Tag: walks

New mountains and a new language!

stitchesoftime1 Comment

Welcome to my first post from Turkiye! I actually left England last week for my first visit to this beautiful country. I scheduled my last post for a couple of days ago, as I wasn’t certain how much I would be able to post from here. Thankfully I have excellent wifi so all is good.

I have wanted to visit for so many years, especially after watching Chris and Marianne from Tread the Globe, who were here far longer than they intended after Covid found them stuck in a car park in Istanbul for 93 days. They later spent a year touring here, and gave me so many ideas for places that I wanted to see.

I had a really hard time deciding where to come to, there are so many beautiful places, and it is such a big country. Thankfully there looks to be no sign of them joining the EU just yet, so I am allowed to come here for my winter exiles on and off for the next few years I hope. Therefore I decided to just pick one location for this year, and to explore it thoroughly.

I chose to come to Antalya for various practical reasons, such as easy flights from Manchester, but also because of what I had seen of its location. It is such an amazing place, and I can’t stop taking pictures of the mountains that surround the city. It is located on the south coast, and so is on the Mediterranean Sea. Just look at all these gorgeous blues, and the snow capped mountains.

Much of the city is perched on rocky cliffs, so there are only a few beaches, especially the side that I am on. There are lots of little steps down the cliff, and platform bathing areas that I’m sure must be amazing in the summer, the sea is so clear and a wonderful turquoise.

All along the coastline are parks with lots of picnic areas, and nearer the city, restaurants and bars, as well as lots of viewpoints for the mountains. Up until yesterday the weather has been excellent, so I spent most of the first few days just walking along the coast. I have started to explore some of the old town and some museums, which I will post about next time.

I am staying in a really nice hotel, still very much within budget, but very modern and sophisticated compared to some of the accommodation I stayed in last year. I really loved the riads in Morocco, but this is very gorgeous.

It is called Mi Hotel Boutique, and is about 20 minutes walk from the centre of the old town, right next to the coast, and in an area well supplied with supermarkets etc. Since I am here for three weeks I choose somewhere with a kettle and fridge, and a little bit of ‘office space’, as I am doing lots of writing while I’m here.

It is also a great location to see the sunset over the mountains.

The old town here is beautifully restored, but apart from a few buildings, most of Antalaya is very modern, with low rise apartment blocks.

I did wonder why there was nothing much from earlier in the 20th century and after a bit of research found that it is because the city grew from 27,000 people before WW2, to 2 and a half million now, so quickly that it created a housing crisis. Many of these people were migrants, coming here due to the effects of war, and there were at one time lots of shanty towns. These were then replaced by the current housing from the 1970s. As you probably know I find architectural history really interesting, and this explains why everything is so modern here.

Turkish is not really a language that I had looked at before. It is a very interesting situation to be somewhere trying to learn a language that is very unrelated to anything you’ve learnt before. Spanish, French and English share so much in terms of word, and structure, but Turkish is all very new to me.

So far I’m not doing too badly, social signs help a lot as always. You can probably guess what this red road sign says just from its colour and position and lots of words are similar such as ‘taksi’.

Others take some more working out, which is where supermarket shopping comes in handy. It took me a while to work out ,’tea’, after I realised that the ‘c’ is pronounced as ,’ch’, making the word çay sound as ,’chai’, which is very familiar to me from my favourite chai latte drinks. It’s clearly very popular from the size of these bags in the supermarket.

It also helps that restaurants here have lots of pictures of food, so I have learnt ,’peynir’, and ,’tavuk’, which is cheese and chicken, quite easily. I have already had one of the delicious pide, a form of Turkish pizza, with those ingredients.

I was also wondering about why Turkish isn’t written in a different script, but uses the Latin script that most other European languages use. It turns out that this is the result of a deliberate government policy from 1928. This was to modernise the language from the previous Ottoman, which used a combination of Arabic, Turkish and Persian words, and whose alphabet did not reflect some of the sounds needed. Modern Turkish has 29 letters, 8 vowels and 21 consonants. Some of these letters have been modified to better enable the sounds of Turkish to be represented, such as Ç, Ş, Ğ, I, İ, Ö, Ü. This means you have some letters with and without modifications, so you have to look carefully at which form is being used.

This modernisation took place swiftly, and the new language and script replaced the old. It must have been a major undertaking, it brings to mind decimalisation in the UK in 1971, which I still remember clearly as a 9 year old. This article, by a Turkish/British journalist, reflecting on the impact of the language change for scholars of pre 1928 texts, is really interesting and really makes you think about the links between language and culture.

