heading out of skye

If you don't like mountains and blue skies then scroll right to the bottom for the obligatory dog shots.

You might have guessed there would be another dog or two involved in my Scotland trip.  After my 2 days of hiking on Skye, I woke up early to make the 5+ hours' drive to see Wendy, Scott, Hunter, Karhu & Tux at their home in a lovely village near Glasgow.

As I left Skye behind, the weather got ever better, and by the time I reached Fort William and Glencoe, it was truly glorious.  I stopped at Loch Lomond for a much-needed coffee.  I had intended to stop there for breakfast, but the heavy traffic in the Glencoe area put paid to that plan.  By the time I reached my destination at Loch Lomond, breakfast was over but lunch was still a way away.  So I had a quick coffee in the blazing sunshine loch-side then got to Wendy's for lunch.

Last view of the Cuillin

Typical Skye road views

Southern Skye

Hills for days

Glencoe way

Good car window shot

Best car window shot of the trip

Coffee break at Loch Lomond

You may know about Wendy from her great blog Thankfifi.  If you like fashion, lifestyle & dog blogs you won't find a better one - check it out.

We did all the stuff that we do when I visit Wendy & Scott - cafe visits, brunch out, dinner in, gin & tonic, dog walk, dog talk and gossip - but this time we did it all with almost-1-year-old Hunter as well.  Can I just say what an amazingly easy baby he is!  Absolutely good as gold the whole time I was there (which was a little less than 24 hours, it's true, but still.)

I had a couple of nice photos of the dogs and a really great photo of Wendy & Hunter, but somehow I have lost them from my phone.  Deleted them, obviously - how careless can you get (insert sad face emoji).  I also lost the cute photo of Tux giving Hunter a little kiss.  Those two are adorable together.

Karhu looking distinguished mid-conversation

Tux with toy

meanwhile in the far north

I was ready for an adventure so I planned a long weekend away with some hiking and some visiting on the agenda.  Jay isn't really one for clambering around mountains, so he stayed home to take care of the puppies.

In the small hours of Thursday morning I hopped on a plane in Exeter, touched down not long after in Manchester and flew from there to Aberdeen.  Flying in those tiny planes when it's really rather windy was an experience.  Twice.  Kudos to both the pilots of those Flybe planes for landing them like feathers after getting chucked around like dice while trying to land.

And how sorry did I feel for the woman who was vomiting the whole way a few rows from me?  Frankly, not quite as sorry as I felt for the man sitting next to her.  Just glad it wasn't me.

First stop was the car rental office where I was expecting to collect a Peugeot 306, load my gear and my own satnav and then head for a nearby wood for a walk.  Apparently they were in desperate need to get a BMW 5 Series to Glasgow by Monday because that's what they gave me.  I declined their extra insurance (£120 for the duration) but I also declined their £1,000 excess and got Jay to call my own insurance company to cover me with £150 excess for £38.  That's more like it.  I wasn't impressed with the hard-upselling of extra unnecessary stuff, but I did really like the guy working at Sixt.  He was a real gem. 

It was so great to see Anna and Infindigo Mailat Koru, who is so much like Ulla and looks like his dad, Salo.  I hadn't seen him since he moved to Aberdeenshire at the age of 8 weeks.  I had heard he was BIG, and so I was prepared for him to be another stonker like his brothers Siinto and Jake.  However, he wasn't a stonker at all.  More the size of Loki, but with quite a sizeable coat.  I took lots of photos of him, but sadly most of them were over-exposed.  There are only a couple of usable shots.  That lovely coat in that sunshine, I guess. 

 

  

Massive thank you to Anna for clearing her day and driving all the way down so that we could meet and have that fantastic walk.  I must say that Aberdeen was an eye-opener.  I didn't know what to expect weather-wise or how cold it would be.  The forecast said chilly, but we were shedding layers hand-over-fist as the sun came out and the waterproof jackets disappeared.

Then I jumped into the rental car and headed west, destination the Isle of Skye.  The drive from Aberdeen to Inverness was nice enough, if somewhat unremarkable.  I did pass through a few pretty towns, the star of which was Elgin, and I did see more than a few beautiful rivers, my favorite of which was the Lossie.  I think.

