This morning Nick headed into Dunoon with Great Aunt Mary on the hunt for another hard-drive, as we have filled the other one with all the photos we've taken. Karen and Matt were dropped off on the way for a pleasant stroll up into Pucks Glen, where fairies and pixies are said to dwell. The name was inspired by Shakespeare's A Midsummer Nights Dream character. Violets and primroses stand out amongst the green moss which grows everywhere, including a good way u...

Friday morning the 22nd April we packed a bag for a short stay at Inverchapple Farm with Aunty Mary. We were regaled with family stories and caught her up on all our family doings on the journey. Climbing to the top of the Rest and Be Thankful was thankfully not as difficult as it had been in the past, hence the name of the peak on this steep road. Then a short detour to drive through the Ardkinglas Woodland Walk. Mary having the ready excuse of driving down th...

Its hard to imagine that this beautiful part of the world - the Trossachs National Park, with its high dramatic peaks and long, tranquil lochs around almost every bend in the road - could disappoint, but today it managed to do just that. The sun still shone, so that was not the problem, for sure. Paul had spent much time convincing us of the wonders of traversing Loch Katrine from end to end on the heritage steam ship Sir Walter Scott. Nicky was just going to ...

Our good luck with the weather continued. Today the sun beamed down delightfully, as Nick set off on the quick walk up to the Lodge in the Queen Elizabeth Forest Park, to participate in the Go Ape! tree top adventure. Karen and Matthew sensibly decided to stay with their feet firmly on the ground as 20 metres or more in the air, even if safely harnessed in with three straps, was a bit too scary for them! After the safety briefing, off Nick went on the first zip ...

Leaving Pitbee Mill after a quick run through the dew to photograph the reflections in the millpond and the metal pumpkin ornaments, we drove through the rolling hillsides on our way to visit more old friends of Nicky and Pauls - Caroline and Paddy. We had 3 sets of directions, and our trusty road atlas, and still managed to get lost - even when following a friendly local who was showing us the way! Eventually we arrived at our destination, and found Paddy and ...