Rambling Russells

We travelled to Leith, via Hawick, with friends on a rather grey day. Some trees still have leaves left on them but they are looking really brown now. A lack of wind lately has kept them on the branches longer than might be expected and we are hoping that these few days away will be just as calm. After pausing for lunch we arrived at our hotel and unpacked before heading off into Edinburgh. The bus stop is right outside the hotel and riding upstairs we see many sights on the way - including all the road works, and the congestion this produces! It is really nice not to be the driver in this situation but to sit and look out the window at the chaos with no stress whatsoever! The Christmas Markets began yesterday so Princes Gardens is full of stalls selling a huge range of goodies, both edible and drinkable as well as for presents. There are some scary-looking rides too - the screams are very off-putting and the height they reach is very scary! The crowds thronged every avenue and i...

A miserable time as we travelled to Glasgow, with constant drizzle for most of the day. We did stop off at Drumpellier Country Park, thinking we could have a stretch of our legs here but as it was so miserable we just had coffee and moved on. The park sounds interesting, having 2 lochs with trails and walks and a variety of wildlife. Perhaps another time. We reached our hotel in the continuing drizzle and checked into our room overlooking the airport. Not many flights tonight and as the room had double double-glazing we didn't notice them anyway! Saturday didn't look as if it was going to be much better weather-wise - thick fog in all directions. We stayed at the hotel for the morning as the Rugby World Cup Final was played this morning. Unfortunately England were beaten by South Africa. Moving on after the disappointment we headed for Ardrossan, planning to travel slowly up the coast. Arran had just about disappeared under the cloud …. but we sat and watched ...