The search for ?? Part 2: 50 views & counting!

Part 7. Aug.9th-12th 2020: Across the water to Cowal et al
Sunday
I did my Sunday shift as usual & then drove straight up, stopping after a longer drive than usual - Abington services (where the terns were resting on car roofs last time I was here). 

A point to note: Blogger has changed its format & I can't find how to add a description to my photos, & can't get rid of the big gaps around each one. What a pain in the butt :-((

I'd made salami & cheese butties, & had a punnet of strawberries &

loads of other fruit, so I had a 'birthday picnic' sitting on the grass in the sun, then

pushed on for Greenock where my 1st viewing was at 1630.

My hand-written directions took me straight there - on a hill above the Clyde estuary.

Great view, but otherwise not for me.

Onward & upward!

Onward to Gourock anyway, where John (my Airbnb host) was awaiting my arrival in the Darroch pub next door.

I joined him chatting to 2 ladies having a Sunday afternoon in Gourock, & on hearing it was my birthday, one offered me a drink.

I had an Irn Bru!

Up in John's flat about 2 hours later I checked my Es & ate the curry I'd brought with me, while John watched repeats of concerts by George Ezra on the telly. There was no chance of catching up with The Witcher, so after walking to the local shop with John & his 2 labradoodles (Teddy & Bear) to buy my ticket for the Hunters Quay ferry, I decided to hit the sack quite early.

Monday

Next morning I was up & on the road before 0900, & on my way to a semi in Largs where I had a viewing booked for 1000.

I had a brief stop on my way out of Gourock & left is (distant!) a pic of Kilcreggan on the Gareloch peninsula across the Firth of Clyde. I was to drive round the loch to Kilcreggan the next day ~ see below.

On my approach to Largs ~ because I was very early, I stopped for a pic of the harbour where the CalMac ferry to Cumbrae was in port, & have slurps of the coffee I'd made at John's & put in my Aurora thermal mug from the trip in 2015.

Then I used my hand-written directions (no SatNav for Shirl) to find the semi on a hillside above the town. I had been hoping for sea & moorland views, but it was in an estate surrounded by clones, so that was another off the list.

On the way back north, because I had seen a flat in an old country house on a hill in Skelmorlie on RightMove but hadn't been able to get a viewing, I did a drive by. Sadly, I could see there wouldn't have been sea views there either :-(

The hillside contained the estate of Skelmorlie Castle, & I'd seen a cute waterfall on

my way up Eglinton Terrace. So I took these 2 on my way back to the A78. 

The gate by the waterfall was closed or I'd've driven up for a look.

My next job was to catch the ferry across the Firth from McInroy Point, but as it was still before 1100 & my 1st viewing in Strone wasn't till 1515, I had a shufti of Gourock & drove to Greenock for petrol at Tesco. I also had a (socially distanced) bacon butty at the cafe & a chat to Hazel on the mob.

Trev also called at 1200 while I was driving back towards Gourock, & I pulled over for a long roadside chat & filled him in with the story so far. The news about Ali's cancer was still good, so that was great :-))

I decided to cross early & explore the Cowal a little, so got in the queue at McInroy's Point & drove onto the ferry just after five past one.

Here's something from the Western Ferries website:

Sound of Scarba, Sound of Shuna, Sound of Seil and Sound of Soay

The Sound of Scarba and the Sound of Shuna were both built on the Clyde by Ferguson Shipbuilders of Port Glasgow.  The Sound of Scarba was the first of the two vessels designed and built by the yard specifically for the route.  The design was based on many years of operational experience by Western Ferries and included enhanced passenger and vehicle facilities combined with a modern and efficient dual propulsion arrangement.  The Sound of Scarba entered service in May 2001 followed by the second vessel Sound of Shuna in October 2003.  The Sound of Seil and Sound of Soay were built entirely in the UK by Cammell Laird Shiprepairers & Shipbuilders Limited of Birkenhead and entered service in October 2013.  These ferries represent the latest evolution of the proven design concept employed in our earlier vessels, with truly "green" credentials achieved principally by the efficient matching of the hull design to the propulsion package, providing through-life benefit. They also utilise LED lighting technology and enhanced heat recovery to further reduce energy consumption. 

I was on the Shuna (Shuna Island is in Loch Linnhe), & we set off at about quarter past. I got out, used the on-board loo, & wandered about enjoying the views & being on the water.

I tried to take decent pics with the Nokia camera (I miss having the Lumix on these viewing trips, but I'd be forever taking pics if I had a decent camera with me, & I wasn't on holiday! ;-p ), & the one below is Dunoon & Hunters Quay from the ferry, & there were quite a few

sailing boats out on the water.

This one

      --> 

looks up Loch Long with Strone on the left. Because I wasn't due in Strone

until 1515, there was lots of time to explore the southern bit of the Cowal peninsula.

Before I left the ferry, I got another up towards Loch Long towards the Arrochar alps (left), & a closer view of Strone across Holy Loch (below).

The Shuna disgorged us all at 1335 & I went right, immediately seeing Cammesreinach Crescent where my 2nd viewing was due at 1700, so I checked it out to be sure. There were Firth views from the crescent. Great :-)

Back down on the A815 I drove lochside to the head of Holy Loch, passing hamlets called Sandbank & Orchard, before going right onto the A880 towards Strone.