In Inverness I found the huge Tiso Outdoor Experience shop and managed (somehow) to limit my purchase to some OS maps of Skye.  Then it was back into the car for the second half of the journey.

I had intended to go via Loch Ness, but the satnav took me a different way.  I challenge anyone to find a more beautiful drive than the Lochcarron route to Skye.  If you can manage to find a day with some sunshine and blue between the clouds, as I did, so much the better.  The scenery was breathtaking in every direction for the entire drive.  It should have taken me about 2.5 hours to get from Inverness to Skye, but in the end it took rather longer because I kept stopping to take photos.  Most of which don't do the views one iota of justice.  And there were plenty of amazing sights that I missed because I passed them before I was able to get the camera out.  If you go to northern Scotland, do yourself a favour and take this trip.

The closer I got to Skye, the better the views.  And sometimes I got a pretty good shot just by sticking the camera out the car window.

Finally at about 7pm I reached my hotel - the Viewfield House hotel in Portree.  To be honest, the only reason I chose this place was because, apart from one or two hostels offering 20-to-a-room, this was absolutely the only accommodation I could find available when I booked my trip 6 months ago.  You need to plan in advance for Skye.  Anyway, it's a lovely hotel, a gorgeous Victorian country house with friendly people and very comfortable rooms.  I could do without the dead animals adorning the walls, but even some of those are impressive.

 

The landing outside my room smelled alarmingly like mothballs, but fortunately the room did not.  As for the location of the hotel, full marks for views.  Just for a change.

Being the summer solstice, the nights way up here in the north come late.  Really late.  It didn't get properly dark until sometime around 3am and then the sky started to lighten up again.  Dusk at 10:30pm.  

I didn't sleep really well.  Perhaps it was nerves because the next day was my planned trip up the Quiraing.  And that turned out to be an entirely different adventure than I was planning on. 

a weekend in Finland

It wasn't my first trip to Finland, but it was the best.  For one thing the weather was spectacularly warm and mainly sunny.  I stayed in Helsinki this time and got to see some of the sights.  And then there was the dog show. 

But first, the sightseeing. 

A bunch of us stayed at the Best Western Hotel Haaga.  Great staff, comfy beds, nice pool & sauna and good food - I would definitely stay there again.  It was 10 minutes by taxi to the dog show and about 20 minutes by bus to the city centre.

We didn't want to waste a minute of our brief time in Finland, so as soon as we arrived at the hotel (sometime after 6 pm), we quickly changed into our swimming gear and hopped a bus then a tram to the harbour to catch a boat to Pihlajasaari, an outdoor recreation area located on an island about 10 minutes from the city centre.  I'm sure on a hot, sunny day this would be a wonderful location to hang out, swim, sunbathe and explore the island.  When we finally arrived there after getting caught in an enormous thunder shower, it was less than hot, less than sunny and closer to bedtime than sunbathing time.  We didn't let that deter us, however, and we had a snack in the restaurant (hello yummy chips and unfamiliar delicious spicy-mayo-like Finnish condiment) then a brief visit to the beach where some of our intrepid group even had a swim in the chilly Baltic Sea. 

Pihlajasaari

After that it was straight to one of the city's many wonderful outdoor cafe's for drinks and more snacks.  We happened more or less by accident upon the Karl Fazer cafe.  Let's just say it wasn't our last visit there.

Gorgeous displays at Fazer

Scrumptious treats at Fazer -  Pihlajasaari restaurant's famous homemade donuts

The next day a splinter group of 3 of us set off on a cruise through the archipelago to a 14th-century town on the Gulf of Finland 50km east of Helsinki called Porvoo, the second-oldest town in Finland.  There was just time for lunch and a wander around the shops and pretty cobbled streets before taking the boat back to Helsinki.  Oh, and then there was the ice creams as big as our heads, of course.  Not to mention the single licorice flavoured chocolate from the handmade chocolate factory. 

