro scheme. I'm not sure if the aqueduct is still in use, but it was a fine place to sit for a picnic.

Despite going backwards, we did not disrupt the timetable too much. We made it to our next stop near to Stranraer, Castle Kennedy Gardens.

These gardens date from the 19th Century and were built by hand for the 2nd Earl of Stair. Castle Kennedy itself is a ruined 16th Century fortification. It is impressive, and the gardens were superb. It was a little late when we got there, which meant that it was not very busy at all.

We started in the walled garden. This was different from most similar gardens we have visited. It was very informal and all the better for it, I think.

There was a gate in the wall, just begging to be ventured through. So, we did.

It took us down to the shores of the White Loch. I cannot trace why it was so called, but it appears that the gardens were constructed on a newly formed peninsula. Originally, the castle had been built on an island in Loch Inch. The neck of water between the island and the "mainland" were filled in, a canal built between the two sides and the Loch renamed as the White Loch and the Black Loch. An exercise in changing the world, just because you could.

Around the loch were a series of flat walkways and avenues along which we walked....

This led us to the most astonishing, perfectly round pond full of what turned out to be rare Victorian water lillies. It was a bit of a sun trap, so we sat in the sun for a while and we chatted to one of the gardeners.

After enjoying the pond for a while, we walked along the Monkey Puzzle Avenue. This is one of many avenues planted with single types of tree. the Monkey Puzzle avenue was planted in 1849, so some of the original trees have now fallen, but many remain.

At the end of the avenue we could make out the roof of Lochinch Castle. This is the home of the Earl and Countess of Stair and it is pretty smart as homes go.

From the Castle, we went round to the Black Loch, which was prettier than the White Loch.

This huge artificial mound is called the Giant's Grave.

To the right of the Giant's Grave is the Dancing Green. I cannot find out of it was actually used for dancing, but I want to believe that it was.

A lonesome and symmetrical pine.

Back round to the castle green.

Where there was a handily placed swing seat.

We walked along Thuja avenue back to the castle. Thuja is, as you will know, Red Cedar.

We bought a plant to take home for our own garden.

We really enjoyed this and it was a fabulous, informal walkabout on the sun.

Our next stop was Portpatrick, where we were to stay 2 nights in the Mount Stewart Hotel.

We had a really nice suite overlooking the bay and the village. The only problem was that it was on the top floor and we had a lot of luggage as always!

We had dinner at the hotel. I had chilli garlic prawns to start.

Then a really nice fish and chips for main.

After dinner, we went for a walk around the village. Portpatrick is named after St Patrick, who is said to have dedicated a church here. It was at one time the main port for travel to Ireland, but the harbour silted up over centuries and that all moved to Stranraer and Cairnryan. While the traffic to Ireland moved away from the village, the lighthouse at the harbour was actually dismantled and rebuilt in Sri Lanka!

It was calm while we were there and a sea fog was coming in to obscure the sun. It is not always so calm and it was the exposure of the harbour to westerly gales that silted it up and also caused huge damage to the harbour walls.

There is still a lighthouse at the harbour, but it is not the original. It is a rather unusual brick built lighthouse, which ceased working in 1900. It is quite dinky, though.

Around the other side of the harbour is a memorial to the lifeboatmen who fought to save passengers on the Stranraer to Larne ferry, the Princess Victoria, which sank with the loss of 134 people in 1953.

There are some odd arches and structures here and the would appear to be the location of the old railway station. The railway came to Portpatrick just as the mail and other sea traffic left to go to Stranraer, so it quickly fell into disuse as well.

It was getting a bit late and so, it was back to the hotel as the sun went down on another fine day in the south west,

Day4 Thursday 1st July 2021

We were up relatively sharply for breakfast and to get started on a new day of adventures. Breakfast was a stack of pancakes with bacon scrambled eggs and maple syrup. It was a bit of a mountain, but I managed to get through it.

Among other things, Portpatrick is famous for the round tower of the old church there, so we had a look, before we bought another picnic for our days peregrinations.

It has to be said that you cannot miss the tower. Indeed, that may have been the point. The tower was built well before the church which dates to the 1620's. The tower is thought to have been a navigational beacon or perhaps a belfry for an even earlier church. It was later used as a doocot! Whatever, it is quite impressive.

