Adventures to Arran

A few weeks ago I went across the sea on the Waverly Paddle Steamer for a day on the Isle of Arran. The Waverly is the last sea going paddle steamer in the world and sets off from harbours up and down the country during summer months but can still be enjoyed on the Thames through to the end of October. You can check out here if there is a harbour near you. If you get the chance then I would recommend a sailing on it, except if you get sea sick very easily as it doesn't take much for the boat to rock back and forth. The day I went the sea was almost perfectly still which made for a very pleasant sailing across.

As the Waverly leaves right from Ayr Harbour which is very convenient for me as it is about about a 5 minute car ride for me. The sailing took just under two hours which goes by pretty quickly when your boyfriend is overexcited about being on a boat and taking a million photos of everything! The weather had been undecided on what to do but the minute we arrived at Brodick harbour it was warm and sunny even if there were some dark clouds lurking on occasion.

 We took the a rather bumpy open top bus to Brodick castle, where we stopped for lunch before looking around the gardens and inside the castle itself. You could wander the gardens for hours but as dark clouds appeared we decided to take cover inside. It didn't even rain in the end. There are alot of interesting things in the castle and I really liked how there were guides in each rooms should you have questions. I always feel I should ask intellectual questions but usually just end up asking "what's that?".

We decided to walk back into the centre of Brodick which should only take about half an hour. However I thought we should take the much more scenic route along the beach but ended up of a flat rock covered and slippery beach instead of the sandy beach  I thought it was. Seeing as I pretty much can't go anywhere without hurting myself I slipped on seaweed and went flying backwards landing on my right arm. Despite being incredibly painful I knew it wasn't broken as I could move my fingers and arm. A few days later movement became unbearable so off to A+E I went where after 5 x-rays I was told I had a badly sprained wrist/arm, hence why this post is belated. I had a sling to wear for a few days and painkillers to ease the pain. It's much better now but still can't do certain movements yet such as throwing the dog's ball with the ball launcher.

After almost breaking my wrist and arm we stopped off at Arran Aromatics and the cheese Factory Shop. It was a quick visit as funnily enough I wasn't in the browsing mood. We walked back the rest of the way and got chips to eat at the beach while we waited for the Waverly. The sailing back was even better as it was still warm, if you stayed at the front or top of the boat. We had a very snap happy time on the way back but these are just a couple of my favourite shots.

Have you ever been to Arran or on the Waverly?

Advenutres in Edinburgh

The other week I took a trip to Edinburgh with my boyfriend to see my favourite band The Answer play at the The Liquid Rooms. I've been a rather dedicated fan since 2006 and have traveled to London, Newcastle and Belfast among other to see them on more than one date on tours. I must have seen them about 30 times now, I lost count after 23 times I think!  I've been lucky enough to meet the lads after every show which more often than not ends up in a drinking session and this time we ended up in an Irish bar called Finnegan's next door to The Liquid Rooms.  As you can see I do love getting up close and personal at gigs ;)

The next morning we went for breakfast at Curious Tearooms which was really nice. I had to try a piece of cake as they looked amazing. The cake was so rich and tasty but the generous size defeated me which is a first. I am never defeated by cake! We then went to Museum of Scotland to see the Mammoths of the Ice Age which was interesting to see. First photo is a sperm whale skull which was huge. The photo underneath is a mummified baby mammoth.

We went to see the Field of Light by Bruce Munro which is well worth a visit if you are nearby. It is free to visit and you can walk all round the square. I just wish I could have seen it in the proper darkness as it would have been even better.
 

 Have you visited any of these exhibitions in Edinburgh yet?

Christmas Adventures in Edinburgh

Edinburgh is my favourite place to go at Christmas and last week I finally got to go again. It had been two years since my last visit as I was working two jobs last December. It was an understatement to say I was excited. We didn't really have a plan in mind as it is nice just to walk the streets and markets admiring all the lights. I would have loved to do outfit photos but a) it was freezing and b) I don't have the confidence to pose when other people are watching. 

As you can see my boyfriend Raymond decided to demonstrate how to pose in public but this was this was the best I could manage. If you follow me on Instagram then you'll probably know that I am slightly obssesed with carousels, I am not even going to pretend that it's not my favourite thing about Christmas markets. This year the one in Edinburgh was amazing. The horses were so extravagant and grand looking. Just look at them! I would have loved to have gone on again in the dark but it was a rather ridiculous £4 each.

