Menootanaboot; Have Visitor, Will Explore - Part The First

This week's fruit platter, plus
the half-prepped trifle

I was in a flurry last weekend. Preps to be made. Wanted to bake and make and have ready.

Aitch came to stay!!! This is very special, as the last time I saw her was two years back. She has since moved north to near Newcastle, just over the border, and is about four-ish hours drive away. Give or take a pitstop and some roadwork or three. 

Arriving mid-arvo on Monday, and finding a parking spot right outside the Hutch (bonus!), it was a light meal, tea and trifle as first order and verbal download for the pair of us. After that, a walk along the promenade and a sit to contemplate the balmy weather and sharing a smile and greeting with passers-by. Back to the Hutch for some cake. The Olympics on in the background, we just nattered as only we can do into the evening. 

Tuesday dawned, not the brightest, nor particularly warm. We spent the morning lingering over brekky and catching up on the O's and thinking about an outing for the afternoon... the weather brightened and warmed up in just fine time for our departure a little after one pee em. 

Aitch is an avid Geocacher and I am always happy to gad along for that. At Jubilee point, we first stopped to admire the view, the ambience, the light breeze and, surprisingly compared to the recent visit with Neighbour M, lack of midgies. I even attempted an official ussie.

The GPS had us going full circle and back down the In road for a bit to try and locate the cache. Then we decided it had to be approached from the shoreline of Loch Eck. This entailed a bit of goat-like footwork. Aitch felt that a bit too challenging, so off I went in search.

Lots of interesting nooks and crannies, but no cache discovered. Still, I had fun and the old body knew it had been exercised by the time I was back with Aitch. 

Back into the car and off to Strachur and the wee village beside it, called Clachan. Aitch searched and searched and searched - and I did the perimeter of the compound in which the telephone box was sitting. We were again unsuccessful. Never mind, we had spotted an attractive church at the road end so we invited ourselves to look around. The building and the churchyard were to be much admired. It is a little sad, though, that, unlike English churches, most in Scotland are not open for passing pilgrims... we satisfied ourselves with the externals.

Piling back into the car we tracked back towards the Hutch but stopping just once more at the Lauder Monument. That website comments on the 40 steps to the top. What it doesn't say is how precipitous those steps are and just a tad hazardous for a couple o' auld biddies with physical challenges! It was surely worth the climb though. a lovely spot - and the cache here was, at last, discovered!!! We returned home via the war memorial at Sandbank and pizza delivery. 

(Part The Second next Thursday.)