18 August 2017

Thirteenth

Regarding Sunday, August 13th....

In the B&B, I came downstairs to a delightful fried breakfast followed by a freshly prepared fruit salad. The woman who runs the place is an artist. Her pictures are displayed on most of the walls. Her black Labrador drooled as I ate my last chunk of sausage. She wasn't getting any of it.

The morning was glorious and soon I set off for Sandgreen along a quiet lane. Checking my Ordnance Survey map, I stopped occasionally to take pictures such as the following:-
But very soon I reached Sandgreen where I looked out over Airds Bay:-
From there I backtracked - this time heading to Knockbrex and Carrick. The tide was out so I donned my walking boots and set off over the tidal flats to uninhabited Ardwall Isle. The ruins of a chapel were marked on the map but I couldn't find them. I think they were hidden by undergrowth. I walked to the west of the little island and looked north to Murray's Isles:-
To the west of  Knockbrex Hoiuse I had noticed some strange pillars protruding from the rocks. In past times, they guided boats into the estate's little harbour. With difficulty, I made my way along the rocky foreshore to photograph them:-
Back in Clint, I travelled eastwards towards Borgue where I attended the village's summer fair and won two bottles of beer. I also had a pint of: bitter shandy in The Borgue Hotel:-
My next destination was Ross. It's a hamlet near the entrance to Kirkcudbright Bay. I had spotted it when studying my map back in Sheffield. I wanted to walk round the little peninsula south of Ross Bay to see the island of Little Ross with its lighthouse, beacon and harbour house. It is currently up for sale and the starting price is just £350,000 though bidding may well push it up to the region of half a million or more.

On the foreshore I noticed an old caravan with a large Scottish flag fluttering over it.  By chance I met its occupants - Tommy and Margaret from Glasgow. Both in their seventies, they had been visiting their caravan (American: trailer) for over thirty years. Margaret was about to go swimming in the bay. We spoke about happiness, Brexit and Little Ross and Tommy explained how to circumnavigate the peninsula:-
The island of Little Ross
Black and white sheep on the slopes of Meikel Ross
By the end of this little walk  it was almost five o' clock. I headed up the western side of Kirkcudbright Bay, stopping only to spend ten minutes at Dhoon Bay:-
Then Clint and I drove on - back To Kirkcudbright. I was thirsty and quite hungry. I went into "The Steam Packet Inn" for a pint of Deuchar's bitter. There I met a local man called Jack. He had worked as a fencer for forty years - not waving swords, but building fences. He showed me his free bus pass which he had collected the day after his sixtieth birthday the previous week. He seemed confused that I, as a sixty three year old Englishman, am still not entitled to a senior citizen's bus pass. There are different rules in Scotland and some of them seem most unfair.

I enjoyed a tasty fish and chip supper in the nearby "Polarbites" fish and chip restaurant and afterwards spent an hour chattering with a couple of seniors who are touring southern Scotland in their new camper van. They even invited me inside to show off the interior of their vehicle.

I didn't make it back to the B&B till ten thirty. There was a note on the door asking me to lock up. Behind the kitchen door the malodorous black Labrador woofed a greeting as I mounted the stairs to watch football highlights on the little TV set in my room. It had been another wonderful day, exactly thirty three years since our lovely son Ian was born.

25 comments:

  1. You certainly personify the "Happy Wanderer", Yorkie.

    You and Clint do get out and about. I'm sure I speak on behalf of the readers of your blog...I'm glad you do so, and that you generously share your travels with us.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Next weekend we are off to France for three days to stay with my brother and his girlfriend.

      Delete
  2. Days spent poking around and finding what's there are satisfying.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Curiosity may have killed the cat but it has always enhanced my life.

      Delete
  3. How very olfactory-ist of you to call the dog malodorous! For shame :)

    You don't really linger anywhere, do you? It would have taken me at least a week to cover the same ground. Lovely shots to follow along with the story. I especially like the trees in the second photo, and the purple flowers in the fourth shot.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was on a whistle stop adventure and wished to see as much as I could. I might never be back there.

      Delete
  4. That all sounds really nice! And I hope Ian had a great birthday!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. He rarely picks up his mobile phone (cell phone) so I haven't been able to talk with him yet.

      Delete
  5. You did well not to mention the phallic shape of those pillars.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Phallic to you perhaps Derek. I would require a picture of Dungeness lighthouse.

      Delete
  6. What a fabulous trip. Sounds like you had a great day out and met some interesting people. Disappointed you didn't share your sausage though.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. One has to be careful where one puts one's sausage.

      Delete
  7. Like Jenny, I particularly like the second picture. The one with the sheep is also somehow iconic. Actually, most of the pictures on this post would not look out of place nicely framed, adorning someone's wall, or in a coffeetable book.
    The little island is for sale, lighthouse and all? Hmm...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes. You and OK could buy it and live there till old age but you will need to buy a boat. You could call it "Librarian With Secrets".

      Delete
  8. I failed to get a pint in the Borgue Hotel for it was closed when we were there on our first visit and on our second visit it was Kirkcudbright pubs that provided the pints.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kirkcudbright is a lovely town isn't it Heron? I had pints in three pubs there - "The Masonic", "The Steam Packet" and "The Kirkcudbright Bay Hotel". In another life I could have easily lived there.

      Delete
  9. Have you got one of those fairground mirrors that makes everything look longer?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No but I have got special ankle strapping.

      Delete
  10. Bee u ti fullll pictures, my friend. Do you ever keep notes about the wonderful people you meet on your journeys? Would make nice postscripts for your book that is hopefully in the works already.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I thank you for your encouragement Donna but the only book I have in mind for e-publishing is a book of poems. That should have happened long ago but thankfully it is still not too late. I must get on with it.

      Delete
  11. Lovely photographs. So well thought-out.

    ReplyDelete
  12. You definitely know how to pack a lot of activity into a day! Great pictures as always. I admire your ability to strike up conversations with people you meet on your travels. Believe it or not, I'm usually way too shy for that!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for your encouragement Steve. My late brother Paul never wore a wristwatch. I once asked him why. He said it meant he would often have to ask other people the time and this would frequently open the door for conversation.

      Delete
  13. Looks like you had a great time!

    ReplyDelete

Mr Pudding welcomes all genuine comments - even those with which he disagrees. However, puerile or abusive comments from anonymous contributors will continue to be given the short shrift they deserve. Any spam comments that get through Google/Blogger defences will also be quickly deleted.

Most Visits