Monday, April 30, 2018

On the Road with Anna Campbell



On the Road with Anna Campbell - - Episode 3


Greetings from Bonny Scotland, PJ and Romance Dish Fans!

Like last month’s post from France, this is another two-location effort. I’ve been writing up a storm – actually given what the weather is like, that’s probably true! I haven’t had a lot of blue-sky days since I arrived although at least there have been some patches of lovely weather.

I’m working on a new series called The Lairds Most Likely. The original plan was four novellas – three regular stories and a Christmas special. But story one, The Laird’s Willful Lass, just grew like Topsy and ended up becoming a full-length book. So the new plan is three full-length stories and a Christmas novella which I’m currently writing. Seems odd to be thinking about mistletoe and mince pies in April, but that’s the writer’s life.

This month I’m talking about two places I visited in order to write, both spectacularly beautiful, so while there hasn’t been a lot of outdoor action to report, I managed to get some lovely photographs that I hope will make up for my dedication to my art!



People who follow me on Facebook will know last year I spent three and a half weeks on Eigg, a glorious speck just south of the Isle of Skye in the Inner Hebrides. It’s a small island with a big personality and views so beautiful, they make you want to weep. Last year’s visit was in the way of an experiment to see if I’d settle down to work on a self-guided writing retreat or whether I’d be too keen to get out and see things. The experiment worked (Catching Captain Nash and half of The Christmas Stranger were the result) so I decided to do it all again. This year I didn’t go far afield at all which is why nearly all the photos are variations on the same view. Mind you, it’s some view!




As you can see the prospect from the guesthouse where I stayed was utterly amazing, especially at sunset when the sun sank gracefully behind the mountainous island of Rum across the channel. Below the guesthouse, there was a beautiful beach where I walked most days, weather permitting. The view from Laig Beach was even more spectacular than the one from up the hill. At low tide, you caught the reflections of Rum on the wet sand, and if you looked to the right, you saw the Black Cuillins on the Isle of Sky, still covered with snow. My hero in Willful Lass owns a castle with a view across to Skye (a little bit further north along the coast than Eigg) so this felt like a good omen for the new series!



I then headed north to catch up with some friends. On the way, it was such a thrill to pass romantic and spectacular Eilean Donan Castle near Kyle of Lochalsh. I saw a statistic somewhere that this is the world’s most photographed castle. The day we were there, you certainly couldn’t move without tripping over tripods!



I’m currently tucked up in another very nice B&B at Poolewe which is a new place to me. It’s right up north, just south of Ullapool, and the nearest town of any size is Gairloch from which you can see the north end of Skye (another omen?). It’s been lovely playing tourist in my friends’ car over the last few days before I settle back to finish the Christmas novella.

Although Poolewe is a tiny village in an isolated location, it has a couple of claims to fame. It was a top secret naval base and site for agent training in World War II, and the Allies sent supplies to Russia from here to keep the second front going (the casualty rates were appalling – there are a number of sad monuments around the village to the brave men who died in the campaign).



Poolewe is also the site of world-famous Inverewe Gardens (https://www.nts.org.uk/visit/places/inverewe) which I visited two days ago and hope to go back to often. Because the Gulf Stream flows along the coast, this part of Scotland is surprisingly warm, so some unexpected plants grow here, including palm trees and eucalypts from my homeland. The gardens have been here since the mid-19th century, so there are magnificent old magnolias and rhododendrons, not to mention towering redwoods. It was wonderful to see the gardens in spring with the daffodils and other spring flowers scattered through the beautiful woodlands.



The last pictures were taken from Gairloch where I had dinner last night. One of the lovely things about the west coast of Scotland is that you’re never short of a memorable sunset! In the distance in the sunset pictures, you’ll see some low hills. That’s Skye. In between is a photo of a beautiful little secret bay at the head of Loch Maree off the road south from Poolewe. Such an atmospheric place!



See you next month when things get very exotic. After Scotland, I’m heading for Slovenia and Croatia, so there should be lots of Eastern European charm in the next post.

