Roaming around

Hogmanay at Perth Concert Hall

We were dithering about what to do for Hogmanay and found out that Perth Concert Hall was hosting a party. Managed to get tickets at the last minute and saw two fantastic acts - Orkestra del Sol and Session A9. O del S had us all dancing around the hall (I never thought I'd partake in a congo, ever) while showing us their own fancy moves, all to the sound of breakneck brass. Session A9 had loads of fiddles, plus drums and keyboards, and the sound was traditional, energetic, frenetic, and loads of fun. Session A9 counted down the Bells with some great pyrotechnics then we headed up to our friends' house, who were having a night off from running their (fab) B&B, Halton House, to carry on the party.

A little slice of Italian before a concert

We enjoyed our second visit to Gulisano's on Saturday evening. It's a new Italian restaurant in Perth which also does take-away, run and staffed by a friendly bunch of mostly Italians and a friendly Scottish lady whose name I'll update this with soon. The food is comfortable Italian - spaghetti with smooth funghi/cream sauce, compact but tasty pizzas, delicious risotto, and some meat dishes which I was assured were great. There were also a couple of lovely light salads - without the ubiquitous goat's cheese. Service on our first night took a while but the second time it was much improved. The wine list is also good but so far we've only tried the Barbera d'Asti which was a great accompaniment to our pastas and red meats. There's time though...

From the lochs to the sea - Rannoch to Helmsdale 2

After leaving Rannoch we headed north - final destination Helmsdale. As I used to live in Brora as a kid and hubby had never been, we decided to go on a nostalgia/beachy finish to our break.

It was a beautiful sunny day - found out from the Helmsdale postmistress later that their little corner of the north-east has had quite a sunny summer! - and the coast road was glorious.

Stopped at Glenmorangie Distillery on the way to take a photo outside - we've started collecting distillery photos - and try the new Ruby Cask (I think, tbc) malt. It was so lovely we had to get a bottle. That seems to happen a lot when we stop on our "photo" quest.

Arrived at Helmsdale at a lovely B&B, the Kindale. It's run by a very hospitable couple from Manchester or nearby (there were Lowry and Man City pics) who have a lovely pair of friendly dogs. The room was so clean and well-furnished that we noted again the huge improvement in B&Bs in recent years and how they're approaching (sometimes overtaking) the quality of a lot of hotels - certainly better value!

We had dinner at Gilbert's, a fab quirky bistro/antiques store on one of the main streets. Warm organic beetroot salad with feta was the highlight of my evening - the beetroot was the sweetest ever and best of all, came from Brora.

From the lochs to the sea - Rannoch to Helmsdale 1

On 3 September we headed to the Dunalastair Hotel in Kinloch Rannoch. It's in a great spot on the square, just a stone's throw (literally - if you had strong arms) from Loch Rannoch and overlooked by Craig Varr.

 

Kinloch Rannoch is a lovely peaceful village at the head of Loch Rannoch, from which you can walk, cycle or drive round the loch. We drove round it to go to Rannoch Station, said to be one of the most isolated in Britain. But that doesn't mean you have to go hungry - there's a cute little tearoom which sells drinks, cakes and gifts (open 1st March - 31st October); there's also The Moor of Rannoch Hotel.

The loch itself was really dark and still; made a lovely mirror for the surrounding mountains.

Dinner at the hotel was good, with an extensive wine list. I had a vegetarian meal each of the two nights we stayed there and both strongly featured goat's cheese - once in a starter and once in the main course. Not that I don't like goat's cheese, and it was very nicely done, but sometimes you long for a change... Hubby had some really good local beef, as I remember. The hotel manager and his staff were friendly and hospitable, chatting away to us over malts in the snug bar afterwards (we had the malts, that is) and even on mid-week nights, the restaurant was bustling and atmospheric.

Islay and Jura part 4

On our last full day in Islay we took advice from the owners of our hotel and headed to Machir Bay and Saligo Bay, on the west side of the island.

Machir Bay

The beach at Machir Bay is flatter and longer, but some very shallow pools of water on the sand provided amazing reflections of the blue sky and clouds. On the path down to the beach, there's a profusion of beautiful yellow, purple, blue and white wild flowers. We chatted to the owners of some camper vans and a man, walking three dogs, who has been coming back to Islay on holiday for over 20 years.

Saligo Bay

Saligo Bay is said to be the most beautiful beach in Islay and its big dark rocks and water pools look dramatic against the light sand. I'm sure it's especially good at sunset or sunrise. You have to walk through part of a farm to get to the beach, so we had to be careful not to worry the sheep - although most had bagged a spot on the old gun emplacements to watch us from on high.

 

Loch Gruinart Nature Reserve

We then went to the Loch Gruinart Nature Reserve where we hid in the... hide, and saw a young deer, some swans and a few herons. They've got a great exhibition and lots of information about how you can help wildlife charities. I seem to remember that some of their birds' nests were featured on Springwatch (or Autumnwatch?). It's a lovely peaceful place to rest for an hour or more.

