Hello! Back from my travels.

I was away all this week in Angus, near Montrose, working on the Little Houses Project for the National Trust on a 19th century clay mud built schoolhouse. Whilst there, had the chance to see the delights of the St Cyrus Wildlife Reserve, Arbroath Abbey (sorry, all Arbroath has to offer if truth be told), had a smokie in Stonehaven, and a few nights out in Montrose (lots of Chinese restaurants bizarrely).

We had amazing weather, so hot, it could've been June or July.

So here's a quick picture rundown:

The Schoolhouse:

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And a stroll on the beach, which quickly turned into a 2 hour trek:

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And is it me, or does this look like a person lying down?

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And the obligatory sunset shot:

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The Abbey was shut, but we had a look all the same:

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Find more info on the Abbey here.

We also had an Arbroath Smokie in Stonehaven by the quay, which was a beautiful place! Despite having to wait over an hour for the smokie to arrive at the Ship Inn (we got a smokie off the bill and a free round of drinks!) it was worth it. I'll find a recipe for it and get that on the recipe blog (along with cheesecake ice cream Meno!).

Don't know what a smokie is? Neither did I - here you go, from the BBC food website:

An Arbroath smokie is a haddock that has been smoked over hardwood until it takes on a beautiful burnished gold colour and a full, smoky flavour. Legend has it that the smokie was first created when a haddock was discovered in the embers of a burning cottage in the town. The haddock - which was charred from the fire - was sampled by some fishermen and found to be delicious. Voilà, the smokie was born!

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It's remained a famous Scottish food ever since, and continues to this day to be made in the time-honoured way of smoking over hardwood. The traditional method is to tie two haddock together at the tail end and hang them over a stick which is set over a barrel above a smoking fire, allowing the fish to 'breathe' in the smoke through a hessian cloth. The fish are smoked for anything between 45 to 90 minutes, depending on weather conditions. When the fish reaches the proper shade of coppery brown, the smokie is finished and ready for eating. RR Spink, a family-run business in Arbroath, manages to produce around 200 pairs of fish a day using this method.

Hope you've all been keeping well! The sun is shining here still and so we'll be out in the garden later. May even mow the lawn...

Take care, Gil xx