Tagged “holiday”

Yesterday I took the short bus trip from Marbella to Málaga for the day. I’d visited Seville a few years back and thought it was high time I checked out another of Andalusia’s big cities.

Having walked from the bus station to Avenida de Andalucia, my first port of call was the Atarazanas food market. It’s a stunning building with a glass roof supported by an intricate iron structure, and a large stained glass window at one end. There’s a vast array of vegetables, fish, meat and more on offer at 250 colourful stalls. It was bustling and full of life. On my way back home after I’d built up an appetite, I grabbed a seat just outside the building and enjoyed one plate of fried fish and another of lightly fried aubergine with honey, washed down with a beer. ¡Qué rico!

Next, I ventured across Alameda Principal and past Parque de Malaga down to the marina. After a 10 minute walk past waterfront restaurants and bars I arrived at The Pompidou Centre. Their temporary exhibition was called Place-ness. I found it really interesting. It aimed to show how historical events, politics, economic models and technological change can affect our perceptions of places. People from the country and the city are ascribed different status. Industrialisation (cars, motorways) results in non-places – purely functional zones such as airports and refugee camps that might evoke standardisation or dehumanisation. The works in the exhibition “invite us to change our perspective to consider these spaces as interdependent rather than static”.

As I walked toward the historic centre for a good old wander, I was then struck by a stunning view of the Alcazaba, a Moorish medieval fortress on a hill, overlooking the sea. With a bit more time, fairer weather and some company I would have gone for a visit… but I’ll leave that til next time.

Our 2024 Christmas present to each other was to take advantage of cheap winter flights and go somewhere we’d never been for a weekend. We settled on Venice and I’m so glad we did.

We stayed at The Venice Times hotel which was a great choice – well located near Santa Lucia station at the north-west of the island city and friendly, quiet and cosy. It was a little cold while we were there as we’d expected but the sun still shone most of the time and it was warm enough for us to occasionally sit by the Grand Canal to enjoy a spritz or glass of wine.

Among the highlights of our trip were:

• Lunch at Osteria alle Testiere
• The Peggy Gugenheim Collection
• Seeing and hearing Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons played live by string ensemble Interpreti Veneziani at Chiesa San Vidal
• Rialto fish market
• walking the winding streets, through networks of canals
• beautiful bridges, stunning views and the occasional boat-bus
• Ritaridiente mezcal cocktail at Chet’s Bar, Dorsoduro

With more time we would have taken a trip to Burano. But maybe next time.

I now see why people love this part of the world. The dramatic coastline, beautiful deep blue Med, stunning buildings and balconies, incredible food scene, culture and history and buzz of activity… I could go on!

Here’s a list of some noteworthy things we did and places we visited on this amazing holiday.

Nice

Art, history, culture

We browsed the interesting open air photo exhibition at Place Garibaldi for the 80 years anniversary of Nice’s liberation from Nazi occupiers.

We visited the Musée de la Photographie Charles Nègre, where we saw the exhibitions Pourquoi m’as-tu abandonnée? by Bettina Rheims and You were not chosen by Marine Foissey.

After travelling to Saint-Jean Cap Ferra (celebrating “120 years heritage and history”) we visited the villa of Ephrussi de Rothschild. We wandered around the patio, rooms and gardens, stopping for breathtaking views of the bay. We finished at the French Garden at the back of the villa which, with its water jets, is pretty special.

Place du Pin and Rue Bonaparte, which we discovered towards the end of the trip, is a bustling little street of modern bars and restaurants. We didn’t have enough time to try too many places but enjoyed some lovely greek street food at Kalos.

Food and drink

Socca (chickpea flour, olive oil, pepper) at Therese’s food stand next to the photography museum. It’s tasty! I also tried La Pissaladière – a bread dough with white onions, stewed pepper salt anchovies and small olives niçoises.

While at Place Rossetti we had Salad Niçoises for lunch (when in Rome…) at restaurant La Claire Fontaine, then some ice cream (flavours like rhubarb and lemon) from Fenoccio café.

Movida, a little drinks and tapas bar on Quai des Etats-Unis with roof seating overlooking the bay. Serves good cocktails including fiery margarita.

