moving on up the east coast of Scotland

 I left us down in Montrose in the last holiday post, we then drove further north to Lossiemouth. The weather was still cold and wet and unfortunately the touring part of the campsite had seen better days. It was a holiday weekend and maybe they were short staffed but the state of the amenities block left a lot to be desired and the large rubbish bins were overflowing. The touring pitches were just tired and looked more like the end of a summer season rather than the start. We spoke to regular visitors who said that the park seems to be cutting down on the number of pitches and replacing them with camping pods. We did get the impression that the holiday homes areas had more attention.

The advertised shop was still being built but there was a bar and swimming pool along with the usual bingo and entertainment although we didn't partake.

However the site had easy access to the beach.

Due to the weather still being cold we grabbed a taxi down into town and had a look round the harbour.

followed by sausage rolls from the local bakery and cheesecake in the local restaurant :-) that brightened up a dull day.

There is a small museum near the harbour and I grabbed a couple of photos of some old fair isle knitting. We then crossed the new bridge connecting a small sandy island to the mainland, the remains of the old bridge could be seen along with a few hardy surfers,.

Another lighthouse, this time overlooking the campsite and now used as holiday accommodation.

Back on the road again, this time heading to our favourite campsite, crossing the bridge outside Inverness and heading onto the Black Isle

The campsite at Rosemarkie is a favourite of ours, virtually on the beach and an easy walk to the cafe for coffee and the golf bar for a pint in the evening.

Woodland walks

Fairy garden hidden amongst them

An old ice house

and chance to relax watching the sea

Ian managed to spot some dolphins, I wasn't quite so lucky :-) We like this site as it gives Ian a chance to explore on his bike leaving me to potter around.

Speak soon xx

Drowning in fleece

 

Yep, filling the car with fleece.

More Scottish pics to come but I just did a quick fleece stocktake and I'm going to be really busy over the next few weeks.

I've nearly finished the recent Jacob fleece with just 300 gm to spin so I will gather up the spinning and knitting and update you on that one soon. I have around 8 full fleeces and several part fleece to work on at the moment so I'm hoping for the dry weather to continue.

On the wheel and in the wash tub at the moment is a bag of oddments, all Texel x so I'm simply blending them to spin as Aran ready for dyeing although I do need to order some more dyes soon.

On a different note, I'm going to be providing a spinning demo at our local inner city farm this week so my bag and wheel are packed. Interestingly I was using my manual wheel over the weekend and managed to overspin the yarn, I suspect that I'm now too used to the e-spinner.

speak soon x

Travelling up east

 We decided that this year we would travel up the east coast as far as Inverness before cutting accross to Ullapool and Skye. Time to visit some new places and revisit a few firm favourites.

First stop was Stirling, I had seen a campsite advertised on line that was on a bus route into the city and we have never previousy ventured into the city although we have often spotted the Wallace monument in the distance.

the wallace monument in the distance behind the campsite reception.

We stopped at Witches Craig, a clean and tidy site at the base of craggy rocks about 3 mile from Stirling

Kitchen window view.

Stirling was a little smaller than I expected but full of interesting details and even a textile related find

May favourite find was this.

At Coorie Creative they use textile as therapy, social interaction and much more, speaking to one of the tutors I found out that they have around 40 looms in addition to spinning wheels and other equipment. If I lived closer, I would certainly look at volunteering here but the small matter of around 300 miles currently rules it out.

The next day was fine but very cold day we went out for a walk to the coffee bothy for hot food and drink.

After three nights, and a heap of washing it was time to head out to the coast.

On YouTube there is a channel that we watch called Steve Marsh he travels to places of interest in Scotland and further afield, recent videos about his home town of Montrose influenced our choice of destination for the next couple of nights.

I wish that I had taken a photo of the inside of the loo block, clean but obviously date, this holiday park amenity block was out of the 50's or earlier. Modern showers and loos but the lines of sinks facing each other had real old holiday camp vibes :-)

A few minutes walk from the site took you to the beach albeit a bit too cold for anything other than big coats and woolly hats.

and a welcoming cafe for coffee and teacakes. The pavillion opened in 1913 and still has wooden bench seats and stained glass windows.

Walking in the other direction you end up in the town. shops and a museum kept us entertained along with some interesting buildings.

of course, I found something interesing :-)

We were both taken with this memorial bench 

More to follow but the sun is shinning and I need to wash some fleece !

speak soon x

Where have I been in real life?

 Hi,

 You may have noticed the last few posts have been craft based rather than my usual mixture of travel and other interests.

The reason is quite simple, we have been on the road and out of decent internet connection for the last four weeks, starting our journey with Race the Waves at Bridlington on 20 April and arriving home today 19 May.

We travelled up on the Thursday in order to see the vehicles at the scrutineering giving us the chance to have a close look and talk to some of the owners,

On the Saturday we met up with friends to watch the fun on the beach,

Sandwiches and ice cream eaten, we headed back to the campsite to pack the van ready for the next leg of the journey up to Penrith and then into Scotland.

More to come, warning many photos 

Speak soon x

Very short Jacob update.

 Jacob has been knitted

4 hats

2 headbands

1 pair mitts

And like a idiot I forgot to take photos before saying goodbye to them. 

Sorry

Xx

Will update again once I have spun some more.