Monday 14 April 2008

Wonderful Week















Well, it is really going to be hard to beat the week that we've just finished at the beach. We had such a wonderful stay in the NW of Scotland. So many memories and so many fun adventures.


I'll share a few of the highlights from the rest of our week then will post the pictures.


Thursday we took a short bike ride through the hills in Poolewe. The trail (a paved one, not one with knee high mud) was along a river and sheep were spotting the landscape. Then we spent some time walking through the Inverewe Gardens. There are 54 acres of plants from all over the world that wind through the craggy hillside. (it is similar to the arboretum or botanic gardens) The weather was magnificent so we just enjoyed being outside. You'll notice the boys meditating in the Japenese Garden mocking my attempt to calm and quiet them! We also spent the morning and evening climbing on the rocks by the house and playing on the beach.


Friday we drove to Red Point just south of Loch Ewe were we found a gorgeous sandy beach with views of the island of Skye. There was a huge dune which the boys loved to climb and run down and a tidal pool which provided hours of entertainment. I hiked over the rocks you see in the picture for an unobstructed view of the whole island of Skye. Really amazing scenery. We then enjoyed one last dinner at this wonderful beach house , an evening on the rocks, and a sunset that even had Christopher and Ethan mesmerized.



We drove home Saturday and took a different route than our way up. We drove through Inverness and down along Loch Ness (looking for Nessie the whole way). At the bottom of the Loch is a town called Fort Augustus and the Caledonian Canal runs through the middle. It just happens that 5 minutes after we arrived, we were able to see a swing bridge in operation and 3 boats come from the loch into the canal. We watched as they opened and closed the canal locks to move the boats through. It was super interesting and a treat to see. One more pub lunch and then we were off to Glasgow.


What a week we had. Thank goodness Mims and Gramps (my parents) are coming tomorrow or we would be having a hard time facing reality at home!