Arisaig 2026 2: The Big Day

My second post in the series about my holiday in Arisaig, dealing with my birthday itself.

Welcome to post two in my series about this year’s holiday. My birthday this year (the same number birthday that Bilbo Baggins missed due to other events on the day of his arrival by barrel at the shore of the Long Lake) fell on a Sunday. The birthday meal was booked for Mingary Castle (there is also a Mingarry that has a good restaurant, but we were going to Mingary, we where we had eaten last year) at 1PM. Therefore we set off at 11AM.

THE OUTWARD JOURNEY

To get from Arisaig to Mingary Castle we had to go east, south and then west rather further than we had started, since this castle is quite near the western end of the Ardnamurchan Peninsula. Along the way we crossed the river Shiel by a stone bridge that I remembered with crystal clarity from an earlier Scottish sojourn. We then had a long run west along the northern shore of Loch Sunart, passing Salen (a place I first saw way back in 1993), Glenborrodale, site of a nature reserve, the Ardnamurchan distillery, and sundry viewpoints. The turn off for Mingary Castle is just east of (i.e before) Kilchoan, and we arrived there in good time, but not ridiculously early.

THE MEAL

It did not take long to identify two courses I wished to eat (a pork terrine starter and slow cooked beef with Yorkshire pudding, carrot, broccoli and triple cooked potatoes) and a suitable beverage to accompany them (Dark Mile, brewed by the local Glenspean brewery). The food was excellent, and the surroundings pleasant (I was one of at least three people that day who had come for a birthday meal). After I had finished I did some walking around outside the castle and got some photographs.

THE JOURNEY HOME

We went home by the same route we had come, which enabled me to get pictures of places I had missed on the way out (I sat in the same seat, the non-driver’s side rear seat, for both journeys, so was facing opposite sides of the road each way). Thus as you will see from the gallery the outbound journey was light on pictures from Loch Moidart, which was on the wrong side of me that way, and heavy on pictures from Loch Sunart, while the homeward journey was the reverse.

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off…

The crossing of the river Shiel on the outbound journey – only the third picture I took because I was on the wrong side for most of the good early scenery.

An Outing – Binham and Holt

An account of an outing yesterday, with huge numbers of photographs.

INTRODUCTION

This was an outing arranged by my mother and my aunt which happened yesterday. Binham is a village about ten miles beyond the market town of Fakenham, Holt is a Georgian market town a little beyond Binham (more of this later). Binham is home a to an eponymous blue cheese, and also to the remains of a Benedictine priory (the same order who in the days when they were powerful controlled Ely, where the cathedral still stands). Holt as it is today is almost entirely the product of rebuilding after a huge fire in 1708 reduced the town to ruins, and as such is one the most noteworthy Georgian towns anywhere.

BINHAM PRIORY

Most of this section will be told by means of the photographs I took while at the priory, starting with some which give you some information about it:

Just before moving on I will note that although this is an English Heritage site they do not charge for admission, clearly not reckoning they would take enough to justify paying someone to work there selling tickets.

INSIDE THE PARISH CHURCH

This is the only part of what was once a construction on an awesome scale that is still standing and usable – the rest was very determinedly destroyed in 1539 (not quite a match for Treebeard and the ents at Isengard, but a fairly thorough piece of destruction!). There are some very interesting exhibits within the church.

P1260327 (2) — Thisb door is not used – there is a side door for access to the inside of the church.

P1260361 (2) — A splendid looking organ.

P1260373 (2) — Several different styles of arch in one building.

THE RUINS

Outside the church there is a substantial area covered by ruins:

P1260428 (2) — The brickwork at the top and bottom of this picture is reminiscent of genuine Byzantine churches in Southern Greece.

LUNCH

Having finished at the priory and the shop selling local produce (including raw – i.e. unpasteurised – milk from the local cattle, not available in quantities of less than a litre, which since it only stays good for a maximum of four days is too much to be worth buying) we headed to the village pub for lunch.

The first good sign at the pub was that it had three beers, two decent and one excellent, on tap. The food looked good as well, and while we were waiting for it to arrive there was what I chose to interpret as a further good sign, a delivery from a supplier based in nearby Fakenham. The food turned out to be excellent and we went on our way happy.

P1260479 (2) — Two decent beers either side of one excellent one – a good start.

P1260480 (2) — A pint of Ghost Ship, a magnificent drink, especially if the weather is warm.

HOLT

We did not spend long in Holt, a few minutes exploring and photographing, ending in the shoe shop, where I bought a pair of what looked like excellent walking shoes (more about them in a later post).

P1260518 (2) — Buses going in opposite directions.

P1260519 (2) — Bakers & Larners – a survivor from a bygone age, an independent department store.

P1260531 (2) — A list of the Bakers of Bakers and Larners

P1260532 (2) — The pair of shoes – can you identify their many plus points from this picture (all will be revealed in my next post)?

A Day Out In Norwich 3: Lunch At The Belgian Monk

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to my third post about our family day out in Norwich on Thursday. For those who missed them, the first two posts were:

1)Introductory Post

2)Enter the Dragons

I hope that you will enjoy this post and be inspired to share it.

LUNCH AT THE BELGIAN MONK

A DELAYED START

A combination of rigid adherence to a silly rule (no one under 16 to sit in the bar area) and the fact that the place was busy meant that we had to wait a few minutes before a table large enough for five became available.

THE BEER

The beer was superb – I had a Petrus Dubbel Bruin and a Grimbergen Dubbel both of which were splendid drinks. I got some photos of logos etc…

This sign is outside the back of the pub, where we were sitting

My father's second beer. — My father’s second beer.

THE FOOD

My sister and my mother both opted for mussels, which come with a ‘sconce’ of chips…

My mother holding a 'sconce' of chips aloft. — My mother holding a ‘sconce’ of chips aloft.

I opted for a steak and Belgian beer pie, which was good overall but loses marks for failing to be a proper pie – it was that thoroughly annoying and difficult to eat cheat, a casserole with a ridiculously puffy layer of puff pastry on top. The chips, were excellent. Taking into account the overall quality, and inflicting three penalty points for cheating, I award the meal 6.5 out of 10.

I have a few remaining pics from the Belgian Monk to share,..

The church tower visible from the beer garden (in Norwich you are never very far from a medieval church!)

The Belgian Monk's account of their mussels. — The Belgian Monk’s account of their mussels.

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