The surrounding graveyard has a number of gravestones commemorating the many maritime tragedies in the seas around the port. One of these is for the 50 victims of the sinking of the Orion in 1850. The Captain, incidentally got 18 months in jail for the accident. The First Mate was transported to the colonies!

Walking to the car, we saw a Black Guillemot. There were a number of these birds nesting in holes in the harbour wall. probably a bit safer than on cliffs or rocks open to the sea. 

My precise timings and arrangements were in grave danger of going to the dogs as Sharon's navigational skills were not really up to the twists and turns and lack of signposting on the small roads we had decided to follow to get to our first destination.

Luckily, we got there with the minimum of disagreement.

This is our first sight of Logan Fish Larder and bathing hut.

Behind the walls of the little cottage lies a huge hole in the rock. This is a man made enlargement of a natural fissure and blowhole. It was enlarged well over 200 years ago to form a natural fish larder for the owners of Logan House. The hole was fed by the incoming tide and fish were trapped as the tide receded or they were put there once caught by boat. They were then removed for eating at the house as when needed. Now it is controlled by valve and only a few specimen fish are kept there as an attraction. It is the oldest marine life pond in the world, dating back to 1800. It is bizarre and amazing at the same time.

The fish are fed to bring them to the surface.

The original tidal blowhole is still there and you can go in to see some other marine creatures. More amazing than them is the fact that there is a swallow's nest in the cave and the parent birds fly in to feed the chicks while you are there! You can see one at the bottom of the photo.

Outside there is a stone built bathing hut, where Victorian ladies could preserve their modesty before taking a dip in the sea. It was heated and is really very dinky do.

This was the little pool they could go into from the hut.

I think a walk to the beach beyond looks a far better bet.

Onwards and southwards. In fact, as far south as you can get and still be in Scotland - The Mull of Galloway, with its fine Stevenson lighthouse, built in 1830 by Robert Louis Stevenson's grandfather, Robert.

There are endless sea views towards Cumbria and across to Ireland. It was a beautiful day and we sat and had our picnic on a handy bench. We spent quite a while there, just taking it all in and enjoying the sunshine.

The lighthouse is like all the Stevenson lighthouses and quite the better for it. You could see why it was needed as the fog started to roll in as we walked around the headland after lunch.

There were signposts to all sorts of places. We were almost exactly half way between London and John O'Groats.

The cliffs were pretty spectacular, if a little scary!

The next stop was a bit more sedate and less scary. This was Kirkmadrine Church on the road north to the other end of what is known as the Rhins of Galloway. The church itself is reasonably ordinary, although  the setting is very peaceful and tranquil. Within the front of the church are some of the very earliest Christian carved stones in the country. Three of them date to the 500's! The area was really very important to the establishment of Christianity in Scotland after the Romans had left Britain.

The stones are protected behind a glass frontage at the church. the angle of the light made good photos quite impossible, but I'm sure you get the idea.

A fascinating little place.

It was a nice place to spend time in the sun, but we were really needing a cup of tea by now, so we pressed on North, searching for somewhere to sit down with a cuppa.

Boy, did we get lucky. There is another lighthouse at the north end of the Rhins, called Corsewall and it is an hotel. I had even looked at the possibility of staying there on our trip, but had rejected it.  That looked like a big mistake.

It was enchanting.

The cosy bar and restaurant.

Our tea and shortbread set outside at the base of the lighthouse.

The shortbread was huge.

What a fine spot it was to take tea.

It wasn't very busy.

The foghorn wasn't needed either.

Great views.

The ferry on the way to Ireland.

It was getting on a bit and time for us to get back to our hotel at Portpatrick for a freshen up before more food!

First we had a drink at the bar - it was bit hot, after all. As we often do, we took the drink to the room to be more relaxed.

As you can see Sharon was very relaxed in the sun at the window.

Having done my research, I had booked a table at Connor's restaurant for that evening. An inspired choice as it turned out.

I had Bang-Bang Chicken salad to start. The best thing I had eaten on the trip, so far.

Sharon had a salad of avocado, feta, roasted tomatoes and a raspberry balsamic dressing.

I then had the seared lamb steak, with crushed peas, charred onions, sautéed potatoes and a Port and mint reduction. As good as it sounds.

