I was delighted to be brought to this beautiful part of Devon by my humans.
Hope Cove was once a fishing and smuggling village. During the 18th and 19th centuries the sheltered harbour provided refuge for boats from storms but they had to be very careful due to the rocky coastline.
The sun was shining when we arrived so immediately I set off to explore. A group of humans walking by stopped and took photos of me in the boat!
I set off across the Harbour Beach to walk across the breakwater (sometimes called a mole). Fortunately there weren’t too many steps up!
After walking along I stopped to look at the view. The large building is the Cottage Hotel which is quite big to be called a Cottage!
I carefully walked back as falling into water is something to be avoided. I was careful not to get distracted watching the yellow labrador dog in the water.
Back on the beach with the sun making the sea sparkle behind me.
Hope Cove consists of Outer Hope and Inner Hope. It was a short walk along to Inner Hope, and on the way we passed this lovely thatched cottage so I stopped for a quick rest and a photo.
Most of the thatched cottages were in Inner Hope….
I had a good wander around…
Then stopped for a sit down, but the bench wasn’t being warmed by the gentle winter sun so I didn’t stay there for long.
Lots of water from a nearby stream was gushing down next to the lifeboat slipway
There were beautiful calming views of the Harbour Beach to look at on the way back, but I also had to keep an eye on the steps!
A wonderful thing about winter adventures is the lack of humans everywhere. There were a few about as it was a Sunday, but not as many as there would be in summer.
This splendid cottage is in Outer Hope.
We followed the coastal path south, and once up high paused for a while to look at the wonderful view.
South Milton Sands is just over a mile away from Hope Cove and has a long sandy beach.
Even in winter it was relaxing to sit on the sand and look out to sea. The rock in the distance is the Thurle Stone, it has a hole in the middle so looks like an arch when viewed from another direction.
Right next to the beach we found the aptly named Beach House! I had a very yummy slice of carrot cake there…
After walking back to Outer Hope my human suggested a photo, I was a tad tired and kept getting blown over by the wind so I sat down.
Our accomodation was in the Hope & Anchor Inn which overlooks Mouthwell Beach.
The room was very cosy with a large comfortable bed for me to rest my paws on before supper.
My nut roast supper was delicious, but I assure you readers that the Yorkshire pudding really wasn’t as big as my head. The camera did weird things and focused on the things in front of me and made them look bigger.
Going to sleep after such a busy day was no problem at all…
The next day healthy breakfast! Avocado on toast with sundried tomatoes, something I haven’t had before but very tasty.
Before going home I explored Mouthwell Beach which is next to the Hope & Anchor Inn. It was low tide so all the rockpools were exposed.
My human nearly got wet feet while taking this photo, the tide came in over her toes, so we moved back a bit. My wellington boots float when in water as I am not heavy enough to keep them on the ground.
I was able to stand here for a few minutes as the log stopped the water from pushing me over, and I was stood on a sand ridge.
Clambering about over the rocks was fun, though done cautiously just in case as seaweed and algae can be very slippery.
The low tide had exposed lot of creatures that live on the shoreline, including Oarweed (Laminaria digitata), Limpets (Patella vulgata) and periwinkles (Littorina littorea)
I was exploring the little cave when my human called me to take this photo!
Winter is a wonderful time to go to the seaside, it isn’t warm but if you dress appropriately for the weather you can keep warm and have a lovely time and have plenty of room to explore!
Our first brief stop after crossing the border into Scotland was Loch Lomond.
We stretched our legs at Luss…
..and tried on some tartan caps.
After which we continued our journey on to the Bridge of Orchy
Our accomodation for the next couple of nights was the hotel, so we made our way up the steps. For more about the hotel seehttps://www.bridgeoforchy.co.uk/
After checking in we tried out the huge bed…
Nye wanted to see the bridge that Bridge of Orchy is named after, so we set out in the rain to find it. It crosses over The River Orchy…
The mountains behind us were barely visible in the mist and clouds.
You may know I am fond of a full English breakfast. Scottish breakfasts are very yummy too, there would normally be an egg but I didn’t feel like eggs when I ordered! Nye opted for scrambled eggs with smoked salmon.
The humans went out to walk some of The West Highland Way. We stayed in the hotel and watched the clouds go by from the bedroom window.
After leaving Bridge of Orchy we stopped briefly at Glen Coe Visitor Centre after driving through some amazing scenery. The clouds and rain had blown away for a while and we could see the mountains in all their glory.
We had a few minutes peace inside by the fire before lots of tourists appeared.
We said ‘Hello’ to a highland cow before making our way back to the car quite quickly as the sunshine had brought out the midges.
After stopping at Fort William for the humans to collect food, and then driving through more wonderful scenery and across the Skye Bridge we arrived on the Isle of Skye. After travelling past more mountains and lochs and some small towns we finally reached the holiday home where we would stay for the following week at Storr Lochs.
