Homeward Bound

Our last full day of travelling had arrived - and what better way to start the day than with a traditional Scottish cooked breakfast (with haggis of course) and beautiful loch views from a hotel breakfast table.

A substantial highland breakfast

After this substantial breakfast, we took a walk down to the loch shore and wandered past the highland cows on an overcast but dry morning and then checked out to continue on the last stage of our trip.  

Loch Melfort on an overcast morning

Midway between our hotel and Oban was Seil Island, one of the 'Slate Islands' that are situated just off the west coast of Scotland. In the 19th century these islands were the heart of a booming slate industry and exported millions of slate tiles. Now tourism has taken over and even that is a very low key affair. Seil Island is reached by road. A narrow channel separates the 'island' from the mainland and is crossed by an old stone bridge, the Clachan Bridge but more popularly known as the Bridge over the Atlantic. 

Clachan Bridge - the Bridge over the Atlantic

After crossing the bridge we carried on to the small former coastal slate community of Ellenabeich. It was very quiet. There was little sign of activity in the little rows of whitewashed cottages. At a coastal safari company hut by the pier an employee was sorting out lifejackets but other than that, apart from ourselves and a couple of other visitors, there wasn't much happening. Across the water we could see Easdale Island, another of the slate islands and as we walked around we found the rotting remains of an old pier. A few boats were passing through the channel between the islands. It may look and feel better on a sunny day but Ellenabeich had an air of melancholy so having seen enough we drove back an up the coast to the busier town of Oban.

Looking across to Easdale 

A whitewashed cottage at Ellenabeich 

We've visited Oban many times before and it hasn't changed a lot over the years. There are still gift shops selling an abundance of tacky tartan paraphernalia (probably made in China) and a sprinkling of cafes and the usual high street shops. As we were still quite full from breakfast we didn't want a large lunch so having walked around and along the sea front we finally found a nice little cafe by Oban distillery selling cake and hot chocolate. 

Oban seafront

Then filling up with petrol I started the long drive to get to our last hotel of the trip in New Lanark. A rather convoluted drive (due to another road closure) meant we had to reverse some of the route we'd taken the day before. A mid afternoon stop by Loch Lomond at the very touristy but pretty village of Luss was sufficient to stretch the legs before driving through Glasgow and then south to our destination.

The bonny, bonny banks of Loch Lomond

New Lanark is a now UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is a collection of mill buildings and mill workers homes that date back to the early days of the industrial revolution and was first constructed in 1786 when cotton mills were built to take advantage of the water flowing on the River Clyde. It is most famous because the philanthropist and social reformer Robert Owen was part owner and manager there for 25 years and his reforming work was pioneering in showing the benefits of providing good housing and fair treatment for workers. Now the village has  been restored and preserved and is run by a charitable trust.

The hotel is part of the village and run by a trading subsidiary of the Trust. Its an old mill building and our room was spacious with a fantastic view of the River Clyde. 

A view of the River Clyde from our room at the New Lanark Mill Hotel

We had our last meal of the trip in the hotel restaurant before having an early night in preparation for a long drive home the following day. We slept well and had another good Scottish breakfast before taking a final walk. Just upstream from the hotel is a nature reserve and a riverside walk that takes you up to the Clyde Falls. We walked about a mile and a half upstream, through trees above the river bank, following the 'badger trail'. We didn't see any badgers - other than a large mural of one, but we did get to see the waterfalls.

The light filtering through the trees and reflecting on the water lifted the spirits and the roar of water as we came closer to each waterfall was a reminder of the force of the water that had led to New Lanark being built just downstream.

The Clyde Falls

Eventually we returned to the village taking in one final look at the mill buildings before setting off to return home and bring this chapter of our travels to an end.

New Lanark - a final view before heading home

Reflections on the Trip

At the end of my travels there are always things that stand out in the memory and give pause for thought. Some are trivial or inconsequential, others are hopefully more profound. 

Northern Ireland People: Its hard to understate the friendliness of people we met in Northern Ireland. Our cottage hosts were amongst the best we've ever experienced, but even just passing people on a walk would usually elicit a friendly greeting or smile. It made a first visit to a part of the UK that's had a troubled past such a joyful experience. 