Maison Margaux at Place Magenta for sea bass and rosé wine.

Maybe our best meal in Nice was at Le Bistrot on Rue St Honoré, part of Hotel du Couvent and discovered by Clair. We enjoyed a set meal of Oeufs Mimosa, Vitello Tonnato, Capellini a la sauge, Bavette a l’echalote and Clafoutis mirabelle. Everything about this place was interesting and stylish – building, decor, music, staff, food and drink.

Areas

Our hotel was near Place Masséna, with its beautiful, colourful buildings and art installation by Jaume Plensa featuring seven figures on pillars “in conversation”. The wider area include Rue Masséna and adjoining streets is great and we ate at various places. It gets busy at night, but always felt enjoyable and never too overcrowded.

The old town with its winding, cobbled streets, squares and scores of interesting bars and restaurants is fantastic.

Place Rossetti is a beautiful square with a fountain and Cathedral Saint-Marie, where we ate lunch while busking violinists did their thing. A vibe!

Villefranche-sur-mer was nice for a short visit. We might have taken a short boat trip there if we’d had time to organise it in advance.

Shopping

Antic Boutik is a brilliant clothes shop. I picked up a couple of bits before being given a complementary Merci Bien! t-shirt by the friendly assistant.

I visited two record shops: Kosimi the lovely Evrlst where I spotted for the first time a physical copy of the Apogee & Perigree LP although they knew their prices so I resisted the urge.

Accommodation

Hotel Seize: friendly staff and great old-fashioned elevator.

Miscellaneous

parks The city bus tour we took on Day One served as a great initial orientation, taking us along the grand hotels and casinos of Promendade des Anglais then past the Russian Orthodox church and musicians‘ district up to the train station, continuing into Place Garibaldi, Port Lympia and even onto Villefranche-sur-mer and Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat.

Other places we visited / info we picked up

Our lovely hosts at Hotel L’Esprit D’Azur passed on a digital map guide for Nice with categories for museums, free parks and museums, restaurants, indoor activities and around Nice.

La Casita in Antibes provided one of our favourite meals of the trip. It’s on a busy little street just down from the market. I had John Dory while Clair had Boulettes Viande.

La Petite Garoupe restaurant in Antibes – a stunning location on a stormy night. We had just received bad news and raised a glass to our friend.

L’Elephant Bleu in Antibes, a Thai restaurant on Boulevard d'Aguillon

I got home from Friday morning’s dog walk to find some records in the post. I’d recently deleted my Discogs wants-list having realised twenty years too late that it is far too addictive, and as a last hurrah had earmarked a last few key wants. One of those was The Blue Nile’s Tinseltown in the rain – a slice of Scottish pop perfection on Linn records – and I enjoyed a brief listen before heading back out.

First stop of the afternoon was a visit to Greater Govanhill’s office to collect their latest edition (more on this later).

On Fridays, Gomo Kimchi is open so I popped in for lunch and out of the rain. I resisted my usual urge to order everything on the menu, going for a kimchi toastie which was delicious.

During my work’s “summer Fridays off“ period I try to fit in one short trip and overnight stay outside the city, and this weekend was my chance. So I made the one hour drive to Kippen, stopping in at the lovely Woodhouse farm shop and café en route for coffee and a slice of apple pie.

Kippen is a gorgeous little village situated between Fintry and Callendar, near the Gargunnock and Fintry hills. Although not far to drive, it’s far enough outside the city that you might find yourself standing beside a pony outside the local coffee shop, as I did! With an hour to kill before check-in at my hotel, I enjoyed a stoat around the main street, some residential parts, the parish church and the local tennis club. I also stopped in at The Inn at Kippen for a half-pint.

I was staying at The Cross Keys, a cosy country pub/restaurant with a handful of rooms. Clair and I stayed there some years ago and enjoyed it, and happily their prices are still reasonable. Before dinner I enjoyed a pint in the pub then took the tiny trip up three stairs to the restaurant floor where I had the hake special. Since I was on my tod I had time to read my copy of Greater Govanhill while eating. This one, the Heritage edition, is full of insights into the history, landmarks, architecture, bars, shops and people of my local area and I loved it!

