Road trips, seafood shacks and a thing for Nigel Slater.

Returning from a week of wild coastlines, haddock wraps, and wrestling with the garden. As I ebb and flow with my little blog, I'm hoping a relatively quiet summer will see me back on track.

Often life takes over. Not in a bad way. Far from it. We have both been busy with work and then we managed to slip away for a little holiday further north in the Highlands. A few lazy days with few plans. That perfect switch off, when you lose track of days and time. Then, since coming back, our week has been a flurry of day trips, dinners out with friends, wrestling with the garden, which is fighting back fiercely after the end of the five-week dry spell. Oh, and, unavoidably, work meetings.

Of course, the poor victim of all of this is my little blog: From Keeper’s Cottage. But I am now home with no trips on the horizon – something I would like to address, and sharpish – and work feeling like it’s running at a more manageable pace. Famous last words. So, while I’m wrapped up in this feeling of optimism, I shall look forward to time at home, indulging in all the creative things I enjoy the most – nattering with you all on here and over on Instagram, painting furniture, pottering in the garden, and, hopefully, some zhuzing of Keepers Cottage.

I often ponder what I can share with you on here with you all. I have fallen into a rhythm with From Keeper’s Cottage (even if that rhythm is sometimes a little off-key!) I quite like: my weekly rambles. Just the prosaic happenings from the cottage. It’s also a nice way for me to keep track of things that happen. A diary, if you will.

But I would also like to start to introduce other little bits in between. Going forward I plan to weave different things into my weekly ramble: recipes I’ve tried and that have worked (and recipes I’ve spectacularly ballsed up, to avoid you making the same mistakes); books I’ve read and enjoyed (or, hated, again to save you time) and podcasts I’ve been listening to. I would also like to dedicate a little nook on here to report back from Keeper’s Cottage gardens. My thinking here is that I always fail to keep a track of what we are planting in the garden, and I’d really like to keep a better record. That way, over time, I will be able to get a better handle on what grows well here and what doesn’t (and given the price of plants, this could end up being a rather financially prudent thing to do). But also, to help me expand my knowledge of gardening, or at the very least learning some of their names and varieties (perhaps not their Latin names, but only time will tell). I just think knowing the name of a plant would be more compelling when showing friends around for the first time, rather than ‘oh, and those purple things love it here’.

A few progress pictures of Keeper's gardens (August 2022 - May 2025)

The wild west (and east)

That’s a nice segue onto our holiday (sort of, I’ll get there eventually… I’m going to talk gardens). We made the decision, even before the boys arrived with us, that we wanted to spend the next few years – or in my case, foreseeable, as it would not bother me if I never stepped foot in an airport again – exploring Scotland. Back in 2021 we said the next five years – which if my maths is correct takes us to 2026 – would be exploring areas across Scotland we might like to move to. The whim of running away to the Highlands was too compelling. We lasted six months and the house was on the market. Anyway, I digress. The move to Scotland was because of how it – the landscape, the air, the people – captured our hearts. And that still stands, stronger than ever. Our holiday this year saw us venturing further north. Paul’s had a decade-long yearning to see Ullapool, and I wanted to itch a scratch as to whether I could live further north. I probably could, but I must say, I feel so at home in Argyll, that the yearning for an isolated life on a rugged island has abated. But the confirmation itself was pleasing – our little six-month whim and no careful investigation of the different areas has worked out in our favour. And each time we go on holiday, and we have a wonderful time exploring all the gems Scotland has to offer – we love home just that little bit more each time.

The north was very beautiful. The sunshine was our faithful companion, showing the wilds of Gairloch and Ullapool in the most captivating of ways. Vistas of blue lochs, flecked with the dazzling glimmer of the spring sunshine, and flanked by gold pops of gorse.

A change of scenery is sometimes just what you need – as lovely as it is at home, not being tempted to mop the floor (though not something that often tempts me, I should add) – for that all-important switch off. As someone who is motivated by food, beautiful gardens and cute wee cottages my three particular highlights from this trip, in no particular order, were: The Seafood Shack at Ullapool, Inverewe Gardens at Poolewe, and Cromarty.

From Ullapool, as we tucked into a haddock wrap in tempura batter – as though no one was watching, but of course they were, and none more than the beady eyes of a Golden Retriever and an English Setter. After being recommended it by a friend, we treated ourselves to the Seafood Shack cookbook. I have already tried two recipes – the cod and chorizo stew and monkfish – both a resounding success and added to Keeper’s menu.

So good, I had to take a bite before a picture!

Inverewe Botanic Gardens, for those unfamiliar, were created from barren land in 1862 by Osgood Mackenzie, a Scottish landowner. The land, which was bought for him by his mother. As the gardens are situated on the Atlantic coast, they have a unique microclimate because of the effects of the Gulf Stream. It is quite the feat, and we could have spent all day wandering around. From Inverewe we came back with ideas brimming, thinking about the things we can do with our garden, in particular the boggier parts of the garden, for which they dominate Keeper’s plot. The highlight, for me, was the Davidia involucrate (the handkerchief tree).

Inverewe Gardens

The final full day we parted company with the west coast and set off east. We ended up in Cromarty – entirely because I’ve heard of it on both the Shipping Forecast and it’s a Farrow and Ball colour, which appeals to two loves of my life. It did not disappoint, and we have a yearning to go back and explore more of the Black Isles. Rows of charming wee cottages, with courtyards budding in anticipation of the town’s forthcoming open gardens, it felt quaint, calm and nostalgic. Oh, I don’t know about you, but I am craving a Simpler Time right now. This is the beauty of a holiday, isn’t it? You can just let you mind wander without the pinging of the pesky Inbox.

A glimpse of our road trips across north Scotland

My new thing for Nigel Slater

Okay, so late to the party without a shadow of a doubt, but my latest obsession (and, no, that is not too strong a word) is Nigel Slater. I am familiar with his work, of course, and have watched him on the telly over the years, but I’ve never had a cookbook of his. I ventured into pastures new by listening to his audiobook A Thousand Feasts. I was utterly captivated. I love his writing style and feel inspired by his poetic whimsical way with words. Since then I have started to listen to A Cook’s Book. This is more of a cookbook, so a strange concept having him just read me lists of ingredients. But I won’t lie, I like it. I’ve no idea what this says about me – I refuse to question it any deeper. It has prompted me to order a couple of his books though.

Right, that’s me for now. Hopefully, as we go forward, there’ll be a bit more consistency – albeit Argyll style – to the blog.

Speak soon, G xx