TFoF Members suggestions of where to visit in the UK.

3rdforum wrote: The guy holding both sides is my business partner. It took a lot of coaxing to get him to do it!

By the way hes hanging on he didn't need much encouragement to grab the sides. .

Gypsy's blog about the wee chocolate factory got me remembering a trip Mermaid and me took last year to The Highland Chocolatier in Grandtully in Perthshire. We've decided to go there again tomorrow as it is open 7 days, and like Gypsy, we like chocolate too. So by the time I put petrol in the car and buy a box or two of chocolates I should be somewhere in the region of £80 lighter...(...it is nice though). Another bonus is it is exactly opposite the rapids on the River Tay where they do the canoe slalom thingy...


...so we can use the same car park to visit both and get a meal in the Grandtully Inn overlooking the river. Sorted...

i am so excited for tomorrow now

OK, photos of our wee trip today to the chocolate shop...
Mermaid checking out the selections...

close up of selections...



Giant Easter Egg...



Very expensive...


Happy Mermaid...



Had a starter and a sweet in the Grandtully Inn overlooking the River Tay...


Saw a sign Gypsy had put in the window...

You might be in favour later CAM

Love the sign, and look at the size of that bag. Bet it cost a fortune.

Nice way to talk about Mermaid, she is quite cheap, peach snnnapps I will have you know.

The bag is not full. There is a bar of chocolate which is mine and a square box with 30 chocolates in it. LR will post a pic later.
Gypsy I think they do a mail order service to any where. I will look for the link

Here's what's in the box... It was nearly £30 so it's about £1/choccy.

This should be in the doctors surgery, A scotsman blowing £30 on chocolate, Something wrong somewhere

Just got back from our Orkney trip and The Italian Chapel is awesome!
Italian POWs were used to build the Churchill Barriers, concrete blocks
between Islands, because in 1939 a German U-boat U47 managed to get past
the block ships between Lamb Holm and Glimps Holm Islets and into the
main British Home Fleet anchorage at Scapa Flow. HMS Royal Oak
was torpedoed and sunk with the loss of 833 men and boys. Anyway, back
to the Chapel, the Italian prisoners didn't have anywhere to worship so
they asked the camp Commander if they could get a Nissan hut to build a
small chapel in. The camp Commander gave them 2 Nissan huts back to back
and this is what the Italians did with them. If ever you have a chance
to go to Orkney, make sure you go here...



More about the Chapel here... Camp 60, Lamb Holm, Orkney

Lone Ranger wrote:Just got back from our Orkney trip and The Italian Chapel is awesome!
Italian POWs were used to build the Churchill Barriers, concrete blocks
between Islands, because in 1939 a German U-boat U47 managed to get past
the block ships between Lamb Holm and Glimps Holm Islets and into the
main British Home Fleet anchorage at Scapa Flow. HMS Royal Oak
was torpedoed and sunk with the loss of 833 men and boys. Anyway, back
to the Chapel, the Italian prisoners didn't have anywhere to worship so
they asked the camp Commander if they could get a Nissan hut to build a
small chapel in. The camp Commander gave them 2 Nissan huts back to back
and this is what the Italians did with them. If ever you have a chance
to go to Orkney, make sure you go here...



More about the Chapel here... Camp 60, Lamb Holm, Orkney

Sounds Excellent Cam.

Marwick Head in Orkney. The nearest point of land to where HMS Hampshire
carrying Field Marshall Kitchener and his staff en route to Russia in June 1916, hit
a German mine and sank with massive loss of life including Kitchener
and all his staff. HMS Hampshire.

This video I shot shows the Kitchener Memorial at the top of the cliffs, paid for by Orcadians in gratitude for Kitchener's service. This part of Marwick Head is also an RSPB nature reserve where during nesting season, thousands of sea-birds such as puffin, Gannet, Kittiwake, Shags and Cormorants can be seen. It's also bloody scary standing at the lip of the cliff trying to take a video!

Went to see the Castle of Mey near Thurso, which was saved from ruin by the Queen Mother in 1952 and where she spent a lot of time between October 1955 and October 2001...






got the place to ourselves...



it was at this point that one of the employees of the Estate asked us if we had a ticket. No, says I, we'll just go and have a cream tea in the tea room then...

Mermaid looks like she is pleased the Queen saved it

I thought you said the weather was awful Cam? Videos & photos are great btw!

The weather was lovely those days. The horrendous rain came the next day