Holiday to the Borders

Our surprise journey was a "trip of memories", visiting some of the places we visited when I first came to visit M and her family in 1999. Our trip took us through the winding roads of the Galloway hills. Sheep and new lambs dotted nearly every hillside. Lambing season is still ongoing at this time so there were many little ones frolicking in the fields and nursing with the mama ewes. Daffodils bloom in masses along the roads, in carparks, alongside white-washed cottages, dry-stone walls, and even in fields. It is no wonder Wordsworth wrote of "hosts of golden daffodils". They are truly breath-taking when seen in such profusion.


We ate our lunch in Southerness, near the John Paul Jones Cottage. In 1999 M and I ate dinner here while the children played games in the nearby video arcade. I ordered a delicious fried haddock which was way too big but also delicious. You can count on wonderful fish in Scotland. Our destination for the evening was the Cairndale Hotel in Dumfries. We stopped at a garage to ask directions and I think I understood about 1/10 of the words spoken by the man who graciously pointed out the way. It is a good thing they were not depending on me to get us there!


One of my favorite towns to drive through is New Abbey where Sweetheart Abbey ruins are found. I wish I had taken a photo of a sign pointing to a town called "Beeswing". Is that not a charming name for a village?

M had the foresight to make a pot of lentil soup before we left home. We picked up loaves of ready-to-bake bread at the local Spar shop (nice convenience store) to eat with our hearty soup. A pot of tea and tray of biscuits rounded out our meal.

Tomorrow we leave for Culross, a village that is on the National Trust Register. Our friend Robin, has graciously loaned us the use of her lovely home while she and her family are on holiday on Orkney. We have two full days ahead of us. The next post will be on Friday.