Kilmun was on the northern shore of Holy Loch, & Strone curved around the point leading on to Loch Long where Blairmore looked across to Cove ~ just up Loch Long from Kilcreggan.

I was >an hour & a half early, so I drove though Kilmun, Strone & Blairmore looking for coffee & cake!

No luck: everything was closed - probably due to COVID19 :-/

The A880 actually ends at the Blairbeg Burn, just north of Blairmore, & the road along the loch shore continued as more or less a single track. I kept going until I saw Gairletter Caravan Park with a notice about park homes for sale, so I went in for a look. It would have been a great place to live, but after a telecall to the number on the sign I decided the site fees were too much to proceed my enquiries further, & got back in the car.

Back at Blairmore I telephoned an Estate Agent with a board up by a cottage, but it was too expensive so I went back towards Strone & Kilmun.

I was still early, but went up Westfield anyway. The street itself stopped at a turning point about 200m up the hill, but there was a track going NW across some forestry land, so I grabbed the last butty I'd made the previous morning & went for a walk.

There were lovely views down & across Holy Loch, but logging had destroyed the woods to the right. Still, there were new softwoods growing so it would look OK again in a few years.

Back down on Westfield I was met by a bloke who showed me around while the owners left the house. I wasn't impressed. As with the cottage at Jedburgh, trees blocked a view of the loch, & I knew there was no gas supply in Strone so the location didn't make up for having expensive oil CH.

So, Westfield went off the shortlist as well. Bum!

Back near my car, a man in his garden said the house had been on the market for 3 years! 

He also told me that when he & his wife had moved to Strone they had changed their oil CH to LPG, & although the conversion hadn't been cheap, their new bills were a lot less. 

That was useful info :-)   

I was there quite a while chatting to them & it was lovely in the sunshine.

Heading back along the A880 towards Kilmun I saw another For Sale board, so rang them as well. It was a lovely cottage, but with 4 bedrooms & £140K, too big & too expensive. It probably had expensive oil CH as well.

I headed back towards Hunters Quay, & went through Kirn, Dunoon & Innellan, occasionally stopping to telephone Estate Agents. Most weren't in, but those I spoke to took my details & said they'd E me with details of homes which fit my requirements.

The A815 took me to Toward!

There was a lighthouse on the point, so I got out for a closer look. 

This is a cock-eyed pic of the little lighthouse.

Cock-eyed because I had to stand with my arms above my head to reach over the wall & couldn't actually see what I was getting in shot.

Turning completely around, I took a pic showing Craigmore ~ near Rothsay, on the right, the Glaid Stone hill on Cumbrae is the dark lump just left of centre, & the lower hills of the mainland north of Largs are on the left.

By the time I'd finished roving it was just after 1620: nearly another 40 min. before my Hunters Quay viewing, so I drove back to Dunoon, still on the hunt for coffee & cake.

Parking in town looked tricky, so I drove round the Dunoon & Kirn back streets (calling more Agents on my way), before finding the Quay St Stores open just down the hill from the Crescent.

I got a lolly & a bottle of pop. Not coffee & cake, but they filled a gap!

In the end I was waiting outside number 39 with more than quarter of an hour to go, so I got nosey & had a walk round the outside, looking in windows, & checked out the garden which backed onto a wood. 

Lovely :-)

The owners eventually came & showed me round, & it was very nice inside with fairly recent renovations & decor. They said it had originally been built to house US Navy personnel working at the base. This is what Wiki has to say about Holy Loch:

From 1961 to 1992, it was used as a United States Navy ballistic missile submarine base. In 1992, the Holy Loch base was deemed unnecessary following the demise of the Soviet Union and subsequently closed.

All the accommodation built was then sold to the Scots - & subsequently to an Englishwoman???

I was quite keen, & while waiting for the ferry back over spoke to Ray.  I said I'd E the ad. & the HR later.

Viewings done for the day, I was headed for Dumbarton ~ another AirBnB across the Clyde, & my ferry was the Sound of Soay (which is off Harris in the Hebrides. Soay itself is part of St Kilda ~ see Bessie Ellen blogs).

She left at 1800, & got in at 1820, at which point I reversed my Sunday route as

far as the Erskine Bridge over the Clyde west of the city.

While I was on board, I took an arty-farty pic of another of the Western Ferries ships crossing our wake. ;-p

By the time I got to my digs, I'd done another 95 miles on top of Sunday's 158, & the niggling upper back problem was more than a niggle :-(

Happily, the lady of the house, Amy, was an alternative therapist & agreed to 'do me' in my room. Her therapy room was temporarily  the bedroom of a friend who'd had to abort his West Highland Way walk due to a knee problem, & would be staying until his 4 friends had done it & come back to pick him up!

Amy's massage was nice & deep, & my back felt ready to sit & watch some Witcher afterwards :-)

I managed 3 episodes before I called it a night just before 11pm.

Tuesday

I had no viewings booked & checkout wasn't until 11am, so I had a lie-in before a quick shower, & coffee for breakfast (I was hoping for a bacon butty at some point ;-q).

I also went online to pay Amy, & uploaded the pics from Sunday & Monday.

I left at 1110 & headed into town with the intention of getting a pic of Dumbarton Castle from the estuary, but the Lumia camera couldn't zoom enough from where I was on Clyde View.

It's still an impressive lump of rock, tho., & Wiki says the castle sits on a plug of volcanic basalt known as Dumbarton Rock which is 240 feet (73 m) high.

