Aryshire

Our Scotland holiday began with a few days in Ayrvon the west coast, an area new to us. Staying on Craig Tara caravan park we were a little surprised by the shape of our caravan, a very strange sloping lounge roof. It was a comfortable stay but not the best Haven holiday we've had.

Settling in we enjoyed a couple of wines we had brought with us, perfect for our prawn starter and steak main. I do enjoy cooking and even on holiday I like a bit of wine pairing.

Ayr is the birthplace of Robert Burns, Scotland’s famous poet. Being English I taught Shakespeare in school and although I had heard of Robert Burns (we do have haggis every January) I knew very little of his work. 

We visited the Robert Burns Museum and the cottage he was born in .... and I fell in love with his writing. Full of Scottish dialect and old words I took great delight in realising their meaning and connection to English or other languages, I have always been fascinated in where words came from and how languages are intertwined. 

We walked to the Brig o Doon, a lovely little bridge that features in one of his poems. In Ayr we had a lovely meal in the Tam o'Shanter pub, named after his poem about fleeing on a horse. The straw sculptures at his cottage were great images of himself and Tam.

Having a while to wait for the returning bus we wandered into The Twa Dugs, a great whisky bar also named after a Robert Burns poem. There was such a choice of whisky, all with price labels that started at a reasonable couple of quid per dram to some whiskies being over £15 a dram... so much choice.

Hubby kept with the Ayr theme and tried Robert Burns whisky and I opted for Antiquary 12 year old. It was so smooth, I'm on the hunt now for a bottle as it was the nicest whisky I have had for a while.

Our Ayrshire holiday ended eith a visit to Dumfries House, owned by King Charles and offers learning and working opportunities for many trades. 

It was in a beautiful setting and was a stunning house with many fine pieces of furniture, Axminster carpets and delicate porcelain. No photographs can be taken in the house so the only way you'll see inside is to visit yourself, definitely recommended.

We had a lovely time in Ayrshire, I think our next visit to the west of Scotland will be touring the islands with their stunning mountains.