Having returned on Saturday from Tenby and a night in the Ramada Inn in Coventry we find ourselves entirely squatting at Sue and Al’s house. Sunday was a Carvery roast at the Toby Carvery at Stonebridge, the problem is although you fill your plate up you can’t eat it all………..not any more!!!!
Today, Monday, is a bank holiday so the crowds are out, Facebook yesterday came up with a place to go today and that was Becketts Farm to see the fields of sunflowers that are all out. The last time I saw sunflowers was in Provence six years ago when I climbed a fence and crossed a ditch to get some pictures. Mind your those pictures were some of our best sellers at Galerie Shiraz so back then it was worth it. Todays pictures were much easier.
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As the day was sunny and the sea calm Penny and I decided to take a boat trip around the local Caldey Island. The brochure talked about seals , cranes and puffins. We were exited as we didn’t see any puffins on the Isle of Mull but when we spoke to the organisers they said sorry the Puffins left last week for their holiday in Portugal, so no puffins again. We did see the cranes and seals….
Hello my name is Sammy…….
Meanwhile Sue and Al went for a wander through the town and along the beach..
After coffee at a beachside cafe we went to see the Napaleonic era fort on St Catherines Island which is just metres away from the cafe.
The fort itself is a rectangular building that was constructed and finished in 1870 although the perceived threat of invasion by Napoleon III in the mid 1800’s was the reason for the project. It had gunports, 3 on each of the long sides and 3 positions pointing seaward on the roof. They were pretty weighty guns of 7 inch calibre and were to protect Tenby beaches and harbour.
It was never used then nor in the first world war, in 1940 it was equiped with multi barrel anti aircraft guns, it’s not known if they were ever fired in anger.
The island is owned by the local council but the fort is now in private hands, before WW2 it was used as a private residence, then as a holiday let, but the owners were in financial trouble and were trying to sell it but there were no buyers, fortunately for them but not the rest of Europe war was declared in 1939 and the fort was sold to the government for the top market value…….. It is now a museum still in private hands,
Unfortunately the electric generator was broken and some of it was very dark………. and scary!
St Catherine Island Fortview fro each sidedark and scary, where’s the iPhone torch?
After this it was off to an Italian restaurant for a well earned late lunch in this buzzy seaside town….
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Our first look around Tenby, a very stylish town with lots of nice coloured houses. We drove down to the town and parked for the first time in a EV parking spot to charge the hybrid Peugeot. Felt very clever, opened the new charge cable plugged it all in and away we went.
After a great walk around town we made our way back to the carpark to unplug the Peugeot and be off to the castle, and that’s when it all fell apart. Having not read the instructions carefully on the EV charger panel the problem began. Managed to disconnect at the car end thanks to sister Sue pointing out the button to press, but could we release the other end, no. Pull, pushed, wiggled and cursed but still no release. Than I read the instruction that said we had to download an app for the provider and to register within 15 minutes for the charge to continue, but said nothing about locking the plug. Spoke to the carpark attendant who said people had had problems extracting their cables, tried to download the app but no signal. Spoke to a lady with a new BMW she said that it was a nightmare as she had had problems at charging stations, see suggested different options, reconnect to the car, disconnect again, listen for the release click on the wall box.. After about 35 minutes we some how hit a right combination and it released from wall.. wahoo! The funny thing was that we had 50% charge so not sure how that happened without the app and without paying……..
Carew Castle
The use of the site for military purposes extends back at least 2000 years. The Norman castle has its origins in a stone keep built by Gerald de Windsor around the year 1100. The current high-walled structure with a complex of rooms and halls around the circumference was created in about 1270 by Nicholas de Carew (d.1297), concurrent with (and influenced by) the construction of the Edwardian castles in North Wales.
The de Carews fell on hard times in the post-Black Death period and mortgaged the castle. It fell into the hands of Rhys ap Thomas, who made his fortune by strategically changing sides and backing Henry VII just before the battle of Bosworth.
In 1558 it was acquired by Sir John Perrot, a Lord Deputy of Ireland, who completed the final substantial modifications of the castle. The Elizabethan plutocrat reconstructed the north walls to build a long range of domestic rooms. Perrot subsequently fell out of favour and died imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1592. The castle reverted to the crown and was finally re-purchased by the de Carew family in 1607. In the Civil War, the castle was refortified by Royalists although south Pembrokeshire was strongly Parliamentarian. After changing hands three times, the south wall was pulled down to render the castle indefensible to Royalists. At the Restoration the castle was returned to the de Carews, who continued to occupy the eastern wing until 1686. The castle was then abandoned and allowed to decay. Much of the structure was looted for building stone and for lime burning.
