Month: June 2026

Happy birthday to me!

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Today is my 64th birthday, and I am not only celebrating that, but also 5 years of retirement from my teaching career. It doesn’t seem like five years ago that I left the university and set off on this path, not really knowing where I would end up, but I am so grateful and happy to be here.

To be able to explore places like Glen Etive, a walk a did a few weeks ago now, is truly wonderful. The walk up the valley is beautiful,  and the the Buachallie Etive Mór mountain is just so awe inspiring to see.

It is raining today, with a lot more forecast for the rest of the week, so I am going to spend a very happy day in, knitting another couple of reindeer for a fundraiser, and counting my blessings.

We are having a team social tomorrow, a games night and a Chinese, and tonight will be some tapas from the local Co op and a nice bottle of wine!

When I started this blog coming up for 19 years ago, I had no idea that I would end up here, living and working in Scotland, and having such an amazing life. My plans took an unexpected diversion six months in to blogging, and at that time the future looked very uncertain. 

However it has truly been wonderful last 18 years, if a little wobbly at times, and I am so blessed to be able to be here and enjoy all this wonder.

Last week, like most of the country, we were quite warm, and I went on two great walks.  I have wanted to do both of these for quite a while, they are only just five minutes from the campsite, but I was saving them for a great day.

The first was the footpath from Loch Achtriochtan to the Three Sisters mountains. This is one of the most iconic views of Glencoe, and as such it is virtually impossible to park anywhere near.

However,  there is a little car park, hidden from view, just off the main road, and from there you can walk to the mountains.

On my list is to park the other side and walk back towards them, another amazing set of views that I will show you later in the summer.

Not far from there is An Tor and Signal Rock, another National Trust for Scotland places. I had briefly visited with my friend on a walk along the Greenway, but wanted to go back and do the other trails.

There are three here, so I did the blue one to the rock, and the black one round the whole hill. The rock was apparently a clan meeting place and used to light warning beacons in the 1600s.

The walk starts with a river crossing and stunning views up the valley.

It was beautiful, although quite challenging and steep at times, especially in 25 degrees, but I made it to the rock, pictured below.

I truly love forest walks, there is something so magical about them, that sense of calm with the sun shining through, and mountains just visible through the trees. 

I still can’t believe I have been lucky enough to not only get this brilliant job, and to have had two such amazing sites to work at. Speyside last year was just so lovely, and Glencoe is beyond amazing. To see this every morning,  even on the wet ones, is truly magical.

Even the fact that it rains most of the time, I am often damp all day, doesn’t alter the fact that I am having a wonderful life.

I hope you are enjoying yourselves too, whatever you are doing. Take care and thanks for visiting. 

Not a National Trust house!

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One of my lifetime ambitions is to visit every National Trust property,  making very good use of my membership, and discovering lots of gorgeous textiles along the way.

After staying at Kendal Cricket Club, having missed out on a couple the previous day due to bad weather, I was searching the map and was delighted to find one that I hadn’t previously pinned.

Off I set on a wonderfully sunny day, above Windermere to find Blackwell, the Arts and Crafts House, on arrival discovering that it wasn’t a Trust house at all, which is why it hadn’t come up on previous searches.

Situated above the lake, with stunning views, it was built as a holiday home for  Manchester industrialist, Edward Holt, in 1901, and designed by Mackay Hugh Baillie Scott. It has been beautifully restored by the Lakeland Arts Trust.

In its time it was also a girls’ school, but thankfully its fantastic architecture and interior has been preserved.

The Arts and Crafts movement has always been one of my first design loves, and this house, along with the work of Margaret McDonald Mackintosh, Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Evelyn de Morgan, whose work can be seen at the similarly stunning Whitwick Manor, is an amazing example of the work of these design geniuses.

As with many houses of the era most of the rooms are wood panelled, with painting, carving and textiles everywhere.

My favourite room, and one so very different to the others, was the white drawing room. The plaster flowers that accentuate every corner are just amazing. To me they are like something from a Tolkien vision of Elven architecture.

Even the books are beautiful, I would love to have a reading nook like this.

There were some more gorgeous books upstairs.

There of course lots of textiles, tapestry cushions, hangings etc, but my favourite was definitely this whitework bedspread. As usual no information on who made this, but respect to the many hours of the hands that did.

If you love this period, or just want to see a beautiful house in a gorgeous location I can heartily recommend it, at £12 entry it was a bargain, and they have a tea room!

The weather has been really beautiful for the last few days, so I am planning another walk today, for the past few weeks my days off have been a bit damp so very much enjoying the blue skies. My plants are also looking very lovely. 

Hope you are all enjoying life, and are not too hot if you are in one of the many areas with heatwaves. Take care and thanks for visiting. 

Stops along the way, Spring 2026 edition

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I love trying out new stopping places with Katy, and on my recent return to Scotland stopped at some which have been on my map for ages, as well as a few favourites from last year.

The first was Moorside Farm Aire, just outside Market Drayton, a useful halfway point between Ellen’s and my friend in Wales.

The aire costs £10 a night, payable by cash and I rang to book ahead. There is a large grass field for campervans, and a toilet available. It was a very peaceful and enjoyable night’s stay before heading for Attingham.

After I left my friend I headed for the Rhug Farmshop, I have been here before and it is basically just the car park, however it is very good value and they have a great deli and Cafe, as well as toilets open during the day.

