Scotland Travel Blog February 08
"Sunshine & Snow in Scotland"
February is almost past and this is my first diary entry for the month. I really need to get more disciplined about writing updates after our tours, but this month has seen us away every single weekend and we've been covering some large mileages in weather ranging from snow to glorious Spring sunshine.
Our first trip in February was with some Italian and French friends who wanted to experience some proper Scottish seafood cuisine. That was an easy task for us as we have a seafood tour around Argyll that visits some really great restaurants. To make things more interesting for us, we did the tour route in reverse and also took in an alternative route along the south shore of Loch Awe.
The road along the south shore of Loch Awe was quite challenging as strong winds had brought down quite a few branches so concentration was required. You don't want to swerve on this road as most of it is built on a steep slope that ends 50 feet below with a cold wet loch. On the plus side, this road takes you past the mysterious looking Innischonnel Castle which sits on a small island close to the shore. Innischonnel Castle looks very complete from the outside and we'd love to see it restored and opened to the public, but that's unlikely.
Our second trip of February combined work with pleasure when we travelled 400 miles in 2 days to be the first guests in a recently renovated B&B on the shores of Loch Alsh. This B&B is most definitely going in our guides as will the Shores Restaurant in Plockton where we had a brilliant Valentine's Day Dinner (OK, a little late). Melt in the mouth venison and a gorgeous plate of Sea Bass.
And for our third trip in February, just a day trip down to the Dumfries area to get some better pictures of Caerlaverock Castle and to visit the Water Mill at New Abbey. Unfortunately, our two favourite Tearooms in the area were closed and we missed last food orders in the pub by 30 minutes. Yes, be warned that traveling out of season in Scotland (especially on Sundays) means many places will be closed.
