I'm aware it's been a long time since I have posted, for which I profusely apologise. As I mentioned in my previous post, the last 2 months have been quite challenging for me personally, with a new job (and now I'm starting another one - back with Scottish Autism, huzzah!) and with my mum taking seriously ill (thankfully she is now out of hospital and gradually getting herself back to full fitness). However, I'm hoping that now I'll have a bit more time to enjoy myself blogging once again.
Life hasn't been completely doom and gloom for me though. I've just arrived back from two holidays. TWO! I didn't actually leave the country, rather I explored my own, so I thought I would show you some of the places I visited and the things I witnessed...
Holiday 1 - Aberfoyle/Kinlochard
A little while ago, my friends Claire and Ed invited Kris and I to spend a long weekend at their timeshare at the MacDonald Forest Hills resort outside Aberfoyle (on Loch Ard and nr Loch Lomond). We delightfully accepted...
We met Ed in Balloch, but since we arrived early, Kris and I stopped off at the beautiful Tullie Inn for a drink first :)
This was the view from the timeshare; stunning like the timeshare itself (sorry I don't have pictures of the timeshare itself but I felt a bit weird taking pictures of it!!)
On Sunday, Claire and I took advantage of the beautiful Elemis spa based in the resort at Forest Hills, each experiencing a tailored massage, facial and foot treatment. Bliss!
One day, since all four of us enjoy a lovely dram (and since I haven't been on a distillery tour since I became old enough to drink), Claire and Ed took us to the Glengoyne Whisky Distillery at Dumgoyne. I've become more of a whisky drinker as I've aged, but Glengoyne is a beautiful whisky and the distillery tour taught me so much more about the process of distilling whisky. I'd highly recommend a visit! You can see below that I also came away with a cheeky bottle (of Glengoyne 15 year old single malt for those interested parties.)
Kris and I thoroughly enjoyed our time with Claire and Ed and we were sad to leave. But on to our next adventure...
Holiday 2 - Ullapool
Within 4 days of returning home from Aberfoyle, Kris and I were away again, this time we were spending a week away with a group of Kris' friends, sharing a holiday house just outside of Ullapool named Ardmair Bay House. Click through and have a look at this beautiful house, it was gorgeous and served as the perfect base for our collective holiday!
This is Kris and some of his friends heading off for a walk up the hill next to our house!
This is the dining area, just to give you a taste of the luxury and glamour Ardmair Bay House offers!
One of the local sights to see is Corrieshalloch Gorge. If you don't like heights then this might not be your cup of tea but I thought it was stunning!
Near the end of the week I suggested another local walk/tourist attraction, The Bone Caves. The caves are a beautiful and popular walk in a limestone valley and these cave openings part way up a steep side of the valley are where the remains have been found of species such as lynx, reindeer and polar bear which once roamed here. However my boots fell to bits and then I fell to bits before I could make it to the actual caves but the walk itself was gorgeous also, which is where this waterfall was pictured.
On our last night, Kris and I enjoyed a little date night, so we decided to avail ourselves of some local cuisine and nightlife! Pictured above and below is the Seaforth Inn, one of the main hotels in Ullapool itself. What I adored about this particular venue was its popularity with both locals and tourists. Particularly I also noted its popularity with the local fishermen. The top picture shows how close the Seaforth is to the port and below you can see what I decided to have from the catch of the day. It was such a lovely novelty to see where my food came from, to see the fishermen themselves in the bar enjoying the fact they've fed many a hungry patron and also to enjoy the delicious fresh mussels. (nom nom nom!)
On our way home, we stopped off at the Beatrix Potter exhibtion and gardens in Birnam (The Potter family used to holiday in the town and it's thought that it inspired Beatrix Potter to create some of her best loved characters). It was a lovely end to the holiday and a nice nod to my favourite childhood stories!
How am I feeling after all this relaxation? I feel like I need to get back into blogging. From now on, there will hopefully be more frequent posts from me and I hope you enjoy reading them :)
Thank you for your patience and love,
Christina xo
No comments:
Post a Comment