And yes, as Antalya is a major tourist resort, a lot of people speak English, but half the fun of travelling for me is trying to explain what I want in the language of the country, and everyone I’ve met has been really kind while I mangle their language! I have learnt the words for various lovely flavours of ice cream as well. This is ,’nar’, or pomegranate and it was delicious.

I have also been getting to grips with a new currency and exchange rate. Having all the lira makes you feel very rich, that ice cream cost 30 lira, which is about 66p, and the notes are very beautifully designed. I have not come across any other coins than the 1 lira, worth about 2p. Thankfully I have a conversion app on my phone which saves me having to do complex maths in the supermarket.

When I was visiting Nepal, many years ago with the Scout project, the currency all contained pictures of different animals, so we would work out the costs of our food by saying things like, ‘three elephants and a tiger’, which helped us remember the denominations.

I have been having a quiet couple of days, as it has been a bit wet, which has allowed me lots of time to write up the research I did for the novel, in Alnwick, and at Chatsworth. Tomorrow will be dry and sunny again, so I will continue exploring the old town, and the coast. I have been saving lots of lovely door photos for you, and there are also some beautiful textiles coming up!

Until then, have fun, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.

Coming home

stitchesoftime1 Comment

Even though I no longer live in the area, I still consider Yorkshire, and the Peak District home. It is the place that I have spent the most time in, and I just love the countryside. It is also so nice to return to catch up with friends. At the end of the summer I chose to spend my last two weeks camping in the Yorkshire Dales, and the Staffordshire Peak District, between Buxton and Leek.

The first site was a Camping and Caravanning Club certified location, one of the smaller sites, for usually up to 5 vans. They are privately owned, often farm sites and I wanted to try one out. It was a stunning location, in the village of Buckden, not far from Kettlewell, and right in the middle of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. The park celebrated its 70th anniversary in November 2024, and has always been one of my favourite places to camp. When my children were younger we used to come here all the time.

The certified location was on Heber Farm, with some very cute animals and a friendly cat host. As it was very quiet in the out of season October week that I was there I ended up on the farm campsite section, rather than the certified location in another field a few minutes away, so I could be near the facilities. The owners, Gill and Gary, were really welcoming and I loved staying there. Not only was it a fantastic campsite, with a facilities pod, and a few glamping pods as well, it is right on the Dales Way.

As always it was lovely to meet with other campers, a few walkers and mountain bikers were still around, and I met some lovely fellow outdoor enthusiasts. As I mentioned in my last post, I needed a quiet couple of weeks, and as the weather was variable enjoyed lots of time just reading and stitching my final Christmas ornaments, as well as some walks. I love the walk signs along the routes, both old and new.

I did go to Malham Cove on a beautiful sunny day, the drive there was so gorgeous and I am getting much more used to single track roads now! By the time I got there it had got a little duller, but I didn’t mind. I spent far too much time taking photos of the clouds, and just watching the weather change. I love the contrasts within a few minutes when you are walking, sparkling water to thundery skies, just magic!

My last site was one of the first that I ever stayed at in 2022, Leek Caravanning and Camping Club. This has to be one of my favourite sites, situated on one of my favourite roads for driving, the A53, from Buxton to Leek. Just stunning views, particularly the first stretch when you can see across to Chrome and Parkhouse Hills, known as the Dragon’s Back due to their unusual shape.

That week was spent looking at the clouds a lot. I remember that this site had the most beautiful clouds and sunsets last time, and it didn’t disappoint this time.

I was able to visit a few of the places that I have had on my wishlist for a while, such as Ilam and Dovedale. It was the most stunning autumn day, really warm and the walk was just brilliant, one my best days of 2024. I was just so happy to have been spending another summer doing what I love, and still enjoying living out of a Renault Kangoo and travelling. I can’t wait to get back to this life in March.

Ilam Hall is now a Youth Hostel, but the grounds are open and there is an excellent National Trust tea room or two, so I treated myself to a cream tea after the hike over to Dovestones.

The houses in Ilam village are just gorgeous, it was rebuilt as a model village styling itself on a Swiss village.

Another trip was to Rudyard Lake. Rudyard Kipling’s parents met there, and so he was named after the location. The lake is a reservoir built to serve the canals, but has been used for pleasure trips since the Victorian era, and there was some really good interpretation about the history, as well as some very friendly squirrels!

