Inverness

Posted on April 21, 2017 by kathy

We were hoping to find accommodation on the banks of Loch Ness but it seemed there was none to be had. We were very happy with the compromise of a lovely hotel overlooking the River Ness, only a short walk into town.

1.River Ness 2.River Ness

A succession of castles has stood guard over the river since 1057. Built in 1836, the magnificent red sandstone of Inverness Castle shone in the afternoon sunshine. It is now the Court house and not open to the public.

3.Inverness Castle

We had planned on a Loch Ness cruise for the next day but the weather was threatening inclemency so we decided to explore the Black Isle instead. Not far from Inverness, it is not actually an island, but a peninsula, surrounded on three sides by water. As well as gorgeous villages and towns, the highland scenery was spectacular.

4.Black Isle

We had many issues with our satnav throughout our trip, we named her Holly (if you have ever seen Red Dwarf, you will understand why). She was adamant that this was a major road!

5.Black Isle

We had our sights set on snow-capped Ben Wyvis.

6.Black Isle 7.Ben Wyvis

Unfortunately, Holly was not in the mood to co-operate and after negotiating a multitude of narrow mountain roads, we returned to Inverness.

We awoke the following morning to a beautiful winter wonderland, an early snowfall.

11.Inverness

After breakfast, we wandered through the Ness Islands.

12.Ness Islands

The two wooded islands are connected by footbridges

13.Ness Islands

and have been used as a public park since the 1840s.

14.Ness Islands

The walk in the crisp, fresh air amidst the stunning autumn foliage was a perfect start to the day.

15.Ness Islands 16.Ness Islands 17.Ness Islands 18.Ness Islands

Reluctantly leaving Inverness, we continued our southward journey.

19.River Ness

Yallingup Reef

Posted on April 14, 2017 by kathy

The coastline in the north of the Margaret River Region is spectacular. Our day trip began with a diversion to Yallingup Reef.

1.Yallingup Reef

We stood, mesmerized by the breaking surf and perfectly placed rainbow.

2.Yallingup Reef 3.Yallingup Reef

A little further north, Yallingup Beach is famous for its legendary surf breaks. However, Yallingup Reef is well protected from the wind and the beach stays very shallow for a long way out.

4.Yallingup Reef

The granite rocks of the point surround it completely and the breaking waves are far from the beach.

5.Yallingup Reef 6.Yallingup Reef 7.Yallingup Reef 8.Yallingup Reef

I can see why the Aboriginal name for this beautiful area means ‘place of love’.

9.Yallingup Reef

Spello

Posted on April 12, 2017 by kathy

After consulting the map to plan another day trip from Il Castagno, we ventured across the border into Umbria. The warm day was overcast as we reached Spello, an ancient walled town that became a Roman colony, Hispellum, in the 1^st century BC.

1.Portonaccio

The town walls and arched entrance gates are remarkably intact, we began our walk at Porta Consolare.

2.Porta Consolare

We were instantly enchanted by this place, with its beautiful architecture

and narrow, stone streets.

12.street

13.street

Magnificent arches led down intriguing alleyways.

We ambled our way to the top of the town, admiring the homes with more than a little envy.

Some windows had better views than others,

and, of course, those fabulous Italian doors were countless.

The most impressive doorway was that of the Baglioni Chapel, part of the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore.

44.Baglioni Chapel

The chapel is adorned with well preserved frescoes, painted by Pinturicchio in 1500AD, none of which I photographed.

45.Baglioni Chapel

There was so much to admire in this wonderful, ancient town.

Porta dell’ Arce, a double limestone arc, was the original northern entrance to the Roman city.

We made our way back to the lower end of town, not forgetting to investigate the shops

59.Spello

and admire the spectacular scenery along the way.

66.view

random rambling

Posted on April 8, 2017 by kathy

There are times when I feel compelled to take a photograph, whether it is something particularly beautiful or unusual, or both. I then wonder what I am going to do with that photo, so here are some of my random snaps to share with you. In spring, we had a pair of welcome swallows determined to nest close to our front door. Each time they started a nest, we devised cunning ways to deter their efforts. We eventually ended up with a 30cm strip of black plastic stapled to the top of our walls to prevent them attaching their mud to the cedar cladding. They finally got the message they weren’t welcome.

1.angry swallow

Michael came across this gorgeous mum keeping her eggs warm, while walking with Poppy in the forest.

2.forest bird

I love kookaburras, I spied this handsome fella in the garden before leaving for work one morning, keeping an eye out for a tasty breakfast morsel.

After a brief rain shower one summer morning, behind the stream of sunlight, the plants were letting off steam.

10.morning sunlight 11.morning steam

The strelitzia looked magnificent after the rain.

12.strelitzia

When we first moved to our house, there was an impressive stand of oriental poppies outside the lounge window, the same ones you can see on the header image of this blog. They then disappeared, my husband suspects I inadvertently poisoned them along with the weeds (he could be right). This year, just one bloomed and hopefully there will be more in the future.

The Japanese black pine seemed to be at impossible angles, reflected against the clear sky in the waters of our pond.

17.reflections 18.reflections

I don’t know what these enormous moths had been up to but it looked like they were enjoying a well deserved rest.

The Tiger Lilies fell victim to our nocturnal furry critters last year and we had no blooms. For some reason, they left them alone this time around and they were stunning. Apparently, they are named because of their spots. Shouldn’t they be called Leopard Lilies?

Walking in the forest, I saw these cute fungi emerging from the damp humus.

26.fungi

On my way to bed one night, I sensed I wasn’t alone. It’s nice to get a friendly wave, just not from five hands at the same time!

28.spider

No spiders were harmed, he was gently relocated out of doors. Finally, after a hard day working in the garden, there is nothing better than a draught of home brewed stout.

29.stout

Cheers!

30.stout

Loch Ness

Posted on April 4, 2017 by kathy

The drive to Inverness took us along the shores of magnificent Loch Ness.

1.Loch Ness

The ruins of Urquhart Castle have prime position on a rocky promontory overlooking the lake. Founded in the 13^th century, the castle withstood much conflict during its 500 years as a fortress, eventually blown up in the Jacobite rebellion in 1692.

2.Urquhart Castle 3.The Saltire