Was I Scottish In An Earlier Life????

Last week hubby and I celebrated our wedding anniversary in Bonny Scotland - the place I love more than anywhere in the world (apart from my bed which is actually my favourite place, ever, ever, ever).

After a hectic year to date the chance to really 'get away from it all' appealed greatly and so we booked ourselves a lovely studio cottage up in the hills. Fifteen miles from the nearest shop and along a dead end single track road. Bliss.

For me, travelling to Scotland must be an adventure (it's the child in me), so our journey began at 4am on Saturday morning when we set off, in the half light to explore the wilds of the north. We made really good time and arrived at our cottage at around 2.30pm after having stocked up in Inverness with obscene amounts of food and alcohol.

It is fair to say that we managed to apply hubby's magic rule of thumb (usually adopted when dining out) in that we spent more money on necessities such as wine, beer and champagne that we did on incidental extras such as meat, vegetables, milk, fruit etc... Well we were on holiday and it was a celebration. Needless to say our waistlines have expanded to suit our ages even more accurately.

During our week we explored the hills around our accomodation and made the most of the peace and quiet. There were deer grazing in and around the garden every day and we spotted countless hawks, a pair of Red Kite, a Lapwing and amazingly were graced with the dulcet tones of a cuckoo in the tree outside at 4am. All this with the distant sound of the rivers, streams and waterfalls made sweet, sweet music. Apart from these few sounds the silence was beatifully deafening.

Exploring further afield during the rest of the week we drove around Loch Carron and visited Plockton on a less than sunny day. The saving grace of the day for my food centric personality was THE most amazing bowl of Cullen Skink that I had for my lunch. It was like nectar. If anyone can recommend a recipe that is idiot proof, then I'd love to hear from you. After a tour around to the Applecross peninsula we headed back to sample some wine and check on our 'pet' deer.

Midweek saw us venture to Ullapool and The Summer Isles which are a sight to behold. Remarkably we were granted beautiful sunshine and the views of the Summer Isles were quite incredible. Hubby decided to dip his toes in the sea and it was surprisingly warm (or so he said). I think he was trying to get me to go skinny dipping and freezing my bits off!

Driving through these small and remote communities made our life in 'the metropolis that is Gobowen' seem fast paced. To me there was a real sense of a time gone by and, I fear, for many of us lost forever. Don't get me wrong, the sunshine we were enjoying was a rare thing indeed and at 4pm on a November evening I am sure life is a whole lot different but for some reason it still really appeals to me. I wonder if perhaps I was Scottish in a previous life? Certainly feels that way when I am there.

On Wednesday we stayed overnight in Ullapool, a purpose built community on the shores of Loch Broome with ferry links to the Isles of Lewis and Harris. As with any port Ullapool has a sense of transition and in many ways lacks a heart but to me that makes it all the more appealing. I love the anonymity of airports, train stations and, by definition, anywhere that is full of comings and goings. All people there with a different life, a different purpose a different view. I love the mystery of it all...

Prior to my imbibing slightly too much celebratory wine we managed to find a spectacular restaurant called The Arch http://www.thearchinn.co.uk/ for our evening meal. One to recommended for sure.

As you can see, despite the wine I was still able to sit on the sea wall without disappearing into the water...quite a feat, believe me.

After a day at Inverewe Gardens on Thursday we ventured back to our 'bolt hole' to spend Friday soaking up the last rays of sunshine and tranquility before our long drive home.

I am always sad to return from holiday but this time it seemed even harder to pull myself away and step back into the real world. It's important to escape sometimes. Does the solar panels a world of good and reminds us all what life is really about.

Stuck for somewhere to go later in the year? Go to Scotland, you won't be disappointed.