The cabin was very nice inside, and the humans very quickly cooked a meal for us.
We spent quite a while just looking at the view….
Our first outing on Skye was to The Skye Museum of Rural Life. There are lots of croft cottages there set up to show how humans used to live years ago.
We had a peep through the window in one croft cottage before going in.
It looked very cosy inside.
The Crofters didn’t say much though!
The thatch on the cottages was held in place by very large pebbles.
Crofters often used half of the cottage to house a cow in order to get milk.
We were hoping perhaps a human might push us around in the wheelbarrow, but it didn’t happen….
Here we are inside the Blacksmith’s cottage. You may notice the enormous bellows to the left of Nye. The bellows pumped air into the furnace, increasing the heat and oxygen supply to the fire and helped to shape the metal. It must have been very hot work.
We also visited the Post Office and General Store.
The Weaver’s cottage was also very interesting…
There were humans of all nationalities at the museum and it was getting quite busy, so after having a look inside all the crofter’s cottages we left to visit another place. Too many humans are a problem sometimes as they accidently end up in my photographs!
Our next destination was to have a look at some interesting mounds known as ‘The Fairy Glen’.
The Fairy Glen is a geological wonder consisting of a group of conical hills that look man-made but are, in fact, remnants of an ancient landslip. We decided to climb to the top of one of the mounds.
There was a splendid view at the top of the other mounds along with crofter’s cottages in the distance.
On arriving back at the cabin we enjoyed some Scottish shortbread biscuits on the deck.
We were able to see The Old Man of Storr from our deck, but only when he wasn’t covered in cloud. The Old Man is on the Trotternish Ridge which was formed over 600 million years ago by a massive landslip. He is visible in the photo below behind us. The humans tried to walk up to see The Old Man close up, but the conditions were too foggy so they came back down again.
We set up the binoculars to get a better look….
The Old Man looked quite eerie with all the mist drifting around.
On the longest day, the summer solstice, we got up very early to see the sun rise. In Scotland in summer they have about an hour longer of daylight than we do in Bristol. The island in the sea is called Raasay. You may notice a pipe and a small concrete building. We were staying right next to the Storr Lochs hydro electric plant, built in 1952 and upgraded in 2017. It is one of the smallest hydro schemes in Scotland but apparently if there is a problem with electricity supplies from the mainland, this small plant keeps the lights on in Skye.
We didn’t go everywhere with the humans as long walks aren’t really our thing, but we joined them on their trip to Dunvegan Castle. The Castle has been occupied by the same family, the MacLeods, for 800 years. For more information see:https://www.dunvegancastle.com/
There is a seal colony in Dunvegan Loch, we like seals so were very keen to go out on a boat to see some of them.
We climbed into the clinker boat and waited for the skipper to start the engine.
The problem with trips to see wildlife is that sometimes the wildlife may be elsewhere! The skipper was very pleased to finally spot one seal on the rocks…
Here is a close up of the seal, who was due soon to have a baby seal.
After going back to the castle we explored the gardens. Here we are sat on the Dunvegan Pebble, which took us by surprise as it goes round and round like a roundabout.
We had a little rest in a rather strange chair…
I made sure that Nye didn’t get too close to the water as he has been known to fall in.
In the garden museum I found some ancient gardening tools. This bear sized contraption was used to trim the edges of lawns.
There was lots of catmint growing in the knot garden. The weather is very unpredictable on Skye, so it must be a difficult environment for gardeners.
We found a waterfall in the water garden…
Also some interesting purple cones on a Korean Fir tree.
In the woodland garden we found an old Elm tree with a two bear sized hole in it….
Nye was very useful (he has a strong head) and helped me look through the window in this tree stump for a photograph…
The tractor made from logs was intended for human children, but we enjoyed sitting in it.
On the way back to the cabin, after driving through Portee we came across some more highland cows, so stopped to say ‘Hello’ to them…
Back at the cabin the following day, the Black Face sheep had all settled right outside our bedroom window. There are lots of sheep on Skye, the black faced ones are very hardy and able to tolerate all winds and weathers.
We also saw this sheep everytime we went out:
When it was time to go home the sun was shining very brightly and got us all up very early. We had a lovely time on Skye, but had to start the journey back towards England.
Our next destination was Loch Ness, where we had booked a B&B for a couple of nights. Nessie the Loch Ness monster has been living with us in Bristol for as long as I remember, but we thought she might like to return to her home so decided to set her free on the shores of Loch Ness.
We said our goodbyes as she headed for the water….
The B&B was on the shores of Loch Ness, so as soon as we arrived we went down to the beach to see if we could spot Nessie swimming around. To our surprise she emerged from the water…
Nessie said she wanted to stay with us, and come back to Bristol with us.
