Skye and Cuillens from the Bealach na Ba

Skye and Cuillens from the Bealach na Ba
Originally uploaded by Lee Carson

Well we can mark camping off as a success! After my mini-rant about the Scottish tourist industry it was great to find some places getting it really right, for a price.
We travelled west on Sunday, stopping in Strathpeffer at the old railway station for soup and sandwiches before the main push into Applecross. Applecross is where we got engaged, where we came on honeymoon and the last time we were there was Kit's 1st birthday (though the ungrateful brat pretended he couldn't remember it!) so it has a lot to answer for.  It is well known for a couple of things, 1) the road to get there and 2) the food waiting for you if you make it.
Well the road didn't let us down... Wipers on fastest setting, fog lights front and rear and off we went round bends called such delights as "Devil's Elbow". There was no point stopping at the viewpoint as we could se the clouds perfectly well from our vantage point deep inside them but once we began the downward stretch things brightened up a little. The little Suzuki Vitara parked on its side in a gully towards the end of the pass was a gentle reminder that not everyone takes it so easy on this road...I cautiously stopped and checked there were no bodies still inside, and it was clear from the detritus inside that a family with young children had had a journey they would not forget in a hurry.
Our camping hut was as basic as I'd hoped, clean and bright, small enough to be exciting but large enough to stand up in. The front door could have been a couple of inches taller mind you, as both Lorna's and my head will attest to. Ouch.
Sunday evening was spent in the award winning Applecross Inn where we ate and drank because that's what we do. At £8.95 the customary half pint of prawns has gone from snack to main meal status (another ouch) but we enjoyed fresh prawn cocktail, cod and haddock washed down with some pints of Red Cuillen ale.
Oh, the football was on and those hacking Dutch were soundly beaten in the last 3 minutes of extra time. Shame on them.
Monday was wet and we passed the morning visiting the local heritage centre, Free Church and then lunched in the Potting Shed set in the walled garden of the local hunting stately home. Another place Getting It Right, I was pleased to see - pricey but not too bad considering that by the time you got there you were the most captive market in the world.
Back to the hut for a snooze then off for dinner again...this time crab salad, lemon monk fish or cheesy pasta depending on which family member you were. A bit more beer then back to the camp site to read until dark.
Kit loved the whole camping thing - the sleeping bag, showering in the morning, the hut...everything. Considering how wet he got on out walk I was pleased he is a fairly resilient boy all in all.
We headed back to mum's in Tain today and finally got some good weather worth stopping for as the picture shows. Applecross sits on the mainland opposite Skye and it's really never the same view twice.
More pics to come, of course, but the more pressing matter on my mind is...tomorrow we load up the motorbike and head for Orkney. Kit is well looked after at Granny's but the rain is coming down again and Lorna keeps waving huge items of clothing / electrical equipment / footwear under my nose and asking if there will be room...

Get a bicycle. You will not regret it. If you live.

Hmmm, haven't been here for a while. Nothing to blame except bone-idleness but let's move on... I am staying late in school tonight to sign-off the old School Board and usher in the new Parents' Forum. I would actually welcome anything which gets more parents involved in their children's education, and I think the School Board has for long been a shadowy closed shop arguing eternally about the cleanliness of toilets and parking outside the school gates. I reckon a published agenda, given to all parents well in advance of a meeting, could draw some in. Then we can pounce on them and tell them to help their child learn to read...

Christopher has grown loads since the last post, of course. He now does pulling up, fast crawling, opening doors, teeth (2) and a nice routine of babbling sounds most of which, I have to be honest, resemble "dada". That didn't go down too well on Mother's Day, mind you. He is now a well established member of nursery and the daily report we get is always filled with tales of trampolines, toast and treasure boxes. My half day Fridays means I can usually collect him and it's always nice when he recognises me and gives me his smile. Nice touches like a Mother's Day card, home baking (eh? he baked?) and walks along the canal side have confirmed we chose the right kennel. I mean nursery.

Of course, his big news is being nearly one - gulp. It's too boring to say "The time goes so quickly" but there you go, I said it. Spring is definately my favourite time of year and now reminds me of joking with Lorna about giving birth to a lamb, and watching as the daffodils began to flower, her signal that baby was nearly here. So we are off to Applecross for his birthday, though that may be the last time we stay at the inn - they have put their prices up from £30pp per night to £45 - an increase of £60 for the two nights B&B. Too rich for us I'm afraid.

Speaking of holidays we have 2 more planned for the year, but I have to confess I'm not brave enough to venture abroad with the boy yet so we are strictly Scotland based which I have no problem with. The biker couples have booked a 10 person cottage in Appin for a week in April, so we are going to do one of the weekends. The exciting news? It has a pool table, woo! Of course it is the ride up I'm looking forward to...but more bike grumps in a moment... Our summer holiday is to be a week at a cottage on Mull, with at least one visit to Iona but mainly to get "away from it all"...meaning it has no TV and certainly no computer. Betting on who will murder who first will begin in June, with Lorna being the hot tip to smother me on night 3.

Bike woes? Well the Suzuki has been back at the dealers for 5 weeks after refusing to start and flashing me a "fuel injection" warning! After exploratory surgery they told me the throttle bodies needed to be replaced! This is very serious, especially on a 1000 mile / 5 month old bike. What's more, while they were in there they discovered the wiring loom had "lost its integrity" - what? Well, apparently part of the wiring looked like it had acid spilt on it, exposing the bare wires...the battery was intact, so who know what all that is about. Anyway, Suzuki keep all their spare parts on an asteroid past Saturn, so getting them takes weeks of patience and phone calls. I have a loan bike from them, but that's not really the point, is it? I wrote a nice stroppy letter to them last night so we'll see what comes of that.

And on the other bike front - I still cycle to and from school, and I'm enjoying feeling fitter and stronger as I cycle breezily up hills that previously used to make me want to puke. And I'm getting a new bike, a nice off-road suspension job for summer evenings I hope. Toys toys toys.

Ok, that's the update. If anyone is still there drop me a comment to encourage me to keep the blog going :-)