I also had a very exciting research trip to the Chatsworth House archives. I had contacted them earlier in the year to see if I could access some diaries that I know Evelyn, Duchess of Devonshire, the last owner of Hardwick Hall, kept when she was restoring the tapestries. I was told I wasn’t able to access the diaries, due to the 100 year privacy rule, but there was a small notebook they had listed detailing some of her textiles.

When I got there I was told that when they opened the archive box with the notebook in, they found two folders that they hadn’t known about. They were full of Evelyn’s notes about her restoration work at Hardwick, detailing visits from museum conservators, and the compromises that she was having to make trying to care for all the textiles there with little money.

It was absolutely amazing, and the best thing was that it fits perfectly into the timeline I am writing about. It was such a magical moment, and I am so thrilled that I found them. I haven’t done much writing recently but hopefully can catch up over the next couple of months with some writing retreats whilst travelling.

My final trip that week was into the town of Leek, as I had spotted that the local museum had an embroidery exhibition. Although only small, it was a fascinating display. Leek was at one point famous for silk production, like its neighbour Macclesfield. There were many silk mills in the town, and the wife of the owner of one of them, Elizabeth Wardle, as well as being the mother of 14 children, 9 of whom survived infancy, also set up the Leek Embroidery Society.

The organisation produced embroidery for clients, and designed and sold kits. They had some examples of the work, which was stunning, excuse the reflections from the glass cases.

The Leek silk mills specialised in the production of Tusser silk, which is made from the cocoons of the moths, and is a much coarser silk. It was a really fascinating display, and the museum is well a worth a visit, for that and its other textile treasures.

There was also an architectural trail through the town, celebrating the Victorian heritage of buildings such as the Nicholson Institute. This was built to house a library, and training school for textile workers, with friezes above the windows celebrating the various skills. The town has links with William Morris, who worked with many local mill owners. One of the original rows of weavers’ cottages has been turned into a covered arcade with craft shops, cafes and galleries. A really lovely textile filled afternoon.

I will leave you with a quote from one of the displays at Rudyard Lake. One of my favourite poems is by Rudyard Kipling, and it is one which has inspired my love of travel and meeting people from other cultures. It is called, ‘In the Neolithic Age’, and contains the lines, ‘Still the world is wondrous large, seven seas from marge to marge, and it holds a vast of various kinds of man. And the wildest dreams of Kew, are the facts of Kathmandu, and the crimes of Clapham chaste in Martaban.’ I remember having that on my bedroom wall, and vowing that one day I would visit those places. Not got to Martaban, which is in Mayanmar, yet, but maybe someday.

This quote really sums up the way I live my life now. I am so looking forward to more adventures in 2025, the first of which start next week. I am going to visit somewhere that has been on my wish list for a very long time, and am very excited to tell you all about it. There will be mountains, sea, and definitely textiles, which I know doesn’t narrow it down much for me, but all will be revealed in a couple of weeks 😉

Meanwhile I am finishing my second cat sit of the year, poor Dave the cat has been desperate to sit on my lap this afternoon, and keeps giving me upset stares, so will have to go and give him a cuddle now.

See you all again soon. Until then have fun, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.

Rest and relaxation

stitchesoftime2 Comments

It may sound strange to say that I needed a bit of quiet time this summer, but after all of the excitement of Scotland and the van life festival, I really needed a quiet couple of weeks.

For the first week I chose to visit an area that I have driven past many times, on the M1. We would see the signs for, ‘The National Forest’, and be a little confused, as there seemed to be few trees. However staying at the Conkers Caravan and Camping Club site, right next to the visitor centre, gave me a chance to explore the area, and find out more about it.

On the way from Stratford I stopped off at Charlecote Park. I have visited before, however it was a lovely sunny day, so great for a wander in the deer park, and I don’t need any excuse to admire amazing plasterwork ceilings!

As far as textile treasures there were some beautiful needlepoint chairs, six contrasting designs on marquetry wood bases in the library.

The house volunteers, along with local community textile groups, had created a stunning pumpkin display in the kitchen.

The National Forest is actually an environmental charity, working across a 200 square mile area of the Midlands, helping to reclaim industrial land, repair the effects of industrialisation, and develop tourism and sustainable businesses in the area. The area is centred around Burton on Trent, Ashby de la Zouche, and Coalville, all important centres of industrial development in the 18th and 19th centuries. The area has a well developed canal network, and you know how I love canals!

