Lochside Hotel Bowmore

... drinking, special mention would have to go to Harbour Inn (for seafood), Old Kiln Cafe, and The Lochside Hotel (for the massive selection of Islay whiskys).<br><br> <br><br>One thing that struck me on the Isle (especially compared to London) is that everyone is really friendly and there is a real community vibe. Even to the point that nearly everyone will wave at you on the road when going in the opposite direction.<br><br><br><br>

... sober, so after a text message poll to fellow sailors, I settled upon a pint in The Victoria. Book, beer and a view across the harbour; can't beat it.<br><br>Next time I'll check the contours on the map before having a pint - hill over to the Arran ferry was a bit steeper than I thought!<br>

<br>Next day, we were back on the west coast at Oban, and from there drove to the ferry at Tarbert and crossed over to Islay (pronounced Isle &#8211; luh), home of Laphroaig Distillery, among others. Laphroaig is Bill&#8217;s favorite Scotch, or at least the first real single malt he ever tried, so he has a soft spot for it. I think it tastes like liquid peatmoss. He also belongs to the Friends of Laphroaig, and so is entitled to a free dram of Scotch annually ...

We are now back home in Tarbert and have temporarily swallowed the anchor but fully expect to re-gurgitate it in late 2009. Since being home we have rapidly come to realise just why we love living on the beautiful Kintyre Peninsula. The weather has been, mostly, pretty good, very cold but with the air gin clear and the winter sunlight giving drop dead gorgeous views of ...

... eux : - la constrution d'une bonde pour le contrôle de l'irrigation - le balisage de chemin - la pose de cloture pour enclos à moutons - la creation de porte-accès pour les sentiers - l'enlevement de plantes dangereuses (les "Ragwort") Admirez le travail quand même !! on pouvait être fier de nous ! Et tout au long de ce séjour, les paysages se succ ...

... years and as an avid reader of this blog, I know will now be blushing! Anyway, returning to the point, whilst we are not gardeners, nevertheless we do enjoy visiting fine examples such as Benmore, they make for a super morning out. The plan for the afternoon was to return to the Kyles of Bute and whilst we were readying ourselves, our neighbour in a power boat called Cemac kindly offered us the use of his mooring, close to the ...

... up alongside and after lunch, we had a couple of walks, north &amp; south, around the bay, taking in bluebell woods and medieval castles. It was warm and sunny and the spring flowers were out in force. It was a really lovely afternoon. Back to the boat, G&amp;T's followed by spaghetti bollognese in the warm (sort of) setting sun. We DO like this cruising business!!!

... us a 2.8 litre Audi Quattro! It really is great fun and is turning Rob into bloody Jeremy Clarkson - waxing lyrical, shouting excitedly and stuff like that - nothing new there then! However, with petrol at over a pound a litre his enthusiasm is likely to be short lived. We will be spending Christmas with Will and Angela before heading South for a couple of weeks to do a ...

Well this is it... what we have been waiting for. 4-5 yrs of study and ambition to travel around Europe and see all those amazing places. Getting as far as the Uk, and having to wait another 7 months has been torture, but I'm sure it's all worth it. The reason we hadn't gone straight to Europe was so we could earn british pounds for travelling. Let's face it you're not gonna get very far with the Aussie dollar. The Itinerary ...

Our last day and another tour around to get in as much sight seeing as we can. this has been a fantastic week. the scenery has been outstanding and I could not stop taking photos. Here are a few more from our travels in bonny Scotland!!!!!