BRITISH ISLES #11

We  spent  most  of  the  morning  at  the  Dunvegan  Castle ,  on  the  Isle  of  Skye  in  the  Scottish  Highlands .  This  is  the  only  continuously  inhabited  castle  in  Scotland .and  has  been  the  constant  home  of  the  Chiefs  of  the  MacCloud  Clan  for  over  800  years .  Jamie's  ancestors  apparently  were  a  part  of  this  clan .  The  castle  is  quite  interesting  and  the  gardens  are  magnificent .  Thanks  to  the  family  for sharing  their  home  us  peasants !

BRITISH ISLES #10

After  a  bit  of  a  rough  start ,visiting  a tyre  repair  place  to get the nails removed  from  a tyre , -- we had a slow leak from the time we got the rental --  we drove

on to the Isle  of  Skye .  Of course ,  the scenery was once again  blow  your  mind  spectacular !

BRITISH ISLES #9

Continued  north  into  Scotland  today    .  The  scenery  just  keeps  getting  better  and  better .  We  are  now  in  LOCH  country .

BRITISH ISLES #8

We continued  north  from  Wales  to Kendal  in  the  Lake  District .   Spent 3 lovely  days  being  wined,dined,andtoured  by  Jamie's  cousin  Simon  and  Eileen .  We never  would  have  seen  the  charming  town  nor  nearly  as  much  of  the  countryside  on our own .  We got in some  nice  walks, saw a castle and  a really  good  stone  circle, and we even did laundry   at their  place !

We stayed at  a  b & b which  had  been  a  mill  house ;  it was built  in  1600 and  was used  until  fairly  recently .

BRITISH ISLES #7

We stayed  in  the  lovely  village  of  Brecon in Wales, at yet another  national park  and  in  another  superb  B &  B .  I  continue  to  be  amazed  and  delighted  with  the  countryside  and the  quality  of  the  lodging .  Pictures  from  a hike in  the  park .

BRITISH ISLES #6

Moving  on North  to Wales, more  pictures

out of the windshield .   It was raining intermittently ,  but a lovely  drive  nonetheless .

BRITISH ISLES #5

We had a couple days in Leyton, Devon & stayed  at  another  lovely  B&B .   We got in some good hikes ,  including  one up the river gorge   to  a famous  place  for  'cream tea', which we treated ourselves to before  heading  back  down  to  the  ocean .    Cream tea consists of simple tea, served with a plain  scone  and jams  &  clotted  cream  -- this is heavy cream that is prepared  in a manner that  renders  it  sweet &  thick ,  spreadable  & about the consistency  of  soft cream cheese .   It is oh so good   -- rich, calorie  &  cholesterol  laden! Cream tea is NOT  about the tea, it is about the clotted cream . 

BRITISH ISLES #4

Food & drink: we haven't encountered  tne famous boring Brit fare. We have enjoyed great seafood, did 'cream tea', had a long draw at a local  pub, sampled Cornish  pasties, and had our fair share of the incredible  sweet  pastries that seem to be everywhere. Lots of vegetarian, local, organic to choose from.

Breakfasts at our b & b's have been amazing. Today we had eggs Benedict , prepared by owner-chef Henry at Longmead House in Lynton, Devon.

LIFE IS GREAT

BRITISH ISLES #3

We left Land's End in Cornwall and drove north along the Atlantic  Coast, stayed one night in the harbor town of Ilfracombe, then on to Lynton, which is at Exmoor  National Park  and on the coast.

Driving here is very different from the US -- we are taking secondary  roads & Avoiding the M (motorways) roads ( think Interstate) as much as possible so we can see the countryside.  We pass through  little villages, which are generally a maze & very tight manuevering.  Tons of roundabouts  where we need to keep our eyes peeled for where to exit as well as avoiding crashing into some poor local who knows what the heck is going on.  There are no 'scenic overlook ' pull outs so no places for photo-ops!  I finally wised up  & shot pics out the car window.  You can see there is often no view from the road --  all that darn stuff growing alongside.

The sign is from at lovely hike up the river at Lynton, but it reflects the general condition of our drives. 😮

BRITISH ISLES #2

Yesterday  we   drove  from Bath to Land's End .  The very  southwestern-most  tip of the island of Britian. We have  a charming  B  &  B  that  was  once  a  working  farm  & has  been  lovingly  renovated  to a sophisticated  guest  room. When  I  visit  a place like this  I'm so impressed with the high style employed in European  fixtures, furnishings ,  and  design .

Today we walked to the  hotel  / tourist attraction  at the  point .  Then went on a  little  hike  along the Coastal Trail at Porthgwara and visited another  coastal village  called Porthcurno. This is the home of the Telegraph  Museum  -- most of the under sea communication  cables originated  from here, and it was  the largest telegraph center in the world. The famous Minack Theatre is also here. We tend to think of Cornwall as a harsh  environment ,  which it is ;  however, it is quite temperate so the flowers love it -- they are HUGE   & prolific. Buildings are mostly constructed  of  local stone, all are gray. Farm plots are separated  by stone walls overgrown with flowering vines.  It was

pretty cool to see the Atlantic  Ocean  from this perspective.