Sharon had coconut and lime crusted sea bass with a tiger prawn and mussel Thai broth. Equally as good.

We declined sweets, but went for a wander round the harbour as the sun was going down. Another fine end to a great day.

Day5 Friday 2nd July 2021

Breakfast was not included in our room rate, so we decided to try out a little café in the village, the imaginatively named Port Pantry. Given that we could have eaten at the hotel, we actually plumped for exactly the same breakfast as we had yesterday - pancakes, scrambled egg and crispy bacon. It would have to be said that the pantry was a wee bit better than the hotel.

We had been in the car a lot recently and the day had been designed to allow a bit more walking, which is what we did. We wanted to see Luce Bay, which has miles and miles of empty sands. We picked a walk through the woods to the dunes and the beach. Once again, it was very warm and the walk was a trifle longer than we might have preferred, but we coped.

There were loads of wee brown birds about, but no matter how hard we looked, we could not determine what they were.

The longer we walked, the more we could see the sands.

There were lots of nice flowers about, including this bonny wee geranium.

We made it, and we were alone - we couldn't see another soul. That was amazing as the beach is at least 6 miles long and, at low tide it stretches out towards the sea for up to 3 miles.

There were lots of skeletons of sea urchins on the shore.

There were also these strange things. It turns out they are targets used when the sands and surrounding area were used as a bombing range.

In a similar vein, there were signs of death and destruction along the path to and from the beach. These are snail shells. The culprit is most likely to be a song thrush as these are the only birds that routinely eat snails by smashing the shells open on stones. Don't say you don't learn useful stuff walking with me.

We got a better view of the sands as we traveled down the road on the other side of the bay.

Next stop was another site illustrating the importance of the area for early Christianity. This is nothing to do with any particular interest on my part. We are members of Historic Scotland and have guides to all the archaeology in any area. It just so happens that much of that here relates to early Christianity.

This was the remains of Chapel Finian. It was basically a small chapel near the shore catering for Irish pilgrims on their way to larger centres like Whithorn. There was a well, a chapel and a custodian's small house.

The well.

The chapel.

The chapel overlooks the sea, from where most of the pilgrims will have come.

Our next stop was the Isle of Whithorn, which is not an island at all, but the port for the town of Whithorn. It is also where we hoped to get some lunch. Unfortunately, in true Scottish style, we didn't as we arrived about 5 minutes after the chef had finished lunch service! We made do with a pint and a packet of crisps! Not exactly what we were looking for, but it helped. Even better, the locally brewed beer was excellent. It may have been brewed by the innocent, but it was drunk by the guilty.

Another chapel. This is St Ninian's chapel at Whithorn port. Many pilgrims would stop here on their way to the shrine of St Ninian at Whithorn, a few miles inland.

There is a bit more left of this chapel, than the previous one. It is in a nice spot and we did spend a wee bit of time there.

There is also a memorial cairn, where modern day pilgrims can leave a stone in memory of a loved one. There certainly were plenty of memories left here.

Including one that wished us all a Merry Christmas and a happy 2020. That didn't work, did it?

We decided against a pilgrimage to Whithorn and carried on to Wigton, where we were delighted to get a cup of tea and a very pleasant cake, marred only by a very yappy dog left outside the bookshop opposite the café we were sitting outside. That could, of course, have been anywhere, as Wigton is famous for bookshops. It is a very nice little place and we had a wander about before trying to get to the beach.

Before we got there and discovered it wasn't as easy to get to as we thought, we came across another little church, so we stopped for a look as there was a reference to the Wigtown martyrs. Who wouldn't want to find out more?

Besides, it was a nice little churchyard.

This is the stone commemorating some of the Wigtown martyrs. there were a lot, it seems.  Basically, after the Reformation, England followed a form of Episcopalianism, while Scotland was Presbyterian. Successive British monarchs had tried to enforce the Episcopal church on the Presbyterians. The Presbyterians had signed a Covenant swearing never to convert and, so, were known as Covenanters. Things just went downhill and in 1684, the Killing Times began and many Covenanter rebels were hunted down and executed. The stones in the churchyard mark the graves of Margaret Wilson and Margaret McLachlan, who were tied to a stake at the nearby beach and left to drown as the tide rolled in. The first Margaret was 18 and the second, 63. The older woman was tied to a stake in deeper water so that the younger would witness her death and then repent. She didn't, so that particular act of Christian charity didn't lead to her salvation.

