Friday 11th June – Here we are

Apparently it’s the Scottish Riviera – who knew??

Anyway, a fabulous B&B:

With a decent view from our room:

So the major decision for the morning walk is whether to go right or left!

Oh, and a sitting room if we need it.

Dragged ourselves away for a bit of exploration, and to try to build up an appetite between the hearty (and excellent) breakfast and what undoubtedly would be a hearty dinner.

Theave Gardens which we’d never heard of but it NT so utterly reliable:

Huge numbers of rhododendrons near their peak – and even still a few bluebells and daffodils.

Kirkcudbright (pronounced Ker-coo-bree) didn’t inspire but ended up at Kippford – not unlike Cornwall if you use a bit of imagination:

And fish & chips – hearty enough for a portion to feed an entire family!

A Long Drive

Summer is coming. Little prospect of any immediate foreign travel, with Portugal suddenly coming off the green list. So it is a great opportunity to see Scotland. It’s June so the days are long, the midges haven’t woken up and the weather forecast is not too bad (even for Scotland).

So a very early start and we’re on the road at just after 6.00. And with no holdups we were here shortly after 1.00.

So where are we. In the Borders just south of Dumfries. It was a bit grey to put it mildly, but at least it wasn’t raining (much).

Staying in a fabulous B&B, and here’s the view from our room.

That’s a little tempter for now. More tomorrow.

Dinner in the local pub was a bit iffy. Actually, the culinary style could best be described as “hearty” which worked fine with my pie and chips but didn’t really work with Eileen’s salad!

Exploring tomorrow.

The End

So more of the same!

Wonderful week. In fact we asked to stay on but they’d just had a last minute booking – real shame.

Reminder of the house.

Thursday 22nd April

Just us today. Same story – stunning weather – wall-to-wall sunshine but a bitingly cold wind off the North Sea.

Our garden in Field Dalling:

Felbrigg:

Sheringham Park

Blakeney (again)

Socialising Again!

It shows the weirdness of the past year that meeting up with friends is such a novelty. It was Alan and Shelagh’s 48th wedding anniversary which warranted a walk and a celebration.

Tuesday April 20th

Back to the two of us enjoying the spectacular Norfolk coast. Hard walking on the shingle.

It looks like it could have been a heatwave, but it wasn’t!

Wiveton Hall – a little eccentric private house but well worth the small diversion.

View whilst lunching.

And enjoying the sunset in Blakeney.

It Never Rains ….

After a winter of not seeing anybody, we met up with Jan and Martin on Monday the day after we had seen Shelagh and Alan, so the socialising is getting into full swing. Oh, and the weather is fantastic – so much blue sky.

As you can see, weather perfect for having lunch outdoors. View not the best ..

… but made a fantastic wind-break which meant it was lovely and warm out of the wind.

Brief trip to Binham Priory only 5 minutes away.

A Social Life

Met up with Shelagh and Alan – the first real social contact for such a long time. Lovely walk into Cromer – if it had been 20 degrees warmer we could have been abroad!

And even a pub lunch – hurrah.

Holkham

Just like yesterday it’s good to be back in familiar but different surroundings – and there are people around so there is a bit of a buzz.

And even returned in the evening for a quick celebration – cheers!

At last …

It’s been such a long cold dark wet winter – you can tell we enjoyed it. The lockdown ended sufficiently on 12th April to allow us to book a cottage near Blakeney for a week. Norfolk hardly counts as an adventure, but given how the world is, it feels great.

Arrived on Friday 16th just in time for lunch (fish finger sandwich and a crab salad since you ask), which is the first time we’ve eaten out since before Xmas.

It was sunny but a bit chilly to put it mildly.

And a walk to Cley – lovely to get some different scenery.

And a really nice view from our conservatory.