Ok, I know you're all probably more than sick of my holiday posts and can't wait for me to get back to my usual crafty stuff but this is the last one for a while, I promise...and there's cute and fluffy creatures in this so it's worth it!
I typed most of this out whilst I was there as a kind of diary thing, hence the changing tenses at times! I'm also not going to bother to split this up by the day like I usually do because I really can't be arsed and want to get it out of the way, lol, so everything's all in one big bumper post for a change.
Here's a sneak peek at what to expect...
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| Is this not the literal cutest thing ever? |
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Day 1
After a decidedly soggy start to the holiday...
...we had another deliciously moreish lunch at Loch Arthur.
(in my case, salad with ricotta cheese fritters and mixed nuts!)
After a decidedly soggy start to the holiday...
...we had another deliciously moreish lunch at Loch Arthur.
(in my case, salad with ricotta cheese fritters and mixed nuts!)
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| om nom nom nom nom |
They always have a really good selection of veggies but these GIGANTIC cabbages were something else entirely!
We'd stayed at the house in Rockcliffe before, and while it was a fantastic cottage to stay in, its location at the top of a very steep hill caused its own set of problems. Driving up the aforementioned hill was delayed somewhat by the large Tesco delivery van blocking the lane...along with the OTHER Tesco delivery van halfway up the hill! To make matters worse, a couple of minutes later we were joined in the queue by a large motorhome! It sounds like the start of a joke : 'two Tesco vans and a motor home drive up a hill' 😂 It was honestly like something out of a comedy sketch, with one driver running out to help the other guy unload and run them up the hill to the house opposite ours.
After unpacking, and getting our first fleeting glimpse of a red squirrel at the nest box in the garden opposite us, we went on a short walk along the beach. Dad set up his remotely operated nest box camera to record any activity while we were out but alas, all we got were crows!
Day 2.
We headed out around 11 to Balcary Bay.
That said, there were still rather a lot of nice shells everywhere, and a fair few interesting finds.
I particularly liked this rather literal rockpool.
There wasn't much to find as the remnants from Hurricane Ophelia seemed to have scoured the beach and hidden the nice purple stripy shells I like to find there.
That said, there were still rather a lot of nice shells everywhere, and a fair few interesting finds.
I particularly liked this rather literal rockpool.
Mum had the best find of the day I think with this perfectly intact tile! It doesn't have any real age to it and it's probably just out of someone's kitchen, but it's still really nice!
By 1pm the tide was high so we headed off to Kirkcudbright for some lunch. There was a local food festival in full swing, along with a vintage/antique fair thing we'd been to before. I sadly didn't have the space or money for this lovely old vintage saddle!
We didn't get much in the end, just a ball of wool and two rather tattered copies of 'Pictures from Punch' (from 1894/1895 I think) for the princely sum of £3 for the pair! The illustrations were exquisite, and there are a few I'd really like to frame!
The original advertisments are wonderful too.
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| Mmmm, delicious. |
After lunch at a wee cafe we investigated the food fair and came away with a few choice morsels. (Venison and champagne pâte? Om nom nom!)
The rain had surprisingly held off so we meandered down the coast to Nun's Mill Bay. We'd been there before but only ever at high tide so we were able to see rather more of it now that the tide was on the turn.
My find of the day was probably this fully articulated dogfish(?) spine and a selection of scallop shells.
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| Can we appreciate my incredibly snazzy glittery gloves for a moment? Okay, carry on. |
I don't find many intact scallops and these ones were particularly nice. The pink and white one I spotted in the wee stream on the beach.
I legit had a traumatic experience there though. I accidentally swallowed a fly. 🤢
Picture the scene: all three of us were on the beach looking for finds. The sun was out, it was lovely and warm, the screaming children from earlier had left, so it was nice and quiet. Mum announced that she'd found something interesting so I opened my mouth to ask what it was, and as I inhaled this fucking thing flew in and I was full on coughing and spluttering for a good thirty seconds but there was no going back. 😷 I could actually feel it going down, it was awful. I had a packet of softmints in my bag so I downed several of those immediately afterwards to feel better!
En route back to Rockcliffe we stopped off at the ruined Dundrennan Abbey; the last place Mary, Queen of Scots was held on Scottish soil before being taken down south for the chop. Sadly the visiting season was over so we had to make do with looking through the gate instead of properly exploring it.
We knew there were badgers in the area when we came here, so, dad brought the little nestbox camera he has and set it up on the patio outside while we were having our tea. To our astonishment we realised afterwards that a badger had been scoffing the peanuts we put out only a few feet away from us and we hadn't noticed! We put more out and waited, eventually getting to see it in person. This is actually one of dad's videos but the file type was incompatible with my phone so I had to film it off his laptop screen. 😂
It was actually only a few days since it was a full year ago that I saw my first live badger in the same area!