It was getting on a bit and time we got to our hotel for the night, the Creebridge House Hotel. This was the hotel I was most worried about when making the arrangements for this trip. I was even more worried when we got there. It was very hot and the huge lawn had a lot of people, a disproportionate number of whom were children! They were clearly attracted by the enormous play area and their parents could watch them play while having a drink or three.

The room was a little tired, but otherwise OK, although the bathroom was downstairs from the bedroom, which I expected to lead to broken limbs during the night. I was, by now, beginning to worry about the food.

Soon, however, all the little children took their parents away. We had a pleasant drink on the lawn, a bath with a gin and a nibble, a change of clothes and we were feeling altogether better. Time for dinner.

This was a bit mixed. It was a big menu, which is always a bit of a worry. There were also a lot of chips, which is less of a worry in some circumstances. Nonetheless, we pressed on and the service was very good.

I started with a stack of haggis, black pudding and tattie scone with a whisky peppercorn sauce. What I got was rather less dainty than I expected, but it was very tasty.

I thought it safe to go for a steak and I was right. It was just as I asked for and it was pretty good, if unadventurous. Sharon had a goat's cheese tart, which she liked, but again, it was huge and she struggled with it. No need for pudding and we went for a short walk round the garden, before retiring, groaning, to bed.

Day6 Saturday 3rd July 2021

It was a bit cooler and rain was threatening when we left our hotel after breakfast. Indeed, the rain came down with a bit of a vengeance after a short time. We were first of all headed to the  Marrberry smokehouse at Carsluith. This was a little out of our way, but I suspected we could get something nice and different for a picnic. The smokery is famous and the produce is used by all the best chefs. The smoked salmon was used to feed the queen and various heads of state at the G7 meeting in Scotland a few years ago.

I had some very nice tasters and bought a few goodies to take home, including some kippers and the strangest thing ever - smoked black pudding!

The smokery is joined onto the ruins of Carsluith Castle, which dates top the 16th Century, although parts may be older. It is quite impressive, but we could not get inside as there are some possible issues with safety until it is inspected after the long Covid period without maintenance. 

We then got back onto the road we needed for our next adventure. This took us into the Galloway Forest Park in the rain.

We stopped for a quick, damp and midge ridden look at the Grey Mare's Tail, the 5th Highest waterfall in Scotland. This is part of it. It looks as if the more impressive falls are further uphill, but we were not inclined to go looking for it today.

Our reason for taking this route was to try and drive another forest track from Clatteringshaws to Mossdale. It is known as the Raider's Road. Luckily this track was open to traffic, so off we went, even though it was a bit damp.

Our first stop was Otter Pool. We didn't see any otters, but it was a very picturesque spot, indeed. Having said that the drizzle and the midges did rather cut our visit a bit short.

An otter would have been nice, but, you can't have everything.

There were supposed to be some nice views over lochs as well as opportunities to spot wildlife. That might be so in decent weather, but we didn't have decent weather!

It was good fun, though and not very busy at all. You should be able to do that in other forests.

We drove south to Kirkcudbright, stopping beside the River Dee for our Smokery prepared lunch. Kirkcudbright was named as the church of St Cuthbert. He was a 7th Century monk, who ultimately became the Prior of Lindisfarne.

My lunch of sticky rice, hot and cold smoked salmon, mixed vegetables and spicy peanut dressing was really very good, despite the heavy rain.

The rain did ease a bit, so we decided to have a walk around the town. It is known as an artist's town, having been home to famous Scottish Impressionists and Colourists. It is certainly a very pretty place, with lots of independent and different shops.

As you might expect, there were also plenty of Art Galleries to look at, including this really nice one down by the river side.

The town also has a castle - McKellan's Castle, which was in the family from the 1570's to 1752, by which time it was already a ruin. It is closed due to Covid preventing maintenance. However, a bit of research found out that there was a peephole behind the fireplace from a very small room where the Laird could listen to his guests' conversation. The room was known as The Laird's Lug!

There were lots of little closes which were really inviting if only we'd had the time.

We didn't have the time, however, so we had to get going before we splashed out more money than was sensible on a piece of art.