'Wee': I'd always associated the adjective 'wee' with Scotland to describe something small. I hadn't realised how ubiquitous it is in Northern Ireland. Almost anything can be 'wee' irrespective of size and the word is used freely when talking about or describing pretty much anything. 'That wee rock over there' could be describing a massive boulder. One of the first shops we saw entering the coastal town of Newcastle for the first time was 'The Wee Charity Shop'. 

'Free Parking': About the only place in England you'll find free car parking is on a Monopoly board. By contrast, in Northern Ireland, every seaside town we visited had free parking - in fact we only paid two parking charges in our time there - once when I parked in a farmer's yard to do a walk and the other time was in Derry where a whole day cost £1.80. It was really nice not to have to hunt for change or find the right app or wrangle the way through a convoluted telephone menu every time we visited somewhere to pay an exorbitant parking charge.

'The Potency of Flags': I hadn't really thought too much about the power of flags as symbols of political allegiance. In England we rarely see national flags flying from homes and buildings unless there's a major football tournament underway (when the flag of St George suddenly appears everywhere for a few short weeks). In Northern Ireland flags were everywhere and did not appear to be temporary phenomena. Driving through loyalist towns and villages we became used to seeing the Union Flag, often accompanied by flags showing the Red Hand of Ulster and occasionally references to the Ulster Volunteer Force. No doubt Brexit has increased fears in loyalist and unionist communities of the prospect of a 'united Ireland' and flying flags and explicitly showing allegiance to a cause are very tangible and visual symbols of a political stance. I was reminded of the yellow ribbons we saw back in 2019 driving through Catalonia that similarly conveyed a powerful political message. In a era of digital media and sophisticated brand promotion we've grown used to seeing visual symbols in our everyday lives but this was a reminder that simple fabric and colour can be very powerful in communicating belief and allegiance.

'The Same But Different': I've not thought too much in the past about the United Kingdom and what binds the four constituent nations together. When we read or think about the United Kingdom or Great Britain we tend to think as our nation as one homogenous whole, bound together by a shared language, history and culture. I confess travelling has given me pause to reconsider what is probably an anglo-centric viewpoint. During these travels we passed through all four nations of the United Kingdom and I started to appreciate that although there are longstanding ties of history (largely a consequence of English conquest!) in very many ways the four nations of the United Kingdom are very different places. Culture, politics and everyday language vary enormously and I think you have to experience and see these differences to appreciate the threads that bind the nations together are perhaps not as strong as we might superficially think they are. 

'The Joy of Travel': Until we started this trip I hadn't realised how much I'd missed travelling. Like very many other people when Covid hit in 2020 we hunkered down and either by choice or dictat restricted our movements - only gradually moving further afield from home as we got used to 'living with Covid' and vaccines meant we could all live a little more easily. For the first time in two years this trip meant we were experiencing completely new things, seeing different landscapes, meeting new people and never sure what would be around the next bend in the road. Many people have written far more eloquently than I can about the joy and value of travel but for me it really does broaden the mind, provoke thought, sometimes takes me out of my comfort zone, leads to meetings and encounters with interesting and often very kind people and makes me appreciate the beauty of our planet and the natural world. I very much hope to continue exploring - and needless to say I have a few ideas about where to go next...

The best laid schemes.....gang aft a-gley

I'd never visited Ayrshire before so, with a couple of nights staying just outside Ayr, our arrival back in Scotland gave us both a chance to see a little bit of this part of the country and visit Robert Burns birthplace.

For our first full day we decided to use our National Trust membership to visit one of the National Trust for Scotland's properties: Culzean Castle. 

Culzean Castle after a heavy rain shower

Located about 30 minutes drive south of Ayr Culzean Castle is a large estate and stately home that was in the ownership of the Kennedy family (one of Scotland's oldest clans who were titled the Earls of Cassilis) until passing into the ownership of the National Trust for Scotland. The house was built between 1777 and 1792 and designed by the neo classical architect Robert Adam. It is perched spectacularly on the cliffs and set in grounds that include walled gardens, beaches, a deer park, a lake and acres of woods. 

Driving along the coast road the rain was hammering down and we didn't think we'd be able to spend much time outdoors if it continued. As we had arrived early, just as the grounds opened, we decided to start our visit by having a coffee in the cafe near the entrance rather than get drenched. This turned out to be a wise decision. The rain eased off and by the time our coffees were finished it was dry enough to walk towards the castle. The clouds were breaking up and patches of blue sky appearing in the west. To start our visit we decided to look inside the castle before it got too busy, first taking in the sea views from the courtyard. The entrance hall was completely unexpected. There were wall to wall displays of flintlock pistols and other weaponry. Apparently this is the largest private collection of flintlock pistols in the world. Most were bought as a job lot from the Tower of London.