I'd had a terraced cottage in Helensburgh on my list before the HR showed it had damp & woodworm issues, & I passed it on my way through town towards Rhu.

I saw another board just east of Rhu & called, but it had 4 bedrooms & was £145K so that was a no-go, but the agent told me of one in Rhu & we arranged that I would view it at 1645.

That left me nearly a whole day to entertain myself, so I set off up the A82 up beside Gare Loch (detouring into Rhu so I'd know where to go later on), & passing the Faslane Naval base.

Garelochhead is at the head of Gare Loch (you don't say, Shirl? ;-p ), & I played the left turning game which took me anti-clockwise round the top & down a B road along the western side of the loch.

On passing Rosneath I detoured past a cute cottage which had also failed my Home Report (HR) test with damp & woodworm problems.  Defo very cute, but another with oil CH, so another reason not to view.

I eventually came to Kilcreggan & parked near the pier for a walk in the sun. I was also still hoping for coffee & cake, but as with the Cowal, everywhere which may have sold such was closed :-(

The car park contained an info-board about the Clyde Sea Lochs Trail, so I took a couple of pics for posterity.

Here's what I found on Google:

The Clyde Sea Lochs Trail is a fabulous route linking a necklace of coastal communities fringing the south western edge of Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park. It's perfect for driving and cycling.

The pier seemed empty, & notices said No Admittance, but I walked down & over the chain whereupon I saw a bloke sitting behind the little ferry building in the sunshine. I explained I'd taken a pic the previous morning from Gourock & asked him if I could go to the end for one looking back that way.

He said yes, so I did, & got one reminiscent of the Bessie Ellen one in Canna - see blog!

After a quick paddle by the pier I got back in the car & reversed my route back to Rhu.

By this time it was time for the last of the butties I'd made on Saturday night, & some more of the fruit I'd brought to keep me going in the absence of coffee & cake!

My thermal Aurora mug was empty, so I got a small bottle of PN from the Rhu Inn & went off to Rhu Point at the end of the spit, eating & drinking as I went along.

I decided to paddle back along the southern side of the spit, & was interested to see a lot of broken bits of crockery in the water. It seemed to be an old style of pattern, so when I saw a bloke walking his dog, I asked him if there'd been a shipwreck.

He said there had been several off Rhu, & that the crockery would have been from them. Sadly, despite a fruitless 1/2 hour hunting via Google, I can't find any info on the poor ships.

Anyway, I stood in the water at the top end to the spit & took a pic of Rhu across the bay.

It was a cute place & I knew I could defo live there - if only the house I was due to view was OK!

By the time I'd walked back in the water & chucked my plastic PN bottle in the bin, it was still before 3pm, so after another couple of info-board pics I went for a kip in the car which was parked on Manse Brae, about 10 yards from Guthrie Place where the viewing was to be.

My mob alarm woke me with 5 minutes to go, so I walked the few yards down Guthrie Place to the end-terrace on the west side of the street.

Although I dodn't much like it, it did have a view of the loch from the back bedroom window, so I took a pic.

Then it was time to wend my way into deepest Glasgow - where my AirBnB digs were. I left Manse Brae just after 5pm & got to Lyndhurst Gardens, off Maryhill Rd., almost exectly an hour later. My digs was in one of those streets lined with red sandstone townhouses you see all 

over cities in Scotland, & my host, Poppy, had 2 Persian Siamese seal-points.

One of them wasn't for chatting, but the other one made himself comfortable on my bed while I was in the kitchen brewing up, so I got a quick pic before I turfed him out & sat down to watch a couple more episodes of The Witcher.

IRO the series, if I hadn't read the books earlier this year (2020), I wouldn't've known what the heck was going on with the way they messed around with the timeline :-(

I emailed Andy about it when I got home, & he agreed it was difficult to follow.

Wednesday

My 1st viewing was in Stewarton at 1000, & not knowing how quickly I would escape Glasgow & find the M77, I left Poppy's at 0840. My fears about a city rush hour were unfounded, though, & I reached the village 1/2 an hour later. 

Seeing a couple of For Sale boards on the way in, I decided to call & see if I could view while I was there, but could get no reply, so knocked on the door of one & explained to the old guy who answered. He agreed it was in their interest for me to view while I was in the village, & said he'd pass my mobno to Ross Residential.

I was still nearly 1/2 an hour early, so I had a walk past the cottage on Clarks Wynd (previously known as The Piggery!) & down under the railway to the bridge over Clerkland Burn. At the viewing, the cottage was cute, but I was unsure if my kit (sofas etc.) would fit, so I took some measurements - intending to get the graph paper out when I got home. I had had no TC from Ross, so went exploring round the village in the car & then back to Clarks Wynd in order to follow the footpath across the burn to the other side of the village. That done, I went onto the main street for a brew & a bit of local bakery, then sat on a seat in the sun waiting for a TC. 

While I was there, a lady walked past with her small dog, so - figuring she was local, I asked about an SCD club. She said one met in the Kirk nearby on Tuesdays, or would if not for COVID19!  She asked why I wanted to know, so I explained about the house hunt. She told me hers was going on the market the next day, so I was cheeky & asked for an unofficial viewing. It was on High St. - across from the Kirk, & as I was about to go in, Ross called & said I could view the one on Loudoun St. at midday. 

