Category: travel

A little piece of Hebridean history

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For many reasons there are few of the original houses, the blackhouses, left on the islands. This is partly to do with the fact that many were abandoned in favour of the newer houses that were built which had more modern facilities.

You can find a few as holiday accommodation and we were really lucky to have a fantastic selection of these on our little campsite in Harris. The site is called Lickisto Blackhouse camping and we booked it more for the location rather than the houses and only realised when we got there how significant it was.

The site was an amazing piece of landscaping, as we were approaching we were wondering where the actual camping would be as the surrounding land was hilly and full of rocks. Every inch of the site has been cleverly structured with three blackhouses used for rental and some of the facilities blocks.

You can see here how hidden the actual campers are, within the garden. There were at least 6 tents here but you can only really see the yurt.

The campervan area was the only flat piece of land, with space for five vans in what would be the driveway of the modern house. The three blackhouses were near this house, accessed by paths through the gardens.

The tent pitches were within these gardens, wherever there was a flat piece of land. They all had little campfire stones and most had little benches and were all named.

The site had direct access to a little beach on the loch as well, just past Loch Loo, the toilet with a view!

As well as standard pitches you can also stay in one of the blackhouses, two yurts and a bell tent, all with amazing views.

One blackhouse was a lounge for guests, with kitchen and dining facilities. This is a great idea for the many people hiking or cycling round the islands as it was a cosy space to sit in the evenings. There were even home made meals available to buy and they have music nights on Saturdays.

It is one of the most unusual sites I have ever stayed at and well worth a visit. By the time I have finished this UK tour I will have stayed at 13 campsites, most of them Caravan and Camping Club ones, but I think this might be my favourite for its glimpse into the history and culture of the islands as well as the beautiful views and sunsets.

I really love camping and although I have my van now still use a tent as storage. I have borrowed Jacky’s awning to try out so may by myself one for next year. It is nice to be able to stand up to get dressed and although I have been really lucky with the weather this year would give me further options if it is raining.

I have been collecting pictures of the quirky and unusual camping vehicles and tents I have seen on my travels so will do a post on those at some point. There is a whole world of variety out there, from the sublime to the ridiculous!

I am now safely in Anglesey, staying in a very luxurious barn conversion which is wonderful. Have seen some beautiful beaches today and am looking forward to a nice relaxing week here.Have fun, take care, stay safe and until next time thanks for visiting.

The edge of the world

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When you visit the Outer Hebrides you really do get a sense of being somewhere so different from the rest of the UK. At the edge of these islands there is nothing but sea between them and the coasts of Newfoundland and Canada.

It is a beautiful landscape and we were so lucky with the weather but it can be a harsh and remote place to live. We both loved it and I am so glad that we made the trip to North and South Uists, Benbecula and Eriskay as well this trip.

We caught another ferry from the bottom of Harris for a short trip to land on the tiny island of Bernary. Nowadays all of the islands are connected by beautiful stone edged causeways but they used to use boats or horse drawn carriages at low tide to cross between them.

We had a quick trip around Bernary, stopping off at the seal viewing point where we were delighted to see four seals playing in the sunshine. You can just see some little heads above water in this second picture.

We found another brilliant community cafe and art gallery for lunch, where I may have bought another book on island life, then drove all the way down to Eriskay, a trip of around 35 miles. .

Our campsite was right on the coast, next to an RSPB reserve so we had a quick walk on the beach before sunset that evening. The sun and clouds were so beautiful. There were thousands of tiny shells on the shore so I have collected some to remind me of this wonderful place.

Our full day was spent on a 4km coastal walk, just spending hours watching the waves crash on the coast. I have said before how happy I am near the sea and am lucky to be able to spend a large part of my life near it now.

The people who live here have always had such a connection with the sea, fishing, using kelp to fertilise the land, and crossing it to access things such as education.

Nowadays there are many more services on the islands, we found two Co-op supermarkets which were very handy, but everything still has to be brought in to the islands by sea or air. It is such a different way of life here.

It was only a very short stay before we had to head back to Skye, involving two ferry trips and a bit of a dash across Harris past all those wonderful beaches again. We made it in plenty of time despite a Hebrides version of a traffic jam, which reminded me of life in Marsden.

I am so lucky to be able to do all of this and realise my dreams. This Scotland trip has been amazing and the final two days back on Skye were just as incredible. I will tell you about that excitement in the next post.

Meanwhile there has been lots of stitching of Christmas ornaments going on. I should finish the six for friends by the time I leave for Spain and have also done three others so you may get a craft post sometime soon!