My plan was then to get to somewhere nice in the Lakes via a couple of Trust garden visits,  however torrential rain on the M6 meant that I ended up spending the night at Kendal Cricket Club, in their car park. They ask for a £10 cash payment, and there are facilities when the bar is open. Not a brilliant view but a much appreciated night near to all the supermarkets.

I was heading for Moffat, to a static caravan on a beautiful little site just outside the town. The Camping and Caravanning Club have a campsite there as well bit I thought that early March was a little too cold for camping!

The site was built around a small lake, and as well as statics had some lovely lodges and lots of wildlife areas.

After a week of luxury in my beautiful caravan, plans had to change as my caravan tower changed dates, so I ended up driving to Edinburgh to buy a new tent, and pitched on a hardstanding at our Scone Campsite for a week.

It was a little cold, dropping to minus 2 a couple of nights, but I had lots of fleecy blankets, and appreciated the chance to spend more time on the trail of Mary Queen of Scots. More about that in a later post.

I went back to one of my favourite park ups before Scone, this is the third time I have stayed at the Kelpies, now £15 a night which includes a coffee. It is only the first time I have seen them lit up at night though, as the first time they were down for maintenance, and last time it was torrential rain!

After Perth I stopped off at the National Trust spot The Hermitage, near Dunkeld, for a little walk. The recent rain meant that the waterfall near the building was in full flow, the noise was incredible. This is an area that I want to spend a lot more time in, as it’s so beautiful.

Many stopovers offer their services for free if you eat or drink there, and my next stop was one of those. The Apiary is a gorgeous little cafe at Dalwhinnie in the Cairngorms. I forgot to take any photos of the inside, but it was another lovely peaceful night, and very welcome after the rain and sleet of the journey. 

My final one before reuniting with Lotte the caravan at Lossiemouth was the gorgeous Findhorn Aire, run by the community and bookable online for £17, it is definitely one of my favourite places in Scotland.

I am really looking forward to some more overnight adventures soon. I have been busy with friends visiting the last three weeks, but am planning to explore more of this area soon. I want to head over to the west, around Arisaig and Mallaig, so have been busy adding pins to the map.

Meanwhile it has been another mainly wet week, we did have a dry Sunday where we ran around with the mowers, but it is back to mixed weather this week. I am still loving life here, more rain means bonus waterfalls and keeps the midges away, so it is not all bad!

Hope you are all enjoying life whatever you are doing, thanks for visiting and see you soon.

Some very different kinds of ironwork

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One of the reasons that I love living in Spain,  and visiting Spanish cities, is all the amazing ironwork on the balconies. All of our houses have some kind of protective grilles on the windows, and these and the gates are often quite ornate.

This is often a feature of the country houses I visit as well, with grand staircases and balconies, and I love all of the amazing artistry that can be created out of metal.  Having seen blacksmiths at many medieval events I am always in awe of their work.

One of my days on the way to Scotland, via  a visit to a friend in Wales, involved driving through Shropshire,  a county I need to spend more time in as it is so beautiful.  I drove from Ellen’s across to Attingham Park firstly, another Trust house that has been on my wishlist for a long time.

It is no coincidence that this area is famous for its metalwork, with the heritage centred around Ironbridge and its famous crossing by Thomas Telford, such a wealth of industrial heritage.

The owners of Attingham must have been well aware of the developments in industry only a few miles away. Though their house reflects the arts more than industry, the house, built in 1785, epitomises the era so well.

Thomas Telford, a Scot born in 1757, would have been at the peak of his career as an engineer.  It was in Shropshire that he made his name as an engineer, working on canals there.

It was a beautiful day for a visit, I was very lucky to have a sunny February day, and all the snowdrops were in bloom.

The interior of the house was beautiful,  with some stunning decoration. This blue and gold room was one of my favourites.

I loved the art gallery space though, built for entertaining with an impressive ironwork staircase to the upper floor, showcasing a wonderful window.

The servants’ quarters were also interesting, I really liked the interpretation via the dining table, showing wages and duties.

They also had the very best organisation of the linen cupboard. Look at these beautiful pieces all carefully folded, with ribboned lavender. 

I loved the recreations of the ornate desserts as well. The house had a dedicated chef just to make these.

My second stop was somewhere that I have had pinned on my map for a while. It is an open air gallery, based at the British Ironwork Centre, near Oswestry. 

They have the most incredible pieces, mostly made from recycled materials, showcasing ironwork as you have never seen it before.

The scale of some of the pieces is incredible, and the work that goes into them just amazing.  This gorilla is made from teaspoons.

I had seen the Knife Angel some years ago, when it was on display in Worcester.  Made from knives donated during a weapons amnesty, it has been toured to raise awareness of knife crime in the UK.

Most of the pieces have a message, there is a strong theme of environmental responsibility throughout the artworks, which makes it a fantastic place to visit.

Life here on the campsite continues to be very busy, we have been full for weeks, although it has been a little quieter this week. I have also had two visitors, so feeling very blessed that people will come all this way to see me, and the wonders of Scotland of course!

The weather has been very variable, from 24 degrees for my first visitor,  to 12 and raining for my second. We have still been out enjoying ourselves though, just needed our big coats!

I am also meeting some other friends this afternoon who are in the area, then will be making the most of the rest of my day off doing some weeding in my garden, if the rain holds off!

Hope you are having fun whatever you are doing, take care and