The Great British Castle and Baked Goods Tour 2022

[Dreamer]

So you have a year to pick out what type of dog I guess.

[melcort10]

And we have departed Edinburgh

I had all the train tickets booked for the afternoon but at the last minute we decided to leave here early and just get to Arran. I wasn’t sure if it would work but the tickets themselves didn’t have a time on them and they turned the gate green so we are on the train!

We are staying at an actual resort on the island and I think that’s just what we need for a couple of days. An indoor pool and a play barn will hopefully rejuvenate everyone for London! I am also looking forward to hiking to some sea caves!

[missoverexcited]

That sounds lovely!

[melcort10]

I think I forgot to mention the restaurant that we went to after Hopetoun House. Scott’s Queensferry was my favorite so far. It was so pretty with a good view and great drinks.

I could not get a reservation online but I emailed them and they squeezed us in “early” which was perfect for us.

Papa only drinks Budweiser products (we love him anyway) which is often very problematic in Germany but hasn’t been a problem on this trip!

[Shmebulock]

I’m glad you’ve made it onto a train @melcort10

I hope you love Arran. It’s such a lovely place.
Have fun.

Your drinks in Scott’s look nice and refreshing

[melcort10]

Well good thing we caught an earlier train because the morning ferries have been cancelled

We’re currently booked on the next one that says delayed. But Ardrossan is quite a pretty town!

[Shmebulock]

That’s beyond annoying.
The ferry service needs to sorts itself out. Of all the days for them to be unreliable, it should NOT coincide with the rail strike.
Everything crossed for the next sailing and no issues when you leave again

[Nicky_S]

Glad you got to Ardrossan without any hiccups.

Fingers crossed for the ferry crossing.

[melcort10]

We’re on the ferry!!

[Dreamer]

I love train travel. Have fun!

[Nicky_S]

Yay!!

Enjoy Arran.

[melcort10]

We made it!!

And there’s bunk beds!!

[hodg]

That looks like another fantastic spot -looks the the views behind the net curtains will be spectacular.
Sure you’ll have an amazing time there- not sure you’ll want to come to London after all that space in Scotland.

Curious what the pink spritz drinks were- look really nice

[Elephantintheroom]

What a great thread! Found it by chance and have loved reading /seeing fab photos. Looking forward to your London report!

[melcort10]

Glad you stopped by!

I’ve been neglecting the thread, I’m sorry! All of the family has departed back to their home countries and it’s now just the 4 of us. So DH and I have been binging Obi-Wan in the evenings! We finished last night so I’m free now lol.

[melcort10]

@hodg

not sure you’ll want to come to London after all that space in Scotland.

Curious what the pink spritz drinks were- look really nice

Well we have gardens across from our flat in London so I think we’ll be ok! (Hopefully we are allowed to use them!)

Pink gin spritz! Gotta have my fizz!

[missoverexcited]

I love pink gin!! There are loads of parks in London, plenty of greenery. But it’s definitely not as beautiful as Scotland!

[melcort10]

Ok we made it to Arran and our fabulous hotel on Friday afternoon. This part of the trip was a little hard to plan because I knew we would need to relax and I didn’t know what to expect. I had emailed and called the “car rental agency” prior to the trip and heard crickets so I wasn’t even sure how we were going to get around. The hotel suggested we just “turn up” there so we walked into town! Nothing but sun!

Threw some rocks in the ocean as we are wont to do.

Mini golf! Including the Forth Bridge.

Had some pies for lunch!

No stroller, no problem!

We found the rental agency which was an over burdened lady in a service station with a notebook. So I fully understand why my emails were not returned. Nice teeny Suzuki with our name on it for the next two days.

Then came out parenting fail (win?) I don’t know. We followed a sign to an outdoor “bar kitchen” that welcomed “kids and dogs.” Delish fish and chips and burgers. Poor DS3 only, only wanted pizza. I scarfed my food and took DS3 back into town where I had seen a pizza window. It was Saturday night and they said a 30 minute wait and I said I would wait but I think they had pity on us and we definitely didn’t wait that long. I need to give them an amazing Yelp review because they got us a booth and DS a toy pizza and he was a happy kiddo once again!

Also, they had gin! My new favorite Arran gin. DS6 and DH came and joined us. A little something for everyone!

[melcort10]

We are in Bayswater and I booked it thinking we could end the day in Hyde Park most days!

[melcort10]

Interlude because Moana came up in our adventures today. But this was from the ferry port in Brodick where we waited for a couple hours.

Can you see it?

Seemed like there was nothing close by but there was a very large ASDA so we had a ferry terminal lunch feast.