I will then have to start on the Christmas knitting as I have promised some knitted reindeers for fundraising after the success of the Luna in the summer.

I hope that you are enjoying the last few weeks of your summer, or winter wherever you are. This year seems to have gone so fast. I am off back to Yorkshire at the end of the week and then on holiday in Wales with some ex- colleagues for a week, in a luxurious barn conversion as well.

I will be back as soon as I can. In the meantime have fun, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.

Out to the west

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Our first three days in the Outer Hebrides were spent on Harris and Lewis. We stayed at a very quirky site on Harris which I will devote a separate post to as there was so much to show you.

The area of Harris we stayed in reminded me a lot of trips to Sweden, similar rocky archipelagos and everywhere small lochs full of water lillies.

The first afternoon after the ferry crossing we drove to see the amazing beaches of South Harris. Even though I have seen them on other travel vlogs you cannot believe that the sea and sand are really that colour until you see them. They are so beautiful.

Our first full day was spent driving up to the top of Lewis, this island is very different as it is so flat, compared to Harris. We drove to the windiest place in the UK, I can confirm it lives up to its reputation!

The views of the Atlantic were amazing and it was even more exciting as we saw some seals playing on one of the rocks in the cove.

We also visited the Callanish standing stones, three Neolithic stone circles on Harris. There is lots of archaeological evidence of settlement on the islands including a reproduction of an Iron Age house near one of the beaches.

Day 2 was a trip to the little island of Scalpay, over the bridge between Harris and the island and a walk out to Eilean Glas lighthouse, we were so lucky with the weather the whole time we were there. I couldn’t believe the sky was so blue.

We also went out to one of the most remote beaches, Husinis, in search of otters. It was literally a roller coaster ride along the narrowest and bumpiest roads that I have ever seen.It was certainly an experience getting there!

I am not sure if we did see otters, they are very elusive but there may have been something in this bay.

The islands are unique and feel very different from each other. The light there is amazing and the colours seem so bright. This was even more so when we got to the next islands, another ferry ride away. I will tell you more about that in my next post.

I have been reading some biographies about island life, like much of Scotland land ownership has been an issue for many years with clearances by land owners that led to crofters losing their homes. It was significant that there are very few of the older houses left on the island and many people were forced to emigrate to USA and Canada.

Nowadays most of the area is owned by the community and there are various community businesses, such as the lovely cafe we stopped at for lunch in North Lewis.There was also a small museum and gallery where I was able to see one of the looms that made the famous Harris tweed.

I didn’t find many places that were doing weaving but did manage to buy this beautiful little purse which will remind me of all the colours of this island.

I will tell you more about island life in the next post. We are now back in England, after a very long 6 hour drive. I then drove back North through my first appalling weather to meet up with Ellen for more Steampunk fun in Lincoln. We were very pleased as this event has not been held since 2019 and a great time was had by all.

I hope that you have had a good weekend, especially if you are in the UK where it is a Bank Holiday. We are planning a quiet Monday sewing and watching movies.

Hope you all have fun anyway, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.

Over the sea to Skye

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Many of you will know the song that has this line in, I have always loved it, even before it became the Outlander theme tune.

We did not go by boat but after many beautiful roads winding past loch after loch arrived at Fort William.

We had not booked anywhere to camp in Fort William as we were planning to use some of the apps to find a parking location but it was quite late by the time we arrived so ended up, with many other campervans in Lidl car park! Not the most glamorous of locations but it was much appreciated.

We did make a stop off to see the famous Eilean Donan Castle which is in such an amazing setting.

We took the road bridge over to Skye, it was very cloudy so no good pictures but the weather was glorious for the drive around the south peninsula that afternoon. We had a very good view of the Cullin Hills and the stunning coastline.

Our full day saw me able to tick off many of the things on my list that I have wanted to do for so long. We climbed up to the Old Man of Storr, a very steep and hot trek but so worth it for the views of the clouds over the lochs.

The Quiraing rock formations were equally stunning, even if the road up there was a bit of a challenge. Jacky has excellent driving skills and she has needed them on all these tiny single track uphill roads.

We didn’t far into the fairy pools sadly as the midges came out early that evening. We have been lucky and not had much issues with them and have been able to BBQ and eat outside some evenings.

The campsite was lovely, with gorgeous views of the hills and amazing cloud formations. We stayed at Camping Skye, a not for profit site run by the community. We have used as many community services as we can here, such as the excellent little cafe and craft venues.

We left Skye for Lewis and Harris on a mid morning ferry. The Outer Hebrides have been just as amazing as we thought they would be and I am so pleased to be here after so many years of watching my favourite You Tube travellers come here.