Pistols at dawn?

From this rather bizarre start we proceeded through more typical neo classical rooms with ornate plaster ceilings and lavish decor. The main feature was a central oval staircase, colonnaded and surrounded by large oil paintings.

The oval staircase

Rooms at Culzean Castle

The top floor produced another surprise. When the Kennedy family donated Culzean they stipulated that a top floor apartment be kept for General Eisenhower for use as a holiday home. He visited several times including one time whilst President of the United States. The apartment is now let by the National Trust as a holiday home with six bedrooms, a private dining room and drawing room. A night's stay starts at £2,500 per night. 

Eisenhower's desk

The day visitor can't see in the apartment but can see Eisenhower's desk which is now preserved and screened off by glass. From the opulence we went downstairs to the kitchen - a surprisingly light and airy space with far reaching views out of the windows to the sea.

View from the kitchen window

By now all the early morning cloud and rain had cleared and we emerged from the castle into bright sunlight and blue skies to explore the grounds. 

Culzean under blue skies

We made our way across a viaduct through an archway towards the deer park. Culzean has an unusual addition to its deer park: llamas! As we got closer we could see deer in the distance but closer was a herd of llamas - grazing or resting on the lush greenery. The deer park wasn't open but walking around the edge we got closer to the deer and spotted a white stag.

A leaping llama...

White stag at Culzean

Walking on through the woodland we came across a lovely little orangery and then by contrast a super sized 18th century walled garden. It was very large - 2.5 hectares,  with fruit trees, greenhouses, vegetable patches and flowering borders.

The orangery

The walled garden at Culzean

Half a mile or so further on through woodland we found a beautiful lake that was home to gulls, ducks and swans and a willow sculpture that looked like the Loch Ness monster. A little food outlet was selling hot drinks and sandwiches so we thought this would be a good spot to grab a bench and have an al fresco lunch.

After finishing our food we walked the short distance to have a quick look at a pagoda, built in 1816, before continuing on a path around the lake until we'd gone all the way around, spotting a shag and duck sharing a perch on the lake.

A lengthy walk back through the woods brought us back to the castle, (still bathed in bright sunshine) and after walking through the gardens below the walls and having a quick look at the old stable block we headed towards the exit getting a glimpse of the 19th century gas house that used to supply the castle and the Ayrshire coastline beyond.

Mrs B soaking up the rays...

The stables

The gas house

Not satisfied with one castle for the day, and as it was such a lovely afternoon we made a short detour on our return journey to see one of Clan Kennedy's other castles at Dunure. This is now a ruin and dates back to the 13th century. 

Approaching Dunure Castle

It was the site of a particularly gruesome episode in 1570 when the 4th Earl of Cassilis, Gilbert Kennedy tortured the Commendator of Crossraguel Abbey in a dispute over land and rents by roasting him! On a sunny afternoon it looked much more peaceful and as well as the castle there was a little beehive dovecot (or doocot) perched above the rocky coast.

More recently Dunure was used as a film location for another TV fantasy series - not Game of Thrones  this time but Outlander. After taking in the sea views and walking down to the harbour we returned to our hotel having packed in quite a lot in our only full day in Ayrshire.

The following day we were due to move on, with a hotel booked on the shore of  Loch Melfort, 20 miles south of Oban. This was going to be our penultimate night away and although I had a long 3 hour drive I calculated we had enough time and a morning free to see the birthplace of one of Scotland's iconic figures: Robert Burns. 

Alloway is a village south of Ayr and is the location of Robert Burns birthplace as well as a museum about his life. It didn't open until mid morning so rather than hang around in our hotel room we checked out and took a walk along Ayr's long promenade. Some signs for the 'Auld Lang Mile' pointed us towards the town so we walked on eventually reaching the harbour passing the imposing town hall built of red sandstone and a pavilion.

Just outside Ayr Harbour

Near to the harbour new apartments had been built and looked quite attractive. I thought to myself that the architect had pleasingly deviated a bit from the uniformity that normally characterises new apartment blocks and attempted to introduce variation to rooflines and elevations to make the development more interesting.  