Sorted :-) 

The High St. lady was Elaine, & she showed me round. 

tbh, her house was more suitable than the Clarks Wynd terrace, so I left my E-address & mobno so she could get her Agent to send me the HR: hopefully, there'd be no damp & woodworm mentioned.

Then I took a pic from the Kirk garden across the road (below) & went to 5 Loudoun St.

Quite frankly it was gorgeous & I wanted it!

There was wood everywhere; an original stone feature wall connecting it with the one next door; beams in the lower bedroom; & a stream running by the deck at the bottom of the garden.

Like I said, gorgeous.

I asked them to get Ross to send me the HR & said that I'd have a look at it when I got home later that day.

After I took a pic from across the road (see above), I set off south down the A76 via a fuel top-up at the ASDA near Kilmarnock.

It was a warm afternoon & I was dying for a drink by the time I got to Dumfries, so I went into the same Tesco I'd used before & looked around. I decided ice-cream would do the trick & ended up buying some (ie 4) Häagen-Dazs tubs. I ate one immediately, & followed it with another. tbh, it was a very warm afternoon, so I was pretty sure the other 2 would be liquid by the time I got home.

They were, so I drunk them both on arrival at 10 to 6 ;-p  Waste not, want not etc., so I scooped out the dregs with my finger & took a pic to prove how clean the last 2 tubs were ;-q

Notwithstanding the ice-cream, it was time for tea, so I put something in the M/wave to defrost & went to check if Ross Residential had sent me the HR.

There was an E from them, but not the news I wanted ~ it told me the owners had received an offer that afternoon & had accepted it.

So while I had been driving home, my dream house had gone.

I was most sad :-(

Having seen number 5, everything else I'd seen previously paled into insignificance, & even though I had quite liked Elaine's house on High St., I knew it wouldn't do if there were still houses like number 5 out there somewhere.

That meant it was back to the drawing board: I had to plan trip 8.

btw: the road kill on this trip was foxes :-(

I wondered why.

Part 8. Aug 21st: A round trip to Hawick & Duns
I didn't get my usual Friday lie-in. I had to do a round trip to Duns - 180 miles away, viewing 3 in Hawick on the way up.
The 1st was at 1100, so it wasn't a very early start & I left at 20 to 8.
I had a swift trip up, stopping at Tebay services for a brew & breakfast, & did a bit of exploring in Hawick (like checking out the rugby club ;-p) before going to Wilton Hill Terrace for 11. 

I had hoped the 'hill' bit of the address would afford good views of the Teviot Water, but ~ as with others, trees obscured the view. It was quite nice, but I had 3 more to see that day, & was really, really  hoping for another number 5. 

My 2nd viewing was across the river on Glebe Mill St. The flat was on the 2nd floor, & the Teviot flowed beneath the windows, but the view out of the back was a mess, & I was mindful of brother's warnings about stairs when I got older. 

Hence, that one went off the list. 

My 3rd in Hawick wasn't until 12, so there was time for a quick circuit of the locale. Like the Glebe Mill one, the Castle St. flat was by the river, but there were flood defence works in between, so the view wasn't great. Plus, even when those were finished & landscaped, I'd have a childrens play park across the road. Inside was nice, but the environs meant I crossed it off the shortlist. 

3 down, & 1 to go at 1515 ~ 40 miles to the NE. 

My Gmaps route took me via Kelso & a B-road through Stichill, & on a very straight bit after Legars I saw a great looking castle ruin across the fields to my left, so I detoured for a look. I took a pic of the info-board, but you'll have to tilt your head to read it!

The sun was trying to shine, but the wind was furious so I didn't hang about to explore. With any luck I'd be living nearby soon :-), plus my hair wouldn't withstand the brisk breeze & I didn't want to look a total mess at the viewing!

Once again I arrived early & had a wander round Duns in the car. I saw a property I had originally put on my shortlist last November (2019), but had binned due to the aforementioned damp & woodworm issues!

The For Sale sign was still up, so I called the agent on the off-chance I could view while I was there.

However, an offer had been accepted that morning (the story of my house-hunting life!), so I couldn't.

The property I was there to see was on Castle St., so I found it & took a pic of what may become my daily view when I stepped out of doors. Then I went back to the market square looking for coffee & cake.

I found tea & cake in a cafe called Maxwells in the square.

There was an amazing fruit cake which was served with local butter & it was Absolutely Awesome. The tea was pretty good as well. Because I wanted a look round the shops before I went back to Castle St.,, I prevented myself from having 2nds of the cake & went for a wander.

I found a charity shop with a great lime green plastic juice jug for a pound & a cool dark green trivet for 50p. There was also a book about the Settle to Carlisle steam railway for 50p, so I bought that for Martin (my nephew who is well into trains & railways).

Then I went back to Castle St.

It was really nice inside with a manageable & secluded garden, but I could touch the ceiling of the lounge without standing on tip-toe, so my maple display would defo not fit in - except on its side, & the rest would be a squeeze because of where the fireplace, the doors & the window embrasure was. 

I was disappointed: I still hadn't found a replacement for number 5 :-(

I got back into the car, went back to Maxwells so he could fill my Aurora mug for the journey home, refrained from getting a takeaway fruit cake ;-q, & set off south & west at quarter to 4.

This time I went via Greenlaw & hit the A68 again at Earlston. Then, turning left, I went back to the Bonjedward junction & on to Hawick. I had driven in a big wiggly rectangle.

