2011 Day 3 New Lanark and Selkirk

Thurday 28 April. Each day of the tour, I share a poem that is relevant to the place or area we are traveling. As we went to the Borders today, we passed the home of the poet known as The Ettrick Shepherd, James Hogg. His poem, "A Boy's Song" eloquently describes the rolling green hills of sheep and cattle pastures bisected by the rivers Tweed, Clyde and Yarrow. One stanza goes...."Where the mowers mow the cleanest, where the hay lies thick and greenest, there to track the homeward bee, that's the way for Billy and me..." This year due to the unusually high amount of sunshine and lack of rain in April, the growing season is 3 weeks ahead of normal. Daffodils are done blooming, the tulips are nearly done, and the flowering trees are starting to lose the blossoms. Scottish Blackface or Cheviot ewes, often with 2 lambs cover the pastures. These are cherry blossoms in front of the loo in the Scottish Borders town of Peebles.

New Lanark World Heritage Site is the site of a former mill where cotton was spun. Today, in one of the restored mill buildings, there is a small production of wool yarn being spun on a large spinning mule for the sake of education and for profit.

The community was built below three falls on the River Clyde in the late 1700’s by David Dale. The mill ran on power generated by the falls. Today New Lanark still produces hydropower that runs the community, with enough left over to sell back to the power grid. The mill was purchased and run by Robert Owen from 1800-1825. He was a social reformer and forward thinker far ahead of his time. He ideas were not popular with other mill owners. But his efforts gave him the title “father of trade unionist movement” in Scotland. He banned children from under age 10 from working in the mill. He started the first nursery school in the UK. Children from ages 2-9 went to school while their parents and siblings worked in the mill. Once children reached age 10, they worked in the mill and then attended classes at night. Mr. Owen treated his own 7 children no differently than he treated the children of the mill workers.

The school was built by money generated from the company store which was run as a cooperative. New Lanark was the first cooperative that lead to the foundation of The Co-op, a grocery store still thriving around the country today. In school not only were reading, writing, and arithmetic taught, but the children studied dancing, music, and nature studies.



The workers lived in buildings just across from the mill. A family of 10 may share one room, but they were warm, well fed, and had health care provided by the mill doctor. Here are John and Jenell listening with rapt attention to our guide. The work day started at 6 a.m with a breakfast break at 9 a.m. and lunch break in the middle of the afternoon. The work day ended at 7pm. The mill ran 6 days a week and was closed on Sunday. They produced 50,000 miles of cotton per week. The mill operated until 1968 when it could not operate profitably. The mill buildings sat empty and fell into disrepair from the elements and vandalism. A foundation saw the value in restoring the site and started the vast restoration of the mill in the 1970’s. The restoration still continues today. The newest addition is a roof on top of one of the mill buildings.

The site is a glorious example of public and private cooperation to preserve an important part of Scottish history and to educate generations to come. Today 150 people live on the site. Many visitors may only take the Annie McLeod ride. But I encourage you visit the school building, visit Robert Owen's house, spend time looking through the exhibits in Mill buildings 1&2 and the housing block, and take the hike to all 3 water falls. Above are Jere and Evelyn on the roof garden. Day 3 continued entirely sunny and warm, tropical Scotland so far.

I was very struck by this place on my first visit in 1997 and each visit deepens that impression. I think it is the most tasteful and educational tourist site in Scotland. www.newlanrk.org/

The first week of the tour we are traveling in tandem in two Rabbie's mini-coaches. Here is assistant leader Doreen and guide/driver Ally, who wore his kilt to impress us today!

Lochcarron of Scotland was the afternoon venue. One of the few weaving mills left in the Borders, this Selkirk-based company weaves tartans and fashion fabrics for designers and companies around the world. They are housed in a former mill building that was refurbished in Riverside industrial area and feature a huge showroom of their goods. The business is family owned with many of the workers long time employees. A guided tour starts with the dying process of the wool.

The process continues with cone winding, winding the warp and then tying onto the looms. If the current order has the same number of warps per inch as the previous job, a machine can tie on the entire warp in one hour. If an order has an unusual set, a worker has to hand thread the heddles, about an 8 hour job, just like us labor intensive hand loom weavers have to do in our studios.