Saturday was a pretty chilled day. I made the trip home then hung around the house. Sunday started with a nice long dog walk in Pollok Park. Back home, I put on Tinseltown in the Rain again, this time with Clair beside me and Rudy on her lap. Rudy enjoys music (which is handy) and he looked happily tired and blissed out as Clair applied a premium-grade head scratch and the music played. That was my favourite moment of the weekend.

Later that day I played table-tennis with Phillip and Steve, with Pete coaching. Playing was great but hearing about Steve’s improved health was better.

It’s been great to have a change of scenery, a wee bit of sun and some downtime.

I caught up on some listening: Cillian Murphy on Desert Island Discs, Jon Ronson’s Things Fall Apart, Adam Buxton interviewing George Monbiot (I’ve since resolved to buy Monbiot’s book Regenesis) and some excellent Gilles Petersen shows, firstly in interview with Michael Franks and secondly an amazing feature on J Dilla with Pete from BBE. The latter includes a lovely old mixtape from Dilla. I love how he just roughly chopped in the main hooks of tunes in a way that’s low on polish and high on fun.

Also on the headphones were The Smile – both their 6 Music Artists in residence sessions and their new album Wall of Eyes which is great.

My book of choice during the trip was The Inner Game of Tennis by Timothy Gallwey.

As always, every day I took a long walk along the Paseo Maritimo (the promenade that looks right onto the sea, Gibraltar and Morocco in the distance). With its scenery and mix of walkers, cyclists, dogs and restaurants this walk always makes me feel relaxed and happy. A couple of the days I took a detour to Buena Vida for a tasty breakfast wrap and coffee. There’s a Scottish guy working there – he’s from Shetland if memory serves me rightly.

After my daily walk I enjoyed chilling on the balcony and occasionally even snuck in a wee afternoon glass of vino while listening to some music. Ain’t gonna lie – that is a nice way to relax on your holiday.

When hanging out in the apartment on my own at night I watched The Creator which was fun, a bit of Curb your enthusiasm (final season) and some Shogun.

Food-wise, when on my own I kept it simple with dinners at Venta las Pacos – they do stuff like Supa de Mariano and pepper steak with chips. It’s cheap as chips and full of locals arriving post-work. Cibo is also decent, the Hamberguesa Casera at Asador Nagüeles is banging and there’s a wee joint (name escapes me) near the harbour where I had a cheap but perfect morning coffee and croissant and could just enjoy watching people pass by going about their business.

Once Mark arrived we took a walk into the old town and, during a downpour, decided to try Restaurante El Cortijo. They make it clear from their signage outside that they serve authentic Andalusian food and “no tapas, pizza or pasta!!!”. And it was great. We had monkfish clams with prawns in an almond (almost curry-like) sauce – the owner’s great grandma’s recipe, washed down with beautiful Tempranillo wine. With the weater atrocious we decided to also treat ourselves to dessert: Home made apple cake, and crème brûlée. I’ll be back!

Clair was next to arrive. The three of us paid a visit to the Trocadero for late lunch. We had delicious clams, chicken salad and even curry, with a glass of Marques de Riscal Verdejo which definitely hit the spot. It’s a great place.

On the Sunday three of us visited Kala Kuala Chiringuito in San Pedro for another seafood special – more clams, this time with paella. It was then the long-ish walk home along the Paseo Maratimo where we were merry enough to belt out a Pet Shop Boys medley, taking especial pleasure in saying “Che Guevara and Debussy to a disco beat” in the style of Neil Tennant. We stopped in at Victors beach bar where DJ Luis was playing Kerri Chandler (I could recognise those beats from half a mile off!) and we got talking to him and his Londoner friend (another Laurence). That was a great wee vibe. To finish the night we played pool at That’s Life and did Scotland proud by emerging victorious over our Spanish rivals.

After Mark had left, Clair wanted to scratch her itch for Chinese food and we had a lovely meal at Hong Kong restaurant.

Last thing to mention is that I am gradually learning more Spanish. I’m gonna keep going and see how far I can get. Vamos!

Prior to Christmas we’d been talking about giving ourselves the present of a trip to London. However the train prices were pretty offensive so we opted for a different type of weekend trip – one that was rural, cosy and Rudy-friendly.