As usual, I filled up at the Hawick Morrisons & used their loo before starting off down the A7 just after 5.15. I had already driven nearly 240 miles, & there was over 145 to go!

I didn't stop again on the way home, put my foot down a bit, & arrived back ahead of schedule before 1930.

That was another 385 miles on the clock & nearly another 12 hour viewing trip on my day off, with an early start at Tesco the next day. Phew!

Part 9. Aug 26th-28th: Renfrewshire, Ayrshire & Wanlockhead again

Wednesday

I'd worked the Monday so I could have Thursday & my usual Friday off together, & set off north straight from work at 1155.

I drove more or less straight up, & only stopped briefly at Tebay 50 min later.

The 1st viewing was in Gourock & I was staying with John again. I was due to view at 1630, & was early, so I stopped at the Greenock Tesco for fuel & a brew, but the cafe was shut :-(

I topped up the fuel though, & continued to the Gourock prom. where Albert Rd. was. 

I parked & got a pic of the view I'd get from the flat if I was to live there. Then, mask & gloves on, I went to see what it was like.

It was OK, with Firth views both. ways, but I wasn't totally convinced, & there was no parking except on the prom.

John was due out to work, & his partner was going to babysit me for the evening, so I had a bit of a drive round Gourock, & because it was tea time & I didn't want to turn up while John was eating, got a brew in a nice cafe with views of the Firth & Dunoon across the water.

I noticed that the 2nd pic I took from my table had clouds across the hills which look a bit like snow.

Then I called John & he said to come on over, so I climbed the steep curved stairs to his 2nd floor flat & got an exuberant greeting from Teddy & Bear.

John left for work shortly after, so I made my tea & a brew & waited for Steve (John's partner) to get in. It turned out he'd worked for Tesco for years, & didn't have very high opinion of the management!

I'd managed to leave my pen at home, so couldn't do the cryptics & codewords I'd packed to keep me occupied, & after checking Es I watched the Derry Girls on telly. Having been filmed in Ireland, I was interested to see quite a few faces I recognised from GoT, like Brenock O'Connor who played Nights Watch kid, Olly, & Ian McElhinney who played Ser Baristan Selmy.

According to the Hindustan Timees (! ;-p) ~ Game of Thrones ended in the summer of 2019 to great disappointment among fans with how the stories of their favourite characters were tied up. Their only hope are the final two books in A Song of Ice and Fire series by George RR Martin, which he has finally got back to writing.

Yay :-)  Given how much was left out of the series, & how the last book written so far was so different from the HBO version, I will finally be able to see how George R R envisioned the ending.

I had 6 viewings the next day, so I called it an early night & went to bed when Steve took the dogs out.

Thursday

My 1st viewing was at 1000 in Largs, & I was away from Gourock just after 9.  It's a relatively short drive south to Largs, & I was in plenty of time to call an Agent about a possible viewing in Kirn, just north of Dunoon. I had a longish gap after my viewing at Seamill at midday, so was hopeful to squeeze one in.

I was at Underbank early, & took this pic from the road outside the apartment complex.

Sadly, the ground floor flat was small & dark, so yet another No-no :-/

Having heard I could view the flat at Kirn, I pressed on south to Fairlie where I had 2 viewings - both with sea views.

The 1st had a great uninterrupted view across the Firth, except for Hunterston's ugly pier. This pic's from directly in front, & it also had

lovely views of the 

National Park hills inland (see below of pic from the back garden).

However, at £120K, the gopping pier very much spoiled the effect out front.

The 2nd Fairlie flat was also on the sea front, but was too small with a very wierd layout IRO bathrooms! It would be OK for holidays, but not for permanent living.

I decided to cancel the Ardrossan viewing, but saw the flat from the outside while overshooting the Seamill turnoff. I was early again, so no worries, & I had plenty of time for a detour into West Kilbride village hoping for a brew.

No luck: West Kilbride seemed to be closed ;-p

Back at the Seamill flat (which was a mill conversion), Nathan the Agent was late, so I had a wander in the garden listening to the sound of the water from the river which had served the mill when it was in operation: It was loud!

The flat was on the ground floor, &, although bigger than the Underbank one, it was similarly dark ~ even just after midday in August :-/

Onward & upward to Kirn then ~ well, across the water anyway.

After stopping in Largs for an expensive ice cream at Nardinis, I got my ferry ticket at the Co-Op in Weymss Bay (not knowing then about its wonderful railway building abutting the ferry dock), & pressed on to McInroy Point. I arrived at 1348, but the 1400 across was full.

I got the next OK (it was the Shuna again), & we docked just after half past. 

Kirn is less than 3 minutes from the ferry at Hunters Quay, so (once more) I was very early, & as it was pouring by this time, I sat in the car & ate some fruit & drank the coffee I'd made at John's.

The Kirn flat was on the 1st floor of an old Victorian house & the rooms were huge & high: It would take some heating. It was another £120K flat, so - as I wasn't totally convinced I wanted to live there, I crossed that of my list as well.

So far, I wasn't doing very well!

Back in the queue for the Sound of Soay at 1/4 to 4, I texted Ray to update him on my day so far. It was still raining, so apart from a brief trip outside to find the onboard loo, I stayed in the car.