The Swiss power looms the company used are 10 years old and cost 250,000 pounds each. But still much hands on work and checking is required to retain the high standard of quality the company demands of their cloth. The women in quality control handle and inspect every yard of fabric after it comes off the looms. If an error is found, they may have to hand needle in yarn to fix the problem for up to a 40-yard length. The finishing of the cloth is done in Galasheils. Locharron has their own in-house design team. The head designers spend half their time in New York and Japan. In addition to traditional and private tartan designs, the company weaves fabrics for fashion houses around the world. 4 different weights of tartan are woven by the company. Here Anne and Donna inspect a delicious drapey lightweight weave. When I asked the guide how Lochcarron has survived when most other mills have closed, he answered simply “quality. When companies buy from us, they know what they are getting.” Sadly these days, you can purchase cheap knock-offs of tartans made in India. Always look for the label “made in Scotland” to assure you are getting the authentic thing, made with quality and pride in Scotland. http://www.lochcarron.com/

For 2010 Paris Fashion Week, Lochcarron designers used plaid to create a display of tartan butterlies.


The night found us in Edinburgh scattered about the B&B's along Dalkeith Road. Maxx and Annette prepared at Hotel Ceilidh Donia served us a delicous meal of fresh and tasty Scottish food. Scotland excells in using as much produce, meat , and fish produced locally and around Scotland. Fuel is so dear, (current 1.50 pounds per liter for diesel) that eating local is not a fad but a necessity here. Extensive use of poly tunnels by farmers allows fruit and vegies early and late in the normal season.

Day 2 Paisley

Wednesday 22 April. We started at the Paisley City Museum. This is a free museum and the oldest municipal museum in Scotland. It houses one of the best collections of Paisley shawls in the world. The collection curator, Valerie Reilly, gave us a detailed talk and slide presentation of the history of the Paisley shawl from the design's origins in Babylon where it was a fertility symbol, how it spread to the Kashmir region of India, and then finally to Europe. The East India company started importing them to Europe in 1780.

Originally the shawls coming from Kashmir were made of pashmina goat fiber that was collected from bushes where the goats would rub it off. These shawls were woven on simple wooden looms and took months to weave. The limited source of the fiber and the time it took to weave these shawls in Kashmir made them very expensive. Josephine, Napolean's wife, had 200 shawls in her wardrobe. By the late 1700's the shawls were being produced in Edinburgh, Norwich, France, Russia and Paisley on draw looms. Paisley had highly skilled weavers who had previously woven linen.

The town of Paisley in the height of popularity of the Paisley shawls around 1840, had thousands of weavers making these wonderful cloths, then on the Jacquard loom. An elaborate paisley design could take 484,000 pattern cards to produce it. But the weavers had to be accurate in their weaving, so that by the time they had woven an entire shawl pattern, they were within 1/4" of the required length.

The paisley pattern changed throughout the 100 years the shawls were in fashion The designs became more elongated in the Victorian era. The size of the shawls also changed as women's fashion changed. In the 1850's, the shawls were woven 5' 6" x 11' so they could be folded and used like a coat to fit over crinoline skirts. When the bustle came into fashion 1865-1870, this was the death of the paisley shawl as the shawls didn't work with the protruding bustle shape. Some Paisley weavers found work into the early 20th centuries when “fur shawls” enjoyed a period of fashion popularity. http://www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/

Dan Coughlin is far more than the weaver at the museum. Part of hisjob is to research the equipment used in the shawl industry. He also teaches weaving classes on Fridays at the museum. Dan showed us pattern books and explained the process from designing to weaving. At the peak of the Paisley shawl industry there were 10,000 weavers working in their homes and perhaps 20,000 more people supporting the trade. The fine threads, 80 to 120 ends per inch in paisley shawls and the exacting weaving specifications meant the Paisley weavers were highly skilled. Dan has rebuilt several jacquard looms back to working condition in the weaving studio at the museum. He made a shuttle box that holds 10 shuttles for one of the looms. Paisley is the only place he found that shuttle boxes this large were used on the looms. He is currently building a draw loom and turning 200, 3/16” thick pulleys for it. His next project is designing a beaming frame. Here Dan is showing how the pattern cards were punched for the Jacquard looms that wove the shawls. Once the weaving industry died, most of the looms were turned into firewood. But with Dan’s passion, skill, and dedication, he is bringing the history of the weaving equipment and the art of weaving back to Paisley. Nowadays, people can weave for enjoyment, unlike the past where the weaver was the loom’s slave. One journal of a weaver of Paisley reads “I’m glad to be free of the four posts of misery.”