The Conkers site is a small, spacious and quiet one, and after a day of doing the washing, tidying the van and sitting in the sun reading, I went off on walks the following two days.

My first walk took me to some local ponds, a lot of wildlife habitats have been created in between former industrial areas, and these were now part of a fishing complex and a caravan site. Lots of beautiful autumn colours, and some squirrels!

The second walk followed the path of the canal, through the Moira Basin, to the Moira Furnace, a lime and coal furnace which is now a museum. I love the way that the heritage has been preserved and the paths have been made accessible, and there were lots of walkers and cyclists around as it was such gorgeous weather. The Moira Furnace complex also has a small craft workshops area and café.

I have become fascinated by seed pods along the canal banks, and have taken so many pictures of them this summer.

This one I intend to print off and frame, I just love the way that the pods are curling in on themselves for autumn.

Then it was off back up north to Huddersfield, for our 42nd year reunion with friends who I was at Polytechnic with. A fantastic time, catching up in the pub on Friday with someone I haven’t seen for about 20 years, and then a bbq and night round the fire with other friends on the Saturday. Such a brilliant two days, and I am so grateful to have good friendships that have lasted this long. We already have this year’s reunion date in the calendar.

I am now back in Marsden, house sitting for one of the furriest cats on the planet, the adorable Frankie, and having my dose of winter. It was a very snowy when I flew back, so we were a little delayed, and the Colne Valley looked very pretty for a few days.

Sadly the snow has gone, and we are back to dull and damp, but I am having such a good time catching up with friends, and booking all of this year’s accommodation and flights, that it hasn’t mattered. I have a lovely warm house to stay in, and very importantly BBC I Player so I have been able to watch all of last year’s Sewing Bee 😉

It is amazing that it is nearly the end of January already, time seems to whizz by. It is lovely to be here in the UK at the moment, but I will be leaving again in a couple of weeks, for more adventures. My aim is get all of the summer/ and autumn blog posts completed before I leave, as I then have seven weeks of travel before my return to Spain in April. I have been very efficient and have sorted everything out until this time next year, because of some great bargains available at the moment, so fingers crossed 2025 will be as wonderful as the last three years, in fact it is set to be even more exciting.

Until next time then, have fun, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.

Stepping back in time

stitchesoftime2 Comments

One of the things that I spend a lot of time doing when visiting historic houses is to imagine how it must have actually been to live there, without the National Trust interpretation, the carefully staged rooms, and the guided routes around the house. Occasionally there are glimpses of the reality of living in a house that is too big, and too costly to heat properly, or be comfortable, as there was at Chastleton, where I visited in May.

It is more difficult to envisage how ordinary people lived though. The social history museums, such as those that I visited in the Cairngorms this summer, and in Norwich last year. Books help as well, and I love reading biography, and social history research. However these sources only give a selection of what has been kept or remembered.

One of the reasons that I wanted to go back to Northumberland on my trip this summer was to do some more research for my novel. I am so enjoying the process of writing this, along with bits of the others, and I love being able to research things. It is nice to know that those eight years of work on the doctorate have not gone to waste! I am writing my historical character’s timeline now, and am trying to spend a lot of time thinking about how her life would have been, and how she would feel.

Even though I have been to Alnwick before, it was a few years ago, and was more of a tourist trip, so this time I went as a researcher. I went first to the local library, and although they have no archives, they were able to give me access to the British Newspaper Archives, a source I have used briefly before. It was a really productive hour there, and I have managed to get a lot of factual detail that I needed. Later in the summer I also had another brilliant research trip, but that is for another post!

A wander round the town was also useful, thinking about how Dora, my character would have experienced the town in 1947. Would the horse trough and water fountain still be in use? Would there be the same traffic signs outside the town gate? What would she have thought of the street names, Bondgate Within, and Bondgate Without? I know I don’t have to go into too much detail in the book, however the amateur historian and ex-academic in me wants to get all of the details right. Also I am very much enjoying the process.

I stayed at Dunstan Hill campsite, only a short walk from the coastal path, and was lucky enough to have amazing weather. This is such a beautiful part of the country, with so many castles and remnants of early history, such as the development of Christianity, and the invasion of the Vikings. It is definitely an area I want to spend more time in.

On the way back down south I stopped in at Wallington, which has a gorgeous rural setting.