More from the outer islands next time, hope you are having a great time whatever you are doing. Have fun, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.

Messing about on the water

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I am writing this blog post from the shores of Loch Lomond on the most beautiful sunny day. It is still about 24 degrees even though it is 4.30pm so most of today has been water related fun. It is the most amazing location.

In fact most of the last week has involved water related activities as it has been gorgeous sunny weather. We left Blackpool on Monday morning and headed to the Lake District. We were camped at one of the most stunning sites I have ever been to, Castlerigg Farm, just outside Keswick.

The site is on a hill and so has 360 degree views over Derwentwater and all the surrounding hills such as Siddaw and Catbells. It was so amazing and the photos do not do it justice at all.

We arrived mid afternoon in time for a little walk down to the lake, we got a little lost and the 25 minutes turned into 45 but it was lovely once we got there and we had a little paddle. It was a very steep climb back up but well worth it for the views.

The following day we decided to have a quiet trip out on the lake on a little cruise and stopped off at the other end of the lake to visit a waterfall.

The scenery is just incredible, I could stare at the hills all day. I think Derwentwater is one of my favourite of the lakes as it is so dramatic.

It was a hot journey up to the site in Loch Lomond but so worth it, we are pitched right opposite the lake so we have these amazing views. We are at the Milarrochy Bay campsite another Camping and Caravan Club one.

I told you that Jacky has altered the van. She has removed the fixed bed and replaced it with bench seats that create a bed. It really opens up the van and gives a lot more space for two people, and for being inside to eat.

So far the weather has been really good and we are going to have our fourth BBQ in a row tonight, but it will be a great layout if the weather is not so good once we get to the islands.

Jacky went out this morning for a paddleboard lesson. I stayed and did some stitching on account of my very dodgy joints but she had a great time and didn’t fall in. This afternoon we have been swimming in the Loch, we also had a large rubber ring to play with.

We set off tomorrow with a stopover at Fort William so should be in Skye on Saturday which will be very exciting. I am so looking forward to finally seeing the places that I have only seen on other people’s travel vlogs.

Thank you so much for all of the comments and the likes on my posts. I will be back with more stunning scenery as soon as I can. In the meantime have fun, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.

Millions of needles …

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As a keen seamstress I do have my fair share of needles for all purposes but have never really thought much about where they come from. At the Clent Hills camp site there was a brochure for the National Needle Museum in Redditch, just a short drive away, so I thought I would stop off and visit.

The museum was fascinating, it is housed in the original needle factory, dating from the late 1700s when the processes were driven by water. Redditch produced millions of needles, about 90% of the world’s production, and they were exported worldwide.

This meant that there were gorgeous displays made for national and international exhibitions. The companies also made surgical needles and fishing hooks.

There were also some great examples of how needles were used, from the textile group display of current craft on the first floor to examples of vintage craft.

It was fascinating to see the displays of needle packaging and needle cases over time.

If you are in the area it is well worth a visit. We are now back from Whitby where we had a lovely time as always and met some new people. I have bought lots of fab new jewellery for my latest outfits so will put together a post about the event when I can next access good internet.

I am about to leave Ellen’s now and go to my beloved Peak District for a few days. Normal UK weather has been resumed and it is forecast to be around 17 degrees and showers for the rest of the week!

Hope that you have a good week ahead, have fun, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.

Away from the motorway madness

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Hello from sunny, indeed this week, very sunny England! You may know that we have been experiencing a heatwave, with temperatures of up to 40 degrees. Of course that is just a normal Tuesday in July in Spain but is a bit hot for here where it is usually only around 24.

And I have been in a tent, which has been a little warm at times. Of course I was supposed to be sleeping in Katy the campervan but as it has been so hot have been using her as a day van and using the tent at night. I spent a few days at Jacky’s sorting her out before setting off on my adventures. This photo shows how she looks in full indoor evening mode.

I chose to stay at two campsites near a couple of motorways that I have travelled down many times before, without really thinking of what was either side of the road. We were always in a hurry to get somewhere, to an event, or visiting family. As I wanted a little bit of practise at motorway driving it was a good opportunity to just go an hour away and explore.

The first campsite was in the Clent Hills, just off the M5, within sight of Birmingham, one of the UK’s largest cities. It was a beautiful site and Katy was soon happily settled in, amongst the larger motorhomes and caravans. I used my brilliant camping kitchen outdoors and it all worked very well.