We headed for the coast, making a little detour in to the Barend Chalet park. We were not staying there, but we had done many, many years ago, with our children and also on separate occasions with friends and with Sharon's sister and family.

These were really great holidays and it brought back memories to pay this little visit. It did look to be a lot bigger than we remembered and the chalets seemed closer together.

It was nice to have a wee look, again.

One of the attractions of the chalets, was their location close to the vast Mersehead Sands beaches, which we could see from the car.

Whilst the chalets had been good holidays, we have grown used to a bit more luxury from time to time as we have got a bit older!

Luckily, I had arranged some of that for our final two days. We were staying at Cavens, just a bit south of Dumfries in Kirkbean. 

First impressions were very favourable. Very discreet and understated.

Second impressions were even better. We had been upgraded to a suite overlooking the gardens. It was huge and very comfortable, indeed. 

On checking in, we had been offered a cup of tea, which we were both delighted to take up. We were gasping, to be honest.

We quickly went to the lounge and sat in some considerable comfort to have our tea and a slice of very acceptable fruit cake.

After being refreshed, we had a stroll around the gardens, which allowed us to get a better idea of the hotel and its setting.

Cavens is not like most hotels. There is no bar and we were, instead, invited back to the lounge for drinks at 7 pm. There are only 5 rooms and the other guests were also in the lounge. It still being a pandemic, people did keep a little apart in their own groups, although we did do some long distance chatting. 

We had previously been told what was offered for dinner and we had been happy to have that. We were shown to our table after our gins.

The first course was scallops with a small salad and a lime and vermouth dressing. This was really good, but the scallops might have benefitted from a little more colour in the pan.

The main was a very good rib eye steak with green veg, roasted fennel, rosemary sautéed potatoes and a pepper sauce. It was very good, but by luck it was very similar to my main course yesterday!

I had been torn between the chocolate pot and the cheeseboard, but after talking through the cheeses and arranging a couple of substitutes for the brie and the goat's cheese, I went for the board. Clearly, I had charmed the owner and she brought me the cheeses I had asked for and the chocolate pot!

Sharon had the apple tart, which was also very good.

The meal was really good and we enjoyed it a lot. 

We then went upstairs for the night after another fine day, despite the weather.

Day 7 Sunday 4th July 2021

Today was, of course, my birthday. I had some presents to open before breakfast, which was a nice way to start the day, although it was a bit grey.

After a nice breakfast, we set off for Caerlaverock. The castle there is one of the most famous in the country. It is triangular and sits in the middle of a moat - very photogenic. As with every castle and abbey we visited, we could not get inside. It appears that there is a shortage of engineers with the skills required to certify that these ancient monuments are safe after Covid meant that maintenance had been left undone for a significant period of time.

Nonetheless, we had a very pleasant walk round and, although there was a brief shower at one point, we managed to stay dry under an umbrella. It was still pretty warm.

The castle replaced an older, nearby castle and it was completed in the 1270's. It was besieged in 1300 by King Edward I of England, who tried to take it with a large army. When the garrison finally surrendered it became apparent that the whole English army had been kept at bay by a mere 60 men.

In 1634, The Earl of Nithsdale built the more elaborate Renaissance house that you can see in the photo below.

As you might expect, the moat is a great place to spot irises and there were lots of Common Blue Damselflies about. You can tell damselflies from dragonflies fairly easily. Damselflies tend to be smaller, but the giveaway is that they sit with their wings folded back along their body, whilst dragonflies sit with their wings open at 90 degrees to their body.

Nearby to the castle is the only Scottish reserve of the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust. It wasn't really the right time of year to be looking for wildfowl, but we thought we would have a look around in any event. By now the rain was a bit more steady, not to say torrential at times.

Luckily there are a large number of bird hides to shelter in. The very first one we visited gave us a wee bit of a highlight. There was a swallow's nest inside, with chicks just about to fledge by the look of them.

There was also a bit of a sculpture trail with large steel depictions of birds and animals along the trails. The first we saw were these two Curlews, yours for £3000.

Then we found the Geese, which were a snip at £5000.

By now the rain really was teeming down and we sheltered for a while in another, much larger, hide. No doubt the weather had something to do with the lack of visitors as we pretty much had the place to ourselves.