This is what Wiki has to say about Soay Sound:

Soay Sound (Scottish Gaelic: Caolas Shòdhaigh) is a strait separating the islands of Soay Mòr and Soay Beag from the northern part of Harris. The sound is part of West Loch Tarbert.

Incidentally, Scarba is N of the Corryvreckan whirlpool, & Seil is an island off Oban.

I went south off the ferry, & ~ with official viewing done for the day, I decided to have a detouring drive-by of Mill Wynd at Waterside on the A719 between the east/west A71 & the north/south A77.

Having noticed a road going inland just S of Fairlie when I was there that morning, I took it & found myself on an amazing road over the top.

Catching sight of the view behind me in the mirrors, I stopped for some pics.

I think you'll agree I had great views :-))

I found Waterside OK & had a look round the mill conversion from the outside. Then I had a drive through the village - going both ways along the A719 till I ran out of houses.

It didn't take long!

It was a hamlet, not a village & there were no shops or anything handy other than a bus stop each way.

The mill itself was nice, though, & I was hopeful for tomorrow's official viewing.

My digs for the night were in Monkton, right by Prestwick airport, so I set off south & west, arriving at 1855 with a total of >130 miles that day.

The Adamton Country House Hotel was a conversion & had a very impressive gateway: see pic below

The front door was similarly grand so I got another pic before I checked in.

Of course there was no food available - due to the COVID19 restrictions, but at least I could sit in the bar & have a drink, which I did once I'd made a brew in my room & eaten the last of the perishable food I'd packed for the trip.

On the way there I had a nosey around indoors, & took another couple of pics of my rather opulent (for the relatively low price :-p) surroundings.

There were a surprisingly large number of other guests, most

of whom had known of the lack of food better than me & had ordered takeaways 

from somewhere or other. 

I sat in the bar drinking malt, doing my crosswords etc., & eventually chatting to a couple of late arrivals from Devon who had driven all the way down from Ullapool that day. They were also house-hunting, but looking to buy an 'unusual' property to convert, & one of the blokes told me about a water-tower he had seen. 

Shades of Grand Designs off the telly, I thought!

I left the bar as it was closing & went straight to bed.

Tomorrow I was to see the inside of Mill Wynd at 1100, & a cottage in Wanlockhead at 1430, & I was hopeful one would be 'the one'.

Friday

I was awake before 8, so showered, made another hotel brew, filled my Aurora mug with coffee, & checked out about an hour later.

Of course, there was no breakfast on offer, so I took a 'scenic route' to Fenwick looking for a bacon butty. 

I'd passed through Fenwick the previous afternoon & remembered seeing a cafe there, & I was in luck as it was open, And it did bacon butties. Awesome :-q

While I awaited my brekkers, I chatted to another customer who had stopped there for a break having cycled from Glasgow. Gollygosh ! ! ! !

He seemed to be a regular & was on 1st name terms with the lady behind the counter.

I knew the way to Waterside from Fenwick, having driven it the day before, & was early to Mill Wynd, so ~ having previously noted the name of the next village south, I drove there for a quick commemorative pic!   I was a long way from the Kremlin ;-p

Happily, Fiona the Agent was also early, but, sadly, the flat didn't live up to my expectations.

I explained to Fiona what I was after & she told me of another recently converted cottage near to Loudoun Castle. She pointed at the road to it as we drove south down the A719 in convoy, & I turned right, but didn't see an For Sale sign anywhere along the lane so cut my losses & headed down the A76 to Wanlockhead.

I had an uneventful trip there & was early enough for a good look round the village. I saw a few boards up outside houses, so made TCs to the Agents, & then nipped to the pub for coffee from the grumpy landlord. I noted he wasn't half as friendly as the one from the Hopetoun Arms in Leadhills.

After another drive round the village I pulled up outside Gardendyke Cottage on Church St., & met Dan, the current owner.

Inside it was lovely with a great, real maple, lounge floor, a nearly new kitchen, & 2 bedrooms with a bathroom between. It was small though, & I wasn't sure if my stuff would fit.

Outside, the grounds went down to the banks of the Wanlock Water which ran alongside the Southern Upland Way.

This meant that I'd have the option of putting up walkers via AirBnB if I lived there: The front door was about 15 metres from the path!

After the viewing I went down to the burn, crossed the bridge, & took a short walk NW along the path. The views were stunning & I thought "what a place to live".

On the way back to my car I took this of the old lead mine (& museum) running beneath the hill where the cottage was. My blue Suzuki is parked directly in from of the white Gardendyke Cottage.

I was definitely interested & I told Dan I'd send him an E about the measurements I needed once I got home.

Then I headed via Leadhills to the M74 & south, briefly stopping near Elvanfoot to TC Ray & tell him about Gardendyke.

Had I found ???

It was a beautiful afternoon's drive, & the lowering sun was awesome to my right as I got close to the M55 junction. Unfortunately it was in my eyes going west down the M55, but I got home safely at about 20 past 5.

I'd done well over 500 miles over the 2 & a half days, & still didn't know if I'd found the one!

I hadn't seen much road-kill either ;-)

Addendum to this:- I asked Dan to send me various measurements the following day & he promised to. However, the following Monday I had an E from Remax (the Agents) to say he'd accepted an offer, so that was another lovelyhouse off the shortlist :-(

Part 10. September 13th & 14th: 2 on the way up & 4 on the way down

That had been the plan, but a cottage near Kelso went off the market 4 days before I was due to view, so I slept in the sun instead ~ see below!