It was actually only a few days since it was a full year ago that I saw my first live badger in the same area!
Day 3
Monday was wet, and misty and just, frankly, miserable.
We went off to Castle Douglas for some charity shop bargain hunting and lunch. My favourite (yes, I do have a favourite charity shop lol) was closed today, but the others weren't too bad. My bargain of the day was actually from my least favourite of the shops - a very bedraggled and well worn vintage Sindy for 50p! I've never had a Sindy before (at least not a vintage one anyway) and despite her lack of arm articulation I think I'll have good fun restoring her as she's definitely in need of some help! I absolutely mortified a whole host of Sindy collectors on facebook later though, when I revealed my plans to not only reroot and repaint her...but shrink her head to boot! 😈😂
I don't think they appreciated that their steadfast resistance to the thought of customisation actually made me want to do it more.
The weather was marginally better later on, so we went on a two mile walk through Doach Woods. It was a little steep in places and very muddy, but the views were worth it, along with the assorted dogs we passed en route!
The trees were enormous and the whole place had a real otherworldly quality, I loved it.
One of the draws of this particular forest was this waterfall by the path, but unfortunately it was a pretty slippery route down to it and we were starting to lose the light, so these were the best photos I could manage, not helped by Dad getting in the way. XD
The badger made an appearance again that night but unfortunately either it knocked over dad's camera or the wind did, and it stopped working! :(
Day 4.
Dad got a bumper crop of moths from his moth trap he'd put out the night before - easily over 200 individuals, including, as he later found out, the first Scottish record of a particular species which was pretty cool.
We went for a mid morning walk down Rockcliffe, up to the cottage 'Moorsheil', where we've stayed before.
The recent storms had scoured the usually extensive cockle beach at Rockcliffe and deposited a huge swathe of dark and very smelly seaweed right up against the sea wall.
Lunch followed back at the house, then Dad went on a walk to Kippford...while mum and I sat with some cake and watched a red squirrel less than a foot away from us on the patio! She was hoovering up all the peanuts and stayed for ages - such a great view!
Just in case you were unsure of just how close we were...
In keeping with the small mammal theme there were a pair of voles that we'd often see scurry out from either side of the patio with frankly alarming speed to grab a leftover crumb of food. They were ridiculously cute as you'll see later on!
After tea we played Scrabble for the first time in months - clearly the letter gods were against us as we were all really struggling to make good words. That didn't stop mum from winning as usual however!
As I was helping to clear the table I glanced outside and whispered 'badger!' for there was one just outside the door, snuffling away at all the seed and leftover peanuts we'd lad out earlier. She stayed for ages too and we honestly couldn't have asked for a better view!
Day 5
We were joined at breakfast by another red and fluffy companion - a male this time, far more orange and tufty than the female that had entertained us the day before. Rather than guzzling everything in sight, this one would stuff his face with peanuts and bound away to bury his stash for the winter.
Next stop - Carsethorn!
The recent storms had churned up most of the beach, but I still managed to find some really nice bits of pottery, a deer jaw(!) and once we'd trekked to the other end, a few Carboniferous fossils.
The two figures in the distance were trying to catch their dog (Lash?) as he'd caught a whiff of something and was absolutely not listening to them yelling on him to come back! 😂 The woman told us that she thought he'd stay focused at the beach and was clearly mistaken! They caught him eventually, and we was kept on the lead all the way back to the car. 😂
A wee trip to Sweetheart Abbey and the wonderful Abbey Tearoom followed for a late lunch. We drove around for a while after that, hoping to find somewhere interesting for a cup of tea and a cake but apparently at this time of year everything shuts at 4pm!
They had some guys doing some restoration work on the Abbey this time round - I don't envy them that climb!
Back at the house we got another lovely visit from the female squirrel, then two voles this time, zooming backwards and forwards to gather up the peanuts.
I sat in the dark after tea, waiting for the badger, who eventually turned up at about quarter past 9. She hoovered up everything in sight before trundling off into the gloom once more.
Day 6
No squirrel this morning but we did get a good view of one of the voles. After a piece of cake at a wee garden/tea shop in Dalbeattie we headed off to Castle Douglas.
I bought this gorgeous little book from a charity shop in Dalbeattie for like, £50p, and I'm going to use it as a seaside journal type thing, for art and poetry and so on. It's just so cute!
A couple of the charity shops we like were closed the last time we were in, so we checked them out and I ended up getting all manner of bargains!
I got everything you see here for under £4! The Curvy Barbie and the two MHs were 50p each at one shop, and I got the rest at another for £1.75!
