The Luib Hotel: my kind of place!

I don't know if you noticed, but I was not around very much last week.

Don't worry, nothing is amiss, in fact I was having the most splendiferous time.

I admit that at first I was a bit concerned when Gail told me we were going down to Stirlingshire to meet up with Aunty Yam for a couple of days.

No don't be silly, I was of course thrilled to hear we would be seeing Aunty Yam again. It was just that, well, one has low expectations of the weather in Scotland in mid-December.

I only hope the accommodation is up to snuff, I thought.

Well I am delighted to report that the Luib Hotel, near Killin, is simply the most brilliantly dog friendly establishment I have yet encountered in my extensive travels.

Gosh, where to begin?

It's promising isn't it, when the resident pup - a Patterdale terrier called Tilly -  is, shall we say, 'nicely rounded'.

It suggests the presence of a human who is generous with the treats. And so it proved.

And I found Jim the proprietor remarkably easy to train. If the treat supply failed, I only had to bark once or twice and he came running back bearing another handful of yummy biscuits. In fact, by the second day I wasn't even having to bark.

That's Jim and Mary, leaning by the bar

Jim's wife Mary was equally generous with the shoulder massages.

I was given the run of the lovely big bar and restaurant area. It was always a tough choice whether to settle beside the crackling log fire or over by Jim (and his treat supply) at the bar.

The bed was super-comfortable too, with plenty of room for Gail as well as myself.

Of course having Aunty Yam there made it even more special. She has the warmest of smiles, don't you think? And she bought me a brand new toy, something Gail scarcely ever does.

We did get out and about a bit but one has to say, the weather lived down to expectations...

Loch Tay, near Killin

General Wade's bridge, Aberfeldy (built in 1733)

The Watermill, Aberfeldy

And as you can see below, my paw problem flared up again, so I was not able properly to appreciate the interesting history associated with this ancient dwelling on Loch Tay.

 
All the more excuse to linger indoors enjoying the Luib Hotel's outstanding hospitality.

For some reason, now we are back in Aberdeen, I have been put on a diet (as well as medication to calm my sore and itchy paw).

PS You will want to click here to read what Aunty Yam has to say about the trip!

AmbassaDog in Training?

No soon as we'd returned from a magnificent couple of days with Aunty Yam in Dunoon than Gail was cracking the whip.

"Now Bertie it is time for you to be thinking seriously about your application to be Scotland's AmbassaDog. I'm sure that we can reference some of this weekend's adventures in support of the application. Perhaps you would like to share your thoughts on your first ever journey on a car ferry for example?"

Well I must confess I was a little apprehensive about this particular new experience.

Aunty Yam assured me we'd be on dry land again before you could say "roll on roll off" and it turned out she was right. But I have to say I was mighty pleased to place my paws on the solid ground of the Isle of Bute.

Now Gail is suggesting my friends might like to see the photos of my trip to Ettrick Bay, Bute, where I had fun with a new wee pal called Winnie.

And no, Winnie was not running rings round me. That video gives a totally false impression.

Some times I think Gail has no idea at all. Why she would think that watching the rugby on telly constituted any sort of highlight when MY (and Aunty Yam's) team Scotland lost to Ireland, and then we had to sit through some tedious contest involving England and France, which I slept through so don't quite remember the result…..

Well I am fast losing patience with Gail. Really, she is being a hindrance rather than a help with this AmbassaDog application thing. But to humour her, I asked her to choose the photos from this weekend that she thinks would most likely have my readers booking their flights to Scotland the minute they've finished reading the post.

So those are Gail's selections.

I CANNOT BELIEVE GAIL HAS LEFT OUT THE MOST THRILLING PLACE WE VISITED BY FAR!

Have you ever heard of the world famous Public Conveniences in Rothesay?

It costs a mere 30p for a tour round the most spectacular and beautiful men's urinals this land can boast.

Aren't they simply splendid? The marble, the polished brass, the glass cisterns. A must-see for sure.

And to think that next morning Gail was expecting me simply to cock my leg against some boring old tree again...


What is that, Gail, about this whole AmbassaDog thing being in danger of going pear shaped?

Unintended outcomes

Have you ever had a bloggie pal come to visit in the flesh?

So exciting isn't it?

I mean, with Gail's 'normal' friends, I can accept that they might be interested in me, or they might not.

But it is a given, surely, that where the point of contact is my blog, then I will be the main focus of attention throughout their stay?

This weekend started so well. My 'Aunty Yam' came up on the train from Dunoon and was all keen to visit Duthie Park so off we went. What a warm, friendly, cheerful person she is.

I was having such fun I even didn't mind that I was being photographed from in front and behind simultaneously.

We all had a good smile at a new sign by the park entrance.

Back home the conversation was initially proceeding in a satisfactory manner with much emphasis on me and my blog, as is only right and proper. OK so this was interspersed with stories about Aunty Yam's experiences in Australia and India (quite interesting, actually), and talk about family and work and all the usual human stuff one has come to expect. I guess that was OK too.

It was only after Gail took Aunty Yam down to the harbour to look at the ships and I was asked to stay at home that things took a turn for the worse.

When they returned, there was much poring over the laptop.

Of course I assumed that they would be looking at my blog or, if not that, then at least something else related to dogs.

Imagine my horror when I saw that the source of fascination was a website called www.marinetraffic.com!


 And all I was hearing was Gail going "wow what a great website, Yam, thank you so much for showing me that, how interesting to be able to find out about the ships visiting Aberdeen, and where they're going and what they do….."

They were looking at it for ages. Simply ages.

Well HELLO. Bertie here! The dog with the blog. The reason you met….

OK, to be fair,  Gail and Aunty Yam did eventually refocus their attention on yours truly.

And so on balance, I am going to advise Gail that, should an invitation ever be issued, I am happy to allow her to visit Dunoon under the following conditions:
 (1) I too can accompany her at all times
 (2) Only WFT-relevant material will be viewed on the computer for the duration….