Are you a gardener? I must say I like LOOKING at gardens but I’m hopeless when it comes to growing one. Do you have a favorite style of garden? A favorite plant or flower? In honor of the magnificent Inverewe Gardens, let’s talk greenery!

I’ve got 2 Kindle downloads of the boxed set of the Dashing Widows to give away today (if you’ve already got that, you can choose a Kindle download of Lord Garson’s Bride instead) to someone who comments. No geographical restrictions. Good luck!

I can certainly see why Scotland inspires you, Anna. What glorious photos! Thank you so much for taking us along with you.

Readers, for more photos from Anna's travels, visit her Facebook page



60 comments:

  1. Those pictures are beautiful! I too like looking at gardens, more than planting them. My current favorite flower would be gladiolus. However, I do love irises and gerbera daisies as well. I can't wait to read the new series!

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    1. Amy, so glad you're excited about the new series. I'm having such fun writing it, partly because it feels great to write a Scottish story while I'm actually IN Scotland. Oh, love Gladiolus. Beautiful colors.

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    2. I love Gladiolus, Amy! I grew up in an area that has large Gladiolus farms. They still have an annual festival every August.

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    3. PJ, I think I've told you this but my father had a midlife crisis and gave up a very lucrative small business to become a farmer. The first couple of years while they got set up, Mum and Dad rented our farm to a gladiolus farmer so the whole place was covered with the most stunning colors. Ever afterward, the bulbs were still in the soil and we'd get stray gladdies sticking their heads up between the other crops. I always loved to see that.

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  2. I enjoyed your pictures. I love Scotland, and I want to go back some day to see more of the country. I was in awe of the spectacular scenery.

    I am not much of a gardener, but I love visiting gardens of all kinds.

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    1. Cheryl, I find they're good for my soul. I went back to Inverewe yesterday for a couple of hours and felt 20 years younger when I walked out.

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    2. One of these days, Cheryl, I'm determined to make it over there too!

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  3. It seems like you're having a wonderful time. I'm always amazed that you're able to find such lovely places to stay. Love all the pics that you show us, too. I was an avid gardener when I still lived in England, and also when I lived in Ohio Sadly, I'm not able to grow any of the flowers that I really love down here in south Florida. Enjoy the rest of your trip.

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    1. I'm not much of a gardener but when I lived in Florida, Diane, I became quite good with Hibiscus. I love the big flowers and all the gorgeous colors!

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    2. Diane, one of the reasons I try to get over here in the springtime is to see all the beautiful flowers. They don't grow where I live in Queensland either - it's a climate very like Florida's!

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    3. PJ, my late father loved hibiscus, especially the classic Royal Hawaiian varieties. They're beautiful, aren't they? And they WILL grow in Queensland.

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    4. My hibiscus look very thin and straggly.

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    5. Diane, have you tried pruning them back hard. It always worked for Dad.

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    6. Thanks, Anna. I hadn't thought about that. I'll get my husband to do it.

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    7. Let me know if it works. They're inclined to get a bit 'leggy'.

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  4. I love seeing peoples pictures from travels. So many beautiful places!
    And i have no skills in the plant world. Every so often, i try to grow to fresh tomatoes. But no luck. So far! !

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    1. My late husband used to joke that my thumb was so dark I could kill silk plants. He wasn't that far off from the truth! LOL!

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    2. Krazymama, fresh tomatoes straight from the garden are just delicious. I hope you manage to get some!

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  5. What gorgeous photos of stunning landscapes! We keep a vegetable garden but don't do much in the way of flowers, a few pots here and there maybe. I do have a lilac bush and a small magnolia tree which I love when they are in bloom. Less (maintenance) is more where I am concerned!

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    1. Hi Katie! It was great seeing you Saturday! :)

      I've never had much luck with veggies but the past few summers I've done well with patio gardening of herbs. I had fresh basil all summer last year and it was so good!

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    2. Katie, how lovely to have fresh vegetables! I've experimented with some mint this last year - I haven't been game to ask my house sitters if it's still alive so I'll find out when I get home at the end of May.

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  6. Anna, with each Scotland photo you post that country moves higher on my must-visit wish list. Your photos are simply stunning!

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    1. PJ, I think you'd just love it. There's something about it that feeds the romantic soul.