After a 45 minute walk we made our way the short distance to Alloway and got our tickets for both the museum and Robert Burns birthplace which are separated by about half a mile. I didn't know an awful lot about Robert Burns other than an awareness of some of his most popular work as Scotland's national bard, but the museum, laid out thematically rather than chronologically, did an excellent job of telling the story of his life as well as showing some of the original manuscripts of his work. To our surprise we had the museum all to ourselves. He was the son of a tenant farmer and became a not very successful farmer and in later life an excise man. He died at the young age of 37 and his fame as a poet only really gained momentum after his death. I also learnt he had a number of affairs and is believed to have had 12 children with 5 different women. For some reason our current prime minister came to mind....

Outside the museum a few minutes walk away is the ruin of Old Alloway Kirk which has his father and mother's gravestones and around the corner a large memorial erected after his death, set in a garden that leads down to a bridge over the Doon river - or 'Brig O Doon' which features in one of his more famous poems Tam O Shanter.

The Burns Memorial

The Burns Memorial Garden looking down to Brig O Doon.

We walked through to and over the cobbles of Brig O Doon and then started to make our way past the garden of a hotel of the same name. As we drew level with the building an older gentleman started to talk to us and we explained it was our first visit. As a friendly conversation progressed he told us that his nephew had got married in the hotel the day before and before we knew it we'd been invited in to see the grand room that had housed the reception, introduced to his nephew (who we congratulated) and were able to walk through the hotel gardens to get a better view of Brig O Doon.

Brig O Doon

We told him about our travels and he told us a little bit about his life and in one of those uncanny coincidences that life sometimes produces, it turned out that he had been an architect and had designed the apartments overlooking the promenade that I'd been admiring earlier that morning. I'm sure we could have carried on swapping stories all day but as time was pressing we said farewell and walked the half mile along the 'Poets Walk' to see Robert Burns birthplace. The walk avoided the road and had been adorned with various sculptures inspired by Burns poetry  including a not so wee mouse, a stone haggis and twa dogs.

The birthplace itself was a simple single storey thatched building - probably typical of a farming family home in lowland Scotland in the 18th century, simply presented to give an idea of what it may have looked like at the time.

Robert Burns birthplace in Alloway

It didn't take too long to look around the cottage, so we headed back, had some lunch, and then set up google maps to take us on what we hoped would be a scenic drive north towards Oban on the coastal route. We aimed to check into our hotel around 4.30 pm so my plan was to take our time, stop on the way and enjoy a leisurely drive. Things didn't quite work out as planned.

At first all was well. We got through Glasgow without being held up by congestion, passed Loch Lomond without incident and in no time at all had arrived in Inveraray. Rain had arrived but it was dry when we got out of the car at Inveraray a town we've visited before. Its a pleasant little place on the shore of Loch Fyne and has two tourist attractions a castle and a jail. We were mainly interested in finding somewhere for tea and cake and a busy cafe on the main street provided a solution. After two large slices (lemon and blueberry for me, coffee and walnut for Mrs B.) and a drink we thought a few steps around the town might be beneficial. After looking at the boats by the small harbour and walking along the loch shoreline we walked up the driveway to the castle before returning to the car for the last leg of the drive.

Inveraray harbour

Inveraray Castle

It had been a pleasant little stop and (according to google maps) we only had 40 miles or so to go before arriving at the hotel so we set off for what we assumed would be, at most, an hours drive. Things didn't go according to plan. The weather had turned from low cloud to steady rain but no matter we thought - it wouldn't be long before we'd be in a lovely hotel, warm and dry with an evening meal to look forward to. We'd got to within 8.5 miles of our destination when I drew to a halt in a small line of traffic. A road traffic accident had closed the A816 and we were told the road might be closed overnight. Just before the road closure barrier there was a B road and we were advised to head that way and informed that the 'diversion' would take at least an hour.

The detour...

