Chocolate, Friends, and a Good Wander

Another blogpost before Ardgour? Who'da thought it, eh? Well, this is what happens when I take my camera on walks...I find too many pretty views and have to take all the pictures!

Alas, before I write another paragraph, I am going to read some more of my book and then go eat dinner! It will be delicious! It was. Nothin' like Carbonara Pasta, crusty bread, a bit of salad, and Eton Mess for pudding! And now that I am sufficiently sophonsified and the floor of my room has been hoovered, I can continue this blogpost.

This morning I went to Castle Douglas with B, Peppa, and Mols (whose alias I have completely forgotten...and I really can't be bothered to go and look up..sorry) to the Chemists and Tesco. From there we headed back to the center to drop Peppa off and so I could drop off my purchases and grab my camera.

We proceeded hence to the a quaint factory (not, thank heavens, one of those smoke and dust filled places) named "The Cocoa Bean" where we partook of some splendid cocoa delightfully topped with whipped cream and marshmallows.

The delightful cocoa

My roommate, Mols

B showing off her teaspoon

After finishing our lovely cocoa, we headed back inside the building to the small store where we perused the shelves of chocolates. I admit, the temptation was too strong and I indulged myself by buying some chocolate. I bought three from the glass case, and two small bars. The ones from the case were Bailey's (because..obviously..), Gin fizz (quite tasty), and Strawberries and Marc de Champagne (also delicious). The bars were extra dark, and dark orange.

I "sent" B and Mols home since Mols had to work a k3 and I wanted to walk a while by my lonesome, and so we parted ways in the parking lot. I walked along the A75 intending to walk to Gatehouse of Fleet. I found some thistles and wild flowers and stopped to take some pictures and then got distracted from my main goal in this walk by a lovely hill that I just had to see the other side of (plus, I couldn't be bothered to walk all the way to Gatehouse...)

The traditional Scottish Thistle

The crest of hill that caught my attention

I stepped on something that stung me in my sandal...some sort of bee I think...It was not pleasant to say the least

At the top

Some friendly cows, who, thankfully, did not come any nearer

Into the grove of trees

It was upon that broken down tree in the back that I sat and read my book

Yup...there's the sea...

Sorry, it's so blurry, but I wanted you to see the colours :)

The Strawberry and Marc de Champagne

I seemed to have found some nettle...it's gone down a lot and you can't really see that it's there but every once in a while it twinges and reminds me of its presence. . .

After I had read for a wee while, I decided it was time to start heading back to Barcaple and I went back the way I had walked waaay back in March with Weasley...(you may remember that post...)

I really wanted to see more of this house. It looked so lovely, so I went down this next lane hoping to see it...

Welcome to Bankend

And it was even for sale! *hint hint

Up the drive...

Now, before I go any further, I will be honest. I thought I was going to be walking to the above house and as a joke I would tell my parents to buy it because it's so pretty and massive. However, when I reached the end of the drive I found this lovely small cottage with gorgeous gardens and I realized that they really should buy it! so here I shall begin, through pictures and words, to sell this house to my parents. It will be brilliant! So without further ado, here are 10 or more reasons why Joan and Derk te Bokkel should buy this house. 

Reason 1: Check the view. Not too shabby. Now, at the moment you might think, "Well,  there are a lot fo trees and shrubs in the way, Hannah..." But just you wait...

Reason 2: The drive is super badass! Gorgeous flowers everywhere and epic fir hedges..

Reason 3: Roses. Seriously. Everyone loves Roses.

Reason 4: The house is just the right size for two people.  Not too big, not too small, plenty of room for looms and sewing machines I'm sure, especially since it's just two people!

Reason 5: Can I stress how beautiful this drive is?

Reason 6: Tiger lillies...because we haven't had tiger lillies  since we lived in Manitoba

Reason 7: More flowers, and epic stone path

Reason 8: I told you there was a brilliant view

Reason 9: Could you ask for a more adorable house? Look at the roses climbing up the side like they own the place!

Reason 10: Sheep. Now really Mother, could you ask for anything more?

Reason 11: Secret walk, for those romantic strolls when you need to get away from company for a while.

Reason 12: Pretty arch going into the secret walk. What could be more romantic?

Reason 13: Plenty of garden space to sit and relax with a spinning wheel!

Reasom 14: Nice place for a swing (like one of those porch swings but on the lawn instead...)

Reason 15: Another brilliant arch with climbing roses into a wood.

Reason 16: If you weren't convinced about the view, you are now. Can't you imagine sitting here with a spinning wheel?

Reason 17: Fountain

Reason 18: Small stream to a lovely pool.

Reason 19: I'm just gonna leave this view here...

Reason 20: Other secret walk not secret enough? Boom! There's another even more hidden!

Reason 21: Fire pit.

Reason 22: Wishing well...It's pretty cool

Reason 23: Awesome flower arrangements.

Reason 24:  The View behind the house.

Reason 25: The way back down the drive is just as lovely.

Reason 26: You can get into that back field via this here lovely gate....no big deal or anything but I think that's pretty fantastic.

Reason 27: Need a place for young people from Barcaple to go run around when you have them over for an evening? Boom! Field. Massive with plenty of space to kick a football, swing a cricket bat, or fling a frisbee around. Ideal for those nice large group events!

Reason 28: Can I stress the gorgeousness of this location?

Reason 29: Here I am in the epic field with a piece of clover between my teeth giving you a thumbs up to buy it...that ought to be convincing enough on its own...

Reason 30: Classy Neighbours. This is the back of that other house (the one I thought it was...). I mean, private tennis courts? You could nicely become friends with these people...

Reason 31: The field is truly masterful.

 

So those are my 10 or so reasons why you should buy it. Think of the possibilities. And if I, by some strange chance, did not manage to quite convince you, I'm sure the real estate people can seal the deal: http://www.williamsonandhenry.com/property-details.asp?PropertyID=260


But continuing with my wanderings...

Some roses in the hedgerow

Lovely sky and road

I cannot stress the beauty of this countryside

Every time I see a hill like this, I am filled with an insatiable urge to climb it and see what's on the other side

Again with the urge to climb! Especially when the sky looks so wild and lovely behind it!

Aha! The chocolate bars from the Cocoa Bean. I can verify that they are both delicious (and no I haven't eaten them all...)

Another rising hill. This one I succumbed to!

There was plenty of camomile on the path! It smelled lovely

And my reward: another lovely view :)

And in case you were wondering where Barcaple was in relation to this road...somewhere in those trees...possibly farther back then where the arrow is . . .

Anyways, so that was my lovely walk today! I hope you've enjoyed this post. Return Next week for "Time at Ardgour" where our protagonist and her roommate find themselves in the wild mountains of Northwest Scotland!