One February morning, under a blue sky with winter sunshine, I whisked delightful assistant no.1 off to the lovely Loch Earn.
I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to post about it but, alas, I’m not as well organised as I would like to be.
Lovely Loch Earn, Perthshire.
Loch Earn is one of many long, narrow, freshwater lakes dotted about the Scottish highlands, and is known as a centre for watersports.
If you’re interested in statistics, the loch is about 10.5 km long, just over 1 km wide and, at its deepest point, goes down for 87 metres. Loch Ness, by contrast, dips down to about 227 metres, which is perhaps why Nessie chose to make her home there rather than in Loch Earn or any of the other numerous smaller lochs.
We were very struck by how still the water was, and how magnificent the reflections. Here are a few shots to demonstrate:
Mountains reflected in Loch Earn with stony shoreline.
I think the snowy peak in the background might be Ben Vorlich.
Reflections of individual trees on the far side of Loch Earn.
Uprooted tree with reflections.
It was remarkably warm for the time of year, no doubt thanks to the lack of wind, and we enjoyed ambling along the shore soaking up the old Vitamin D.
Here’s the delightful assistant getting her daily dose:
Coat- and hat-less in February at Loch Earn.
Stony northern shore of Loch Earn bathed in warm February sunshine.
We had been hoping to have lunch at a nice hotel on the lochside but unfortunately it was closed, so we scooted off to the nearby small town of Comrie instead.
The delightful assistant recommended The Royal Hotel, an establishment in which she had enjoyed one or two satisfactory luncheons with her dear spouse.
Reception area of The Royal Hotel, Comrie.
She opted for chicken chasseur, which came with mashed potatoes and green beans:
I had a bowl of very interesting hummus which was packed with all sorts of things, including black olives, coriander and red peppers. It was served with thick slices of grilled toast and a side salad:
Very interesting hummus at the Royal Hotel in Comrie.
Nicely filled with savouries, we moved on to the town of Crieff about 12 miles along the road and called in at a cafe and furniture shop called The Loft, for coffee.
A deliciously foamy cappuccino at The Loft in Crieff.
The delightful assistant was too full for pudding but I managed to put away a slice of moist carrot cake:
Carrot cake at The Loft.
Content with our lot, we tripped off home full of happy memories of our glorious day out in sunny Perthshire.
Winter sunshine at Loch Earn.