Sma Shot Cottages are just down the road. The name Sma Shot comes from the binding weft thread that was thrown every 7th pick to hold the rest of weft threads in place in the paisley fabric. A society has resurrected and preserved one of the weavers cottages from the era when linen was woven Paisley, (1700's) and then other rooms depicting life in later years.

The men were the weavers, but there were many other jobs associated with making the shawls including designers, beamers, warpers, washers, steam pressers, stenters, fringers, and then the marketers. The weaver took an oath to eat his shuttle rather than give away trade secrets. Thus the shield for the weaver's trade has 3 tabby cats on it with shuttles in their mouths. Their motto was "Weave Truth with Trust" The first Saturday of July, is "Sma Shot Day", still celebrated. This commemorates the day in 1856 when the weavers won the case to be paid for the yarn used to weave the "sma shot." http://www.smashot.co.uk/

Here is a shot of the group in the courtyard garden at Sma Shot. Dan came down to the weaver's cottage to demonstrate weaving on a countermarche loom he has set up. Here he is flanked by 3 of my female travelers. Once in a while there is a perk to being a weaver!

We always enjoy a nice lunch complete with clootie dumplings at Sma Shot. Ellen Farmer, president of the society and her group of volunteers do a smashing job of keeping the story of Sma Shot alive. We thank the following dedicated volunteers: Joanie Taylor, Jenny Kemp, Sandra Hurst, Di Adam, Anne Milne, Douglas Gillepsie, Margaret Devlin, Agnes Maclean, Elinor Robinson, Mary Reed, Cathy Wier, and custodian Angela Gillespie.

The Thread Mill museum tells the story of the huge thread industry in Paisley that shut the last door in 1992. The Coats and Clark Company which was a combination of the Anchor Thread Mill and the Ferguslie Thread Mill, at one time produced 90% of all the thread made in the world. 10,000 workers were employed in the mills. To allow mothers to work, there was a twilight shift from 5:00-9:00 pm. The cases display mile reels of thread, posters, memorabilia from mill workers, and now all the photographs have been digitalized and are displayed on a large plasma screen. Most of the volunteers who run this museum worked in one of the mills. We thank Eleanor, the leader of the volunteers and Nessie, one of our guides for lovingly sharing the history of the thread mill industry with us. http://www.paisleythread.org/

Paisley Abbey dominates the center of town. 13 monks from the monastic order from Cluny, France, founded the monestary. The 12th century abbey has a medieval nave. The monestary was disbanded in 1560 and the central tower of the abbey collapsed in the same century. Restoration started in the 19th century and continued into the 20th century and even now. This week the pipe organ will be removed for restoration. Since we couldn’t hear the organ, I asked permission to sing a bit of Handel. I love the acoustics of fine old buildings like this. The stained glass windows all have interesting stories, described in a pamphlet available at the entry. The abbey also houses Royal Tombs including Marjory Bruce, the daughter of Robert the Bruce and King James III. The Abbey is known as the “Cradle of the Stewart Kings.” We couldn’t stop exclaiming at the magnificent beauty of the flowering cherry trees in bloom on the Abbey grounds. www.paisleyabbey.org.uk

Part of the group traveled to Edinburgh tonight to hear a fiddle legend, Frankie Gavin, of Ireland. The Edinburgh Folk Club presents live music every Wednesday night at the Pleasance Bar. For anyone traveling to Scotland, be aware that many towns have folk clubs with weekly gatherings for singing, playing, or performances. Here is where the real music can be heard. Foot Stompin has an excellent website that list folk clubs and a concert calendar that lists performances to be found all over Scotland. http://www.footstompin.com/

I’ve heard many fiddle players. Frankie is certainly the one with the fastest fingers!I wished for my metronome to see just how fast he was playing some of the reels.He played tunes on both the viola and the violin. It is not a common thing to hear celtic tunes played on the lower pitched viola. He was accompanied by a very creative, improvisational guitar player, Mike Galvin. To attest to Frankie’s genius status, the audience included some of the top musicians in Scotland including lads from Battlefield Band and Boys of the Lough. Look for video that Paul and I shot on YouTube later this spring. Frankie’s friend noticed us shooting some sets from our primo front row seats and requested footage!