The interior decoration was very impressive as well. This is the unfinished painted central hall, with panels that tell the story of the local area, from the early kings of Northumbria to the industrial boom. The paintings were truly stunning in their detail.

There was also one of the largest pieces of personal needlework that I have ever come across. This panel is embroidery, not woven, and was done over 23 years by Mary Trevelyan, for her husband. It is an amazing piece of work, and I would love to know more about it. 23 years is such a long time to stitch a piece, and I wonder if she worked on it every day, or set it aside at times?

Life here in Spain continues to be very busy and fun. I have been doing a lot of planning for next year, and hope that everything that I want to do comes to fruition. I only have a month left here before my return to the UK, and am frantically trying to get all my sewing projects completed!

I am still very much enjoying making couture for my Barbies, but have other practical things that need to be made for next year’s camping season as well. I hope that you are all busy and happy, and looking forward to the festive season if you celebrate. I have two more stitched ornaments to go, and then on to the ones for 2025!

I missed my blogaversary again this year, but it has been 17 years, (and one week!) of writing here at Stitches of Time. This is my 996th post, so I will have to do something special for the 1000th, which should happen in the new year. I currently have 449 subscribers, and about 200 people visit every week. So huge thanks to all of you for following along, however long you have been here. Whatever you are doing have fun, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.

Walking by the sea

stitchesoftime2 Comments

Although I have visited Northumberland quite a few times, I had never visited the coast above Berwick, and so was really excited to stay at the Dunbar Caravan and Camping Club site. The location was gorgeous, on the cliff top just outside the town, with amazing views over the Firth of Forth and Bass Rock. These pictures really don’t do it justice, but I had an excellent pitch overlooking the coast.

Dunbar is a very nice little town. On one of the days I went for a wander, and in the small town museum, which was previously a tower house and the town jail, found another connection with my muse, Mary Queen of Scots. Dunbar Castle, now sadly in ruins, was where she was taken when she was abducted by the Earl of Bothwell. The harbour and the rocky coast are just gorgeous, and the Battery there has been restored.

The town is also the birthplace of the naturalist John Muir, who moved from there to the USA at the ago of 11. He was instrumental in persuading the American government to dedicate National Parks, such as Yosemite, which he loved, and has been a huge influence over land preservation and protection in Scotland as well.

The museum was such an inspiring place, these quotes from his writing sum up so much of how I feel about my life outdoors. I have been lucky enough to live near beautiful wild parts of England, and now spend so much time exploring all the other amazing places in the UK and beyond. Somehow a beautiful sunrise, or sunset, makes everything wonderful, even if there is bad weather that day, all is forgiven when you see those sights.

On my first day at Dunbar, which was gorgeously warm, I went for a walk along the coast to Whitesands Bay, and the Barr Ness Lighthouse. Not only was the sea so blue, but the rock pools amazingly green, looking like craters on another planet. All this picturesque beauty was perfectly set off by a little white sailboat on the horizon.

One of the things I love about solo travel is the people you meet. I am often asked if I get lonely, but I have so many lovely conversations with people on my travels, I never feel alone. I met a very friendly woman while buying an ice cream at the little café at Whitesands, who was telling me how she had been ill for a number of years, and was just starting to get her fitness back, walking parts of the coast from her home in Edinburgh.

That just fits so well with what John Muir said, and something that I can so relate to. I still marvel at how much better I feel these days, how I can walk for miles, and although I am often aching at the end, it’s the good ache of a challenging walk, rather than the terrible pain I used to be in.

I was also lucky enough to have a fine day to visit St Abbs, although there was a heavy sea mist at the campsite, the Heritage Coastal path was stunning.

Again I met some lovely people, a couple of students from Poland, who asked me to take their picture, and the owner of the Post Office, when I stopped for ice cream, who was telling me about when the filming for the Avengers movie took place. The village was used as the set for New Asgard in Endgame, and still has signs up saying, ‘twinned with New Asgard’.

One of the most touching things was this small sculpture outside the visitor centre, of families looking out to sea for their loved ones, something that must have been a constant worry on this rocky coast.

I was there for 6 days, not really enough time as always, and it is definitely an area I would love to return to, as with all of Scotland. So many beautiful parts of the coast still to see! However I was on a tight timeline that week, as I needed to go south for a very exciting event. I will tell you about that a little later, as my next post will be about a visit to a textile wonder, not that from the Dunbar site, that is so amazing it needs a whole post to tell you about.

