Sunshine on Cramond

I can’t remember when I last woke with sun streaming through the window - let alone when I slept for over nine hours! But sleep we did, in the Newhaven Premiere Inn, and staggered across the road for a belated breakfast/early elevenses. The girls and their mum were just setting off to the Sales; shortly afterwards we left with Ewan to go for a walk along the river Almond.

A brief and terrifying walk along the black pavement beside the Forth revealed it to be lethally icy, so we were thrilled to round the corner into the sunshine - when I took the photo - and follow the muddy riverside track. We say a huge black bird - a cormorant? in mid-stream and felt so much better after the exercise provided by a massive flight of steps leading above a path that looked as if it had collapsed.

Back at Newhaven, we drank a bottle of vintage Moët champagne and a lovely red wine and another of Sauternes to accompany another fab Ewan dinner and then collapsed on the sofa - but we deserved it for we’d been for a walk.

Another hotel night to come, then our caravan moves on …