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?

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?  

Beach at sunset.

I wanted to share some photos I took on during the dogs daily walks the other week, because everyone enjoys some doggie photos. This post is photo heavy but when I originally took 344 photos then to get it down to about 20 is an achievement.

  

This is Jake. He's a one and a half year old Labradoodle with a very short haircut due to his fur becoming matted and sandy and leaving too much time between his last haircut. He is obsessed with tennis balls and that's what he plays with at the beach.

 This is Ben, He's a seven (I think) year old Labrador. He also loves balls but of the spongy variety but he likes to steal Jake's tennis ball. He also likes to find washed up toys to play with at the beach like this rope and often buckets and occasionally wateringcans!

When he does find something nice washed up to play with he will still keep his ball. 

  

When visting another beach where there are seals that come close to the shoreline to investigate what is splashing about in the water, we discovered that when Jake was in the water the seals come even closer than normal because Jake's head looks almost exactly the same as a seal's. Anyway I'll let the photos speak for themselves. 

 

 

Do you have any pets? What silly things do they do?