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  7. Anna, your photos are spectacular. I look forward esch day to see what you have posted on FB. I can understand how these gorgeous views feed your imagination. I love visiting gardens, from those of some of my friends who are gifted gardeners to famous public gardens, but I am much better at appreciating the work of others than I am at gardening myself. I do love flowers, and I have many favorites, including daffodils, those brave harbingers of spring that we see as early as February here; roses, especially the antique varieties; hydrangeas and dahlias, which make me think of my grandmother; and cape jasmine with its sweet perfume that comes laden with memories.

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    1. Janga, your comment is so beautiful, it's like a poem! I love daffs too - there's something about that bright yellow when generally things are pretty gray everywhere else that just lifts my heart. This year, because Scotland's had a pretty hard winter, I arrived just in time to see them at their best. Those ones in the first photo had only just come out when I left Eigg on the 21st April.

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  8. I've really enjoyed your travel posts. I still envision you going around and staying at country house parties! I seemed so peaceful. I'll admit it......I'm envious!!!

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    1. LazrRN, I rather like the idea of staying in a sequence of country houses too!

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  9. Thanks Anna for your post and pictures. It's the only chance I'll get to see Scotland at this point, till I actually get there someday. I love gardens because of their beauty and calming effects. But I can't grow a thing. lol .Happy writing.
    Carol Luciano
    Lucky4750 at aol dot com

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    1. Thanks, Carol. I take comfort from the fact that people who build gardens LIKE people who look at them and admire them.

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  10. I am terrible at gardening. I like to say I'm a hospice nurse for plants. When you want help to escort one to the other side, just give it to me and I'll kill it! :(

    I LOVE lilacs! I can't wait for them to start blooming around my part of the country next month!

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    1. Linda, that cracked me up! What a good deed you do, when you take a plant on. We don't get lilacs where I am. Too warm.

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  11. I love gardening. I have a need to “dig in the dirt” frequently. There isn’t one particular style that I stick to. My plots and pots are more of an amalgam of what looks good when I’m purchasing plants and what meets the space and sun requirements of the available area. I do recall being in Scotland a decade ago and enjoying all the beautiful gardens. It seemed like there were flowers everywhere. Heaven! Thanks for sharing.

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    1. LSUReader, so glad you're enjoying the posts. I was so delighted when PJ invited me to share my trip with you all here. Isn't Scotland beautiful?

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  12. Thanks for sharing your pictures. I like looking at colorful flowers, such as rhododendrons, hydrangeas and azaleas, but haven't had a lot of luck growing them.

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    1. Kim, a lot of those really spectacular flowers like the ones you mention don't grow where I live. Too humid, too much salt in the air, too much sand in the soil (like ALL sand!).

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  13. Loved the photos, Anna. I'm going to Scotland in August and will see Eilean Donan Castle. Can't wait! This is a bucket list trip.

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    1. Dot, how lovely that you're going to see Scotland. You'll love the castle!

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  14. I love the pictures of Scotland. It is on my bucket list. We want to visit Orkney Island where we have traced our ancestry back to. I see you are going to Croatia. My grandfather was born there. It is also on my bucket list. I love to go see gardens but I have no green thumb. My favorite are Lilies. My kids always send them to me for Mother's Day.

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    1. I hope you make it to both places on your list, Pamela!

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    2. Pamela, I've visited Orkney. An amazing place. I hope you get there one day. I'm so looking forward to my trip to Croatia - my first visit to Eastern Europe!

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  15. The pictures are wonderful. I envy you this terrific trip. I am successful at growing some things....others die when I look at them. I kill geraniums with a smile. But, I can grow iris and daffodils easily. Mums do well for me. I have had some success with roses, but not what I had hoped for. Inside, my African violets are ready to take over the house.

    I think I am not holding my mouth right for some plants, and others are so casual they don't care about how I hold my mouth.

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    1. Geraniums are one of the few flowers I'm able to successfully grow. I think my mom - who always had the most beautiful geraniums - must be giving me a bit of a boost from up above.