Without any other choice I  headed off along a narrow winding road, into an area that was clearly sparsely populated, driving slowly as it was impossible to see far ahead. At one point google maps suggested I take a left turn but I rejected this idea because a) there was a no entry/authorised vehicles only sign and b) it was a rough forest track. After 17 miles I came to a junction and after a quick look at the map saw that if I followed the road to the left for 10 miles I'd come out on the A816 just north of the hotel. Knowing it would be a slow drive I set off cautiously thinking it would take about another 25 minutes to drive 10 miles....but after a few miles I got stuck behind a silver/grey Mercedes. The driver was chatting (at length) through his window to another driver coming from the other direction. Eventually he carried on but proceeded to do this with every vehicle coming towards us - oblivious to anything else. To make matters worse he refused to give way or move off the tarmac for any vehicle coming from the opposite direction. On a single track road this meant other drivers often had to reverse some distance (and of course I couldn't pass him). Things soon got worse. His snail like progress and unwillingness to move aside had led to a tail back behind me of other cars. Things came to a head where his refusal to give way led to an older lady coming in the opposite direction having to reverse. She unfortunately misjudged the verge and ended up unable to move. Things came to a complete standstill. 

I stopped as did all the vehicles behind me. I got out as did the man in a van behind me. He was less than complimentary about the Mercedes driver - he's been observing the chaos he'd been causing. We both agreed he was a complete idiot. A small group of drivers gathered to see if we could help the lady who was understandably quite upset.

Going nowhere fast....

At first we tried to lift or bounce the car out of the verge but it was stuck fast and too heavy to dislodge. After all this the Mercedes driver suddenly remembered he's got a tow rope! The rope was attached to the stuck car and he was guided to pull forward slowly and fortunately this did the trick. The Mercedes driver then drove off whilst the rest of us did a complicated manoeuvre to allow us all to get past without causing the unfortunate lady to get stuck again. I knew we only had a couple of miles to go, so thought another 5 minutes would see me back on an A road but lo and behold just half a mile further on I could see the Mercedes driver had stopped again (on a bend) to have an interminably long chat with another driver headed in our direction. I pulled over and sat tight so they could pass when they came through. I warned them as they went by that there was likely to be a long queue of cars following me.

Eventually we arrived at the A816 and I'm pleased to say reached the hotel without further incident. It had only taken 1 hour and 15 minutes to drive 27 miles. The good news was that the hotel was excellent. Our room was lovely - with a private balcony looking on to the loch and highland cows in a paddock below. After freshening up we went down to the dining room for a later than expected evening meal. The food was good and a bottle of decent Argentinian Malbec went down a treat so the day ended well. 

All in all it had been an eventful day and hadn't gone quite as expected with diversions and detours but travelling throws up the occasional challenge and this adds to the experience. The next day we would start to head home, but with an overnight stay on the way to break the journey, so all being well there would be a last day or two of new discoveries to bring our 2021 travels to an end.

 

Farewell to Ulster

 A 5.00 pm ferry departure from the port of Larne meant we had lots of time to spend on our final day in Northern Ireland. After checking out of our cottage we started a stop start journey east, keeping close to the coast and our first stop was Murlough Bay. Narrow country lanes and then a long descent with hair pin bends brought us to a wild, remote, long limestone bay, east of Fairhead. Unlike much of the coast which is backed by moorland or dunes, here trees and foliage came down to the sea shore with green fields and wild fuchsia. It was a beautiful spot and although we didn't stay too long, just taking a short walk, it was a great place to breath in some fresh sea air and feel alive enjoying the solitude (apart from the grazing sheep).

Murlough Bay

A short distance away from Murlough Bay is Torr Head, another remote headland reached by driving along narrow undulating roads that require concentration as there's not much room for cars to pass each other. Fortunately we didn't come across any other cars and arrived at a small parking area just below the headland. Torr Head is the closest point on the Northern Ireland mainland to Scotland and we could see the Mull of Kintyre once we had made the short climb to the abandoned coastal signal station. Before parking our car we'd passed the ruins of an old accommodation block that housed the men who worked here.

Torr Head: Looking back at the accommodation block

The ruined signal station

The Mull of Kintyre in the distance

No attempt has been made to preserve the buildings which have been vandalised and are decaying - and not the safest places to explore, but its a spot that has far reaching coastal views. After exploring Torr Head (and avoiding falling through the floorboards) we carried on to our next stop the coastal village of Cushendun.

Cushendun is a small village of white painted houses, a lovely beach, a small harbour and some impressive caves. Parking on the edge of the village, welcomed by bright sunshine, we walked along the beach and then around the harbour crossing a bridge to get to the other side.