Sunday

I went to work 1st, & set off from there at 1115. 

I stopped at Abington for the loo & realised I was really early ~ it was before 2pm & I wasn't due in Darvel until 1/4 to 4, so I detoured to Leadhills where I had seen a property advertised on RightMove. It was another on Ramsay St, & I wanted to have a drive-by.

Turning off Main St. by the pub, I couldn't see an Agents' board on Ramsay St., so asked a lady standing by her front door, explaining why I wanted to know. She quizzed me a bit, then admitted it was her house & asked me if I wanted to look around.

I said yes.

It was quite impressive, & had wood floors, a downstairs walk-in shower room, & 3 bedrooms up the stairs. The open wooden stairs split the lounge & dining area, & there was a lovely 'sun-deck' outside the back door. I told her I would organise an official viewing as soon as I could, & carried on north to Darvel, leaving Leadhills at 10 to 3.

As is usual, I was early, so having noticed Loudoun Hill to my right driving along the A71, I took a pic from the middle of Darvel high street.

This is what Wiki has to say about Loudoun Hill

Loudoun Hill, also commonly Loudounhill, is a volcanic plug in East Ayrshire, Scotland. It is located near the head of the River Irvine, east of Darvel. One real and one fictional battle have been fought around Loudoun Hill.

The real Battle of Loudoun Hill was fought in May 1307 between a Scots force led by King Robert the Bruce and the English commanded by Aymer de Valence, Earl of Pembroke. It took place beneath Loudoun Hill, in Ayrshire, and ended in a victory for King Robert. It was the king's first major military victory. The battlefield is currently under research to be included in the Inventory of Historic Battlefields in Scotland and protected by Historic Scotland under the Scottish Historical Environment Policy of 2009. The battle is also portrayed in the 2018 historical action drama film, Outlaw King.

Then I checked out Mairs Rd., where the house I would view was, & pulled over near a bridge over the River Irvine (just down from Mairs Rd) & took a pic of it flowing westwards towards the sea.

The Mairs Rd. house was nice, but quite big ~ 4 bedrooms & a high lounge, which (like the flat at Kirn) would take some heating. So, although it was cheap - only £95K, I crossed it off my list.

The next viewing as in Kilmaurs at 1630, but, as I'd spent some of the travelling time chatting to the owners in Darvel & then got stuck behind a tractor on the A71, I was late.

It was on quite a nice street on the edge of the village, but it was smallish & not what I was really after.

2 down & 3 to go, then!

My AirBnB was in Carronshore, hosted by Anne, an ex police person. Anne was very friendly, but her huge young German Shepherd wasn't totally chuffed to see me, & barked whenever I went in the lounge or up the stairs to the loo. Still, there would be no trouble with burglars with him in the house!

I made some tea with the stuff I'd put in the car, & got down to finishing The Witcher on Netflix in my cute little bedroom. I discovered I had only one episode to watch, so took a crossword to bed till my eyes started to close.

Monday

There had originally been one in Lumphinnans 1st thing, so I had booked Anne's AirBnB with that in mind. However, that had been one of the ones put under offer, so I just took my time on the way south to Longridge, & on the A905 in Skinflats ~ just north of Grangemouth, I passed the Kelpies.

tbh, my knowledge of this area was poor, & I hadn't realised I was so close. The pic shows one reflected in the River Carron, & this is what Wiki has to say about them:

The Kelpies are 30-metre-high horse-head sculptures depicting kelpies (shape-shifting water spirits), located in Grangemouth, near Falkirk, standing next to a new extension to the Forth and Clyde Canal, and near River Carron, in The Helix, a new parkland project built to connect 16 communities in the Falkirk Council Area, Scotland. The sculptures were designed by sculptor Andy Scott and were completed in October 2013. The sculptures form a gateway at the eastern entrance to the Forth and Clyde canal, and the new canal extension built as part of The Helix land transformation project. The Kelpies are a monument to horse-powered heritage across Scotland. The sculptures were opened to the public in April 2014. As part of the project, they will have their own visitor centre, and sit beside a newly developed canal turning pool and extension. This canal extension reconnects the Forth and Clyde Canal with the River Forth, and improves navigation between the East and West of Scotland.

It was a straightforward route to Longridge, but the house was right on the busy A706, and I didn't fancy Opal's chances crossing it if I lived there. It was small, too, so that one got crossed off as well.

On the way further south, I was gobsmacked to see Shell petrol sold at £119/l, but I needed some, so I had to bite the bullet & put £5 worth in until I found some cheaper.

Not having a SatNav, & it being difficult to read my handwritten route while driving, I made a couple of wrong turns in the hinterland of Lanarkshire, but I still had plenty of time to get to Selkirk where my next viewing was, so I had a break in Peebles hoping for cheaper petrol, something 'good' to eat, & a loo.

I found the petrol! ;-p

Unfortunately, Peebles was heaving with masked shoppers & there were cues outside most places selling food. I toyed with an ice cream, but decided I shouldn't wait in a queue for one, just in case I was delayed on my way along the A72. That turned out to be a good call, & I was frustrated behind 'visitors' to the Borders between Walkerburn & the A707 turn off for Selkirk.