The site was created in honour of the founder of the Caravan and Camping Club, then called the Cycle Camping Club and there was an informative display about the site. I am so glad people fought for access to beautiful places to stay. I went on three lovely walks in the area, including up to the viewpoint at Four Stones where there were great views over Worcestershire.

The second site was an hour further North, the other side of Birmingham. The place is called Kingsbury Water Park and they are a series of old gravel pits that have been turned into water sports areas and a nature reserve. I stopped off on the way at the National Needle Museum in Redditch which will have a post of its own as it was fascinating.

This campsite was a lovely place to spend the very hot days, sitting in the shade by the ponds reading a book while watching the geese, swans and moorhens. The M42 motorway runs right through the middle of the area so I have passed it many times not realising anything so lovely was there. I managed to be very creative with getting shade thanks to using a throw and my magnetic hooks!

While there I finished the third of the cute little caravan embroideries that I started in lockdown in March 2020. They look very good along with the bunting that I made in Spain. The crocheted rainbow was a present from Ellen.

I then made my way to Ellen’s, going on the third motorway of the trip, the M1. I am very pleased that I have been able to be confident driving, it has been 3 months since I passed my test in which I have not driven at all. I have so enjoyed all the exploring in Katy, it really is a dream come true. We are now in Whitby for the Steampunk event so are going to have a splendid time involving many hats!

I hope that you have all been having a good time, my next campsite is in the Peak District and then I will be heading South to Staffordshire on the way back to Jacky’s. Whatever you are doing have fun, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.

Another retirement project

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Although I said the last one would be my final post from Spain I managed to find some time to achieve another one of my targets for this stay. It is nice to have targets, personal ones though, not the sort that other people set that are to do with pressure on you.

One of my long held wishes for my retirement has been to do some designing of embroidery and goldwork patterns. I don’t really consider myself a very creative person. I do make things, and I love choosing fabrics and embellishments. Although I think that I have a a good sense of what goes together, I only work with other people’s patterns so I want to develop my design skills as well.

I set myself the target of designing one piece from the many wonderful things that we saw at the Alhambra. I narrowed it down to three pieces in that post and choose this one below to develop into a design.

It is only a very small design, measuring 24 stitches across so it shouldn’t take me too long to stitch. I have very much enjoyed the design process. Although it is quite a simple design it took me about two hours to do, testing out various ways of reproducing the patterns in blackwork.

Notice I have been using my lovely Alhambra design rubber during the process here!

I have had to make quite a few compromises, as blackwork is all straight lines. I did initially try to work out something for the outside edges of the plasterwork, however it ended up looking at bit too messy. I felt it took away from the symmetry of the centre of the plasterwork as well.

The final design will include some filling stitches and some seed beads, denoted by the small circles on the buds.

I used one of my blackwork books for inspiration on design and filling stitches.

It contains a very useful library of filling stitches to choose from.

The design process was helped by using this free gift from a couple of years ago which was very helpful for structuring the motif.

I will be leaving this until I come back to Spain, I am packing some things to take on this year’s UK tour but they will mainly be cross stitch ornaments, got to get ahead with those for this year. I am planning to stitch it on some sparkly Aida from stash.

I am also going to set myself another target for designing for my next stay here in autumn. I am thinking of some goldwork based on the amazing chapel at the Ducal Palace in Gandia or the gate in Exeter cathedral. My inspiration will come from one of these photos.

I am not planning to do the angels in this photo but love the design framing it and am thinking maybe on blue silk with tiny beads for the stars.

I would not attempt the whole of this but maybe just the little motif below would be good to do.

So this really will be my last post from Spain, see you all when I get back across the border! Have fun, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.

Galicia – wine and pilgrims

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The most famous thing about Galicia is probably the cathedral at Santiago de Compostela, with pilgrim routes from all over Europe ending here at the tomb of St James. The area is also very famous for the wine that is grown here, particularly the white wine as the climate and the salinity in the soil gives it a unique flavour.

We had seen many vineyards on our previous trips and on the fourth day went to the town of Combados, which grew rich in the medieval period on the profits from wine. We were not expecting such a grand square where the palace was but it was stunning, with the church on one side and rows of beautiful shops and houses on the other.

There was an option to go on a little train tour, which most of the rest of the group did, but we decided to just have a wander round so we could pay closer attention to the gorgeous buildings. We even got to have a little peak in the palace wine cellar.

We did see a cute wine shop and bar but didn’t get anything there as the morning ended with a visit to a small vineyard and a tasting of some of their wine. Not only was it very nice but also came in a very pretty bottle, so I bought some as gifts.