Cushendun Beach

Cushendun Bridge

Just beyond the harbour are the much visited caves. The attraction is that this location was also used in Game of Thrones, as the Red Caves, (several times), but even if they hadn't featured in a TV blockbuster they are impressive and geologically very different from the dolorite, basalt or limestone seen elsewhere on the Antrim coast. The rock is a sedimentary conglomerate formed from rounded gravel and  pebbles, cemented together in red sandstone. There are several caves and they are large enough to walk into with views out to the coastal scenery beyond.

Cushendun Caves

It was a dramatic spot with fascinating geology but with more to see and the sun shining we left the caves and headed back around the harbour passing a man who was taking his goat for a walk.

I'll get my goat...

On the opposite side of the river by the bridge was a lovely looking pub with a welcoming mural and some verse painted on the end wall.

A neat village centre of whitewashed cottages added to the charm and it was all achieved by design. In 1912 the first and last Lord Cushendun commissioned the architect Clough Williams-Ellis to design a new village. He is better known for designing Portmerion. In Cushendun his design was influenced by seeing Cornish fishing villages. What was built is almost a pastiche of an idealised Cornish village - but the houses were neat and tidy and had weathered well over a hundred years. He also had a new larger house built for himself - Glemona House - after the original was burnt down in 1922, by the IRA. Lord Cushendun was a fervent Unionist.

Clough Williams-Ellis designed houses in Cushendun

Glemona House

We'd lingered long enough in this very pretty village so moved on a little further along the coast to have a quick look at the slightly larger village of Cushendall. Gaelic football is big in this part of the world, as evidenced by large colourful mural that greeted us at the entrance to the village and another painted on the side of a pub. 

Cushendall was a compact little place with a few gift shops and takeaways (all closed) in a main street of very colourful houses. We walked around the village and along the river bank spotted a heron sitting still in the centre of the flow of water, aware of our presence but unperturbed. 

Cushendall 

We'd hoped to find a cafe for lunch in the village but the only place that we could find was a busy coffee shop with a queue out the door and we didn't fancy waiting. After a visit to the beach we decided to move on and eat outdoors - fortunately we'd packed a picnic lunch and there was a forest not far away that seemed like a good spot.

This part of Northern Ireland has some beautiful inland scenery - the Glens of Antrim and we wanted to spend a few hours exploring this part of the province. Glenariff Forest Park was only 20 minutes drive away and seemed a good place to walk and picnic. The Glens of Antrim comprises nine glens or valleys that radiate out to the coast. Glenariff is the most central and the forest park is a great place to walk. A series of waymarked walks radiate from the visitor centre and car park, but first we had a picnic lunch taking in the scenery which, in the sunlight, was looking picture postcard perfect. 

Glenariff Forest Park

As we only had a limited time to spend there we set off on one of the shorter walks to see some waterfalls. The winding footpath wound downhill with the sound of rushing water getting louder and louder as we descended. As we reached the bottom we came upon the first waterfall - a roaring force of peaty brown water coming down in a double cascade with tremendous force.

Crossing to the other bank over a wooden footbridge we carried on using a boardwalk as the water crashed through a tree lined gorge beside us, water disappearing over more waterfalls until, downstream, we recrossed using another footbridge and began the steep climb uphill, pausing periodically to forage a few blackberries and admire the fungi growing at regular intervals in the damper parts of the forest.

Glenariff Waterfalls

Glenariff was the sort of place that you could spends days exploring but with only a few hours left in Northern Ireland we thought it best to head towards the ferry port, but found time en route for one last stop in the small coastal village of Carnlough.

With a pretty little harbour (also a GoT filming location) and a hotel where Winston Churchill once stayed Carnlough was clearly a popular destination for day trippers and holiday makers and, joy of joys, there was a Morelli gelato outlet on the main street.

Carnlough Harbour

Unable to resist a last try of this delicious treat we sat outside with tubs savouring our last taste of Northern Ireland. After a last little explore we set off for the last stretch, filling up with petrol before arriving at the P&O ferry terminal and departed on time for our two hour crossing back to Scotland - leaving Northern Ireland bathed in late afternoon sunlight.

Leaving Northern Ireland...

We'd had a fantastic time in Northern Ireland and we'd seen some beautiful places, got a real sense of past and more recent history and been bowled over by the friendliness of people. Our travels were not quite finished though. Before heading home we were going to spend a few more days in Scotland - what one of our daughters described as our 'never ending holiday'.