Fortunately, with so many viewing trips, I was often using roads I was becoming very familiar with & getting to know where the occasional straights or dual carriageways were so I could overtake. However, in this instance, there were too many ahead of me in the queue of traffic for me to get in front of the guy holding us all up. At least he went left on the A72 to Galashiels, leaving me a clear run across & along by the River Tweed & then the Ettrick Water to the outskirts of Selkirk.

This was a fairly new semi, but despite the sound of birdsong in the trees nearby, & the proximity of Selkirk's rugby ground (within easy walking distance :-D ), I decided I didn't fancy it that much. Plus, it was £125K, so towards the top end of my budget.

With the cancellation of the Kelso viewing, I had heaps of time to get down the A7 to Langholm for 1630, so parked in Selkirk & grabbed a bacon butty from a bakers in the square, & an ice cream from the Co-Op before setting off south.

I actually got to Langholm over an hour before I was due, so after a quick drive by, I parked in the next street along, put the seat back, & had a 50 minute kip in the sunshine.

I had set my mob. alarm, & when it went off I drove the 200 yards to Drove Rd where the next one was.

This is it, with my car on the right & the hill to the west of the village on the horizon.

Shame my mob. camera doesn't cope well with sunshine!

Having read the HR, I had originally crossed it off, but after a talking-to by Hazel (about imagination & what could be achieved with a bit of work), I decided to give it a go while I was passing.

Now I had a look inside, I could see that this one would take a Lot of work, so I binned the Drove Rd semi as well.

It was a lovely afternoon, & I had a great drive back down the rest of the A7 & the M6 with ClassicFM keeping me company.

I especially enjoyed hearing the Sibelius 5th symphony as I was approaching the M55. It went wonderfully with the beginnings of the sunset :-D

btw ~ today's roadkill had been pheasant, & I got home at 5 past 7, so not too bad.

Part 11. September 21st: Another look at No 53 & Gardendyke Cottage

I needed to 'officially vist No 53 Ramsay Rd., so arranged a day trip to co-incide with a 'measuring visit' at Gardendyke. This was because Dan had Emailed to say his prospective buyer had been unable to secure the finance, so the cottage was back on the market.

He sent the measurements I'd asked for 3 weeks previously, & I tried to see if my stuff would fit by cutting out shapes & seeing if they'd go into the floor plan I'd drawn on graph paper.

Um? I wasn't sure, hence the measuring visit.

I set off at 0800 & the sun came out when I passed Beattock. It coincided with Boyce's 5th symphony on ClassicFM. 

Lovely :-D 

That symphony always makes me feel happy.

I went up the hill from Abington on the M74, & stopped on the way up for a pic of the route: Much as I had when going up to Wanlockhead from the A76 over 6 months before.

Then, because Ray had said Wiki described Leadhills as one of the most ugly villages in Scotland, took a pic to prove him wrong!

See below. I think it's cute

I knew where No.53 was, so drove straight there after that & had my 'official' viewing. 

Inside, I made notes about the measurements I'd need to make sure my stuff would fit: At first thoughts it appeared to, but I wasn't allowed to touch anything due to COVID19 risks, so the owner would have to get them for me.

Outside, I had a chat with the Agent & told her I was definitely interested, but would need the measurements before I could make an official offer.

As the Gardendyke appointment wasn't until 1330, I had a load of time to kill, so I drove over the top & down to Sanquhar (it took 20 minutes) for a loo & brew. I found a pub open & had something to eat as well.

I was there nearly an hour, & checked out with a local about SCD classes - not in Sanquhar, but there was in Kirkconnel about 6 miles up the A76.

Back up between Wanlockhead & Leadhills I decided to take photos of the Shire signs as ~ although there is <2 miles between them, Leadhills is in Lanarkshire, &

Wanlockhead is in Dumfries & Galloway.

I was still very early, so had another wander round the back lanes of Leadhills, & snook a pic of the Ramsay Rd deck & surroundings from the grounds of the derelict church across Main St. It looked idyllic, so I was hoping the measurements I needed would be positive.

Then I drove back over the top to Wanlockhead & met Dan again. 

At Gardendyke, I took quite a few extra measurements, & discovered that the smaller bedroom would not fit the single bed across the window, & so it would need to go longways. This would take up space for my PC table etc., so it wasn't looking hopeful. It would be a squeeze in the lounge, too :-(

Shame.

After that I went back over the top (again!) & took the B7040 down from Leadhills to Elvanfoot. Because I needed fuel & I had seen a sign for cheap petrol when I'd passed the Beattock/Moffat junction earlier, I kept off the M74 & went south on the B7076.

This was an awesome drive, & once it crossed the motorway to the SE of Elvanfoot, it was as wide & clear as an A-road, & followed various Clyde & Evan Water tributaries south to the Beattock junction. The Evan Water itself is a major tributary of the River Annan, which it joins just south of Moffat.

I didn't find petrol at Beattock (which I had imagined was a bigger village!), but got some at Moffat for a lot less than I would have at a M-way services :-)

By this time it was half past 2, & I'd done 266 miles.

I was home by 1700, & done another 133, so it was a mile short of 400 that day, but I hadn't noted any particular road-kill ;-p

The lady at Ramsay Rd never came back with measurements, so I figured she'd had an offer, & I decided Gardendyke would be too tight a fit for my stuff - even if I sold the kitchen table & the 2-seater sofa :-/

So, I still hadn't found my Forever Home, & I'd viewed 51 properties.

Onward & upward then, & get stuck into planning my next drive over the border.

OAO