[jules' pics] Highland Hols #4

And then the gardens... Inverwewe (that's weird - Wikipedia has photographed the two of the same vegetative artefacts as me - there are SO many more!) and Attadale...









And we can't miss out Glencoe - just a snap from the roadside on the long journey home...


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Posted By Blogger to jules' pics at 7/29/2016 06:36:00 PM

[jules' pics] Highland Hols #3

The rest was all cycling and gardens and seafood.


One day we rode through and around the Applecross Peninsula.



Lunch in Applecross - the Scottish answer to a plate of sashimi.... at least 7 different types of seafood.


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Posted By Blogger to jules' pics at 7/20/2016 04:48:00 PM

[jules' pics] Highland Hols #2

Scotland is bigger than it looks. This is because, as you go north, the roads get narrower.

For example, here is a Scottish A road, and an English A road (photos by jules and George Hatton, respectively):
 

In order to make it to Torridon by the appointed hour we had to drive diligently, and only stopped off for a couple of hours to tourist around Eilean Donan Castle. We were, of course, still bruised, and it was also raining quite a bit. But it was a fun stop.

For our honeymoon we stayed at the Loch Torridon hotel, a hotel which was then of similar stature to Ardanaiseig. However, it has at some point in our lengthy absence been rebranded as the "The Torridon" and now sports a dark grey and white sign at the entrance. As those of you who follow interior design will know, dark grey signifies an over-adherence to current fashion trends. And sure enough the prices have gone through the roof, and we no longer found any point at all staying there. Instead we opted for The Aurora B&B in nearby Shieldaig. The owner is a real stickler, with extraordinary attention to detail. You feel you really must obey the rules, but as a result it is an extremely comfortable place to stay and we would gladly return.   Our first fishy dinner was enjoyed in downtown Shieldaig. Funny thing about British people is that they don't normally eat any raw seafood apart from the one raw thing that the Japanese wisely avoid - raw oysters! So, despite my generic yearning for raw fish, I avoided the oysters and remained un-poisoned. 

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Posted By Blogger to jules' pics at 7/12/2016 02:29:00 PM

The Europound

Received in the post yesterday, the new currency of europounds:

It's been introduced as a means of converting us to the euro permanently, once they have converged to the same value. Which shouldn't be too long now.

(Actually, it's the tenner I won off Nick Barnes for predicting correctly that Cameron would not invoke Article 50 within a week of the referendum. Suggestions for suitable purchases are welcome in the comments.)

[jules' pics] Highland Holidays

For our 20th wedding anniversary we returned to the scene of the crime, staying overnight at Ardanaisaig hotel near Oban before heading north for a few days near Loch Torridon.

On the way up, we stopped off to fall off our mountain tandem in the rain at Arrochar.
Very bruised but feeling fortunate not to have broken any bones, overnight in a luxury hotel was very much appreciated. The decor seems a little more subdued,
but the gardens and views are still lovely, the bed comfortable and the food spectacular.
The continuing rain was unimportant. It would be selfish to expect otherwise as we had glorious weather 20 years ago when we got married on a hill behind the hotel.

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Posted By Blogger to jules' pics at 7/03/2016 03:49:00 PM

Oddly enough

Maybe not all that odd. 

Various bookies are taking bets on the timing of our departure from the EU. First time I checked, you could get 7/2 on Article 50 not being invoked before 2018 (ie the "2018 or later or not at all" option. Then it firmed to 3/1, then 5/2. Now 15/8. At this rate, it will soon be odds-on favourite.