By Fi

Its been a little while since we blogged. Last time we spoke, we had just arrived on beautiful Kerrara to tuck in for winter. And we really have! The cold and frost is upon us, and we’re keeping our days busy with boat jobs, extra sleep ins, doggy walks and some winter keep fit activities.

Couldn’t resist risking taking my phone up the mast for this lovely shot of the marina and hills on Kerrara.
Jobs jobs jobs

We’ve also discovered a beautiful community of people here on Kerrara and I’m enjoying yoga with the girls three times a week, and beers at the pub on the weekends.

Not long after we docked, we were actually off to France to participate in the “Dare to Dream” seminar run by Garcia. Its primarily targeted at new owners, and because we’re old owners, they asked me to come along and give a bit of a talk about our experiences on the boat, what we’ve done, how we felt about it all, and of course, a bit of a chat about my Fastnet adventure. I told the lovely Garcia folk that as this was my THIRD trip to France this year, there is the distinct risk of divorce if I can’t bring my husband as well, and so that was enough for the Garcia team to be convinced that the seminar should be the “Fi and Adrian show”, not just the “Fi show”.

The seminar was to be located on the island of Tatihou on the north coast of France, quite close to Cherbourg. So we hopped on a plane from Glasgow, and into Paris for the evening, and on to Cherbourg the next day.

Happy faces after arriving in Cherbourg.

It was great to catch up with my Fastnet team mates Marie and Clothilde, then on to St Vaast the next morning to catch the amphibious ferry over to Tatihou.

Tatihou is on the left, and the breakwater at the entrance to St Vaast harbour on the right.
The ferry is amphibious as the harbour entrance dries out with the tide.
Adrian on the ferry, anticipating what the weekend here will hold.

We found ourselves in St Vaast again. St Vaast was the destination for our very first trip on Away, and Tatihou is a small island that you can walk to at low tide from St Vaast, through the oyster fields that St Vaast is so famous for. We never got to Tatihou on our first trip, as when we were walking through the oyster fields, we were told that Bernie wasn’t welcome as Tatihou is a bird sanctuary, so we turned around. So it was great to finally visit and it is beautiful!

Lovely old buildings and gardens abound on the island.

The seminar was so much fun, and it was great to dust off my presenting skills and get up and chat and make people laugh for 90 minutes. I was pretty rusty, but eventually found my stride. I had so much fun and we ate so much beautiful French food and drank all the wine.

Day one of the seminar, getting to know everyone.
We were given a tour of the island. The Battle of La Hougue took place just near here between the French and the English in 1692. In the 1700s the area was defended by a number of large forts, a lot of which are still standing.
Fort fun.
Dusted off my presenting skills and had a GREAT time doing it!
Well into the swing of my presentation.
Much relief after finishing. Signing the wall.
Fabulous group of people to meet and talk about adventures.
Marie took us the scenic route back to Cherbourg via Barfleur and the lighthouse.
Me and Marie, my teammate on the Fastnet.
A little sailboat, taking the opportunity to sail past the Barfleur tidal race at slack tide. It would have been lovely sailing on this day.
Lovely Barfleur. A quaint fishing village on the east side of Cherbourg.

It was lovely to come home to Away on Kerrara and get back into our little groove here. Hiking, yoga, friends, trips into town on the ferry, boat jobs.

After staying in a dog kennel for a few days while we were in France, Bernie needed to get shaved as his fur got matted. So streamlined.
Bernie and I all dressed up for Halloween.
Halloween at the pub was fun!
We also watched the fireworks from the pub on bonfire night.
We take a trip over to Dunollie Castle which is just opposite the island of Kerrara. Its a medieval castle ruin of Clan MacDougall.
“What you do up there Mum?”
“Take cute photos of my family”
View over Kerrara from Dunollie Castle.
We take a good hike one day to Gylen Castle on the south side of Kerrara. Again, this was occupied by Clan MacDougall before it was abandoned as it burned down after a siege.
Stunning location. Decent walk too!

We did decide that we ought to go see some friends while we’re here in the UK, so one extremely chilly morning, we hopped on the train to Glasgow, hired a car and drove around England for a couple of weeks.

Our trip took us to Nottingham to see my Dad’s friends, to Oxford to look at Blenheim Palace again and check out the super cute town of Woodstock, then on to Sommerset to visit Adrian’s friends, then to Bristol to meet up with work mates, then up to Malvern to visit more work mates, then on to Cheltenham to visit more friends, then to the Lake district because its so beautiful, then the big trip home.

With his new haircut, Bernie loves to sit close to the fire in these old English pubs.
Blenheim Palace. The Christmas market was really lovely.
Another pub, another fire for Bernie.
We went to see the Uffington White Horse, the oldest intact white horse in England.
And took a walk along the ramparts of the ancient castle that was here – Uffington Castle.
We saw the standing stones at Avebury were amazing. The town basically sits right in the middle of these absolutely massive circles.
We stay at the George Inn, which has been serving beers for over 700 years. It looks like a movie set, or something out of a video game. I was expecting to meet a bunch of non-playable characters.
We took a walk to the top of the Malvern Hills.
And had cream tea at Croome Court, before exploring the grounds.
Designed and built for the Earl of Coventry, Croome Court is an 18th century mansion.
The owner never wanted Croome to change, and it fell into disrepair, before being sold to a property developer who did some pretty weird modifications to it. Since, it has been preserved by trusts and you can now visit and see the mansion, as well as viewing various art installations. It was spectacular, even with the weird bathroom the developer put in.
Beautiful grounds at Croome, even with the winterness.
Our transport for the morning in the Lakes District.
Misty lake.
We get back on the water to navigate to the start of a hike along Ullswater.
Bernie not so impressed with the chilly conditions and his new haircut.
Spectacular winter weather.
But a little frosty on the shadowy side of the lake.
Unlike Bernie, I am dressed for the occasion.
The Lake District was really shining.

So, Merry Christmas dear friends and family. We are safe, warm and happy here on Kerrara and I’m recharging my sailing batteries ready for next season.

Back to this beautiful island of Kerrara.
And finally, the highland cows enjoying some seaweed. They are actually quite intimidating up close but I’m assured they are friendly.