Bonnie, BONNIE Scotland.

We have just spent almost a fortnight in Scotland and the Borders, and are left with so many lasting impressions .   Here are just a few....

The coast ...

Country roads lined with rosebay willowherb, and heather clad hills.

Holy Island - Lindisfarne - the Castle viewed from the Abbey grounds.

And the colourful garden Gertrude Jekyll created in that windswept spot for the Castle owners to gaze down upon.

Time on our hands to watch and enjoy our feathered friends....

..... and spot the heron on the bank .....

And of course, best of all, the people ....

and this next one enjoying refreshment having watched master craftsmen making whisky casks ...a hugely fascinating process.....

And lastly, one of the shots that John is most pleased with (though we should have hidden the ketchup!)

Iain and Margaret were the most wonderful hosts, providing endless delicious meals .. and loads to drink! ...and taking us out and about to savour so many different experiences each day.  We even managed to play a couple of games on a golfcourse which was amazingly beautiful -  though the same can't be said for our golf, but we did so enjoy ourselves.   An unexpected highspot was a summer party to which we were all invited by their neighbours, where not only did we meet some really lovely people, but late in the evening, when all were well fed and whisky'd, their 10 year old granddaughter sang unaccompanied, a Scottish ballad in such a clear voice and totally unselfconscious way that there was ne'er a dry eye in the house.  Her old grandfather bashed out tunes on his squeezebox which we all joined in with great enthusiasm (even though we Sassenachs didn't know many of the words), and the child's mother, a shepherdess, sang a favourite old Scottish love song with great warmth.    An evening we shall never forget, and a holiday made perfect by so many kind folk.