The final day was one of the highlights of the trip, to visit the cathedral at Santiago. It was stunning, but I think the most amazing thing was watching the groups of pilgrims come into the square and seeing the expressions on their faces when they had finally finished. It was so moving.

There was time for a wander round the city streets, with lots of bars, shops and cafes displaying their wares in a very artistic manner, look at this for a display of ‘pulpo’, (octopus). There was also a little tribute to the Queen’s Jubilee in one of the bookshops.

We also encountered a couple of locals who were portraying St James and a medieval pilgrim and inviting people to have their photo taken with them. The costumes were brilliant and they were very popular with the tourists.

A truly wonderful end to our trip. It is an area I would love to return to, I do say that about most of Spain though so we shall see how things progress over the next few years. There are so many other places I want to see as well. Our next Spanish trip is to Cordoba in November and we have also just booked to go to Venice for Mum’s birthday next year in April which is very exciting!

I have to spend some more time next week getting my UK tour for 2022 sorted. I have booked my first two campsites for my first solo driving trip from Worcester to Whitwell which covers about 10 days. I have lots of other events apart from camping and also want to catch up with friends who I first met 40 years ago when I moved to Huddersfield to start my degree. It seems amazing that it was that long ago.

I will be back with a final crafting update next week, it is all progressing well so far, although I am definitely not going to be making any more costume in 30+ degrees again. It is completely my own fault as I should have done the costume first, then the camper cushions. There has been some blood, as I got myself stuck in the skirt once and the pin bit me 😦 a lot of sweat, but thankfully no tears during the making of this outfit.

Hope you are looking forward to a nice weekend whatever you are doing, my friends in the UK are also having really hot weather so I hope that you have a good time, have fun, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.

Galicia, where rain is art!

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Our second day of the tour was a bit wet, which was actually quite nice. Even though I love living in Spain and not having to deal with endless Yorkshire rain, especially getting soaked at the bus stop, there is something lovely about dramatic grey clouds and misty scenery.

We visited the city of Pontevedre first thing and as I was walking across one of the squares, in my sandals, two builders asked me in Spanish why I was wearing those when it was raining. I was able to reply in Spanish that I was English, so was used to rain, which is when one of them said, ‘ah, in Galicia, rain is art’. I think that is a lovely way of thinking about it and certainly means that the scenery changes all of the time.

The city was really surprising, the exterior of the city looks very modern but inside there are beautifully preserved squares and buildings, very reminiscent of Caceres with their shields on the walls.

We had a guided tour, with poor Jose having to stop and wait as people went off to look at a beautiful chemist’s shop with a gorgeous tiled floor, or an interesting drainpipe!

I am sure he is used to this but it was a bit like herding cats 😉 At one point I nearly joined another tour group by mistake as I was trailing behind taking pictures.

In one of the churches there was another icon like the one we saw in Caceres with lights from her arms. There were also some very stunning doors, I particularly liked these white ones which were very unusual.

Our later stop was to visit one of the very interesting things that I had spotted on the journey in. At first I thought they were little roadside shrines, as most have crosses on them, but they are actually grain stores, designed so that rats and mice can’t climb up the legs.

The village of Combarro has a lot of these at the back of the houses and one street has been turned into a lovely row of shops and little bars, where you can sit, often underneath the barns, and admire the sea view. We bought some gorgeous cream liqueur from one of the shops and got a chance to go and have a look upstairs at the balcony. The house had been beautifully refurbished and there was a great view across the misty estuary.

Most of the afternoons on the rest of the week were free time so we went to the beach near the hotel that afternoon for a slightly mizzly walk. The scenery was stunning and there was a little costal path out to the edge of the estuary.

It was lovely to see so much beach, our local beach is suffering from the effects of global warming as the tides are getting higher every year. Now there is only a very narrow strip of sand between the bars and beach houses and the sea, which will mean that the summer visitors will have to go elsewhere for access. They have also had to remove all of the sun beds and umbrellas that we used to rent for the day. It is is very clear reminder of the power of climate change, sadly our favourite beach bar will probably be gone in a few years, or we will all be paddling to get to it.

It is a bit cooler today and we are due thunderstorms, I will be be using the inside time to finish the last few bits of the Steampunk outfit. I then have to try and make a bustle of some sort so that will involve some fabric fettling and experimenting as have not made one before. It is difficult to take pictures of the outfit as I haven’t got a mannequin anymore but will take some of the hat and jacket at least and then get some good ones when I wear it in July. I am so happy to have finished it, only 18 months in the making 🙂

I hope that you are all having a nice time wherever you are, and happy Summer/Winter Solstice to you. Have fun, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.