I have been back in Spain for 10 days now. I went visiting my brother here last week, and am away next week with Mum, so will still have lots to show you from here, once I finish blogging about all the summer adventures. It is lovely to be back, weirdly I am not sleeping well yet in the comfy double bed, after all my time on the road, but am looking forward to spending lots of time with friends and family here, as well as my sewing machine! I have a Barbie wardrobe to make in the next month for our Christmas Fair fundraiser.

I hope that you have all been having a good few weeks. Have fun, take care, stay safe, thanks for visiting, and see you all again soon.

Lots and lots of locks and lochs!

stitchesoftime3 Comments

I have wanted to visit the Cairngorms for a very long time, and it is definitely an area to return to as I only had a glimpse at its beauty.

The trip from Skye westwards took me first to Fort Augustus, at the end of Loch Ness. I had been there before, briefly with Jacky two years ago, but wanted to revisit, partly to stay at a new aire just outside the town.

The journey was so beautiful, passing through Glenshiel and past Loch Cluanie.

Fort Augustus is famous for being the other end of the Caledonian Canal, I visited Neptune’s Staircase a couple of weeks ago, and here are the five locks that complete the journey, allowing boats to enter Loch Ness, and travel to Inverness and the sea.

There is a great information centre about the canal, and also lots of lovely shops and cafés. I was lucky enough to see another group of boats go through, both the locks and the swing bridge into Loch Ness.

If you look at the map of Scotland, this is where it nearly spilts in half, a fault line known as the Great Glen. The canals allowed ships to cross Scotland without having to follow the often dangerous northern coastline.

This was an enormous undertaking, these canals were dug by hand and it took 19 years to complete, overseen by Thomas Telford. There are a total of 29 locks along outside length. It is just amazing that this has been preserved and restored so it can still be used.

I stayed overnight at the very nice Loch Ness caravan park. Like many aires this has been set up by a farming family and is a quiet site, a short walk from the town.

I really enjoy supporting small businesses like these, and it has been great to have so many options in Scotland, as well as the Caravan and Camping Club sites.

The following day I went over to the edge of the Cairngorm National Park, with a quick stop at Aviemore for supplies. I ended up at the Rothiemurchus Estate.

The estate offers lots of different activities, such as bike hire, horse riding, fishing, but also has brilliant hiking trails.

It was a beautiful sunny day, so I did 8km circular route to Loch an Eilein, passing Loch Mor with so many water lilies, and through stunning forests and heathland. 

There were also deer on the estate, a little far away for good photos.

Despite all my walks, I still haven’t seen a single red squirrel, the only disappointment about my trip to Scotland! Lots signs saying look out for them, but none to be seen 😔

I had a choice of aires and park ups in this area, because it was such a beautiful evening, I opted for staying at the Loch Insh watersports centre. 

It was such a lovely way to end such a fantastic day, sitting with a G and T in the sun, watching the wild swimmers in the loch.

My final day in the area I will tell you about next time, as I need a whole post to share all the things at one of my favourite types of museum, the open air Highland Life Folk Museum. 

I am now in my last campsite in Scotland, I can’t believe I have been here for 6 weeks. It is the most beautiful place, and I will have to come back. I also can’t believe this is my fourth September of not having to deal with the start of term 🙃 Still so, so lucky to be living this life!

Until next time, have fun, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.

Seeing rainbows

stitchesoftime3 Comments

This is my last day on the Isle of Skye. I have been staying at a wonderful campsite, right next to the Cuillin mountains, called Sligachan.

I spotted this site last time we were here, two years ago and decided to stay, which was a great choice. We are right next to Sligachan Bridge and these amazing mountains, so I have had a chance to do lots of arty photos.  

Not only is it a fabulous location, the staff are so lovely and friendly and helpful. We have had the tail end of a hurricane mid week, so although I pitched my tent when I arrived, I took it down the following day, as there were 40mph winds forecast.  They were fine with me staying in the van.

It has been a fantastic location for rainbows, I have never seen so many in one place. There must be something about the mountains behind the site, and the loch in front, that makes it the perfect place.

The weather has been mixed, but enough sunny days to go and explore, and some gorgeous sunrises and sunsets as well.

Last time Jacky and I came we did all the famous stuff on Skye, so I have spent my time just exploring the less visited parts in the north of the island.

I have been out to Portnalong, to Carbost, Uig and had a quick visit to the capital, Portree.

