Okay, this is cheating a bit. This blog is supposed to be mainly about the Czech Republic. But as I've spent quite a lot of time recently compiling favourite place lists for friends - and I'm lazy - I decided to pillage some of these recommendations and use them here. After all, they're travel related, even if the destinations are some distance from Central Europe. I'll be posting the rest of the tips later on.
My first tip is Millport, on Great Cumbrae Island, off the west coast of Scotland. Almost everyone in the West of Scotland has spent some time in the little
resort. I have vivid memories of a
holiday there as a young child (flinging toothbrushes out of the window and gorging
on gooseberries to name but two).
I went back
while on a visit to Scotland in summer 2009, after a gap of 30+ years. I was cheered to see how little Millport had
changed, even if I felt like Gulliver in Lilliput. Many Scottish resorts have
clearly had it and are looking depressingly shabby. Yet Millport thrives and is
still the kind of place that could grace the cover of a Ladybird book, with a
pleasantly retro atmosphere to match. And where else can you find a bike hire and
bike hire-cum joke shop on the main street?
The done thing is
to hire a bike from one of the aforementioned emporia and do a circuit of the
island; the views to Arran, Bute and Cowal are spectacular. Once you’re back on
dry land, in Largs, you have to visit Art Deco Nardini’s, a West of Scotland
institution, for ice cream, preceded by a fish tea. The famous Nardini dynasty used to own it until a family feud several years ago, resulting in the closure of this much-loved restaurant. Now it’s back, I'm happy to say, run by another west of Scotland ice
cream dynasty. On the way back from Largs, stop off
at Haylie Brae, just above the town, for stunning views of Arran and the Firth
of Clyde. A great day out.
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