Lunar Sea around GB

Sunset in Whitby   Well it's time to say goodbye and as you can imagine it is tinged with sadness as well as happiness. Looking back the trip was not how I had imagined it to be, mainly because of the bad weather that has dogged us for the whole four months. I have a large box of summer clothes and shoes I haven't worn and hardly any outdoor swimming was accomplished. However the places we have been to and the people we have met along the way have made it all worthwhile. Lunar Sea on the Caledonian Canal in sunnier days. We are driving back tomorrow and will be saying goodbye to the boat but we plan to be back again in about 6 weeks time and we will be popping up to see her every now and then between now and May next year. Lunar Sea spelling her name in flags!   We have also enjoyed hosting all our friends and family who have joined us for legs of the trip, so thanks to Dee and Steve, Jo and Jo, Andrew, Jo and Owen, Pauline, Mick and Linda, Frank...

A spectator at the Highland Games   Well I have now experienced a real Highland Games and we had an entertaining afternoon despite the mud!  The Highland Gatherings were historically for the clans to gather and show off their best warriors skills and to showcase their music and dancing talents. So we saw all the Heavy Athletics events which were listed as Throwing the Hammer Scots style; Tossing the Tilhill Caber and throwing the Cowal Stone.  The Wrestling Judge Entrants were from Scotland, Iceland (their team  won last year) and Germany. My grandson found the German lady entrant's name hilarious, Sylvana Bomholt, I will leave that to your imagination (try saying her surname out loud leaving off the final letter!)  The Scottish wrestling was very entertaining to watch, as men in kilts had to wrestle each other to the ground. There was no ring it was just done on the grass in bare feet. There was also a ladies class. Scottish...

Mick and Linda left us on Monday and Jo and Owen, Josh's daughter and grand son, arrived on Tuesday evening. Our plans have changed from what was originally on our plan. We were going to Belfast and then to Liverpool and we were leaving the boat there for the winter. Now we are staying put in the James Watt Dock in Greenock, Glasgow and we will be driving home on Thursday. Owen taking the wheel   The weather continued wet and pretty miserable but on Wednesday we had a break in the weather with a dry day forecast so we decided to take Jo and Owen on a sail to Holy Loch and Dunoon. The forecast wasn't accurate as we did have some light rain but the wind was in the right direction for a sail so we set off with Owen at the helm. It was a pleasant four hours sail, dodging the many ferries that cross the Clyde to Dunoon. We didn't land anywhere but we wanted to check out Dunoon as there is a large Highland Gathering there on Saturday (tomorrow) which we plan t...

I left you in Largs, weather bound by strong gale force winds and rain. We left the next day and had a not unpleasant sail back to the James Watt Dock, Greenock. Although the wind was 25-30 knots it was in the right direction for a change and so with wind and tide for us instead of against us we managed to sail back to Greenock, what we are now thinking of as home. Our guests for this trip, Mick and Linda, had flights booked home from Belfast as that had been our original plan. However, as we have now decided, due to the weather forecast, that this is not possible they had to change their flights to depart from Glasgow. (We waved them off on the bus this afternoon having had a different trip to what we had all first envisaged.) So what have we been doing over the last few days? We have spent another two days sightseeing in Glasgow, where we finished off the Waterside Transport Museum and the tall ship and on day two we spent the whole day in the Science Centre. We were all very im...

We have been based in the James Watt Marina since last Monday 7th, so over a week now. During this time we have explored Glasgow and the surrounding area and been impressed by both.    The Science Centre We have caught the bus into Glasgow twice and I was very impressed with the city. It is a modern vibrant city with the River Clyde at its heart. There is an old university and13th century cathedral and necropolis, but the dock areas outside of the main city area have been rejuvenated and are very vibrant areas now. Here you can find the site of the Glasgow Science Centre, a striking titanium building, the IMAX theatre and the tower which moves with the wind.  Detail from the Science Centre The moving tower   The other impressive architecture in the city is the dramatic zinc panelled Waterside Museum designed by Zaha Hadid the world renowned female architect and the “Armadillo” and SSE Hydro concert arena, both designed by ...

Detail from the gates into the Gourock outdoor pool If you aren't interested in swimming give this blog a miss. If you are then you are in for a treat. I will make you jealous by saying I have had three swimming experiences in the last week. The first and most luxurious was at Portavadie, in the indoor and outdoor heated pools. The outdoor pool was an infinity pool which means when you are swimming you can't see where the pool ends because the water flows over the edge. The view was spectacular over the Highlands. It was the most expensive swim at £12.00, but I was treated, so thank you Frank. The changing rooms were the height of luxury with large fluffy towels, hair dryers and hair straighteners and most important and rarely found in swim changing rooms, a spin dryer just for your cossie. I think all pools should have one of these as your cossie comes out almost dry and it saves lugging around a heavy wet costume which you then need to dry somehow at home (or wors...

Sun on the sails at last We left Largs in overcast weather with some threatening clouds but the wind was in the right direction so we managed to sail. It was a short 17 mile trip so we weren't in a hurry. Greenock is in the Clyde on the south bank about 25 miles from Glasgow. The sun came out after lunch even though it was still chilly. We started to see signs of civilisation and passed Gourock, a small ferry port 28 miles from Glasgow and the birth place of one of Josh's grandmothers. We approached Greenock and had phoned ahead for a berth, which we were told might be difficult because of the superyacht in the harbour. We found out later that it was owned by an American billionaire and it was here because it had been chartered (hired) for a couple of weeks. The cost - £800,000 a week!  The Superyacht Amaryllis in the James Watt dock, Greenock. Greenock is again another new marina, on the site of James Watt Dock, which was used mainly for sugar imports. Tate ...

The weather has finally picked up, still showers but some sunshine between these and the wind has allowed us to sail at last. Our first night's stop was the brand new 5 star world class marina of Portavadie. Sitting on the shore of Loch Fyne just a few miles north of the Isle of Arran it is a "modern gem set amid the stunning West coast scenery" according to the brochure.  Portavadie lives up to its reputation. It is a 230 berth, attractive, upmarket marina built on an old industrial site used for building oil platforms. It has very tasteful flats, a restaurant and a stunning spa and leisure centre. The facilities were very good including a drying room for wet sailing gear so it was useful as we had all got soaked doing the last couple of locks on the Crinan Canal. There was even a family bathroom complete with a large bath, wet room, his and hers vanity units, fresh towels and a TV! We had never encountered anything like it!! In the leisure centre was an in...

We left Craobh Haven on Wednesday for the Crinan Canal and entered the first sea lock in the afternoon, which was operated for us by friendly Scottish Canals staff. Lunar Sea going into the first sea lock.  After the sea lock there were twelve that we had to operate ourselves. First open or close the sluice using the small white handle seen hanging on the beam and winding furiously in the winch. Then physically walk the beam open or closed, using the cobbles as leverage for your feet.   The bike on it's holiday in the canal, see how narrow it is! The blur is a drop of Scottish rain!! It is a very pretty, small canal and I highly recommend it. The locks were hard work but we had a routine going and we were pretty slick in the end, despite the men being easily distracted by smiling waving girls on passing yachts. I would say the best way to describe the canal is by photographs, so please enjoy the following. It took us two days to get through the c...