Friday’s check-in wasn’t til 4pm so we started with a drive to North Berwick. There, we visited the Lobster Shack. Clair had fish and chips while I had seafood chowder (which Clair admitted was the pick of the dishes). The weather was of the good January sort – chilly but sunny so we had a wee stroll along the beach and let Rudy have a run.

Charlton Gate cottage was perfect. We were in splended isolation, except for the neighbouring sheep and grouse. The cottage itself was comfortable with all the cooking and telly-watching facilities you’d need, plus a comfy bed.

On Saturday we visited Newbiggin-by-the-sea for more beach-walking fun.

Later that day we also paid a brief visit to Morpeth, which is a lovely town.

I really enjoyed my morning walks with Rudy. It was so peaceful and the sky and scenery were beautiful.

Thanks as always to my fam Clair and Rudy for a beautiful weekend.

My folks haven’t managed a holiday outside of Scotland in a long time. So it’s been nice to spend a week together in Spain.

Here we are, just about to board the No. 3 bus to Marbella’s old town.

Me, Clair and Rudy just enjoyed a lovely weekend break. We stayed at Drinkbetween cottage on Banchory Farm. While only 70 minutes drive from home it provided some lovely countryside isolation, with the bonus of nice nearby towns to visit nearby too.

The cottage has recently been restored by the farm owners and was the perfect environment to relax.

Our nearest neighbours were some colourful pheasants, a flock of sheep and three highland cows grazing in the fields opposite. Beyond them, there was a view onto the firth of forth and Forth bridges.

On the Saturday we enjoyed a short trip to the nearby towns of Aberdour via Burntisland, and moseyed down to the lovely Silver beach where we stopped for a coffee at Sands.

Clair brought and made beautiful food and at night we watched Captain Fantastic.

It was a reminder of just how great a well-needed change of pace and scenery you can get in a short distance and space of time.

During a recent November week off I enjoyed a first visit to North Berwick. It’s a beautiful seaside town and I was lucky enough to get lovely cold-but-sunny winter weather.

Here are some of the things I did:

• Stayed at the Marine Hotel. This was a treat as it was quite posh, but I save money these days from being at home a lot and it was only for a couple of days so I’m gonna allow myself this one. The breakfast (porridge followed by cooked breakfast) was amazing and I also loved the pool and outdoor jacuzzi!
• Beach walk beside the golf course into town
• A walk around the harbour including great cliff views out to the Firth of Forth
• A visit to the seabird centre where, amongst other things, I learned that gannets inhabit the Bass rock and that a gathering of gannets is called a gannetry!
• Pretty good lil’ shops! I particularly enjoyed the Steampunk coffee shop which also houses the Orange Moon record store.
• Enjoyed a pint at The Ship Inn and The Auld Hoose. It turns out that my friend Kris’s dad (who I knew pretty well) was a regular at the latter.
• A nice frutti de mare pasta dinner at Bella Italia

Next time I visit (hopefully with Clair and Rudy) I should go in summer so I can catch The Lobster Shack open! I’d also like to visit nearby Tantallon Castle.

Like most folks we didn’t holiday abroad during 2020 and 2021, when COVID was at its height. Trips abroad are a luxury and privilege so this was no hardship. However I’ll admit that once restrictions were lifted and things felt safer, we were pretty excited to head for some sun and good food, and set our sights on a first trip together to the south of France.

The location

We spent seven nights at Désir de Provence, hosted by owners Sylvie and Igor.

Dining out

La Bastide Bleue restaurant, Séguret.

Hotel Montmirail in Vacqueyras.

Beautiful local wine at Domaine Mathiflo in Suzette (right in the heart of the countryside).

Les Ramparts in Venasque – incredible nighttime view over the mountains

Monsieur Tu at L’isle sur la Sorgue, where we had a lovely meal of fish and wine by the canal.

Chez Serge in Carpentras.

Other highlights

Antiques market at Carpentras.

A day walking around the towns of Gigigondas, Seguret and Vaison La Romagne.

St Remy de Provence on a Wednesday morning for a fantastic market.

Carrieres Lumieres (caves featuring art installations) which was amazing.

