A Holiday in South East Scotland

We have been enjoying a family holiday on the South East Coast of Scotland. We usually have time in Northumberland at this time of year, however on the suggestion of our daughter we hosted a family get together at the weekend and have stayed on for the rest of the week. We are staying in an ultra-modern beach house in Coldingham Bay, so modern that it was described in the Mail Online as a carbuncle. I though rather like the nickname that the locals have given it, Tesco-by-the-Sea.

We had a great weekend with three generations of the family. We provided the house, the children made sure that there was plenty of food and booze. The grandchildren just turned up and were their usual entertaining selves. As the house is almost on beach great fun was had building sandcastles, playing beach cricket, and in Thomas’s case building a bonfire. It is a delightful unspoilt spot, except for the carbuncle of course. It was also a great house as there was plenty of room for everybody. On Saturday evening there was the added bonus of a firework display on the beach hosted by the local school for which we had ring side seats.

Since the activity of the weekend Marion and I have been relaxing and exploring an area that we do not know well. There are some great cliff top walks, quite demanding as they go up and down into and out of unspoilt little coves. The views from the tops of the cliffs are quite stunning, north to the Fife Coast and down the coast as far as Bamburgh.

The coastline is dotted with small workaday fishing villages like St. Abbs and Eyemouth, where there are still large working fishing fleets. In land we have driven to Coldstream and our find of today Kelso. This is a place straight out of the pages of Country Life. I spotted at least three shops where you could buy hunting, shooting, and fishing gear. We saw a man going about his business in plus fours, while the wearing of tweeds was obligatory. Never mind we found a great local pub; it served fantastic beer from the local Tempest Brewery (the barman was very free with his samples). The lunch was really good made from first class local produce particularly the local fish.

We are now battening down the hatches as a storm is forecast for tomorrow. No problem, I shall walk in the morning and we will have some lunch out.