Haddington & Aberfeldy

August 2015

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We once more decided to keep things simple (and cheap) for our third family holiday of the year and head back up to Scotland for a Haddington/Aberfeldy combo, as we did in 2013 and 2014.  This plan put in place was primarily prompted by the knowledge that Nicky and Calum were selling their lodges (and in fact they sold them after we had booked out slot), which spurred me into trying to organise some more Allens in heading up for the same week.  More on that later.

But first, after our usual shuffle up the M6 and A74(M), this time taking the more direct route (through Biggar), we arrived at Avis & Graham's.  Louise and Becky soon arrived to welcome us to Scotland, and there was much chaos as Daisy (4 and a bit), Becky (2 and a bit) and Gregory (1 and a bit) ran riot.  In this shot, Gregory poses for the camera as Daisy and Becky catch up on the gossip.

It was around about this time when Daisy coined the phrase "sticky arm" for the fun game of putting as many stickers as possible onto your arm.  She looks a little mischievous for it too.

But, whilst Daisy and Becky were playing together on the blanket, Gregory cut a contented figure with his (ok, not really his) big bucket of pegs.

The following morning, Gregory was dressed and ready to head out, but also keen to demonstrate his ability to sit on the sofa like a grown-up (albeit a grown-up with very short legs).

Ok, let's get a quick pose given he's keeping relatively still.

With the blue sky and sunshine out in force, and Avis & Graham the requested chaperones to a show by Julia Donaldson ("Gruffalos, Ladybirds and Other Beasts") where Daisy managed to get a book signed by Julia, we (Lynne, Gregory and I) headed up to North Berwick beach to give Gregory a run around on the sands.  Here he stands, surveying the lands, wondering what to do next.

And mother did fuss and ensure he was wrapped up warm (whilst it was sunny, the breeze was strong and fresh); then he ran away, heading for the sea as I man-marked him, whilst Lynne pushed the supporting pushchair (there if we needed it but not tremendous use otherwise - ok, maybe it was useful to carry a bag or two) in the background.

Occasionally, Gregory allowed me the privilege of holding his hand, and I captured such a moment in the shadows of the strong August sun, but more often than not he wanted to break free and run towards the sea, much as he had done in Morecambe on our South Lakeland trip earlier in the year.

And here is that moment from a distance and a few short minutes later, as we wander, as father and son, to the gentle waves.

I was allowed a brief moment to snap the distant island and the fresh, blue sea before I head back to heading off duty, eventually resorting to carrying him over to Lynne and strapping him into the pushchair, because he was just too mischievous for his own good.

It was that time of day when a spot of lunch would be very nice indeed, and there was quite a choice but we soon settled on Signals Bistro (which seems to double as No12 Quality Street B&B, so there you go), not least because it had room for us inside.

As we patiently waited for our meal, we used different methods of distraction, although you can only do "cheers" for so long.  Especially with a fizzy drink.  I don't think the fork lasted too long before being lobbed on the floor, and in the end we succumbed before his fish and chips came and gave him some small cheesy crackers, if only to try to keep the peace in a fairly quiet restaurant.

Given this was our first full day on holiday, and we were at the beach, Lynne was quite content to treat herself to some lobster, and it very much made her happy as you can see here.

Lynne was soon wrestling with her shell-encased food heaven; meanwhile, Gregory didn't do too badly with his fish and chunky chips.  Given we had a BBQ planned for the next day, I decided to avoid meat, which led to the rather odd combination of a goat's cheese tart (with salad) and some cheesy nachos.  It's what they're all doing in the fancy establishments the world over.

Lynne and Gregory set off as I paid and then meandered after them, losing them and only meeting up as we headed for the car.  I had to get a shot of this corner, though, as Quality Street met up with High Street, two of the most clichéd sounding road names around.

A small seating area on the other side of the road featured a painting of the sea (and that rock), as well as a miniature lighthouse.  I didn't have the patience to hang around until no-one was in the picture so I did the best I could at obscuring the people sat down behind the lighthouse.  It worked better than I expected.

Whilst wandering further off the main road, I found a vantage spot to take this picture, which looks in places a bit like a painting.

This grand building and expanse of grass was keen to impose itself on the threat of any sporting activity.  "No ball games" imposed the small white sign sombrely.

Back at the ranch, we met back up with the Gruffalo crowd, and two out of three Rowllings, for some garden-based frivolity.

I say frivolity, but in some cases it was absolutely fine to relax in the sunshine and eat twister lollies.