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    2. Annette, I love African violets and I actually got one to grow a couple of years ago. Unfortunately my house sitter decided to kill it with kindness and overwatered it so it didn't survive last year's trip to Europe. Need to buy some more and try again (and have a serious word with my house sitters!).

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  16. I love walking through gardens, sitting in gardens, reading in gardens. What I Don't like is weeding, deadheading, and spraying for bugs. My favorite plants are the wild flowers I collected in the woods and relocated into my back yard.

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    1. Your answer made me laugh! I'm like you - I like everything about gardens except the hard, dirty work of making them a garden! Love the idea of the wild flowers! How lovely.

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  17. What a wonderful visit. I would enjoy this much more than being in a large city. I have seen pictures of the tree gate before, but never knew where it was. I love gardening. I haven't done as much as I like the past couple of years. I hope to remedy that this year, but it isn't looking good. I have planned out the gardens and have several different ones. They have morphed as plants take over or die out. The weeds got ahead of me last year and I have some massive clean up work ahead of me this Spring. I found heather at building center. We got 2 plants and put them on either side of a white rose. The color of the heather is gorgeous. I would love to see hillsides and fields covered with it. The tulips, daffodils, and hyacinth are done for this year. The Siberian irises are blooming as are the viola. The peonies, lilac, and bearded irises are budding out. The weather has been so crazy this Spring that plants are out of sync with their usual schedules. Our asparagus produced early and is going strong. It is wonderfully sweet this year. The strawberries are just starting to produce. They are larger and better than the past couple of years. The rose bushes are more full than they have ever been. We have some heirloom seeds we have not tried before and I am trying to decide where I am going to put them. I need to get into the flowerbeds under the trees. The weeds need to be cleaned up around the lily-of-the-valley, hosta, and columbine in one bed and the lily-of-the-valey and bleeding heart in the other. For me, pulling weeds and getting my hands in the dirt is very therapeutic. Thank you for sharing your trip.

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    1. Patricia, your garden sounds absolutely lovely. What a wonderful selection of plants! I was lucky enough to be in Scotland in September in 1995 when the heather covered the hillsides with the most beautiful misty purple. Just gorgeous. I'm a bit early for it this year although the gorse is out and turning everything gold, so there's some compensation!

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  18. What wonderful pictures! Thanks for sharing your experience with us!
    Now about greenery... I was born with a black thumb so I've completely given up hope that I could one day grow my own garden. Sad, I know, but I love to visit them because I love flowers and plants of all kinds =D

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    1. MsAwesome (great name!), I have a black thumb too but I just love being in gardens. Thanks for much for saying that you're enjoying the pics. I'm enjoying sharing them with you all.

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  20. It's always been my dream to visit Scotland and your pictures just make me wish it even more!! I can understand why that kind of scenery would definitely be beneficial to an author and I'm so looking forward to reading your new series, as well as the Christmas one (love anything to do with Christmas!!). I have a huge veggie garden in the summer time and many flowerbeds at the front and back of the house...my pride and joy is my fairy garden:)

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    1. Oh, Carole, I love the sound of the fairy garden! Actually Inverewe had that feeling that there might be otherworldly creatures lurking in the undergrowth. An enchanting place. I always love writing my annual Christmas story - this is the first time I've done one that's part of another series and it's been fun sowing the seeds for future stories amongst all the mistletoe and holly!

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  21. I love gardening! I have a plot in a community garden every year. All summer long I wander through the plots and marvel at the beauty of all the plots. I wish I could post a photo of a plot that was simply stunning.

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  22. Sandra, that sounds just lovely! And how nice to be part of a community garden.

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  23. Anna,
    At the risk of Eigging you on....
    ☆Eigg,☆Eigg,☆Eigg,☆Eigg,☆Eigg!
    Your first five ☆Eigg review♡
    Yoda & Lynne. ☆☆☆☆☆

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    1. What an eigg-sellent comment, Yoda and Lynne!

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  24. I plant a few veggies; I have some daffodils, hyachinths, saffron crocus, and roses.

    denise

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  25. Thanks, everyone, for swinging by to talk gardens and travel. Stay tuned for the announcement of winners. And make sure you swing by at the end of this month for my final On the Road column!

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