Carew Tidal Mill
Carew Tidal Mill is the only restored tidal mill in Wales.[6] The origins of the mill are undocumented but evidence suggests that a mill was in existence on the site by 1542. It is often called the “French Mill” and this may have arisen from its use of French burrstone millstones. Causeway walls and floodgates were restored by Sir John Carew in about 1615. One of the mill wheels is dated 1801. Use of the mill ended in 1937 and the building became derelict.
After a good day with glorious weather we went to the Life Boat Tavern for a well deserved dinner
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Travelling back from Scotland and then to Tenby in Wales involved five hours plus on Tuesday and four hours plus on Wednesday, phew….. but on the bright side traffic was light and it wasn’t raining.
We got to Coventry and the Coundon Lodge, settled in then went to Sue and Al’s and from there to the Bear Inn in the village of Berkswell.
The Bear Inn in Berkswell is historic pub dating back to the 16th century. It’s a Grade II listed building, originally part of the Berkswell Estate, and once featured the coat of arms of the Earls of Warwick, now they serve great meals, the Toad in the Hole was hmmmmmmm…..
Meanwhile in the carpark a local Porsche club were having a meet……….. Sue eyed the green one!
Next Day
So off it was to Wales for a few days with Sue and Al. Tenby is a picturesque seaside town with a history. We have an apartment with three bedrooms and two bathrooms with a spectacular view, but hoping for more sun tomorrow.
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A Munro is a Scottish mountain with an elevation of more than 3,000 feet (914 metres) of which there are 282 in Scotland. The idea then is to climb or bag all 282, Malcolm has bagged nearly 20 and today he is going to climb the only one on the Isle of Mull, “Ben More”. It will take him about 3 hours up and 2 hours back…….
Ben More
Meanwhile the rest of us have a trip planned to Iona. Marina dropped Malcolm off at around 8am and came back to the hotel for breakfast and pick us up.
The Iona ferry is at the bottom of Mull in a place called Fionnphort, It is a small ferry that takes a few cars, only for Iona residents, and walk on passengers, it takes about twenty minutes to reach the island.
Iona is known as an Holy Island but it is slightly disappointing as tourism is the big thing, which is not surprising as there is nothing else other than farming.
Iona is known for its religious history and features several notable religious buildings, including Iona Abbey, St Orans Chapel and Iona Nunnery. These sites are all connected to the island’s significance as a center of Christian worship since the arrival of St. Columba in 563 AD. The nunnery is a ruin but the other two still stand. the Abbey is paid entrance but the others not.
Four Views of the NunneryThe Abbey
Time to pick up Malc fro Ben More. The road to the Munro was supposed to be closed but Marina was able to get all the way to drop him so we sent sent off on the same road but from the opposite direction. All went well, apart from the cow with attitude across the road, until the satnav said we were 2.5 miles from the pickup point and…….
So Marina delivered the good news to Marc that after five hours going up and down the Munro he now had a 2.5 mile walk to join us. Apparently there had been a rock fall a few days before that made the road impassable to vehicles but passable to walkers…. So we wait….
The good thing from those who wait was that the scenery was epic next to the water……
Cow with AttitudeDead Jellyfishex-sheepAll hail the Munro Champion
Then it was back to Tobermory for a well earned few drinks…….
“Bagging Munro’s is better in the memory than in the reality ……..” Malcolm Wilde 2025
Sunday
Farewell to Tobermory and return to Bathgate, a final walk around the town, visit to the pottery shop and the drive home. stopping for a drink at Callander.
A fine drive home and great thanks to the driver, good onyer Malc
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One of the highlights of the trip that we looked forward to, a few days to the Isle of Mull and the town of Tobermory.
First a drive over to the west coast and the port of Oban to catch the ferry to Craignure on the Island.
On the way we had a stop over at Loch Dochart, a popular swimming and kayaking place, on this Thursday it was relatively quiet and was very pleasant to stop and have a cool drink. When we came back on Sunday cars were parked in precarious positions along the small grass verges and there must have been hundreds there enjoying the sunny weather.
Loch Dochartparked cars on SundayOur ferry the “Isle of Mull”
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Friday
Tobermory, the gem of Mull. We were ensconced in the Western Isles Hotel high on the edge of the harbour with majestic view of the town .
Western Isles Hotel – building above the blue houseHotel View
Today was a day of discovery. Marina was born on Mull, in all places a retirement home in the village of Salen, so we set off in search of said retirement home or a least where it was as it is now a small housing estate. We found the spot and without much else to see there carried on south.
