Tantallon screams defense. From a distance, its walls soar out of the rocky headland like a monster fortification. A single line of huge wall was all that was necessary to defend this promontory from the land. Sea cliffs fall away precipitously from all sides except the front. Behind the castle, picturesque Bass Rock juts out of the Firth of … Continue reading →
Tuesday 4 September: from Aberlady Bay to Dirleton Castle our journey around Scotland goes on… On our agenda today we’ve planned to follow the scenic coast road (A 198) from Edinburgh to Dunbar. Our first stop will be at Aberlady bay. In 1952, this beautiful bay, much renowned as a bird-watching site, became the UK’s first … Continue reading →
Monday 3 September 12:00 we leave Mortonhall campsite. The place is rather empty at this hour of the day except for our little friends, the rabbits, which play around and hide below our wigwam. They must be eager to be left alone in their realm… Highland cows keep watch at the entrance of the campsite. We already know … Continue reading →
Hi everybody, Yesterday we received this lovely message from Lara Haggerty, Library Manager & Keeper of Books at the Innerpeffray Library, in Perthshire: Hello Janice, Mairiuna and Jean-Claude I enjoyed reading your website and the journeys through literary Scotland and I wanted to invite you to visit The Library of Innerpeffray – perhaps when you are next travelling here … Continue reading →
Hi everybody, WOW Janice ! You’ve whetted my appetite yesterday with your Easter delicious recipes ;-). I couldn’t help to compose a menu… let us say for a festive light supper, with some of my favourite dishes. Here it is: Cream of wild mushrooms soup I remember to have tasted such an unforgettable soup at the Inn of Chapelhill … Continue reading →
Happy Easter to all and may the joys of this day shine very bright upon you! In our conversation today, Mairiuna and I were wondering how Scottish people celebrate Easter. By curiousity, I googled the phrase: “How do the Scottish celebrate Easter?” Answer.com came up in the search results in top position and the answer was: “They don’t, unless they … Continue reading →
Hi everybody, Lovely as this double-decker may look like we are not going to visit Edinburgh aboard it though it might have been a solution to avoid parking and traffic problems in the city (tram works presently). Here’s our starting point today, at Mortonhall Caravan & Camping Park, as I’ve mentioned it in the first part of our ‘Journey … Continue reading →
Hi everybody, I was about to write a few lines about our Mackintosh Trail in Roussillon for we have still many photos to share with you when my eyes fell upon the VisitScotland brochures I’ve collected during our last journey around Scotland, in September 2012, ‘Itinerary 7’ as we call it. Why not use these beautiful magazines, I … Continue reading →
‘Glencoe has no melancholy except that which men bring to it, remembering its history. (..) (John Prebble – Glencoe) ………………………. One of the main reasons why so many people do love Scotland is certainly the outstanding beauty of its landscapes: the vast expanses of untouched wilderness, the omnipresence of mountains which, classified in Munros, Corbetts, Grahams, Donalds and … Continue reading →
Hi Mairiuna! From all the marvelous paths one can travel while exploring the Scottish walking trails, one that I would be delighted to experiment is the Ayrshire Coastal path as illustrated in the map above. Just imagine how exciting it is to see seals, porpoise and perhaps even otters! Wow… We did drive through some of the gorgeous cities along … Continue reading →
Hi Mairiuna! I read this morning that Glasgow is Britain’s most romantic city as posted items increase day before Valentine’s Day! ” (…) GLASWEGIANS sent 11.7 per cent more mail on February 13 2012, compared with the week before (…)” See the excerpt below: Lord Provost of Glasgow Sadie Docherty said she was not surprised by the research results. She … Continue reading →
Hi everybody, It’s February 13th and the day rings a bell in Scotland, especially in Glencoe, a death bell… I will never forget my first impressions of the mountains of Glencoe. The view is breathtaking and the atmosphere strange. There is something unique in Glencoe which I can’t explain but when we stopped there for the first time, … Continue reading →
Hi everybody, Hi Janice ! Do you remember the day we spent in Alloway, the native village of Robert Burns? Quite an unforgettable day indeed but sadly enough it was the last but one day of our 2012 trip around Scotland… We arrived in Alloway at about midday on 30 September. The weather could have been worse but … Continue reading →
Today is a date not to be missed on the calendar for it is the anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns, the great national bard of Scotland whose poems are known and sung all over the world… so let us celebrate him with our Scottish friends to whom we wish a very very happy Burns Night !!! … Continue reading →
