Tuesday, October 04, 2016

Holiday In Inverness 2016: 28 - 30 September

Dornoch beach was our first stop on Wednesday. Brock loved it here and met several dogs to play with.






Afterwards, we went into the town and had a very good coffee and cake at the Dornoch Patisserie and Cafe. The staff were very friendly and efficient.

The Jail is an impressive building and now houses a number of craft units, and is interesting to look round. There is also a Co-op for food shopping and other shops, cafes and hotels.

Our next port of call was Tain, where we had lunch in the Sunflower Cafe (all day veggie breakfast for Rob and jacket potato with cheese and coleslaw for me). The food was pretty good and the portions were generous. There was an 'unfortunate incident' in the cafe, when I noticed a young man drop what I thought was a scarf or large handkerchief on the ground - I called out to him and he came back to look at it and said it wasn't his. After he had gone, the staff were cracking up with laughter, as it turned out to be a pair of boxer shorts! I felt rather sorry for inadvertently embarrassing him, but it was quite funny.

I bought more vintage buttons to add to my collection from the charity shop in Tain before we drove on to Cromarty on The Black Isle. Brock got a third walk along the sea front and around the town.

Oil rig seen on the opposite shore at Invergordon (there were a number of them lined up, disappearing into the distance).

The Sutors (flat fingers of land guarding the entrance to the Cromarty Firth).


Cromarty lighthouse.

I think that Wednesday must be a half day in Cromarty, as most of the shops and the cafe were closed. Still, we enjoyed the walk around the town. We made a final stop-off in Rosemarkie where we bought an oil burner and some gem stones in Panacea, a new age shop. The shop owner, Cornelia, is very friendly and helpful.

Thursday was our first wet day! We walked Brock along the seafront and through the town of Nairn, before having an early lunch back at the Bakehouse in Findhorn. We both had the vegetarian black dal which came with nan bread (I forgot to ask for GF, but I'm sure they would have had some), raita and ?rhubarb chutney. It was absolutely delicious! I really wish this cafe was nearby as we would go there often. We also had slices of cake and coffees (yes, we are on a bit of a diet now that we're back at home!). This was the best meal we had on this holiday. Brock had another walk before we decided to relax and watch old films back at Rookery Nook for the rest of the day.

On Friday, we drove to Ullapool on the west coast, stopping off for a walk at Rogie Falls. The waterfall was impressive, with plenty of water rushing down.


This image is taken from the suspension bridge. It is a really lovely walk and well worth a visit if you're in the area.

At Ullapool, preparations were underway for a two-day music festival with The Stranglers headlining. We had lunch in the dog-friendly Ceilidh Place (salad and chips for me; scrambled egg on toast and chips for Rob; we both had good, strong coffees). The waitress recommended the An Talla Solais art gallery, so we headed off there for a look round. There was some beautiful work on display.

The weather was pretty good: mainly sunny with just a few light showers on the drive over. We sat by the harbour eating ice cream and taking in the stunning views.


On Saturday, it was time to head home. We stopped off in Dunkeld again as it is about half way home. We had lunch in the Scottish Deli, which allows dogs in. Rob had a hummus and sunblush tomato baguette; I had the same filling with a salad. Excellent! By far the best of the three cafes we have tried there.

A very enjoyable holiday, but it seemed to go by in a flash.

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