Raymond had got a new 50mm prime lens for his camera and wanted to experiment with it so I instructed him on what photos to take for me. After wandering round the market we took a walk up our favourite street and then the Royal Mile to visit the Fudge Kitchen (which is a compulsory when near one). We also visited The Childhood Museum which is right next door. I always like looking at the old toys some that even I remember playing like the fishing pole game. We continued up to stroll about the streets ending up on Grass market before giving into to hunger and going dinner at The Filling Station. After dinner we took another walk round the market in the dark before heading for the train.

Where is your favourite place to visit at Christmas?

A red, red rose

You may or may not know that Ayr is the birth place of the famous Scottish poet Robert Burns so some of the local tourist attracts include, the Robert Burns Cottage, the Robert Burns Experience, and the Brig O' Doon. I think that the official names of each of these has changed several times but they are some of the popular tourist spots. A few weeks ago my mum, boyfriend and gran went to check out a farmers and craft fair at the Burns Experience and made it into a day out as the fair was about six tables at the entrance although they were nice things to look at and purchases were made I thought there would be more. The farmer's market was the next day desipite being advertised as the Saturday. It was such a hot day even though the sun still flickered behind the odd cloud. We had lunch outside and took a walk round the monument gardens and over the Brig O' Doon.

 Dress - Dorothy Perkins 

Shoes - Rocket Dog via TK Maxx 

Hat - Matalan 

Sunglasses & Bag - Accessorize 

At the start of summer I didn't have a nice little summer dress that I could just chuck on during warm days that was long enough to wear without tights. This little floral print dress was put start in the shopping basket when I found it along with the perfect denim skater skirt that I had been hunting for. The shoes where a find in TK Maxx, the yellow and white stripes (hard to see in the photo) seemed like a good summery combo. Although they are flat the insole is cushioned so it has molded to make my high arches comfortable. My next shoe mission is to find some nice sandals that aren't totally flat or heels. Why are so many sandals made totally flat? 

Where have you been on summer days out?  

Home is wherever I'm with you

Top - Topshop

Skirt - River Island

Shoes - Urban Outfitters

Bag - Accessorize

Necklace - Dorothy Perkins

Bracelet - local Jewellery maker 

Another long break between posts, but my laptop which was only bought back in January decided to break and had to be sent away to laptop hospital. This is from when I went to a little local event in a park for the Burns festival. I always loved the way that The Dainty Squid and Wish Wish Wish do their outside outfit shoots, so this was my very first attempt at mine. Obviously there is lighting issues but also bare in mind these were taken on my little Cannon compact. 

These photos make me excited to dye my hair this colour again this weekend.  All the items I'm wearing were sale items and all but the skirt are fairly old. The skirt was purchased a few weeks before these were taken. This outfit probably proves how much of a sale fiend I am. The current summer sales have me sucked right in! Does anyone else head straight for the giant sale signs? 

 Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros - Home 

 

Adventures in Bath Part 2

It has been well over a month since my last post and even longer since I posted the overdue first part of my adventures in Bath. On the Sunday we had planned to go to the Bath City Farm but after waking up that morning and discovering how cold and windy it was we decided against it as the farm is on top on very high hill so the animals would be hiding in their shelters from the cold. We walked down The Holburne museum stopping off at Royal Cresent (above) and The Circus (below) on the way there.

We had ventured to The Holburne Museum to look at the Folded Beauty exhibtion which was a collection of "elaborately folded napkins and linen made by Joan Sallas after Renaissance and Baroque patterns". It may not sound that interesting but they were very impressive! My favourite was this centerpiece. It was just mindblowing that these were all napkins/linens and would have be used on dining tables! After that we took a break to refuel at a cosy riverside cafe and then wondered along the river.

(Proof that I can smile in photos)

We browsed in some shops until it was 5pm and we could go look inside the Abbey. As it is a functioning church then there are limited times that you can visit. It was pretty spectacular inside. I will let these photos speak for themselves.

It started snowing again on the walk back from town it was a bit of a worry as we were due to fly home the next day lucky the snow didn't lie and the flight was fine but we did get incredible views of other parts of country that were covered in snow. As much as people complain about snow it sure does look beautiful from up high!

Have you ever had adventures in Bath?