Cove-artist retreat

For a long time I have wanted to visit the Cove park artist/writers retreat, a place with an international reputation, and by a piece of serendipity I discovered it was within a few miles of the gardens on our list today.
 
So I popped in. I am not sure what I expected but it was certainly not the spartan building perched on top of the Cove peninsular.
 
In fact I thought it was derelict until a young American woman appeared from the side.
 
She was in a rush, she apologised she had no time to talk.
 No problem I said she was after all on a retreat.
 
She did tell me though that the   main living accommodation was some distance away, in fact down a dirt track inaccessible by car.
 
 You had to walk in. OK this is serious stuff; maybe I am not cut out for sitting in isolation in a refurbished “container” for a week looking out at sea.
 
I could not help feeling that maybe all those nuclear submarines lurking in the bay did give out bad vibes.
 
And sitting on a narrow strip of land surrounded by nuclear missiles, for Faslane and the Holy Loch were “across the water”, was hardly conducive to a Zen like experience.
 
As I left the young American woman was in her car busy trying to make a phone call….
 
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