Gregory seems to have parted ways with his shorts, possibly due to getting too hot in the car when he was having a sleep.  He's certainly doing his best to rehydrate and, um, walk on the stones.

There was a well-organised joint effort to water every plant to within an inch of its life, involving Daisy and Becky.

Becky was actually pretty good at doing the watering by herself.  Gregory just enjoyed splashing in any residual water left on the patio.

Back inside, this was a common theme.  Poor Gregory's new pad was commandeered by all and sundry, with the small nature of the pad meant that the heads crowded round and led to a bit of aggravation and/or frustration.  Still, it was all relatively good-natured.

The next day, the sun shone once more and, given that Daisy had missed out the day before, we headed back to North Berwick for her shot at some sandy action.

Of course, we couldn't go without Gregory, and this time we'd come prepared with beach implements, although the sand here was not conducive to anything but slowing down transit.

Here's that rock again.  See earlier holiday pages for more on this.  I'm not going to Google it for you.

This may have followed an attempt by Gregory to make a break for it, but he is gently walked back to the controlled area by Lynne.

I'm not entirely sure what's going on here, but there may have been a quest for shells.  There often is.

But here Daisy seems to be attempting the impossible: trying to keep water in a spade whilst running across the sand.  As you can see from the copious spillage, it's just not happening.

As I stayed with Daisy for the moment, Gregory seemed to be grooving along and eternally at his mother's side.

On the slightly moister, more adhesive sand, Lynne got her hands a bit dirty by tying to build some sandcastles (I say "trying" because I have no evidence that one was constructed).

And then suddenly this was a shot from the far end of the beach, near where they have formed a sheltered area of shallow water suitable for children.  Gregory, who was now very much free from maternal attention, had perhaps seen this (but more than likely not) and headed onwards (and onwards) along the water's edge, all the while with me staying abreast of him, aiming to cover off any aspirations he might have to veer deliberately into the shallow tide for a freshening dip.  He didn't seem too perturbed by this provided he could continue on his merry way, which is why we ended up this far along the beach, where looking back to the girls they were only slightly bigger than dots.

As I had my slightly better camera with me (slightly better than my iPhone 5S that is), I could take a decent zoomed-in shot of this yacht whilst also capturing the land across the way.

I eventually shepherded the boy back to base, where he looked on as Daisy used an age-old beach recipe to make something special.

With Gregory keen to be free from the controlling nature of his parents, we had little availability, or indeed patience or desire, to construct something as impressive as this.  Perhaps something to aim for in future years.

As I again wandered along the lapping tide with Gregory, I had a handful of milliseconds to take a picture of this starfish I spotted, before immediately returning my attention to shackling Gregory, like a journeyman midfielder given the sole responsibility to neuter the opposition's star player.  Gregory didn't make a killer pass all game, so I judge that as a success.

It very much looks like Daisy and someone's dog are not seeing eye to eye, but this was an usual photo in that it captured them both still.  Hitherto they had been running and splashing around, semi-independently, to their individual contentment.

We headed back earlier this time, as we had a BBQ to prepare for.  After Gregory had again slept in the car, he proved that you can never be too classy as he munched on some crisps out of a bowl on the floor.

As so often happens when there is a hive of food preparation and cooking activity in and outside the kitchen, no photos were captured at the time.  This is somewhat of an "after the Lord Mayor's parade" shot, depicting the aftermath of an over-catered, moderately-consumed array of food, featuring cheesy stuffed peppers, home made lamb burgers, and marinated chicken, amongst many other things.  I did much of the preparation of these items while Paul Rowllings, accompanying his family this time (to be fair, he does have a day job and today was finally the weekend), did the majority of the barbecuing action.

Another shot of what was yet more food, but is now a decimation, remnants of the pasta salad and fresh salad items.  I had aimed to control the amounts produced but the variety was such that even with some pretty solid eating efforts, there was still a reasonable amount left over.  Still, it suited us fine for leftovers the next day (or more).

After the main course was, of course, dessert.  The girls were only too keen to offer Gregory some of their milk lollies.  Perhaps not at the same time, though, eh girls?

As Daisy and Becky hid in the ladybird-style tent, Paul got up close and personal for some photography.  Gregory looked on indifferently.

One of Gregory's favourite toys are the stacking cups.  Becky was fetching some of these for him as Daisy wondered what mischief she should get up to next.

Ah that will do.  Trying to scare the living daylights out of her Uncle Paul.  Doesn't seem to have worked.

On to page two of this joyous account of our holiday or back to the Secret Portal.