Nye gave Nessie a big hug…
…then we took Nessie back up to our room at the B&B.
The breakfast was continental style, which was good for me as my tummy cannot cope with too many full Scottish breakfasts!
The weather was getting a bit warmer so it was necessary to try on our midge protection gear, but fortunately we didn’t need to wear it.
One of the highlights of our time in the Scottish Highlands was walking alpacas. Right next door to the B&B is Loch Ness Alpacas, where humans (and sometimes bears) can take an alpaca on a trek along the shores of the loch. For more details see https://www.lochnessalpacas.co.uk/
We walked 8 year old Apollo, a very gentle and well trained alpaca.
Thirteen alpacas live at Loch Ness Alpacas, these guys greeted us at the end of the walk. They roam freely in a big field which includes the shoreline, and sometimes go into the Loch for a paddle.
We enjoyed Loch Ness but had to move on to our last Scottish stopover in Moffat, where we spent the night in a coaching inn built in 1792, The Balmoral.
The Old Stables were situated in a courtyard behind the hotel, and we stayed in a one of the ‘cottages’ in the stable.
We were delighted to find a large box of chocolates waiting for us inside!
In the morning I enjoyed another cooked breakfast while Nye opted for a bacon sandwich (he doesn’t eat quite as much as me). We discussed the lovely holiday that had nearly ended.
We didn’t drive all the way from Moffat back to Bristol, but stopped again in Manchester for a few days, and on the way to Scotland we stopped in Grassmere.
We are very fortunate bears to be able to travel with our humans to such lovely places. Scotland is well worth visiting but it is a very long way from Bristol!
The Waverley Paddle Steamer was waiting passengers to arrive at Clevedon Pier.
I hurried along the pier with all the humans to wait in the queue to board the ship.
I found somewhere to sit at the back. The Waverley is the last sea-going paddle steamer in the World, she was built in 1947.
As the ship left the pier I set off to explore.
I decided not to ring the ship’s bell!
The engine room was amazing.
Three huge steel rods turned round and round. They were linked with lots of other bits engine which turned the paddles to propel the ship forwards. When the ship needed to reverse an engineer had to pull levers to make the engine stop. He then started the machinery going again in the opposite direction.
On a ship the Purser looks after all the money.
This is the bar before it filled up with lots humans!
I visited the souvenir shop….
The ship’s captain appeared to say “Hello” and was pleased that I was already wearing a Waverley pin badge (one of my followers kindly sent it to me last year). I decided to buy a fridge magnet for our kitchen notice board.
Back out on the deck I spotted Steep Holm and Flat Holm in the distance. Flat Holm is the flat one on the left. I was very fortunate to visit Flat Holm last year. You can read about my Flat Holm trip here:
While we in the middle of The Bristol Channel passing Barry Island, two lifeboats appeared alongside. The one in front was the old Barry Lifeboat that was being taken out of service, and it was bringing out to sea the new lifeboat that was replacing it.
A cold wind had blown up and I was feeling a bit chilly, so I warmed up by hugging a ventilation shaft which was pleasantly warm!
The Waverley stopped at Ilfracombe Harbour where some passengers got off and more got on. I studied the unusual statue, called Verity, designed by a famous artist Damien Hurst.
After spending another hour or so at sea we arrived at Lundy Island.
Lundy Island is owned by The National Trust, but the Landmark Trust looks after it for them.
We had about 2 hours to explore Lundy. Cimbing up the hill was quite tiring for my little legs but there was a lovely view of the landing stage and lighthouse at the top.
Lots of sheep live on Lundy Island.
Everyone living on Lundy or staying in one of the holiday cottages has to buy their groceries from the General Stores. There was actually quite a good selection of food inside.
There is also a pub, the Marisco Tavern, which serves meals three times a day. We didn’t have time to go in.
I climbed over a stile to see the old lighthouse, which is now holiday accomodation.
A little climb was necessary for me to get a closer look at the blue flowers. I am not sure what they were; if you know do let me know!
Another photo, then it was time to get back to the boat as we didn’t want to be left behind!
Everyone was hurrying to get back onto the ship as we had strict instructions to be back on board before 5.30pm. The Waverley has to work around the tides so timing is very important.
I followed everyone back across the gang plank.
I enjoyed being on Lundy Island and would have liked to stay longer. I am hoping the humans might take me there again to spend a whole day there.
The Dining Saloon was very busy but fortunately we did manage to get some seats. I tucked into a large portion of fish and chips.
It was an interesting but tiring day. It was a long way to Lundy from Clevedon, we were on board the ship for over 12 hours in total! I was a very tired bear when we finally got back to Bristol at Midnight.
Horace the Alresford Bear 