I visited an iron age broch, with views over Oransay, and the Skye Museum of Island Life.

The museum is located in a more remote part of the island, 6 miles along a bumpy single track road, and really gives you a sense of how cut off people were living there. There are a mix of preserved, and reconstructed houses of crofters.

Even now, with a car, it is trek to get there, but there are still lots of houses there, with amazing views over the cliffs. One of the most significant pieces of information was that children living in these crofts would usually not visit Portree, a 25 mile walk, until they were 12, and old enough to cope with the journey. 

As well as the artefacts, including some great textiles, there were photos and archive film of people living there in the 1930s, which was the best bit. All textiles were made at home, from flax grown in the croft, and wool from their sheep.

This croft was home to a family with 10 children, accommodated in two box beds, with their parents in a small bed off the living room.

A fantastic place, and well worth visiting for a taste of real Skye life.

I have also been following a YouTube channel called, ‘Living  the Skye Life’, run by an artist and musician, Sarah and Willie, who relocated here two years ago. It is a really interesting exploration of 21st century life here, and gave me lots of ideas of different places to explore.

Tomorrow I leave to go west, I am heading for the Cairngorms, which I am very excited about. I have some park ups for the next few nights, and will hopefully be visiting more canals!

Until next time, have fun, take care, stay safe, and thanks for visiting.

Gorgeous Glencoe

stitchesoftime2 Comments

Glencoe is justifiably famous as being one of the most stunning places in Scotland.  As you drive up the A82, past the countless peaks, and waterfalls streaming down the sides of the, you just marvel at the fact that this little slice of geology is there for us all to enjoy. 

And there are a lot of people here, which has meant that parking has been busy, so I have mainly been going to the quieter places around the valley to walk.

The weather was generally very good, better than forecast, and I had some stunning drives in the sun. Every time I go somewhere in Scotland I think, ‘this is the most beautiful place I have ever seen’. Then half an hour later, there is something equally, or more beautiful.

My first day of exploring took me to Glen Lochan, only 8 minutes drive from my campsite. This small loch, set in woodland has three different trails around it, so I completed all of the lochside and mountain ones, and part of the forest one.

I was lucky to be there to catch the reflections of the clouds on the still loch, with the mountain backdrop. Just stunning and a memory that will stay with me for a long time.

That afternoon I went to the Glencoe Visitor Centre, right next to my campsite.  As well as the amazing views they have some really good interpretation of the area, including the history of mountaineering, and mountain rescue.

There is also a reconstruction of an 18th century turf house, along with a video showing all the techniques used. It is really interesting and the setting just makes it.

I visited another waterfall later in the week, another Grey Mare’s, but this one was a mere 10 minutes walk, through a wonderful, damp,  green forest, which my knees appreciated 😀

My last day was gorgeously sunny, so I decided to drive to Glenfinnan, hoping to see the monument and viaduct, but again couldn’t get parked.

It was an amazing drive though and on the way back I stopped at Corpach, a little village with a canal and views of Ben Nevis.

That was brilliant, but even better was to come, as a short drive away is Neptune’s Staircase.  This is a series of eight locks on the  Caledonian Canal. 

Exciting enough, for me, but even better that eight sailing ships, from a range of places like Denmark and Norway, were going through from the top lock.

If you are a regular reader you’ll know how much I love canals, and this was definitely a highlight of the week.

I have now moved on to Skye. Two years ago my sister and I visited, as part of a longer trip where we also went to the Outer Hebrides.  I loved Skye so much, that I wanted to come back for longer.

Yesterday was amazing, and I will share that with you in the next post. I am at a campsite with fabulous views of the Cuillin mountains, or they were fabulous yesterday 😆 Today we are experiencing the tail end of Hurricane Ernesto, like most of the UK. I’m sure the mountains are still there somewhere!

So I’m in the van, having a day in reading and stitching,  but the local sheep aren’t bothered at all.

See you soon, for more of Skye. Have fun, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.

Camping at the castle

stitchesoftime4 Comments

I have been lucky enough to camp at many castles in my time as a re-enactor. There is something very special about waking up within the ancient walls, and wondering about all the people that have previously been there.

This campsite is not actually in the castle though, but in the grounds. I am now at Culzean Castle on the West Coast of Scotland again, after having said goodbye to my sister last weekend.

