Tag: europe

Summer travel in Scotland

I wrote last week that September always feels like the start of the year to me. This is the first year since 2005 when I am not bound by any academic term dates (my youngest is studying languages and is on a year abroad), but it will take me a while to adjust I think. So, as we find ourselves post-Autumn equinox I have been reflecting on the year so far. It has been a busy one, not least with lots of travelling, a privilege and a joy, but it has meant that my blog has taken the hit because my day job has been a lot more demanding this year too.

This summer I fulfilled a long-held ambition to do a road trip in Scotland. A work client mentioned to me a while ago that she and her husband had spent their honeymoon in the Outer Hebrides and when she showed me photos of Luskentyre beach I felt immediately drawn to it.

We had two weeks and Scotland is a big place so we necessarily limited our ambitions (otherwise we would have spent the whole time in the car!) and decided to focus on the west coast and a few of the islands. Even then, there were a number of places where we would have loved to stay longer, Fort William for example.

After spending a couple of days in the historic city of Glasgow, we drove to the Ardnamurchan peninsula, which, although part of the mainland, is separated from the rest of Argyll by the very long and wide Loch Linnhe. We crossed at the narrowest point, the Corran ferry, which entails quite a drive north via the stunning (and in August very busy) Glencoe mountain range. Ardnamurchan is completely different and we encountered few other tourists. We stayed in a small hotel overlooking the beautiful and peaceful Loch Shiel. From there we were also able to explore the beautiful Isle of Mull, via the ferries at Kilchoan (to Tobermory) and Lochaline (to Fishnish). Tobermory was a highlight for me as it was the setting for Balamory, a favourite TV show my kids used to watch when they were little.

From Ardnamurchan we drove to the Isle of Skye, which was beautiful, but just felt so busy. It is close to the mainland and accessible by a half-kilometer road bridge. The bridge opened in 1995 and has clearly brought a great deal of tourism to the island. Our next stop was the Isle of Harris and Lewis (it’s one island but has two distinct parts), the Outer Hebrides, and the highlight of the whole trip for me. It is not easy to get to – you have to travel to Uig, at the northernmost part of Skye, and then take the 1 hour 40 minute ferry journey to Tarbert. From there it was another 40 minute drive to our cottage overlooking Loch Eireasort. Distant, but so worth it! We arrived on a Sunday, and everything was closed, apart from the llama sanctuary near the legendary Callanish Standing Stones – luckily we’d bought some groceries in Uig. We were able to visit the stones, but even the visitor centre was closed. This felt like a throwback to my 70s childhood!

Our days on Harris and Lewis were magical. And we got to see the stunning Luskentyre beach! The sun shined the whole time, though I think we were very lucky. While there I read Graeme McCrae Burnet’s 2025 novel Benbecula – this is another island in the Outer Hebrides, nestled between North and South Uist. I also began Douglas Stuart’s Booker-shortlisted John of John, set on Harris and Lewis. It was fascinating to read these two books in the remote and special part of the world they were set and it gave me a really interesting perspective on the novels. Look out for my reviews of these books in the next couple of weeks.

We ended our road trip in Edinburgh, to see our youngest performing at the Fringe, stopping in Fort William on the way. We are already planning to go back next year, to do more cycling and more walking and to see more the islands that we missed. I recommend this part of the world highly!

Staying still

I have been doing so much travelling this last few weeks that my blogging has fallen by the wayside. I have missed it! The bookblogging community is so well-populated with nice people, interesting perspectives and authentic passion that it gives me all the online socialising I need and I steer pretty well clear of most other social media. (Not that I would place blogging in the same category as those other types of AI-powered platforms.) I am just back from a bucket-list trip to Turkey and now have a few weeks of going hardly anywhere and quite a lot of work to help pay for all the travel! So, this year I did not go to the Hay Festival (although listening to various shows on the radio that were broadcast from there I confess to feeling a deep sense of FOMO) and I will not be going to Dublin for Bloomsday in a couple of weeks time. Next year.

There has been quite a literary twist to all my travel. I have researched the best bookshops and always try to buy a locally-themed book.

I had a marvellous week in Berlin, which was my husband’s ‘big birthday’ treat! There is no end of interesting things to see and do there and my particular highlights were the Jewish Museum (an extraordinary building designed by Daniel Libeskind), the Neues Museum, with its outstanding collection of Egyptian and ancient artefacts, and, slightly less highbrow, the KaDeWe department store! We also visited the Brecht-Weigel museum which was the modest but fascinating home of Bertolt Brecht and his long-time partner Helene Weigel. We sought out a bookshop of course and found the marvellous Dussmann on Friedrichstrasse, a few minutes’ walk from the Brandenburger Tor. I bought myself a translated version of the German post-war classic Alone in Berlin by Hans Fallada. Look out for my review of that soon (assuming I start getting my blogging act together!).

In March we paid a visit to an old family friend in Ross-on-Wye. It’s very close to Hay-on-Wye of course, but not somewhere I had previously visited. It’s a lovely town, but the highlight was going to Tintern and seeing the wonderful, Tintern Abbey, subject of one of Wordsworth’s best-loved poems.

And finally, earlier this month, I went on a holiday to Turkey, fulfilling a lifelong ambition. It’s not so very far away or even very expensive to visit so I’m not sure how I have not been there before. I joined a tour organised by Intrepid Travel (who I cannot recommend highly enough) which took us to some of the most famous sights in the country. Ephesus was a highlight – I have such vivid memories of being a child and seeing pictures of the facade of the Celsus Library and dreaming of far-off travel! Istanbul is a fantastic city, so vibrant, and with a beautiful church or mosque around every corner. And the Bosphorus of course and the obligatory boat trip – which does live up to the hype. The city is blessed with many bookshops and I loved Minoa Pera – I had to buy myself Istanbul by Orhan Palmuk. And Cappadocia and the Goreme national park with its extraordinary rock formations.

It seems appropriate that the last two pictures above are of the Celsus Library at Ephesus and the stairs in the Minoa Pera bookshop in Istanbul!

I have had quite the most incredible few weeks and feel myself very fortunate indeed. Now, back to blogging. And some healthy eating and exercise. And some work I suppose….