Day 1 - Friday
We were aiming for Dawyck Gardens, near Peebles, as our first stop.
A beautiful day to wander around the grounds following the paths and mown grass walkways.
Many of the the trees were very impressive specimens.
but there was plenty more to see ...
A beautiful place and one to visit again at another time of the year.
The cafe was pretty good too and certainly worth a visit!
We finally moved on to make our way to our hotel for the night.
Day 2 - Saturday
Saturday dawned bright and sunny - a trip to the island of Cumbrae in the Firth of Clyde was somewhere we had wanted to visit - and today seemed to be the day.
Reaching the ferry terminal we joined the queue - to find many others seemed to have had the same idea!! The next ferry departed without us but when we asked when another would be leaving we were told " two minutes" What service! (They were putting on extra ferries because of the numbers of people wanting to take the 10 minute journey!)
Within a very short time we were on the ferry and then on the island itself. Cumbrae is often called "Bicycle island" as many people take advantage of the many bikes there are for hire. We met many people doing just this as we explored the island. Some ladies, in fancy dress, were doing a fund-raising tour of the island by bicycle on the day we visited. We met them with only a short way to go but they were definitely feeling the effects of cycling 10 miles.
Cumbrae has plenty of beaches, quiet areas to just sit and take in the views, which are spectacular in whichever direction you look. There is only one town on the island but Millport is bigger than we expected with a long main street full of shops, cafes and coffee shops.
We visited Garrison House, which houses a medical centre, library, museum, council services office as well as the Courtyard Cafe.
Cumbrae is also home to the Cathedral of the Isles - Britain's smallest cathedral. It dates from 1851 and is still in regular use today. A beautiful, peaceful place.
As we sauntered along the shore in Millport we suddenly heard the sound of bagpipes! A few minutes later the pipe band marched along the main street followed by veterans carrying flags. We later found they were leading the annual Merchant Navy Memorial parade.
Having spent some quality time in Millport we finally dragged ourselves away to investigate the rest of the island, passing by the crocodile rock and the Dancing Midge cafe!
When we are rambling (whether on foot or by car) there is no telling where we will end up - narrow or dead end roads are always an irresistible attraction. Cumbrae does not have many roads but we did manage to find a route that covered all of them. It was well worth it as the views all around the island are really spectacular ....
A stunning and magical place enjoyed by many, both visitors and locals.
As we waited for the ferry the buses were emptying hundreds of people at the terminal.
We obviously weren't the only ones who enjoyed the island of Cumbrae!
We were heading off to Dundee today and it was another beautiful day. Passing through Falkirk we saw a brown tourist sign for Callender House. We have been known to just follow one of these and see what there is to see - and today was no exception!
Today was one of the good finds! A beautiful house to look around and huge grounds to wander in. Originally built as a tower-house in the 14th century, the 19th century saw the house redesigned and extended to look like a French renaissance chateau - but retaining scottish elements!
In 1963 the house and some of the land was bought by Falkirk Council and in July 2011 Falkirk Community Trust took over the management and operation of Callender House.
It is being developed as a heritage centre and the interiors of the house have been restored to their former glory.
There are magnificent rooms, a kitchen, and exhibitions to explore and the Victorian library now houses the History Research Centre, where all of Falkirk's archives are kept.
How privileged we were to sit and have our coffee and cake in such surroundings!
Although we didn't have time to explore the huge grounds, they do contain lots of open spaces for walking/playing, a pitch and putt course, crazy golf, a children's adventure playground a boating lake - and the Antonine Wall! It seemed to be a popular place and well-used by the locals.
Moving on towards Dundee our next stopping place was RSPB Loch Leven. Unfortunately, rather than remembering the birds or landscape the first memory that springs to mind are the thousands of flies we encountered. We were plagued by them as we took the short walk to a hide.
Moving on we finally reached Dundee. Our hotel overlooked the Tay Bridge, so a good view!
Close to the hotel, the waterfront area known as City Quay has had much redevelopment. A wander around the area showed how new offices, shops and apartments have been developed - many from old buildings now given a new lease of life.
Two interesting boats were moored in Dundee that evening. One was a huge cruise ship - MS Magellan - which departed later in the evening. Look how the apartments are really dwarfed by the ship!
The other ship moored nearby was the Frigate Unicorn - the oldest British-built ship still afloat. The 46-gun wooden warship was launched in 1824 and came to Dundee in 1873 to serve as a reserve training ship.It is now open to the public as a tourist attraction and private hire function venue.
Day 4 - Monday
Time to investigate Dundee itself. We spent some time in the Discovery Point - where the "RRS Discovery" is now moored. The attached museum tells all about the building of the ship and its many adventures around the world.
The Discovery is just next to the museum and is a fascinating ship to look around.
The supplies that were taken on the voyages all had their own storage spaces so that every available space aboard ship was used to its full potential. The crews quarters and work spaces were so tiny it was hard to imagine how they achieved all they did!
Dundee is famous - among other things - for being the home of D.C. Thomson & Co., publishers.
Desperate Dan and Minnie the Minx were characters in the "Dandy" comic, published by them. Bronze statues of Dan & Minnie were unveiled in 2001 and like thousands of others we went to see them.
The Sunday Post newspaper is also published by D.C. Thomson & Co. Oor Wullie and the Broons are a famous part of that newspaper, and Oor Wullie and his bucket also had a statue erected in Dundee in 2016. Many people have their photograph taken sitting on Wullie's bucket!
A lovely city with a lot of redevelopment going on at the moment - we enjoyed our time in Dundee. When the V&A Museum finally opens later in 2018 we may well be back!
The next day we took a leisurely drive back to Hawick, and then home, after another super time away. Can't wait for the next one!