The roads, except around the major centres, are challenging to say the least, single lane with multiple passing points fortunately most drivers are courteous and do the right thing. One notable exception was the young idiot towing a boat on the way to Iona who forced us to back up a fair way, he having powered through a passing point with he and his three mates grinning like morons, which they were.
Duart Castle was the next port of call, we had seen this from the ferry from Oban the day before. It is a 17th century building which was fortified further by King George II and home to his soldiers. A fairly barren place with not a lot going for it apart from the views.
Welcome Marina
Marina’s father, Donald Campbell, was a gamekeeper on the Loch Buie estate, so just as in an episode of “Who Do You Think You Are” we went to find out more information. The Loch Buie estate is a little over ten per cent of the Island of Mull so not a small enterprise , it also has it’s own castle, Moy, so there is also a little bit of tourism involved.
When we got to Moy castle there is a cafe a little distance away so we rocked up for coffee and cake, the cake arrived but the coffee didn’t as the machine broke down….
The estate was purchased in 1922 by the Corbett family, the previous owners, the Clan MacLean family , later known as MacLaine, had been there since the 14th century with the castle built in the 1600 hundreds. In 1773 Samuel Johnson (of dictionary fame) and James Boswell stayed there on their tour of the Highlands, in a building that was still standing.
The Manor house is located on private land so there was no chance to visit, however, Malcolm Wilde being Malcolm Wilde decided to phone the wife of the current owner, her name is Patience, so he did and explained who Marina was and so we got an invite to visit!
Both Patience and her husband James remembered Marina, her mother and her father Donald so there was a lot of remembering and stories including the fact that Marina’s mother was famous for her Millionaires Shortbread, or caramel slice for us Aussies.
Jame’s sister Mary and brother Peter also arrived who also had stories, including receiving a dog from Donald. Mary, it turns out as a ten year old had a crush on the gamekeeper and wanted a picture of Donald from Marina.
It was brilliant visit, upper crust English accents and all, great that her father was so fondly remembered and an invitation to visit anytime was issued.
Cafe with no coffeeCastle MoyMarina – Patience – JamesBuilding in the background- Johnson and Boswell stayed here 1793The big houseGarden SurroundsFarmer Wilde
Back to Tobermory
So after a great day out it was back to Tobermory for drinks and dinner.
Staggeringmore road hazardsbeauty and the beastshairy coows
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Just a day in Edinburgh, trip to Primark and Marks and Sparks for a couple of new shirts, a walk around to find a Costa’s, which we eventually did. Then a walk to the other end of Princes Street to Deans Village.
A quite amazingly quiet place not more than a few hundred metres from the end of Edinburghs main street. Lovely buildings with a quiet river running through although there were quite a number of tourists including us I suppose!
Mind you it was great going, it was downhill, a bit different coming back……..
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A train ride into Edinburgh along with hundreds of Oasis fans travelling to Murrayfield Stadium for a concert, to say it was noisy and the fact somebody pulled the emergency cord and stopped the train, well it was fun……
We met up with Rebecca, Josh and Colleen for a pre Tattoo drink and a local bar then the four of us onto a tapas restaurant called Piggs on the Royal Mile which was super enjoyable.
Then a long walk up the Royal Mile to the Castle and the Tattoo Arena for what was a brilliant two hours of pipes and drums, dancing fireworks and a drone show. I took loads of video which unfortunately I cannot post here because of the cheapskate plan I choose….! However I will upload some to Youtube and let you all know the link.
Happy FansPipes and DrumsSecret Drummers of SwitzerlandUkraine Military Band and Dancers
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A free day in Scotland so made a start at the iconic Kelpies which we had only seen in passing from the road. It was very busy as it is still school holidays here in Scotland and the weather is surprisingly warm, the temp now at 3-30pm is reputed to be 25 degrees.
The Kelpies are very impressive close up and must have taken a lot of effort to construct, everybody around was having a good time and the food and drink vendors were making the most of the weather.
Yesterday I misheard Marina telling us that we must visit “Kinross” as the building very a real treat , they did not live up to expectations, they was because she said Culross so this time she was spot on. An interesting history for the village, producing huge quantities of salt and coal and became a quite prosperous place in the 18th century. The coal was dug from under the sea which was held back by walls which lasted a long while until a severe storm inundated the mines and washed away the salt trays. The Scottish National Trust eventually took over the town and restore the Palace and over 40 homes from ruin, well worth a visit if you get the name right.
That’s all for part one, Tuesday part two will be the late show of the Edinburgh Tattoo
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