25th December

What better way to start the day than with Drambuie porridge, served with Morrison's aromatic, moist, soft brown sugar - the culinary discovery of the holiday!!

We have opted out of Christmas for the second year and it's quite liberating. The hardest thing is to make other people understand that we are not taking part in all the commercial side of things but we do still have a nice Christmas day and dinner - anyway, lets get on with the day!

Breakfast had, dishes done, hip flask, ready - time for a walk to Camus Darach, and for my new hat to get its first outing. After looking at the map, we had decided that where we were previously, wasn't Camus Darach after all (we hadn't followed the path far enough) and we didn't want to leave without having visited the famous beach. This time we drove to a parking place near the Camus Darach campsite, from where there was a fairly well defined, short path.

It was another lovely but freezing day and the sky was bright inspite of all the clouds, and we soon reached the deserted, broad expanse of Camus Darach beach.

It was all so beautiful I had to take a phone picture and send it to my daughter, author of Samantha's Kitschen and budding photographer extraordinaire!

We spent an amazing time just soaking up the scenery before heading back to little car, stopping for a spot of rock pooling on the way.

John, trying to pretend he was on top of a mountain, supervised the rock pooling activity from the dizzy heights (well, from a rock about 18 inches high!)

23rd December - day off

After all the trudging through snow and tottering over icy roads and paths, I woke up exhausted and suggested that we 'took the day off'! So we did! We spotted a robin sheltering in the wheelarch of little car - an opportune moment for a photo!

Come the evening, we figured we ought to at least get some air, so we went for a tweenlight stroll through a still frozen Arisaig and watched the sun go down.

It was dark by the time we headed for home so we were able to enjoy the Arisaig Christmas illuminations! - we should have photographed them, but we didn't - you'll need to go and see for yourself one year!

18th December, the journey begins

Little car is packed to the gunwales and we're raring to go; the snow starts. By the time we join the motorway at Greenock, half an hour later, we are driving through a blizzard and wondering if the decision to travel was a wise one, given our only mode of transport is our little MX5 - an impulse purchase a few months ago.

By the time we get to Loch Lomondside (A82), the snow has stopped and the roads are clear - of snow and traffic, and we carry on to our destination, Bluebell Cottage, Arisaig. Our first stop is at the famous the Green Welly complex in Tyndrum, which features in Scotland the Best and is a member of the Taste of Scotland scheme. Now, this is a famous stopping place for car loads and coach loads of tourists, so imagine how disappointed we were when we visited the restaurant and were served up over-salted, gloopy (carrot and cream of mushroom) soups, stoury (dry and unpalatable - John's definition) cake (date & walnut, and something better forgotten), and undrinkable coffee. On the plus side, the toilets although not of Alhambra standard (the pinnacle of public toilet provision, according to John), were well stocked and clean - important aspects of public toilets that cannot be taken for granted.

We set off again, trying to ignore the fact that we have lovely homemade sandwiches and a flask of Kenyan coffee in the car, and have just spent £12(ish) on sustenance which, if typical of what the Green Welly normally offer to tourists, is downright embarrassing and a complete misrepresentation of all that is good about Scottish fare, see for example, Drambuie porridge in the blog for December 25th.

Next stop Fort William (don't start me! - fabulous location, shame about the shabby town - but then, who cares, when Loch Linnhe is so beautiful and Ben Nevis so imposing?), and Morrison's for holiday provisions. I recommend their soft brown sugar, by the way - a great warm smell of molasses and a bag you can open without finding the contents on the floor round your feet (take note, Tesco).

Now comes the really amazing part - the road journey from Fort William to Arisaig (A830), one of the most spectacular drives in the country, but the need for careful winter-weather driving meant that we didn't stop to admire the views, but see December 24th for our reflections on the Mallaig - Fort William train journey, which follows an almost parallel route to the road.

We finally arrive safely at our destination, to a warm welcome from our hosts, who greet us with self-catering essentials, some Scottish fare (oatcakes, tablet, shortbread), free-range eggs and Sicilian wine - a warm welcome indeed! Bluebell cottage is beautifully appointed, and we particularly love the skylight windows which allow us to fall asleep looking up at the stars. Can't wait to explore the village and surrounding area in the morning.