 

(Best to view pics at original size)

Distilleries

We had a quick scoot round the distilleries in the south-east (Laphroaig, Lagavulin, Ardbeg) to get photos, and had a look at Bowmore's famous round church.

  

Bye to Islay

After another lovely meal at an taigh-osda, we had a great night's sleep and caught the early ferry back to the mainland. Before we left Port Ellen, we were lucky enough to see a seal getting hand-fed by a fisherman - it was a brilliant way to finish the holiday. We'll be back!

  

Islay and Jura part 3

Back to Islay at night and pretty tired after our 10-mile-round walk in Jura.

But being hardy souls (and both keen for a dram) we decided to leave the car and walk the two miles from Bruichladdich for our meal in the Port Charlotte Hotel.

Kindness of strangers

On the way to Port Charlotte, our legs were aching even after a few hundred metres, and then a strange thing happened. We heard a car approaching, and I remember thinking "How good would it be if we were offered a lift?" And guess what... We were. A lovely couple from Bruichladdich, whom we'd never seen before, said "Jump in!" I don't think I've ever been more grateful.

On the mainland, or in our part of it at least, that's never happened to us. (Also, would we have accepted a lift there?) You just feel more relaxed about these things.

Not just driving but waving

And we noticed that everyone waves to each other when they pass by in the car. Not just at passing places! By the end of our three whole days there we felt like locals as we always passed a knowing comment when someone didn't wave back - "Must have just arrived." :-)

Port Charlotte Hotel

Had a delicious meal in Port Charlotte Hotel. Highlight was a dish of scallops in a creamy Lagavulin sauce. The wine list was good, as was the fresh homemade bread.

The hotel is so comfortable and welcoming - hanging baskets of tumbling purple flowers outside, squashy sofas and a view of the bay inside. Plus the bar's got a fab selection of malts.

Got a friendly taxi driver to take us home (a tip from our friendly couple earlier) and we slept so well!

Islay and Jura part 2

On Saturday 2 August we hopped across on the Kennacraig-Feolin ferry to Jura. The trip across the water takes about 3 minutes and there's room for 2 cars. Such a nice way to travel.

We stopped in Craighouse at 8am for a quick look around. There wasn't much open yet but we had a nice chat with the local headteacher's husband, took some photos of the pier and the Isle of Jura Distillery, then drove up to the north of the island.

Hubby's ancestors used to live in Kinuachdrachd, a lovely spot and the most northerly house on the island. It's a mile past Barnhill, where George Orwell wrote 1984. You have to drop your car off at the start of the private road and walk 5 miles to get there. But it's worth it for the beautiful views along the way.

Had a quick look at the house - didn't want to intrude - then tramped the 5 miles back and jumped in the car to speed back to Craighouse for the afternoon fun at the Jura Regatta.

Met up with hubby's mum's cousin and his son, who were so friendly it was hard to believe it'd been 25 years since he had met them.

Kirsten G also showed us around, bought us tea and lovely cakes, and showed us fascinating old pictures in the Parish Church at Craighouse.

Were sad to leave, but hurried back to get the last ferry. No need, as it turned out - we were the only ones there and sat skimming stones in the evening sun till our ferryman came over to take us back to Islay.

Islay and Jura - part 1

Just back from a brilliant long weekend in Islay and Jura.

Accommodation

We stayed in the lovely an taigh-osda (literally 'The Hotel') in Bruichladdich. It's just opened but already feels like a well-established...establishment.

Owners Paul and Joan know Islay really well (Paul's an Islay native) and they've completely renovated the building, making a beautiful but comfortable hotel with stunning views over Lochindaal.

* Update 20/08 *

Thanks for your comment, Ron - yes, first one on my new blog :-)

Things we did - Bruichladdich Distillery

Our hotel was such a short distance away from the Bruichladdich Distillery we went there on our first day as soon as we'd checked in.

We were on the lookout for its web cams - hubby had checked one of them out the week before our trip and seen an elderly gentleman meander along to the rocks on the shore with his shopping bag, gaze out at the loch and stop a while. Half an hour later, he checks the web cam again - the gent's still there, relaxing (and yes, the image had updated). Something told us we'd enjoy Islay's relaxed pace of life.

The tour of the distillery was done by Mary, a character and a half who was born in Bruichladdich. She was full of fun and stories and by the end of the tour had gathered biographies from most of the group - "Hope your foot's better soon", "Good luck for the marathon tomorrow", etc. The tour was similar to a few others we had been on but did feel more personal. Maybe the fact that it's still independent, but also there were nice quirky touches - a converted milk lorry to transport the whisky around the site, no computers to run the manufacturing side, staff members featuring on the whisky packaging. Plus we got a sneaky peak at the thousands of casks sleeping peacefully side by side and waiting for their lucky owners to wake them...

About this blog

This blog is about our travels and foodie experiences, mostly around Scotland but also abroad. The focus is on great hospitality, unique and memorable moments (at least to us!), the friendly and quirky people out there and just stuff we've enjoyed.