Travelling allsorts

I've discovered a fantastic house on the west coast of Scotland, sort-of near Inverness. Just looking at the photographs on the website and reading about the facilities in the area made me want to holiday there! Additionally (though not necessarily for me) there are rugged activities, such as mountaineering and kayaking. The dining options look great but it's the house itself that is the draw. It's in a fabulous location overlooking a sea-loch and walking distance to the village & pub. There must be opportunities to see glorious sunsets and the Northern Lights. Inside the house is top quality. It's spacious with high quality finishing and furnishing - and there's even a steam room. It has four double bedrooms so the not-inexpensive costs of hiring for a week can be shared between four couples. Let's face it, if you want cheap, you can find loads of place to 'slum' it! I shall try to find some suitable friends to share this wonderful house in the...

We went to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival again, which we love! Whilst in Bonnie Scotland, we decided to visit the Falkirk Wheel, which had been recommended to us for a day trip. It's an incredible piece of engineering. Set in the middle of nowhere, where two canals attempt to meet (except for a few metres, vertically) so this high-tech lock assists the canal boats, enabling them to continue their journey. Two narrow boats can be loaded each side so that two go up and two go down. There is a charge - quite reasonable - for this service. On site is a café, shop, playground, picnic area, water-based activities and walks. From the wheel, at the lower canal (pictured), there is a footpath to the higher canal where there is also a shortish tunnel that you can walk through (maybe take a torch for this). Take a look at this short video.     The Clyde-Forth canal joins the West and East coasts of Scotland.

There is more to Edinburgh than the Fringe but that's the focus of this short post. Just over a year ago, we were staying about an hour away from Edinburgh and decided to spend a day at the Edinburgh Fringe festival so we went online and looked at what entertainment we might like to book tickets for. We chose Toby Hadoke's Dr Who inspired sequel about life with his step-son. Meanwhile, wandering around the streets and parks of the City (we had good weather), we spotted a number of celebs, including Toby Hadoke, the very funny Tim Vine and 'Ted' from Scrubs. We couldn't get there last summer but look out Edinburgh, this year, we are coming back!