Holiday. End of.

The end of our mini break. We had such a great time - the hotel was great, dog friendly with excellent breakfasts and helpful staff. Aberdeenshire is such a beautiful place to visit. Lots to do and see - plenty of walks, bike rides, castles to visit wee villages to mooch around... and you might bump into the Queen.

I noticed yesterday we’ve done 68kms on the bikes, but that’s the total (don’t know how to set the tripometer). And I’ve fallen off three times. Oh, and bumped into a wall. I really need to consider my cycling future though - the narrow path of yesterday made me realise that I am about to wobble over almost all the time. My inner gyroscope has broken, which makes cycling a trifle nerve-wracking. It’s unfortunate that my cycling downfall (literally) has been quite public (on blip).

However, no cycling today, but a glorious drive down the east coast of Scotland keeping ahead of the rain all the way till we got to Dundee. We passed vast fields with gorgeous hay bales (not in black plastic) rolling down to the sea (the fields - not the bales!). Couldn’t stop for a photo, but anyway, the light was too flat.

First stop was the always spectacular Dunnottar Castle. The ominous skies really suited the scene. Then further down the coast, we called in to Catterline, a tiny wee village where one of my favourite Scottish artists lived, Joan Eardly. I always loved her portraits of Glasgow Street kids, but I love her Catterline paintings even more. She died of cancer aged 42.

From there it was a straight run home, through heavy showers from Dundee but had cleared up by the time we got home. 

Archie greeted us with his usual restrained enthusiasm. Christine was pleased to see us. She had a nice wee holiday in our house, and took Archie for big long walks every day. We’re taking her out for a Thai meal next week, and hopefully, she might feel ready to do it again some time... Meanwhile - it’s good to be home!