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22 Mar 2012

17th March St Patrick's Day in Scotland

We have just come back from a most wonderful weekend in Scotland.  We stayed at the Trigony Country House Hotel, Dumfries and Gallaway.

The Hotel itself was perfect, lots of gardens, nice and quiet and fantastic views.  To make it even better it is a "Dog Friendly" hotel.

True to its advert I was welcome almost everywhere in the hotel and even had breakfast and dinner in their bar/restaurant.  (They keep the main restaurant pet free).  The food was great and we shared ours with the dog who lives there, she's called  Roxie.

We had the most perfect weather for the weekend.















It was very frosty in the morning, but fresh and pleasant like a lovely spring morning.











The lovely laid out gardens are full of lovely flowers.


 Off for a walk behind the hotel
















GLENKILN SCULPTURE PARK AND RESERVOIR 
We stumbled upon the Glenkiln Sculpture Park near Dumfries. We found out about it in a leaflet supplied by the hotel, with instructions on how to get there via a lovely scenic route. 
The park was an inspiration in 1951 by Sir William Keswick who was a friend of Henry Moore ande owned the land, he wanted to exhibit sculpture in a natural setting. 


There are four sculptures by Henry Moore, one by Jacob Epstein and one by Rodin.
There are no signs to the park (we were told by a local this was because the statues had been vandalised in the past and attempts to steal them had been made). 
Henry Moore's King and Queen, a Henry Moore cross, you can see from the road. Rodin's John the Baptist is beside a small car park, then Moore's Standing Figure. 
The other two - Epstein's The Visitation and Moore's Two Piece Reclining Figure are a bit further off the beaten track up a hill beside the reservoir.  Unfortunately we didnt manage to get to these due to the very deep mud we would have had to wade through, so we will take wellies next time.















Rodin John the Baptist





He stands at the head of the reservoir, looking out over lovely views.








Henry Moore King and Queen




They have fantastic views








Roxie and me during dinner.




We will certainly go back here again, its lovely.

2 Mar 2012

2nd March at Seaton Sluice















It was a lovely day so we decided to go to the beach at Seaton Sluice.  Once we got over the dunes the wind was so cold and the sun went in.  Still had a dip in the sea though.  Lovely as long as your a dog.

I just can not stay out of the water, looking forward to a good summer this year