A Little Break

With the visitor season slowing down at last, Sue and I have booked ourselves a couple of very short breaks to give ourselves a change of scene. We made the first of these trips last week, staying at the rather lovely Bunchrew House Hotel just outside Inverness. Cupar gets to have his break in the Portree kennels... The hotel stands in large wooded grounds on the shore of the Beauly Firth. Our room (in the tower, just above the front door) faced the gardens, but breakfast in the dining room gave us views over the firth. We travelled in Puss Kat the Jaguar of course - what a fabulous vehicle!

Puss and Sue at Bunchrew

On our first day, we parked on the outskirts of Inverness and enjoyed a lovely walk all along the banks of the River Ness into the city centre, where we spent a couple of hours exploring the little museum and art gallery - which is definitely worth a visit if you find yourselves with a couple of spare hours in the city centre!

Next day, with the weather very much in our favour, we headed out to Fortrose (not far away) where we viewed the cathedral ruins, then embarked on a six-mile circular walk which took in Chanonry Point, the village of Rosemarkie, a bit of Rosemarkie's Fairy Glen, and the hill over Swallow's Den.

We later had a little wander around the small town of Beauly with its wonderful Abbey ruins. Sue took more photos than me, so I may add some of hers later.

Fortrose Cathedral, lychgate, built 1922 as a war memorial 

Chanonry Point lighthouse.
The point is reckoned to be the best place in the UK for dolphin-spotting
 - but the dolphins were in hiding while we were there.

Rosemarkie village - yes, I managed to pass the pub without pausing...

Fairy Glen - the autumn colour was fabulous, and a dipper (bird) serenaded us with the most beautiful of songs

View from Swallows Den.
We had walked from Fortrose (on the right), to the point, then to Rosemarkie (on the left), and were now heading back to the start. 

Next trip - in a couple of week's time - Dundee!