Culag Wood

Culag wood is beautiful and in parts very old

full of mosses and lichens and fallen down trees

and tucked away places for children to explore and play

It has a shoreline

foxgloves and heathers

and views that can be seen up above the trees from rocky hilltops

It's well worth a visit. Next time you are in Lochinver you must come and walk in Culag Wood

It's a lovely drive too from Ullapool

especially if you take the slow twisting and turning single track road off the A835 signposted to Achiltibuie and turn right just past Loch Lurgainn. I shall look out for you!

Home

It's nice to be home. The lochside grows more lush by the day. Dog roses  flower on the hills and as we walk along the lane  we can hear the loud buzzing of busy bees.The garden grows too, especially the grassy bits, of which there are many! The late evening sun bathes the hills on the opposite shore in pink.

Today first thing the sun hasn't shone. Ullapool is just a little cloudy though warm enough to welcome the Queen's Baton. It was a happy occasion and we all enjoyed getting up close and personal with this well travelled symbol of the Commonwealth Games due to start in Glasgow on 23rd July  - apart maybe from one small chap who wasn't quite sure!

A bit of a break

Lindisfarne Castle. A wonderful home made by Sir Edwin Lutyens in 1901 for Edward Hudson

The Farne Islands. Home to thousands and thousands of sea birds. The Arctic Terns protect their nests and eggs from marauding sightseers (us) by using their sharp beaks with accurate precision on top of our heads - I kept my hat on and a bit of me felt guilty for being there and causing them such angst.

We'd gone to Northumberland to meet friends and have a few days holiday exploring this empty part of the country.We didn't expect to meet Em and Dan! They live in Yorkshire. By sheer coincidence we bumped into them on this tiny island in the north sea. Time for a quick hug before they sped off to catch their departing boat. Come and visit us soon...!

If the Angel of the North had looked down he would have noticed two small boys playing on his feet. The two small boys didn't look up and notice the Angel of the North they were too busy playing on the climbing frame and didn't have time to consider the bigger picture..

From the North we drove to Cromford in Derbyshire to visit Ollie and then to Manchester to visit Robin. We passed Lyme Hall on the way. Some of Pride and Prejudice was filmed here - I think. The house was closed but the garden was delightful and very green

Back over the Boarder we did a detour to The Kelpies and the Falkirk Wheel. I haven't included everywhere we went. We seemed to do a lot in a very short  time. But it felt like a good long holiday and it was lovely to spend time with some very good and old friends.