Day 1 Stirling and Glasgow

Tuesday 21 April. Welcome to my blog about the third Scotland adventure I’m leading for weavers and spinners. I'm happy to be dancing, hopping, well mostly riding around Scotland once again. Folks ask why I do this trip. The simple answer is, I love the country and it’s people.In a nutshell, I spent the summer of 1997 in Scotland hiking and roaming, meeting farmers, weavers, felters, fiddlers, and singers. That is when I hatched my idea to bring folks who like music, old stones, and weaving to Scotland to meet my friends!It took 10 years, but in 2007 I brought my first group from North America over. I’ll keep leading this trip as long as people are interested in getting an insider experience into the spirit of this place and its people.

This group includes travelers from Florida, New Mexico, and California. Some of them have traveled together as a group before. For some it is their first time out of North America. Others are regularly on the road 3 months a year. I've found one hardy walker who can easily keep pace with me and several are certified deep sea divers! It is an interesting mix of folks that I already know ask excellent questions of our guides.

Day 1 we headed north out of the city for the first venue of the trip, Stirling Castle. Although the weather was like summer yesterday, we started today with some clouds and some rain. By the end of the day when we returned to Glasgow the sun was out. So that is how it goes in Scotland, just as where I live in the Pacific Northwest. If you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes and it will change. Stirling Castle is the site of many famous battles.It rises out of the lowlands as the entrance gate into the highlands. From the castle you gaze across fields where many battles have taken place in earlier history and look across to the Wallace monument. The Romans originally built the only road from south tonorth that ran right through this area where the Firth of Forth meets the River Clyde Basin. That is why it was a strategic site for holding or conquering the land. Many different buildings and fortifications have stood on this site since the 1200’s. The castle has been rebuilt at least eighteen times over the centuries. Historic Scotland's website can fill in the details of this historic place. www.historic-scotland.gov.uk

It was a busy and eventful day at the castle. The army was there to render a 21-gun salute for the Queen’s 83rd birthday. 3 guns were set up next to the display canyon on the castle wall facing Abbey Craig. At noon, the pipe band processed and played for the firing spectacle. Thanks to traveler Paul Causey for the firing jpg.

We have the current renovation of King James V palace to thank for the Unicorn tapestry project. Historic Scotland is working with the West Dean Tapestry studio to recreate the 7 tapestries in the “Hunt of the Unicorn” series. The originals with the blue background are in the Metropolitan's Cloisters Museum in New York City. The other series with the red background are the Cluny Museum in Paris. You may enjoy reading Tracy Chevalier’s excellent historical fiction book called “The Lady & the Unicorn” based loosely on the weaving of the original tapestries.Since records show King James had over 100 tapestries in his palace, very likely including a version of the Unicorn tapestries, the Hunt series was chosen to be made anew. Louise Martin, the head weaver of the project, gave us an in-depth look into the scope of this amazing project. The 4 tapestries already completed are hanging on display at the Chapel Royal include:"The Unicorn in Captivity#1"
“The Unicorn is Found #2”
"The Unicorn is killed and brought to the castle #6"
“The Unicorn in Captivity #7”

They are all 330 cm tall and various widths. Since my last visit, "The Unicorn is Found" woven at West Dean, was hung. Detail of "Unicorn is Found"

A temporary studio was built on the north end of the castle for this project. Visitors to the castle can view the weaving but are not permitted to talk to the weavers while they are at the loom. The weavers are currently working on "The Unicorn at Bay” which was started on February 6, 2008. A great delight for me is that I see the progress on the tapestry project each year.It is humbling to realize that it will take 3 highly skilled weavers working 7 days a week, 3 ½ years to complete this current tapestry. Another tapestry in the series is being woven at the West Dean Tapestry studio 500 miles away in England. The entire project will be completed in 2012 when the whole set of tapestries will hang in the newly renovated palace at Stirling Castle. http://www.westdean.org.uk/tapestrystudio/commissions/historicscotland.shtml

To render the full-scale design and cartoon, the head weavers go to New York to the Cloisters. They have access to within one millimeter of the original tapestries but cannot touch them. They figure out yarn colors and make a detailed plan for each figure and motif in each tapestry. Working from full size color copy, they make an acetate tracing of the tapestry. Then from this they make a paper cartoon. Samples are woven to work out specific techniques to achieve desired effects. The wool yarn is all dyed at the West Dean studio. Instead of silk, pearl cotton is being used for the shiny parts as it has longer color fastness. Historic Scotland requires that the materials being used in the tapestry hold up for 250 years.