Aix en Provence. Vasarely Foundation for Kinetic art. Lovely shops and vibe.

Chateau du Barroux was a stunning hilltop location with a castle, cobbled streets, a chapel and incredible panoramic views of the surrounding region including Mont Ventoux.

L’isle sur la sorgue – a lovely town which had an antiques market that blew Clair’s mind!

If we had more time

Hopefully on a future stay in the area we can visit Gord, Russelet (“the Colorado of Provence”), and Nimmes.

---

Note: as I type this three weeks later, we’re about to re-enter tighter Covid restrictions, so I feel grateful to have had the opportunity for a much-needed change of scenery when we did, as it wouldn’t be possible now. I’m also thankful to everywhere we stayed for their care in taking appropriate precautions for their guests and generally for keeping going under trying circumstances.

In 2020 it's been pretty difficult to holiday abroad for two reasons: firstly, the small matter of a global pandemic; and secondly, the arrival of our Border Terrier puppy, Rudy. So we decided to make the most of our beautiful homeland, Scotland, and go on a road trip.

The plan was straightforward: we’d head primarily up the west coast, taking in new places and familiar favourites; we’d enjoy some “first holiday” fun with our furry pal; and over five nights we’d eat ourselves into a seafood-induced coma.

In reality, organising this holiday was trickier than we were used to, due to it being our first time searching for pet-friendly accommodation, a challenge which was compounded by many venues running at lower capacity due to covid considerations. However with the help of some great recommendations from friends, we found a handful of suitable spots.

In the end it worked out perfectly, and was a lovely way for us to celebrate our fourth wedding anniversary. Here’s the lowdown.

Monday

Following a quick stop to collect our hire car, we set off for Connel, near Oban.

The weather was decent, and there were early signs that Rudy would be a happy traveller. In fact we needed only one brief stop during the two and a half hour drive; at lovely Luss for a breath of fresh air and some shits and giggles (mainly shits).

By mid-afternoon we had arrived at our destination, The Oyster Inn, taken a moment to admire the view over Loch Etive, then donned our Covid masks to check-in and ditch our bags.

We made the 10 minute drive into Oban then enjoyed a saunter around the shops overlooking the bay, stopping to eat scallops at the harbourside Green Shack Seafood Hut. Aside from Rudy trying to eat everything on the ground around us, this was magic.

Later that night we ate dinner in The Glue Pot, our hotel bar-restaurant – Fish Pie and a beer for me, Scampi and a glass of wine for Clair. Good pub fare all round. The holiday was off to a fine start!

Tuesday

We started the day with breakfast in the hotel and it was a good’un: Clair opted for a “full Scottish”, and I had Eggs Royal (poached eggs, salmon, spinach, hollandaise sauce). With black clouds gathering ominously outside, this was exactly the kind of tasty fuel we needed.

We headed for Ganavan Sands and on arrival it was raining pretty heavily. However every cloud has a silver lining as this gave Rudy a chance to strut his stuff in his new Hi-Vis, waterproof jacket. We played fetch for a wee while and he had his first experience of paddling in the sea.

With our drookit dug in tow, we left for local historic attraction McCaig’s Tower, although when it became apparent that the final climb would be on foot in the rain we axed that plan, like the amateur adventurers we are. Instead we parked up in Oban and began hunting for lunch, while the rain continued unabated.

Frustratingly it was slim pickings for pet-friendly eateries and we endured a couple of knock-backs. Finally, after some frozen-fingered Googling, we found Markie Dan’s, like a pooch-friendly oasis in the desert. Clair ate fish and chips (which was dynamite) while I had chicken and rice soup and a smoked haddock and mozarella fish cake, washed down with a tasty local beer. Big up Markie Dan’s for saving the day! (And shout out to their toilets for unexpected X-rated vending machine weirdness.)

Sidenote: this wee lunchtime challenge prompted me to consider restarting a side-project I’d previously put on ice. The idea is an online directory of quality child and pet-friendly bars, restaurants and accommodation which – if you give it your current location – would list the places nearest to you. That would’ve been handy that day. Maybe someday I’ll get around to it.

With happy bellies we retired to the hotel for a rest, before it was time to head to Port Appin for dinner at the Pierhouse Hotel. Our pal Fiona is General Manager there and it had been on our visit-list for ages.

