SCOTLAND - PART 3

Friday; our last full day which involved a LOT of packing up but we also managed to make the most of the rest of the day. The morning started with an eerie mist over the loch:

OB and I took the dogs into a misty forest. The smell of wild garlic filled the damp air.

Dewy cobwebs filled the trees:

As we climbed up the steep hill, we rose above the mist. I spotted Billy's Button (Water Avens), one of my favourite plants in my garden, growing by the side of the track. The first time I've ever seen it in the wild:

These tiny yellow fungi were scattered in the rhododendron leaf filled shallow ditch by the path. Any ideas? 

Lots of these obviously....

And beautiful Bluebells:

One boy and his dogs:

Swallow on a power cable:

From mist to this in an hour:

When we got back we had our last kayaking session. I'm really going to miss it. I got out really far this time and it was quite choppy at times:

Snippet and Jack somehow made their way down to the beach through next door's garden. Jack lead the way obviously. Snippet picking stones from the salty water:

Making a little collection:

I think this is just a tiny Shore Crab - dead - but if you know better.....

Close up barnacles:

Sandhopper. This picture took some getting I can tell you. They don't hang around. 

Sea Slater (I think). A shore dwelling relative of the woodlouse.

Another dead shore crab I think:

We ate out on the last night. Not sophisticated food but very tasty. The whole place seems to be around twenty years behind the times and I'm very pleased I brought the contents of our fridge and half the cupboards as we couldn't have eaten out more than twice as we would have exhausted the menu. Also, the nearest place to buy fuel was nearly an hour away and the post office only had a bread delivery every three days. People think where we live is remote but Chagford, with its amazing range of shops for a tiny town, is only 15 minutes away and fuel only twenty. Our wilderness is a fairly cosmopolitan one.

We said farewell to Lochgoilhead that glorious evening. I'll miss it not getting dark till almost 11.00pm:

On our way to Glasgow airport the next day, we stopped at Loch Lomond to let the dogs stretch their legs; they had a long journey with M ahead of them:

We had to cross Erskine Bridge over the Clyde to get to there. M is not good with heights and there were white knuckles on the steering wheel......

OB had been practicing breathing exercises after the previous aerial nightmare and I kept everything crossed as we waited to board, in plenty of time today. We waited...........and waited. Some kind of problem with the wheelchair lift which was missing. The poor people in their wheelchairs were sitting out on the tarmac in the wind and blazing sunshine. Off at last, half an hour late but we took off like a rocket. No taxiing around, just straight up so OB had no chance to get nervous. I sat by the window this time and it was all fine. Because it was so clear, there was very little turbulence and he remembered to swallow. No visit to the airborne lavatory either............phew. 

It got a bit less sunny as we neared Bristol........

And landed safely.

2 hours to home via a very strange service station where I bought some stuff from a tiny M&S for our supper in the car...........my mum's car............now full of crumbs. Exhausted but not as exhausted as M who apparently got home at 2.00am. I was fast asleep I'm afraid. Best holiday for a very long time. However........East, West, home's best. Until next time, here's Snippet on our first walk back on Dartmoor.