Scotland

Scotland is a riot of rhododendron colour at this time of year. These beauties were at St Conan's Kirk, by the side of Loch Awe.

We parked in the camper van at the edge of Killin and took advantage of a calm quiet morning to have a quick dip in the River Lochay (very quick dip - the river is quite deep and therefore cool!). Just as we were warming up afterwards, this little boat glided round the corner, providing a lovely reflection. It was one of those warm grey mornings where you just sense that the haze will burn off and leave you with a glorious day - as indeed it proved, with the temperature reaching 24 degrees by the afternoon. Rabbit was on the little river beach holding the towels. A little fence on the bridge, so HFF!

Another lovely weekend here. Rabbit and I went away in the van to Dysart, on the Fife coast, and had a long but interesting walk along the coastal path to West Wemyss, East Wemyss and the East Wemyss ancient caves. This row of houses in West Wemyss caught my eye. You can see from the recycling bins etc that they're not preserved in aspic but are real homes - but they've retained the traditional east of Scotland style and colours. It's hard to imagine, particularly on a summer's day with flowers blooming all along the shore, that this quiet area of Fife was once full of industry - coal mines, salt pans, ship building, gas works. (oh, and for anyone who's wondering how to pronounce it - it's 'weems'!)

We had had a day full of irritations and problems, and were driving back from Perth via the backroads when we suddenly turned this corner to find the River Devon cutting through this stunning little glen, between the village of Dunning and the gloriously named Yetts o' Muckhart and Rumbling Bridge. It made up for the day's annoyances!

Tens of thousands of people walked today in a carnival atmosphere through Edinburgh to 'send Trump hame tae think again'. There were not one but TWO Trump Baby balloons!

Not the best shot - on a crowded train, there was a lot of jostling and competition for leaning out of the windows. And there was absolutely no way Rabbit wanted to stick his head out of the window to get in the picture! The Glenfinnan viaduct is one of the main attractions of the Fort William to Mallaig route. We were on The Jacobite steam train service (although actually, on the day we travelled, they weren't allowed to run a steam locomotive because of fears that sparks could set off fires in the surrounding countryside, given our unusually hot dry summer). The viaduct has featured in the Harry Potter films, although it was a big attraction before that because of its position at the head of Loch Shiel, overlooking the historic Jacobite monument at the head of the loch.

The Jacobite monument rises up impressively at the head of Loch Shiel, below the famous Glenfinnan viaduct. It was built to mark the place where 'Bonnie Prince Charlie' landed in 1745 to start the Jacobite rising for the throne of Scotland. This photo was taken at about 9pm - love the long summer evenings in the north west of Scotland! As there is a fence around the top of the monument, HFF and have a good weekend! www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/glenfinnan/monument/index.html

A couple of days after we took the 'steam' train ourselves (which was actually a diesel), there was a wee bit of drizzle and low cloud. This meant that the Jacobite could run in all her steamy glory. So we timed our arrival at the Loch nan Uamh viaduct so that we'd be in plenty of time - that's my wee white van under one of the arches - and waited. After about three quarters of an hour, an unmistakable clanking was heard, a rumbling was felt, and the train powered gloriously above us, belching out smoke and steam. Loch nan Uamh is pronounced 'oo-av', I think. The viaduct was built of concrete, by 'Concrete Bob' Robert McAlpine.

Rabbit's staff went in for a swim in this warm shallow bay at the southern end of Loch Lomond. It was indeed bonnie, and refreshing (and very popular with horse flies - ouch!). A somewhat puzzling and ineffectual fence tapers into the water - HFF!