The site is small and absolutely gorgeous, located with sea views across to Arran, and Ailsa Craig, and I am just spending so much time looking at the views and watching the clouds over Arran.

Jacky and I had a beautiful last park up at Craig’s Croft Aire, near Castle Douglas, where we saw lots of red kites, and other birds. Sadly no red squirrels yet, despite going up to their hide. They are clearly very shy.

We had been to a very remote nature reserve for the afternoon after leaving the Mull of Galloway, one near an amazing aquaduct called the Big Water of Fleet.

I had wanted to go there since I saw it on someone’s You Tube channel. It was an excellent walk across the structure, with stunning views. I feel like I am just going to keep saying that in every blog post, but it is so true.

We then moved on to a campsite for the final four days together.  It was located in the very cute little town of Moffat, just off the M74, and again had some wonderful views.

We had a very nice time there with two bbqs, two delicious wood fired pizzas, and lots of sitting staring at the blue sky. We have been so lucky with the weather  virtually no rain at all.

Ryan, my sister’s dog, really enjoyed his holiday, he loves being in the van.

Our first day, we just went on a short  riverside walk, part of the Annandale Trail. 

On day two, it was an epic trek up to Grey Mare’s Tail waterfall. It is about 20 mins from Moffatt, in a beautiful valley.

The guidance says that this is only a 5km walk, however it felt like twice that as the ascent is very steep. You can just about see Jacky’s van in the top right photo above to show how high we were, and that was only halfway.

Once at the top it is a long walk to Loch Skean  but well worth it when you get there. Just quintessential Scottish beauty.

Our knees needed a rest the following day, so it was just a little 5km on the flat, around Lochmaben Nature Reserve. 

After Jacky went back to Worcester, I had a quiet weekend doing my vanlife chores, reading, and visiting the little local museum. As always there was a plethora of interesting things including these lovely old promotional posters, and some textile treasures.

I am at Culzean for the rest of this week, and have already explored some of the castle grounds, there is a country park attached so there is a lot to see. I will share that all with you next time.

Then I am off to spend the weekend with my friend Sue, who recently visited me in Spain, at her house in Scotland.  Another old frend is coming too, so we shall have an excellent time catching up.

Then it is further north, to my next campsite at one of the most iconic Scottish locations. There will be some stunning views from there as well 😉

Until next time, have fun, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.

The delights and glories of Dumfries and Galloway

stitchesoftime2 Comments

I am currently sat at one of my most unusual park ups, watching the clouds around the lighthouse at the Mull of Galloway. This is the most southerly point of Scotland, and is our fifth park up.

My last day in the Lake District was a brilliant walk on St Bees Head, with views over to the Isle of Man and the Scottish coast. 

The following day I was there, meeting my sister for a 10 day adventure in this gorgeous area of Scotland. 

This is a little visited part of the country, people tend to head up to the better known parts of Loch Lomond and Skye, where we went a couple of years ago, and I will be returning to soon. However we had heard how lovely it was, and it is stunning. Forests and beaches and cute little towns, we love it.

Our first trip was to Rockcliffe, a small village with brilliant views of the peninsulas. Such gorgeous scenery and so many flowers.

We then went to the Galloway Forest, we have used two of the forest Park ups, under the Stay the Night scheme. This is where you can park in their car parks for £7 a night.

The first was at Dalbeattie, and the second at the end of Raider’s Road, a 9 mile drive through the forest with a stop off at the beautiful Otters Pools. Sadly no otters, but a gorgeous place.

We also had a little wander around Loch Ken.

Our other park ups have been a community one, and an animal sanctuary and rewinding project called Frugaldom. Jacky was very excited as she saw a badger.

The following morning we went to feed some deer at a small refuge  that was brilliant. They were so cute and friendly. 

We visited St Ninian’s Cave as well, the beach is full of such a variety of pebbles, they are fascinating.

The Mull of Galloway lighthouse is now owned by the community, as it is operated remotely, and they have a small exhibition including some excellent photography.  I bought a postcard of the lighthouse and dawn clouds one for my van, such an incredible sky!

We have been so lucky with the weather, look at these amazing blues.

There have been virtually no midges either, so that has been great. We are off to our last park up tonight, then on to a campsite for 4 nights for a bit of luxury. 

Jacky will then go south to Northumberland then home, while I continue to the north of Dumfries and Galloway for more adventures.

So I will see you all soon with more Scottish loveliness.  Until then, have fun, take care  stay safe and thanks for visiting.