Reweaving the tapestries is not a matter of copying. First, the new tapestries are being woven 10% smaller than the originals to fit in the space in the palace. They are weaving with fewer EPI (ends per inch) in the warp because it would take too long and cost too much money to weave them at the original finer warp set. (A patron in her eighties is financing the project.) Also, the head weavers have to train the weavers who come in to weave each tapestry. Although all experienced tapestry weavers, they need to understand the specific techniques and develop nuances of skill. There will be about 25 weavers total who have worked on the series by the time it is completed. Each weaver has to leave their own individuality and style behind and try to get into the mind of the original weavers as they work. Getting this inside look at the current project is really special. The scope, historical accurateness, detail, and dedication is amazing.

Back in Glasgow, we toured the Glasgow School of Art. There has been in art school in the city since 1845. This current building was completed in 1909 based on a design by Cahrles Renne Mackintosh. When he won the design competition for a new building, he was 28 years old, both working for an architecture firm, and attending school here part time. The clean lines and the influence of nature inside the school was influenced by Mackintosh's appreciation of Japanese design. Throughout the building the "Mackintosh Rose" symbol appears again and again. Margaret, Charle's wife, a fine artist, designed gesso plaques and had a great influence on Charle’s interior design. The tour ends in the new venue for the furniture gallery. A selection of chairs, tables, bed, dresser, cabinets from the school’s collection is on display.No photos can be taken inside the building.

Charles died in 1928, poor and virtually forgotten, and Margaret died in 1932. Their marriage was a true love story. Today, people world wide value the design aesthetic we today call "Mackintosh.”There are many other sites in the Glasgow area that feature the architecture and interiors of Charles Mackintosh. We ended the day at the University of Glasgow. Travelers were free to explore either the newly renovated Huntarian Museum or the MacKintosh House. When Charles and his wife Margaret MacDonald left Glasgow in 1914, one of his patrons bought the house. When the owner died, the family left the contents to the University of Glasgow. The actual house, located just a few blocks from the University, was torn down in the 1960’s. But in the early 1980’s, the museum built this addition to the gallery which replicates the rooms of the MacKintosh house. Each room is decorated with the furniture, light fixtures, artwork, textiles, and colors true to the original house. The sense of light and unity in the house gives a sense of sacred space. The popularity of MacKintosh and his designs today is amazing considering he died in London, almost entirely forgotten and poor.
www.hunterian.gla.ac.uk

Day 14 Fort Wiliam to Glasgow, Farewell

The last day of our tour we headed south from Fort William through the stunning scenery of Glencoe glen. A number of movies, including the 3rd Harry Potter, have used this area as a set. The tragic massacre of the MacDonalds of 1692 continues to give this area of natural beauty a tragic air. Richard played a recording of "Glencoe Massacre" sung by Alasdair Macdonald which made us all quietly contemplate. Much of the land in the glen is now owned and protected by the National Trust of Scotland. We stopped at the view point of "The Three Sisters" mountains. Margaret's finally agreed to pose for my camera.

Our last bit of nature before heading back to Glasgow was a stop on the shores of Loch Lomand where sang “The Bonnie Banks o Loch Lomond” It was penned by a prisoner of the Jacobite campaigns before he was executed. He believed that his spirit, upon execution, would travel back the spirit world via the “low road” to the place of his birth, Loch Lomond, while his prison mate, who was to be set free, would have to walk back home to Loch Lomond. So this gives new light to these words: “You’ll take the high road and I’ll take the low road and I’ll be in Scotland afore ye. But me and my true love will never meet again on the Bonny bonny Banks of Loch Lomond.”

Upon returning full circle to Glasgow we visited the Burrell Collection, housed in a museum in Pollok Park. Sir William Burrell amassed great wealth in the shipping business and spent his money on collecting artwork from all over the world. There are many tapestries in the collection. Helen Hughs, the textile conservator, allowed us a veiw of the conservation room where the work of studying and preserving the embroideries and tapestries take place. She feels "textiles are at the heart of Glasgow's history. The raw materials, like Turkey red dye, and cotton, came here because of the shipping industry. The Textile Department at the Glasgow School of Art continues to train designers who go into the interior fabrics trade."

