Fish lunch for Mr Heron

The weather has been glorious in the north of Scotland today, and we have spent as much of it as we can outdoors on a 'travelling' day. This morning we took a walk along the banks of the River Ness to find a sunbathing spot suitable as a waiting 'room' before we caught the bus to Ullapool. We ended up on one of the Ness islands not far from the town centre. On our way there we watched this heron fishing on the water, and on the way back we loved the lantern effect created by the sunlight falling on the laburnum in blossom, as seen in the extra.

The views from the bus window on the way to Ullapool were just as stunning as those observed from the train yesterday. I've travelled this route dozens of times since the 1970s, but only once by bus*. The extra height makes all the difference to enjoying the passing scenery.

Ullapool itself is looking fabulous today in the gorgeous sunshine. It's very warm here - indeed so warm that the midges have gone into hiding.

We're off to Lewis tomorrow to a place where there is very limited (and quite possibly no) Internet access, so be warned that we may go quiet for a few days...

*That one time was in August 1979 on the day of my O level results. As a special treat to celebrate my success in 10 subjects my parents allowed me (16) and my middle sister (15) to take the bus from Dundonnell (where we were on holiday) to Inverness on our own. What a treat - a whole day off fishing! Other than my delight in getting a B in Physics and buying a brown Indian jacket on our trip to town, I remember very little of that day.

Exercise today: walking (16,698 steps).