Monday 12 August 2013

Far Away


All is quiet at the cottage just now as I am up in Scotland enjoying a holiday while visiting with my Mum and Dad. First I travelled up to Dumfries and Galloway, staying in their lovely old stone farmhouse near the borders. The weather was quite warm so Dad was able to give me a tour of the garden which was great to see as I haven't seen it in the summer for ages. It is thriving despite the best attempts of the local wild rabbits!


We visited the little market town of Castle Douglas which has a lovely shop and cafe called Designs. They serve really nice meals with delicious salads and have a very good chocolate cake! Castle Douglas is also home to one of our favourite antique shops Country House Interiors and its sister shop Antiques & Homes. Quite a few bits of our furniture, including our old chunky pine dining table, pretty corner cabinets and really unusual pot cupboard came from here. Mhairi (the owner of these lovely shops) has a really good eye for beautiful pieces and everything is arranged so artfully that, as I can very well attest for, it is very difficult to leave either of these shops without purchasing something!



Now I am practically as far north as you can go on the west coast without falling into the sea! The Scottish Highland scenery is stunning, but the weather is less so; rainy and rather chilly for August! I snapped these photos from the car as we were driving along a single track road in the pouring rain! The local sheep are very inquisitive and seem to have a death-wish (most of them think nothing to sitting in the middle of the road despite on-coming traffic). It all feels very far away from my London cottage indeed!



15 comments:

  1. Your parents house is beautiful. I love their conservatory. Very tasteful.

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  2. I have Scottish roots but alas no relatives living in such a beautiful house! I can see why you like the shop in Castle Douglas - great displays. I haven't been to the Highlands for years. I'd love to go back to Plockton in particular.

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  3. Lovely photos Charlotte, your families home is gorgeous and the location looks stunning. Ann

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  4. What a fabulous house... I can see where you get your good taste and designer eye from!
    Have a lovely holiday and don't forget to visit Northumberland on your way home to London.
    Julie x

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    1. Hi Julie,
      Thank you, my Mum is thrilled with all the lovely compliments! Unfortunately I flew back from Inverness but I would definitely love to visit Northumberland next time I drive up!
      Charlotte x

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  5. What lovely photographs, house and shop. We like to visit Scotland and do not get there nearly enough. Minerva x

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  6. Dear Charlotte,what a GORGEOUS cottage your parents have,it would be lovely to see inside like the tour you once gave us of your cottage,I went to Loch Ness once and the scenery was STUNNING!The antique shops look very enticing!What did you buy?TTFN Pam.

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    1. Dear Pam,
      Thank you for your lovely compliment. It's not quite finished inside yet though so a house tour will have to wait for a little bit longer! I had my eye on a little pine settle - just trying to decide whether we actually have room for it!
      Charlotte

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  7. Love your blog, the pics, and the story's of England that I love dearly (was in Wales, London and Scotland once), ok the weather isn't always that wonderfull but hey, I'm dutch, so used to it...haha.
    I've just started my own blog and love to write not only in dutch but also in english...
    Now I'm just looking around at other bloggers and I see so much creativity, love it.
    I'll follow you and looking forward to see you the next time.
    Lovely greetings, MJ (seeshappyhome.blogspot.com)

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  8. Lovely photos, your families home is beautiful!
    Greetings from, RW & SK

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  9. Scotland is on our short list for places we are considering visiting this year. It's just so lush and beautiful. Beautiful pictures! I love the cow in the field.
    -Khammany

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  10. What a beautiful stone farmhouse your parents have, I hope you're enjoying your time away.

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  11. I so enjoy your blog. Your parent's home is a dream come true. I hope you post more pics when you visit again. Cindy Huxtable

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  12. Room is very wel decorated, i like it :)

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