Pretty Porvoo

Views from boats

More views from boats - there were some VERY nice seafront houses

Lots of opportunities for selfies

Dinner for 9 in the hotel after the show

Any number of beautiful buildings around Helsinki

Then there was the dinner party suspended from a crane - a snip at 318 Euros per couple

Helsinki harbour - art exhibition promo - market - Lappies in the street!

It was a great weekend, but it was the dog show that made it a once-in-a-lifetime experience.  But that's a separate blog post, and one that will require a little more scrounging photos from other people.

modelling

Lapphunds have appeared as models and/or stars in a few places. Early on in their history in the UK, Neka's and Keskiyo's granny Echo graced the bag of Purina dog food. A few Lappies have appeared on television in one thing or another. Now a Lappy has become the face of a brewery.  That's right, I said a brewery - and, not only that, but he's had a drink named for him as well.

During my trip to Shropshire with Keksi I spent some time with Liz, Ian & Usko, although we did take some care to keep Usko & Keksi apart, for obvious reasons. On my departure, they very kindly gifted me with a jar of Liz's wonderful chutney and a couple of bottles of "Usko's Nog", dark ale brewed by The Laughing Lappy Brewery (otherwise known as Ian). The Laughing Lappy Brewery label features a very fetching photo of Usko, the quintessential laughing Lappy.

I don't partake of such things, but it did smell very nice and Jay assures me it was quite delicious. A worthy ale to be promoted by a Lapphund, we say.




















And, speaking of models, Keskiyo - who is never one to willingly miss out on anything, least of all a photo session - was wondering why I was bothering to photograph boring old bottles when he was available and a more than willing subject.

and... repeat

On a number of occasions I have commented on what an amazing mother Keksi was to her puppies last year. We were all so proud of how well she did - the actual whelping, the nursing, the cleaning, the general care, the calm demeanor. The girl definitely done good. Not to mention the fact that the puppies turned out to be a pretty sweet natured & gorgeous bunch, as well.

So when I casually broached the subject with Daniel & Jim that they might be willing to allow Keksi to have one more go, they were as enthusiastic as I. Can't say how grateful I am to them for their continuing support & help - not to mention the loan of their sweet girl and the breaking up of their canine family for weeks on end. Oh, yes, and having to endure bitches in season combined with a certain teenage male dog...

And so the crucial moment came around again and this time our rendezvous was with a local boy who lives conveniently just a few hours up the M5 from me. But travelling for mating purposes is never that simple for me, somehow, as you will be aware from my past exploits as reported on this blog. On this occasion I wasn't plagued by strikes like last time, and we weren't under threat of the worst snow storms in absolutely years like I was with Taika's mating trip. However, as I drove north to meet with Jim & collect Keksi, it did indeed start to snow, and it got heavier & heavier. I had visions of a repeat of the awful weather we endured getting to and from France wtih Taika, but luckily the busy little flurry ended and the accumulated snow started to melt pretty much immediately as I waited in the car park of the Air Balloon pub for Jim & Keksi.



















Whilst on the subject, I recommend this pub. It's pleasingly picturesque inside & out, it has a very friendly & welcoming landlord, and it's conveniently situated a few minutes off the M5, just south of Cheltenham, more or less on the edge of the Cotswolds. And although we didn't stop to eat, the menu looked very nice too.

So off Keksi & I went to deepest Shropshire to visit Liz, Ian & Usko in between visits to Glenchess & Elaine & Steve Short's delectable Ilolas.





Looking very pleased with himself. And quite right, too.















Having a scamper around.















As a puppy himself, taken in April 2011.














I have been in love with Ilo since first laying eyes on him as a young puppy. Not only is he a beautiful dog with a wonderful coat, color, head & expression, but he has one of those fabulous sweet natures that I so admire.

And no wonder, considering who his parents are. His father is the top winning Danish dog Multi Champion Lapinlumon Elämänilo. His mother is another little Lappy I have liked since first seeing her in Helsinki when Elaine was collecting her. Her name is Terhakan Uunu Leenu, and she's still a little beauty.
















Keksi mainly enjoyed her daily trips to Wyre Forest, rain or shine.


















Not to mention being the centre of attention with no competition for cuddles.


















And so now we wait. We hope.