Despite bringing a canine companion we were graciously accommodated (thanks, David), although as it became clear how posh our surroundings were, we secretly began praying that the tiny terrier would be on his best behaviour.

The Pierhouse is beautifully located and the restaurant certainly lived up to its reputation.

For starters and mains we had:

• smoked salmon on cripy salmon skin;
• breaded oysters with squid ink mayo;
• a seafood platter;
• lemon sole; and on the side…
• samphire; and
• chips (obvs)

For dessert, Clair had the burnt cream, while I had their signature orange chocolate cremeux with buckthorn sorbet. (NB: despite the cast of other amazing dishes I’ve still to mention, as I look back on the overall trip I’m moved to award this dessert “Dish of the Holiday” – it really was off-the-scale!)

While dining, Rudy (who was stashed away under our table) was a bit of handful. In COVID-times, Scottish venues have no background music and are sparser than usual, so we were on high alert to catch any unacceptable doggy behaviours before they happened and marked us out as “the pain in the ass couple with the dog”. Fortunately, aside from a bit of potted plant nibbling and numerous escape attempts he didn’t do anything too visibly embarassing, although keeping one hand on him while trying to eat a plate of seafood was a bit like The Krypton Factor.

As we finished our meal, Fiona arrived to greet us and ushered us into “The Snug” for a whisky to cap the night (a Balvenie Port cask, and it fairly warmed the cockles.)

Fiona and crew are doing great things at The Pierhouse. It was lovely to catch up and a brilliant night overall.

Wednesday

We had time for one more breakfast at The Oyster Inn before leaving, and once again it hit the target. Clair went for the veggie scottish breakfast, while I had scrambled eggs and smoked salmon.

Our next stop was Glenmoriston, but before leaving Oban we had important matters to address. Following last night’s challenges with Rudy we resolved to find some superior chew-chews to keep him occupied during the remaining meal-times, so stopped in at a wee Pet Shop we’d noticed in town the previous day.

Enter Dynorod (not real name) – a stick of “Himilayan Yak Milk” that would usher in a zen-like mealtime peace we had hitherto thought impossible.

Tooled up and ready, we embarked on the most amazing sunshine drive from Oban to Kentallen (stopping at the Holly Tree Hotel for a great burger and walk along the pier) then through Ballachulish to Fort William. We’d travelled this route many times before, but this time the scenery looked even more incredible (especially just around Ballachulish). It was Scotland at its bonniest.

We then climbed over 1200 feet through the hills before settling at our destination, The Cluanie Inn. I can’t over-emphasise this: this location is stunning. You are literally right in the middle of the hills, with deer roaming free around you.

Spotting trestle tables behind the hotel we decided to check-in quickly then enjoy the last of the day’s sunshine with an al fresco beer. Unfortunately by the time I had returned with said beers, Clair was engaged in a battle of wills with the wee fella, who was going stir-crazy with all the space he found himself in. By relentlessly eating deer jobbies he kinda shattered our picture-perfect “beer in the hills” moment, but still, the thought was there…

That night we enjoyed a lovely dinner: I went for South Indian Garlic Chicken (the owners are Indian, so it seemed like a good time to change tack from seafood) while Clair had a roast pork stir fry. For desert we shared a Rhubarb and Apple Crumble with ice cream. Before bed we had a whisky and a game of Connect 4 in the lounge, while Rudy munched on Dynorod. Bliss.

Thursday

Breakfast at the Cluanie was great. Clair scratched a nostalgia itch with a bowl of Coco Pops, followed by a full Scottish. I had yogurt and muesli then scrambled eggs on toast.

Our next stop was Ullapool, way up north beyond Skye. Clair was really excited about this leg of the trip because she’d be reunited with The Seafood Shack and its owners, having enjoyed visiting earlier in the year as food photographer for their forthcoming recipe book.

The drive from Glenmoriston to Ullapool was beautiful, too, and sountracked perfectly by Clair’s “Alternative 80s” mixtape (taking in Television, Echo and The Bunnymen, Cocteau Twins) followed by our friend Andy’s excellent Go mild in the country playlist. Good times!