Even the goats were drookit.

It did clear up a bit eventually and Sharon found a Hare, but at £1750, she left it where it was.

It really was becoming quite sultry and very warm by the time we got back to the centre and had a welcome cup of tea and a cake.

It was later than we thought and we decided to wend our way back towards Cavens, via a visit to another garden, now that the sun was out and it really was very nice.

As we got back to Kirkbean, there were balloons on some of the road signs. Clearly, this was for my birthday, or it might have been for American Independence Day. I say that, because Kirkbean was the birthplace of John Paul Jones, who was the founder of the American Navy!

As it happens, you bought the tickets for the garden we were visiting at his old house, so we followed the balloons and did just that. Had we known in advance, we could have stayed as they were having afternoon teas and barbecues at the house, but we had no time for that. We had a garden to visit and it promised to be a bit different.

This is Arbigland House, which was built in 1755, although someone ruined the appearance by adding the front porch in about 1830. On some days, you can get a tour of the house with one of the owners, but they were all at the barbecue for John Paul Jones and Independence Day, so we couldn't do that.

For your very cheap admission fee, you also got an A4 map and guide to the gardens, which we decided to follow. This suggests starting by walking down the Broadwalk behind the house.

The Boardwalk takes you down to a gate, which leads directly onto the beach. This was a fabulous surprise.

There were sweeping vista in every direction.

There was also a huge boulder on the beach. This known locally as the Devil's Stane. He apparently took a bite out of the hill behind the house and spat it out on the beach. The hill is called The Criffel, which, happened also to be the name of our room at Cavens.

Just along the shore is the Dower House. This was designed and built by Kathleen Blackett-Swiny. She was an amateur architect. Her first husband - Blackett, died in the First World War and her second husband was named Swiny and she had her name changed to incorporate the surnames of both her husbands. The Blackett family owned Arbigland House until 2000 and still own much of the surrounding estate. The Dower House  is known as the House on the Shore and it was used as the main set for a 2018 film called The Wife, starring Glenn Close and Jonathan Price. I have never heard of it!

Here's my wife instead.

The gardens are pretty overgrown and are described as almost lost. The present owners are attempting to reclaim the gardens, but at the moment they are a treasure trove of quirkiness. The sundial still works! It commemorates the Battle of Waterloo.

Opposite the sundial is this little Hansel and Gretel House. I cannot find out what the purpose of the house was, but it is quite cute.

This pavilion was built by Italian prisoners of war. Again, I cannot trace why this was the case.

We spent ages wandering through the delightful gardens.

Ending up back at the doocot above the stables.

By now it was time to drive the short distance to Cavens and to get ready for our last dinner of the holiday.

After a soothing bath and a less soothing video telephone call with my cousins and aunt, we were ready for our gin and then our meal. The call was less than soothing as I was just out of the bath and in a state of undress as I tried to cool down before getting dressed for dinner. This would not have mattered had it not been a video call.

The gin helped me overcome the shock.

Our starter tonight was a smoked salmon risotto, which was truly very good.

I had venison with a port wine and redcurrant sauce and sautéed potatoes, beans and broccoli. Delicious.

Sharon does not eat Bambi, so she had a sirloin steak., followed by a strawberry tart.

I had some different cheeses and, because it was my birthday, they gave me another chocolate pot.

After a nightcap in the lounge it was off to bed, having thoroughly enjoyed my birthday.

Day8 Monday 5th July 2021

After another good breakfast, payment of the bill and recovering of our smoked goods from the hotel fridge, we set off for home. We made a detour to Loch Arthur creamery, where much of my cheese of the past couple of days had come from. It is a farm shop as well, so we bought even more food to take home with us.

The further north and east we got, the worse the weather was. It was awful around Glasgow.

We had arranged to call in and see Sandra and Chris for a cup of tea to break the journey. We were also calling in to the nearby fruit farm to pick up raspberries for making jam at home.

Whilst the rain had eased at the farm, the road was flooded nearby. Luckily, we managed to get through that.

The rain did not ease off for long, though.

After our pit stop we headed north up the A9 in the pouring rain.

It was dry, but grey when we got home.

There was, however, a fabulous sunset to bring down the curtain on a really good break. Much as I hate the word staycation, I think we might be doing more of that after this wee holiday.