Thunder in the Glens 3

We stayed at Lodge on the Loch, which has great views out across the Loch, but the weather did close in and the rain returned to limit the extent that we could walk about to enjoy it. We were, however, able to use the sauna in the room, without water, to dry off some of our biking clothes that hadn't fully dried out from the previous day. Very Scandanavian! Next morning, the rain persisted and the view across the Loch was once again compromised.

Thunder in the Glens 2

A short trip into Stirling, in the dry for a change, took us to Stirling Castle, where we saw the statue of Robert The Bruce, could see the William Wallace memorial (beyond the gun in the distance), and enjoy the history of this most significant Royal seat, compliments of our very theatrical guide! We then had just a short 40 mile ride to Luss on Loch Lomond and it remained dry until we got there!

Thunder in the Glens 1

This annual event has rapidly grown in popularity in the last couple of years and has now become the premier HOG Rally in UK, in my opinion! 900 bikes attended in 2007, 1,400 in 2008 and 2,800 in 2009! This was my first visit and I will certainly go again.

Jean and I set off with John & Sue and decided to make a trip of it, detouring to Windermere and Kendal in the Lake District before a stop near Tebay on the northbound journey.

The heather was bright and purple and the weather dry with a great outlook over the hills from the hotel. The next morning, however, everything became rather blurred through the rain! We delayed out departure somewhat, but still hit heavy rain and spray on the M6, then rain all the way to Hawick in the Scottish Borders, for lunch, then onward to Bridge of Allan near Stirling for the second night. It was a rather miserable journey and much fine scenery was missed because of the rain and visibility.

Croatia 6

We took trips to Slano and Ston, both further up the coast, giving us terrific views of the strait between the mainland and the islands and seeing a rather basic salt pan system, the oldest in Europe apparently. The Dalmatian coast is very narrow in the southern area, being only a couple of kilometres wide at times, then it's over the mountain into either Bosnia or Montenegro. There is also a small break of only a few kilometres, towards Split that is Bosnian territory, although there appears to be no port or town there, inexplicably. We didn't go that far as we hadn't set up the car insurance to be able to do so.

The holiday was very relaxing overall, and Daisy can be seen in ultimate relaxation mode by the pool, which probably how we all felt at times!

The daytime temperate was in the low 30s every day, nights in the low 20s, although our last full day was the hottest, as was the evening/night that followed it was higher, disrupting sleep, the skies were clear. It was down to earth to arrive back at Gatwick into fog, heavy rain, spray on the motorway etc, but that's forgotten now that the photos have been looked at again!

Croatia 5 - Michael's birthday

To celebrate Michael's 32nd birthday on 28 July, we hired a boat to tour the islands and what a good plan it turned out to be. First, however, the villa owner, Marija, brought by a beautiful cake and a bottle of bubbly in the morning. The cake had clearly been finished off with fruit that morning, but had a cheese-cake-like base to it and was glorious!

Our boat was quite basic, but suited our needs. The 'skipper' was all of 15 years old, but had probably been out in boats since his early years. We found out that it was his 16th birthday then next day.

We went to 3 islands in all, including Kolocep and Lopud, and swimming was off the boat for two them, but two had jettys to permit going onshore. Lunch, and an appropriate celebratory drink was enjoyed in Kolocep.

Dan took over as skipper for much of the journey, acquiring new skills, did manage to take us into the Zaton bay to see the villa from the sea, and returned us to the inlet where we had started, all without mishap - well, nearly, it ran out of fuel just as he handed over on our arrival (we did have another jerrycan).

Croatia 4

Time at the villa was spent mostly around the pool or on the terrace eating, chatting and enjoying a tipple or three!

The sunsets were stunning, with a clear moon moving through the sky over the islands during the evening, and there was a clear sky with shooting stars.

A local white wine sold for £2/bottle, claimed to be 10.8% proof, but we seemed to be able to consume it by the tumbler with little to no effect (not just my opinion)!

Michael was head Chef for much of the time we ate in, and very he was too, coming up with creations from whatever we had in stock.

A mini-market was close by and restocking was relatively easy - thankfully the owners removed the bottles on a regular basis!

We enjoyed eating out in Zaton's Veliki and Mali, with a terrific view across the bay back to our villa on the other side.

Croatia 3

Cavtat is further down the Damlatian coast from Dubrovnik and close to the airport. It is a small peninsular with a harbour containing some big ticket yachts and motor-cruisers of the rich, but also has a most enjoyable pathway walk around it, with shelter from the trees and views all the way back to Dubrovnik. Good ice creams too!

It has a small old town and on a second visit, some ventured into the sea from the rocks, although it was not easy without shoes to protect your feet.

The expensive yachts and cruisers were pervasive around the coast and in various marinas as the rich and famous obviously make a lot of use of this beautiful coastline on the Adriatic.;