Newtonmore to Helmsdale

After a welcoming evening in Newtonmore from Lillias and Denise, we set off this morning via Inverness to get some seed tatties, to Helmsdale and Jean.  Storm clouds appeared to be gathering, but the rain held off and we managed a pre-prandial walk up the hill among the early flowering whin.

With Jake up the hill

A flowering currant gets in on the act

Roxburghshire to Perthshire

On Tuesday we headed off to Edinburgh to see Lynn, then on Wednesday, we travelled to Newtonmore to see Lillias and Denise, passing via Waterloo to see Dave (Donella was in Edinburgh).

Barbara drops a coin into the bagpipe case of the Piper on the Royal Mile

Barbara and Lynn on the Meadows, with the Castle in the distance

Classical themed Victorian tiling in Bennet's Bar where we stopped for a drink

With Dave at the new house in Waterloo

Lincolnshire to Roxburghshire

Yesterday we travelled up from Carol's to Betty's.  Quite long drive on the busy A1. The last bit however, is on the Roman road Dere Street(A68) and is a relatively calm rural road. 

On the Northumberland-Roxburghshire border, this bonny Scottish Blackface ewe was happy to pose ...

... but these ones were too busy

Daffodils in profusion all along the roadsides

We had a walk in the hinterlands of Jedburgh today

It's Scotland - the lion rampant gets everywhere ...

Frescoes in Lincolnshire

Arrived in Hull on time this morning, and were with Carol in Gainsborough for coffee.  In the afternoon we visited the country church of Clayworth.  The church was decorated with frescoes in 1904 by the prominent Scottish Arts and Crafts artist Phoebe Anna Traquhair.  The church itself is very old, mostly Norman.

The frescoes almost give the church an Italian feel

Norman heads on the columns

Outside the church

Exit - before Brexit ...

After four days of travel, we are now on our ship in Zeebrugge harbour - P&O's The Pride of Bruges.  I think a pretty calm crossing is expected ... 

Unfortunately, it's an overcast night over the North Sea so we'll miss out on the Worm Moon which we caught a tantalising glimpse of  in Luxembourg last night ...

A novelty for us - a red squirrel - there were two - in Marijke and Pietro's garden

Perfect driving conditions all the way, the worst traffic being on the Brussels ring road ...

... much duller weather in Zeebrugge - here two lorries reverse on at once

A very quiet port this time - it was quite hard to find a ship!

Luxembourg and Trier

We received a warm welcome form Pietro and Marijke at their home in Luxembourg on Tuesday evening. Germany is only 20 minutes away by car across the Moselle river, so on Wednesday we visited Trier - "the oldest town in Germany".  It was a major outpost of the Roman empire in the north and has many Roman remains.  Trier is also the birthplace of Karl Marx.

It was a beautiful day, and the town was busy with townspeople and sightseers.

Unfortunately, my camera decided to malfunction again, so I only managed to extract a couple of photos for the blog ...

The magnificent Roman gate of the ancient town

Blossom everywhere ...

Karl and Pietro ...

From Ornans to Luxembourg

Some pictures from yesterday's trip ...

The house of the 19th cent painter Gustave Courbet - restored, and now a museum

Bright and sunny - but the river still seems a bit high!

Baker's customers have a yarn after buying their daily bread

A bad flood day in the main street in Ornans in 1953

Grenouilles - You know you're in France when frogs are on the menu!

Limestone bluffs were a dramatic feature of the valley of the river Loue

A chateau along the way ...

The open road - we always find quiet driving conditions in France ...

Cordon to Ornans

Today we had an easy drive from the Alps to the Jura.  It had snowed in the night, but it was rapidly disappearing by the time we got on our way.  The roads were incredibly quiet, so the driving was as good as it could be.  The weather wasn't great, rather overcast, and pretty cold in the early evening when we arrived at our destination - the small town of Ornans near Besançon. 

The river here, the Loue, is very high - apparently flooding in winter and spring is normal.

The view as the clouds cleared in the morning

... and from Sallanches, down in the valley, where we had our breakfast 

While looking south, the elusive summit of Mont Blanc reveals itself

A little chapel in the fields seen along the way in the green and pleasant land of the Jura

The River Loue in Ornans

On the road again

A fair enough morning to leave, with various weathers throughout the day.  Our trip took us up the coastal autoroute to Genoa, then inland through the Apenines to the flat rice country of the upper Po plain - no flooded paddy fields at this time of year. 

Then into the Alps via the Aosta valley, reminiscent of the entry to the Garfagnana from the flat land of Lucca.  At this point the sun came out, and we had hopes of seeing the top of Mont Blanc, but the clouds came in again, and, once through the tunnel, we met a very grey France, with drizzle turning to snow soon after we reached our hotel.

9 am and time to head off ...

No mountains to be seen above Barga today

The mouth of the Aosta valley - resembling the jaws of hell ...

... but then the sun came out

Looking down from our hotel over the village of Cordon.  Mont Blanc is out of frame to the right, but invisible in a cloak of mist and rain ...

Time to go ...

All packed up and ready to go on Sunday morning, after final farewells to neighbours and friends ...  First stop, through the Mont Blanc tunnel to Sallanches.

Blossoms looking good ...

A last tidy ...

Shepherd's delight?

More flowers at Collodi

Here are some more pics from our recent foray ...

A grand villa seen along the path

This anemone is a more familiar design(?) than the many-petalled one.

This anemone is a more familiar design(?) than the many-petalled one.

The only orchid we saw - it is only March - there were many varieties here the time we visited in June

The plain of the Arno spread out in the distance, as the river winds towards Florence, then Pisa

To sunny Collodi and the land of flowers ...

On Tuesday, we drove over to the town of Collodi (the "birthplace of Pinocchio") to do a walk we've done before and which is remarkable for its flowers.  We knew the weather was to be good, so the meadows and the olive groves would be at their best ...

The valley leading down to Collodi has many old papermills from days of yore, some of which are now modern concerns.  Recycling was satisfyingly in evidence - we hear that when they make paper from scratch, the natural pulp comes all the way from South America!

Bales of paper of all sorts await recycling

Up among the blossom - but what tree is it?

Magnificent mimosa, with olive groves in the background

This farmer was diversifying by growing palms among the olives. The palm leaves are destined to be sold to florists for flower arrangements (large ones!)

They look like daisies, but in fact are a species of anemone

Elm flowers produce a spectacular show