The metal candleholder thing I thought would make an excellent industrial style side table once the patterned sides were off and either some glass or wood top put on. The metal celtic knotwork pot is another candle holder and I just thought it was kinda cute. The one eared donkey was a sympathy purchase as was his incredibly angry looking zebra companion! 😂
The jointed Barbie was destined for customisation as her hair was horribly matted even after a good wash, but I was super excited to have found her as I love articulation and especially dolls with more diverse skin tones! (I've already completely customised her so watch this space for her makeover story...)
The Curvy one is in really good condition so I don't think I need to do much to her really. The two MHs however are custom fodder... 😈
We fancied a walk after all that, so headed out to Kirkcudbright for a wander next to the river.
There were a couple of old fishing boats that had been intentionally scuttled on the bank and I was immediately drawn to their old peeling paint and weathered hulls.
This one however, was just that bit more special.
She still had a name!
I googled for her when I got home and found that she'd had quite the history!
We'd planned on going to one of our usual haunts for tea - 'The Old Schoolhouse' near Ringford, but despite their latest Facebook post saying they were open today, we discovered that they weren't so we had to rethink our plans. Pasta from the supermarket it was!
TWO badgers tonight! One ran off as we approached the window but the other one stayed for ages.
I installed the 'Nightcap' app on my phone in the hope that I could take some good star photos alongside Nigel. Results so far weren't great, but it has very good video settings, with adjustable ISO and things so if the badger turns up tomorrow night I'll be able to get some good footage! One thing I did have better luck with was the 'star trails' setting. I only left it on for about fifteen minutes, but next time I'll try for a good hour or something.
Nigel however, was far more successful in capturing the stars!
(click to enlarge for better detail)
I *think* this was the Pleiades.
Day 7.
The last day of our holiday is always a little bittersweet, but the weather was so nice we didn't really think about it! Before we headed out for the day, I managed to finally get some good photos of on one of the voles and oh my god, they're just TOO CUTE.
(and yes, I did make you sift through six days of stuff before reaching Optimum Adorability)
Wheeeeeee!
We spent the morning walking around Kippford, had lunch at The Ark and found some unexpected treasures in the harbour before heading back to the house to chill out for the rest of the day.
We spotted something a little unusual en route, just down the road from the Clonyard Hotel - a black postbox! Apparently this means it's no longer 'working' in that sense as nobody comes to collect the letters.
By far my favourite part of the little seaside village of Kippford is the garden of 'Bengairn' on the road to Rockcliffe. A local artist named Bill Smart used to live there and he created a multitude of hilariously quirky faces from interestingly shaped rocks, driftwood and bits and pieces washed up on the tide. Apparently he's since passed away but his family have continued the tradition which is so good to hear. I can't suppress a smile whenever I walk past and from the delighted gasps of people new to the area, neither can anyone else!
Kippford is pretty boring at the harbour end, especially at low tide as it's really nothing but mud, however, a couple of minutes walk down the road there's a couple of really picturesque cockle beaches.
I found some slightly worn and discarded sticks from fireworks on the beach and decided to take them away to use as building material as they were actually made from some pretty nice wood...and I accidentally transformed into Edward Scissorhands on my way back. XD
My find of the day was this gorgeous piece of patinated copper...what it is however is a bit of a mystery, though it reminds me of the bits they put on the edges of boxes to protect them.
I also found what I think is a section of clay pipe which is a definite first!
After grumbling at me for a couple of minutes, I got a rather closer than expected view!
That evening I got a couple of good clips of the badger with the Nightcap app but missed out on the vole who was just too quick!
While the moon wasn't full that night, it was very bright, and reflected beautifully over the Solway.
Day 8 - Homeward bound!
Our leaving day began with a horrible cloying smirr, which filled the sky with a murky grey haze. The Ark didn't open until later so we went back to Loch Arthur for coffee and cake. (In my case a slice of deliciously moist chocolate, almond and olive oil cake which I've since recreated for myself using one of Nigella's recipes!)
En route home we called into the town of Moffat for lunch and some charity shop shopping.
Moffat turned out to not be very good for charity shops, but we did find the most amazing antiques/collectibles shop with the added bonus of a private toy museum upstairs which was just mind-blowing.
I only took photos of the particularly derpy things for sale but the vast majority were in beautiful condition. I bought two old postcards but that was it as everything else was well over my budget.
As you ascend the stairs to the museum, the first thing you see is the ceiling, which is almost entirely covered in unboxed and original Star Wars and/or Star Trek figures. I can't even begin to imagine how many objects were up here; from vintage ray guns to merch from films released very recently! I could only spare a couple of minutes upstairs but it's definitely worth a return visit!
Literally across from the Lothlorien Emporium there was another antique shop, though this one was very sadly closed for lunch so we couldn't get in. I did get to see this through the window though and I'll end this post with his rather dapper visage.
The next posts will be crafty, I promise!
I've made a LOT of things since I last had a proper blog post so there's a lot to catch up with!
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