Summer heading for Autumn
Still Busy!
Failte! Welcome to my website!
I cannot believe how quickly the summer has passed! The gardens are still full of flowers and all the little villages and towns have wonderful floral displays adding a variety of colour to the streets and roadsides. In the countryside the ever-present clumps of rosebay willowherb by the roadside and on the hills, with their tall pinkish-purple flower heads are starting to fade while the heather on the hills and mountains is in full purple flower, a stunning sight at this time of the year.
Temperatures at the moment are pleasant and warm with cloudless blue skies - an Indian summer perhaps? Who knows? We do need some showers from time to time - how else would we have such green countryside? Soon the colours will start to change with the appearance of autumn and the cooler mornings will arrive.
I have had such a busy season that I actually took a couple of weeks off in August to re-charge my batteries. I spent some of the time in Wales and Ireland (my two favourite Celtic countries - after Scotland of course). We had lovely weather unlike southern Britain which seemed to get all the rain at that time. Now I am ready for the intensive amount of work I have in September right through to early October. I am looking forward to it.
Earlier in the year I had a wonderful extended coach tour which I really enjoyed. Since then, as a driver-guide, I have been down to the north of England and around SW Scotland to beautiful Dumfries and Galloway; I have also had the most wonderful tour away up north to the Shetland and Orkney islands. In Orkney I ended up doing a lovely trip in a small 8-seater plane to the island of North Ronaldsay. What a wonderful experience that was! I was with two ladies with a particular interest in wool and knitting traditional patterns. What better place could they go?
As well as that I have had a variety of one-day jobs round Central Scotland with people here for the first time which is always stimulating. Often such trips involve visiting places important to the clients' ancestors. Fascinating - and fun. I have a tour later this month with the Calder family in which we will combine ancestral locations with a tour round the Highlands of Scotland. I have even had a letter from the owner of a little cottage owned by the family before they departed for another life in the USA. The present owner has invited us for a visit.
I was lucky with my 2009 tours which took me all round Scotland and even south of the border on a few occasions. In particular I was fortunate to get some good trips up the west coast, particularly to Skye, Mull and to some of the smaller islands.
Shortly I will be heading to the west of Scotland and onto the island of Mull (one of my favourites). This tour will be a walking tour with a company called the Wayfarers for whom I work a few times a year. It's a great way to keep fit and see great scenery at the same time.
2009 was the year of the Homecoming - a celebration of the 250th anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns. The Scottish Government encouraged all those people with Scottish roots, all those who wished they had, all who just love visiting Scotland to enjoy its scenery, all who play golf or even drink the odd glass of whisky to COME HOME! The whole idea worked well and, hopefully will mean an increase in visits in future years. Shetland organised its own version this year called the 'Hamefaring'. I experienced the last few days of it when I visited. Vikings everywhere!
If you did not manage to come to Scotland last year then make time now or start planning for 2011. Our country has so much to offer in the way of things to do and see (check my tour pages). I would be delighted to help you explore it.
If you have any queries or would like to book please do not hesitate to contact me via my online contact form for more information.
I wish you all the best for 2010 and look forward to hearing from you if you are planning a visit.