Arriving in Ullapool we made a beeline for The Seafood Shack and on arrival ordered 2 × Haddock Wrap (which Clair had been raving about for months). They were delicious. This gave us the necessary fuel to walk the Ullapool Hill Path which on a clear day such as it was offers fantastic views over the village, Loch Broom and the mountains beyond.

Back in the village we stopped back in at The Seafood Shack for Cullen Skink and Langoustines before it was time to check in to our home for the night, The Ceilidh Place. This hotel had been recommended by three separate friends and from the warm welcome (for both us and Rudy) and the lovely, cosy vibe, we could see straight away why people love it.

After check-in we had just enough time for a drink in their beer garden and a quick rummage around their bookshop before it was a time for a nap (this holiday business is pretty tiring…)

Later we headed to the hotel bar for a lovely dinner of Venison Stew (for me) and Fish and Chips (for Clair), sharing home-made baked cheesecake with berries for dessert. We chatted about some of our all-time favourite “long tracks” – Clair offering The Doors’ Riders on the Storm (no arguments from me) while I chipped in The Temptations’ classic Papa was a Rolling Stone.

Today was our wedding anniversary, and it had been nigh-on perfect.

Friday

Following a hearty breakfast (porridge for me; cooked breakfast for Clair) we had a wander around Ullapool. This was my first time visiting and I really liked the place. It’s a lovely, picturesque harbour village and, although fairly small, has plenty of good shops, great local food and drink, and friendly people of all ages.

Although you might think that visiting The Seafood Shack for a third time within twenty hours was bordering on the ridiculous, we popped our head in yet again for a farewell lunch. Clair had spineys (squat lobster) while I had mackeral paté with oatcakes. It was fantastic, yet again. What can I say – these folks really know their fish.

After vowing to come back to Ullapool again soon, we set off for Craigellachie, the final stop on our tour.

This was another enjoyable drive, alternating between countryside and busier roads and taking in not one but two football stadia: The Tulloch Stadium, home of Inverness Caley Thistle; and Mosset Park, home of the mighty Forres Mechanics. Sean Keveney’s 6 Music show was on the radio, and by pure coincidence the Uncle Frank’s Friday Floor Fillers section featured “Papa was a Rolling Stone” – which was every bit as good (and long) as I remembered it.

As we entered Moray Speyside we were deep within Malt Whisky country, and as fans of a dram it was exciting to pass one well-known distillery after another: Aberlour, Glenlivet, Cragganmore, Balvenie, Macallan, and more.

By 4:00 pm we arrived at our destination, The Craigellachie Hotel.

This place is great! It was definitely the poshest of our trip. It’s in a beautiful countryside location, has a lovely reception area and comfortable rooms, and an amazing bar-restaurant, The Copper Dog.

That night we had probably our favourite dinner of the holiday. For starter, Clair chose scallops with cauliflower pureé while I had haggis bon-bons in a home-made brown sauce. For our mains, Clair had their fish special: cod with sweetcorn and crab, with a side of mac and cheese. I dediced to push the boat out for our last night and had a ribeye steak. Every dish was amazing and unsurprisingly we had zero room for dessert.

To wash it down I had a Spey Valley 1814 lager then a Windswept APA. Both local and great. Clair had an Edinburgh gin.

A special shout out to the staff in the Copper Dog; they were all super-friendly and great with Rudy, including director Kevin who came over to chat before finding us a wee post-dinner table at The Quaich, their upstairs whisky bar. It would have been rude not to, so we retired there for a wee dram. With over 900 whiskies from around the world on offer it was tough to choose, but with Rudy getting tired and threatening to drag the family name through the mud in such a plush environment, we made it quick and I grabbed an Aberlour 12 (which I love) while Clair had a Glenrothes. This is a room you could definitely spend some time in, though!

Saturday

It was time to head home.

After a lovely breakfast at The Craigellachie, we made a brief stop at the nearby Aberlour distillery where I nipped into the shop to pick up a bottle of the same drop I’d had the previous night, with a wee branded glass as a souvenir.

We arrived home happy. It’s great to know you can have such an amazing holiday on your doorstep.

Thanks again to all the friends who provided recommendations.