Dina Ward, guided us through the tapestries on display. The collection includes large and small tapestries from Flanders, Brussels, and France. I really enjoyed Dina's insights on "The Dishonest Miller" tapestry, made between 1300 to early 1500's. I have seen this tapestry many time, but when she told us about the reputation of millers, pointed out the dress of the two couples depicting different social status, the story began to reveal itself to me. Entry to the museum is free and walking around the park which has a large herd of Highland cattle, flowers, and trees, is a green peaceful retreat in the middle of the city. http://www.glasgowmuseums.com/venue/index.cfm?venueid=1

I want to thank Richard, our coach driver/guide from Rabbies Trail Burners http://www.rabbies.com/ once again for driving us 1692 miles around the country. He was still smiling at the end. He is always off scoping out good scenes as soon as he drops us off and cleans up the coach. He sells photographs of scenic Scotland on his website. http://www.scotlandthroughthelens.com/

How do I summarize 2 weeks on the road in search of threads, ruins, and tunes? We had no major illness or mishaps, and so much sunshine that some pale skinned northerners got sunsburned. It was wonderful to share the best of the sites, places, and people I had met on 5 previous trips to Scotland with the 15 travelers on this tour. Some were seasoned travelers, having been to Scotland numerous times. For others this was their first venture out of the U.S. You may enjoy reading newbie traveler, Bob's take on the trip at his blog site http://ramblinrobert.wordpress.com/

Travel is a wonderful teacher. We leave our framework of our normal, everyday lives, and are thrust into a culture, which may not seem so different from our own. But as we talk, eat, ride on ferries, visit museums, breath in deeply, we learn in subtle and sometimes not so sublte ways, that every culture has unique things they offer to the world.

Scotland has always offered her friendly people and welcoming nature to me and I believe my travelers felt this too. We fly back home and leap back into our lives, but we are not the same. Our being has been touched and changed. I always come home so thankful for the affordable food, fuel and energy we are privileged to have in North America . And I’m reminded to give back the hospitality to visitors in our communities and homes that we received in Scotland. Thank you for blogging along on this journey. If your interest has been peaked, I invite you to come along in person next year. I'm taking reservations now!

Day 13 Leverburgh to Fort William

I always think a fine way to leave a place that has had a profound affect on you is to walk. So as I walked from Rodel Hotel to the Leverburgh ferry dock, the photos opening this day's blog bid me farewell to the Isle of Harris for another year. The hub bub over Sunday ferries to and from the Outer Hebridean isles has dissipated now two years after this service started.

And we were blessed with smooth water on our Sunday morning crossing from Lewis to North Uist to Skye. You really have to hustle on the drive between ferries from Berneray on North Uist, to Lochmaddy. Our driver showed off his expert driving skills and we made it 3 minutes before the ferry started loading.

Skye welcomed us with typical style and rained but still the green rolling hills and lush vegetation greeted us to this peaceful island. As we left the outer Hebridian’s behind, we all sang "Waulking Song from the Misty Isle of Skye" and "Skye Boat Song." With the only oil refinery in northern Scotland on strike, signs like this were common at fuel stations. The price you see in the pump is the cost per liter.

Eilean Donan Castle at Dornie was our destination. The castle sits on a small little island, making a picturesque view from every angle. Pat stands at the entrance gate. Castles have stood on this site for 800 years. The site was a monestary until the 8th century. Vikings ruled here for 450 years. Alexander the 3rd evicted the Vikings and the MacRaes owned this castle from the 1300’s until today. In 1719 the building was destroyed as the castle was a stronghold of support for the Jacobites. The castle stood in ruins for 200 years. In 1912 they started rebuilding the castle and completed the present building in 1932. The renovation was based on the 16th century version of the castle. http://www.eileandonancastle.com/

As we continued into the heart of the highlands, the clouds dissipated, the sun came out and the veiws beckoned us to stop. Here is a shrine of cairns, right along the roadway, no double added to by each traveler who stops. We also saw Ben Nevis. At 4480 feet, it is the tallest mountain in Scotland. Typically, only 52 days of the year is Ben Nevis visable.

We lodged in Fort William and enjoyed a fine meal at The Lime Tree restaurant. This B&B has an unusal feature in that as a former church, one part has been converted to a private gallery space that has exhibitions of highland artists and also shows work from the National Art Collections. http://www.limetreefortwilliam.co.uk/