Three years with my SO calls for a (government sanctioned) mini-escape to the beach. We headed out towards Dunbar, in East Lothian, to explore the John Muir Country Park.
The country park marks one end of the John Muir Way, which runs across the central belt of Scotland. Perhaps next year we'll walk it!
Long time, no holiday! The last time I was out of the country was a my trip to Bruges (quaint, delicious waffles, A+, would recommend) back in April 2018 so this was long overdue!
Sorrento has been on my revisit list for a long time now. I first went almost 10 years ago with my family. Sitting opposite Mount Vesuvius in the Bay of Naples, there is so much to do but life is much more relaxed than Naples itself. If you want to get busy and see all the Roman ruins, you can, but it's just as nice to laze about the pool and stuff your face with pasta. And I'll be honest, the food was the main reason I was back.
As is my preference for a summer holiday, we operated a day-on, day-off mode of exploring the area: a day exploring, a day reading and enjoying the view from the hotel:
And it was a nice view!
In a slightly off the beaten track decision, we hiked from the hotel in Sant Agata due Golfi (up in the hills, which is how we got that fantastic view) and walked down to the abandoned fishing village of Crapolla, way down in the cliffs on the Amalfi Coast.
There's a dinky little train that goes from Sorrento to Naples, and stops at Pompeii and Herculaneum along the way (also where you'd get a bus to climb Vesuvius). It's never 100% on time but it'll get you where you need to go for a decent price.
However, don't rule out what you might consider a tourist trap straight away! We managed to find a Vesuvius and Vineyard tour for a very reasonable price. Entry to the National Park, time to hike, and then to a private vineyard for a three course meal and six glasses of wine (we were rolled back onto the bus).
Lacryma Christi is a protected-status wine from the slopes of Vesuvius and is delicious. Highly recommended if you can find it! The name comes from a story that Jesus looked down on the Bay of Naples from heaven and thought it was so beautiful that he cried. Lacryma Christi.
It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of wildlife photography. I love wildlife sanctuaries and zoos and basically any place I can take photos of animals. With no plans this Sunday, I didn't need much persuading to pick up my camera for a nice day out.
Well, it would have been a nice day only the Scottish weather was out in full force. It was sunny, but it was also raining and blustery and a little too cold to be outdoors for so long. But I still managed some very good shots!
We had a bit of respite by nipping indoors to see a flying show. Some of the owls are trained to be Owl Ambassadors for their species. In practice, what this means is that they fly from perch to perch for bits of chicken, and their only goal is that chicken. They are so focused on lunch and so practiced at flying that they swoop extremely low over your head. There was an awful lot of ducking/protecting my camera!
One surprise resident was this handsome kookaburra! Kookaburras are actually members of the Kingfisher family so decidedly not what you'd expect to find in an Owl Centre but since St Andrews Aquarium has meerkats, I've learned to never assume what I'll see at these kind of centres!
I will absolutely have to go back to the Scottish Owl Centre when it's a bit warmer!
 |
| 1 - Ólafur Arnalds at Leicester Cathedral |
The Travelling Quill is Emma C Simpson's online journal, blending travel, photography and other general scribblings about her life... read more »
