Holiday in Sandhead 2011

Remote, rugged landscapes

Remote, rugged landscapes

We’re back in the cosy comfort of the Otter’s Holt after a week’s holiday in South West Scotland. We chose Sandhead, a tiny costal village a few miles from Stranraer, as our destination this year. We thought that the remote location and long beaches would suit our tearaway pup, Henry.

Little H was quite keen on the beaches, even though the walking can be pretty tough over the many miles of rocks and pebbles. Sun worshipers might be happier on the sands of the Spanish Costas.

The climate in this part of Scotland is mild, hence the abundant palm trees sprouting in almost every garden. They certainly add an exotic element to the remote, rugged landscape. This is a painter’s paradise, though the light changes minute-by-minute as blue skies become masked by rolling white cumulous, then a blanket of grey, then back to blue.

Ardwell House

The pace of life here is quite sedate. Long hours can be spent browsing the bookshops of Wigtown, or exploring the numerous well kept and interestingly stocked gardens of Dumfries and Galloway. One of the most impressive places we visited was Ardwell Gardens. For a very reasonable three pound entry charge you’re free to wander the pocket-sized estate of Ardwell House. The house itself is extremely pretty, especially when bright sunshine beams through the rolling clouds.

Slightly more exotic (and expensive) are Logan Botanical Gardens, just short of Port Logan. Here you’ll find examples of more exotic flora, particularly New Zealand ferns and various species of eucalyptus trees, peeling their colourful pallets of blue-green bark.

While you’re in the vicinity please call into Port Logan for a pint with the equally colourful and quirky staff of the Port Logan Inn. The food is good, wholesome, home-cooking, but I challenge you to finish a full plate of their beef stew and tatties. The portions are mountainous!

The Mull of Galloway

The Mull of Galloway lighthouse

Wildlife is abundant around the coast, with one of the best places to visit being the sheer clifftops around the Mull of Galloway lighthouse near Drummore. We were fortunate enough to see an unfortunate rock dove plucked out of the air by a peregrine falcon. This is not the ideal place to to walk a boisterous dog – Henry was doing his best to drag me over the cliff-edge. With an electric fence on the other side of the narrow cliff-top path I was very relieved to get back to the welcoming shelter of the Gallie Craig café – great cakes accompanied by misty views of Ireland out over the sea.

Portpatrick folk-fest 2011

Portpatrick folk-fest 2011

By curious coincidence we found ourselves in Portpatrick for the 2011 folk festival over the weekend of 2nd, 3rd, 4th September 2011. The Saturday afternoon was bright and sunny so we settled outside the busiest pub with beer and crisps. There seemed to be an endless stream of lone guitarists winding their way down from the harbour to join the throng in full swing and song. I recognised ‘The Lakes of Ponchetrain’, and later a lone trad musician played Shebeg & Shemore on the concert flute. With the emphasis more on folksong I didn’t expect that pure ‘twiddly-diddly’ on the banjo and flute would go down well with the assembled folkies. The banjo stayed in the car boot.

After a Guinness (one of the bland, new ones with no flavour) Henry had run out of salt and vinegar crisps, so we were obliged to move him on before he started chewing the chair legs. The festival went on without us.

Before setting off for home we had to re-visit Portpatrick to try the food at the renowned ‘Campbell’s’ sea-food restaurant. It’s a great place to eat, with attentive service and a cosy, agreeable atmosphere. All of this with impressive views of late summer sunsets over the harbour.

Locally caught seafood is prominent on the menu, but a few of us opted for duck, beef and chicken. I was very impressed with my succulent cut of inch-thick beef in a rich, creamy sauce. The liberal use of cream wasn’t quite so popular with the rest of the party. Dining at Campbell’s isn’t cheap – there’s even a charge for a bowl of veg, but it still gets my vote as some of the best food I’ve eaten in recent years.