A sunny weekend on Bute

It was D's idea for the four of us to unwind from the splendour and excitements of our stay at Auchinleck with a weekend on Bute. He wooed me with the argument that it's another island for my portfolio, one I hadn't visited yet: that's not technically correct, as we had used Bute as a stepping stone between ferries on our way home from Kintyre, But that really didn't count, and an extra weekend sounded good.

So it feels appropriate to start with this picture of a Victorian worthy durveying the gardens on the front:

because my initial reaction, arriving from Wemyss Bay, was that yes, I could see that this was very much a Victorian seaside resort, but whatever that may suggest of the cheap and cheerful, or the somewhat fown-at-heel, is balanced by the beauty of the scenery - not dramatic, but quite stunning (and not what is suggested by the phrase "in the Clyde estuary" which traditionally describes the location of Bute). Appropriate, too, because the gentleman in question, Alexander Bannatyne Stewart (and on another visit to Bute, I'd like to visit his garden - and fernery - there) reminfd me so much of D. when he was younger, and had more hair. "It's a long time since I've worn a frock coat," says D., but he was wearing an academic gown when we first met, and the effect was similar.

( More from the isle of Bute )