September 29th 2018 Hi, On my second weeks holiday following the 60th birthday milestone I had a sort of staycation based in Glasgow and managed to tick off a few sites on my list. The first was Abbotsford House in the Scottish borders. The home of the writer Sir Walter Scott, it was built in 1824. Scott is a fascinating character from Scottish history and in addition to creating many phrases which have found thier way into common usage in the english langua...

25th September 2018 Hi, Given that some of the family and friends were already in Kintail, it seemed opportune for us to get over to Raasay for a visit. Our grandmother Rachel MacLeod came from Oskaig on the island and we had visited as children on a number of occasions whilst holidaying in Skye to see our great aunt Kate who eventually lived to be one hundred years old. I had not been on Raasay since 1995 and sister Rachel had not visited since the 1970s. Nee...

September 25th 2018 Hi, The title of my blog, as you will know, is 'Travels from Kintail.' As the intro to the blog recalls, all the journeys in my life started with the first journey from Kintail, my birthplace. On 20th of September 1958 my parents left their home in Portree, Isle of Skye on a journey to Inverness where I was supposed to be born. In providence I arrived early and was born, safe and well at 1.25pm in the Kintail Lodge Hotel which is at the ...

28th April 2018, Hi, Following on from our six day stay in Tokyo, on Monday 16th April we headed for a four day visit to Kyoto and Hiroshima. Visitors from outside Japan are allowed to purchase a JR Rail Pass which is available for a variety of time periods. We had bought a seven day pass prior to leaving which cost £192. The pass makes it very easy to get around the country and can also be used on local JR trains within cities but not on the subway or priv...

Thursday 19th April 2018 Hi, Last summer (June 2017), whilst in Italy for brother Donald's birthday, I sat down with my nephew Edward and we agreed that the following year I would travel to Japan to visit him and see another new country which has been on my list for some time. Ed has been in Japan studying and working for a period of seven years and it made sense to undertake this adventure when I had family to visit and especially one who could give so much...