Six Days in Scotland.

[tpa]

My wife and I have just returned from 6 days' camping in Ayrshire at the same site as we stayed at last time. My wife was so impressed with the site she wanted to return. Unfortunately we were not so lucky with the weather or the fact that my wife picked up something which kept her in bed the first day and limited our activities for the next 2. The first 2 days were not a great loss as the wind and cold were very noticeable. Our tent however was not going anywhere with 76 pegs in. The next day we managed a brief walk on the beach at Ayr in a photo I entitled "Sunny Scotland": We returned by the coast road and spotted Dunure Castle and I decided that it looked well worth a re-visit when the weather improved. We also stopped at Souter Johnnies cottage, (which features in Burns's Tam o' Shanter,) in Kirkoswald, a village which holds quite a lot of Burns's history. The next day the weather did improve so we started at Dunure Castle, the harbour was also worth a visit as the Dunure Inn was on the key.

[tpa]

After Dunure we trekked up to the Dalgarven Mill Museum of Country Life and Costume, well worth a visit. My wife was interested in the costumes from the 18th and 19th centuries, whilst I was more into the mill workings and history of the museum and collections which included many country life items, some recogniseable from my own childhood (doesn't it make you feel old when items you recognise appear in a museum?) The following day was not so successful. We wanted to visit Ailsa Craig but apparently it was too windy. Whether the problem was the exposed landing area or potential passenger seasickness on a round bottomed boat I'm not sure, but there were 2 offshore lifeboats in Girvan harbour, so I guess the conditions can be quite nasty. We then went down to the Pirate Festival at Ballantrae and there was not a pirate or pirate ship in sight Just a few stuffed pirates outside the occasional house.

[tpa]

Next we went to Craigneil Castle but failed to find a route up to it. So back to Kirkoswald and the Whisky Experience to drown our sorrows with a couple of decent size samples. We had been told it was expensive so restricted our purchases to 3 miniatures. Finally on to Crossroguel Abbey where an hour was not really sufficient to take in all the information available, although there was time to appreciate the stonework. We took the scenic route home through Galloway Forest Park and, whilst the sunshine was interspersed with downpours, did mange to see some deer and appreciate the Scottish hills which I just love.

[California Highlander]

Thank you for posting the great photos and commentary on your trip. Glad you had a strong ending after the shaky start...

[McClef]

Great set of pictures, thanks for sharing!

Pity you couldn't get out to Ailsa Craig, sounds as if it would have been a great experience.

[cessna152towser]

Great pics, thanks for sharing your experiences.