Hope everyone is having a good start to the week.
Since my diagnosis holidays have pretty much been off the agenda.
This weekend just past my wife and I went for a one night stay not too far from home to see how I did.
It got me thinking about places that I’ve visited several times that I love and really lift my spirits.
One of them is Luskentyre Beach on the Isle of Harris. It’s been voted in the top 10 beaches in the world.
Being on an island it tends not to get too busy.
Strolling along the beach is really special.
I’ve uploaded a couple of images to give you a sense of what it’s like and wonder what places others love and really lifts their spirits?
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Great Topic @DuncanB and absolutely beautiful photos! The places that rejuvenate and inspire me are always by the water, there’s something so calming and powerful about the sea especially, but I love a lake too!
Mine are snaps so forgive the quality! Here’s some, Khao Lak and Lake Arenal
Then my local West Sussex - happy places for great dog walks!
Leonardslee lakes
Look forward to seeing more! I wonder how long it would take me to get up to your location there Duncan! Whatever it took would be worth it, maybe it’s time to get a motor home!
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15h12 minutes and includes the ferry 
Luskentyre beach is calling me!
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Thanks @Spangleystar
I agree with you that there’s something special about by being by the water. Very fortunate to have it close by where we live.
Love the photos you shared too.
Hopefully the topic lifts the spirits of many of us. Sometimes it’s good to have something to focus on apart from our next appointment and treatment cycle
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It’s a long haul to the Isle of Harris for sure but definitely worth it @Spangleystar
Wife and I use to cheat a bit with the journey when we lived in Brighton and Hove area.
We took late flight from Gatwick to Glasgow stayed at Premier Inn at Glasgow Airport and then took the 7am flight Saturday morning to Stornoway.
Arrived in Stornoway which is on the Isle of Lewis at 8am and picked up a hire car at airport.
It adds to the cost and cuts down travel time but maximised our time on the islands.
Having said that the ferry from Ullapool to Stornoway has some fantastic scenery.
We haven’t done the Skype to Harris ferry but other family members have.
Happy memories and hopefully not too long before we can do another visit.
It’s definitely a lot easier from where we live now
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Hello all
Has to be a little village called Luss - on the shores of Lock Lomond in Scotland
Very calm a peaceful place and the best place i know for a cup of coffee and a buiscuit!
Highly recommend a visit if you ever has chance
Mike
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Hi @GenesisDevice
Yes Luss is a beautiful little village.
I use to spend summer holidays down in Inveraray with my Gran.
Bus went through Luss.
Also been there for trips with my Mum as she got older.
Wondering if ever visited Coach House Coffee House
Did amazing soups and scones
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Hi @DuncanB
Yes - we’ve had the home made soup and large slices of fresh bread there
We always call in for at least a drink when we are there
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Aw, @Duncan, that cheered my heart!
As you know, I was getting rather stressed re my upcoming trip, heading off tomorrow for a fortnight… people mentioned planes, but no, its ‘just’ the length of England and Scotland for a mega road trip as we head to Stornoway for the ferry and then Isle of Lewis and Harris 
My DP is obsessed with the place and its long been on my list too, so off we go.
Am packing and deep breathing… have various bags (hobbies, food etc) to see me through and am leaning into it now…
Wonderful pics
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And before I get back to my packing… here’s one from last hols in Anglesey. It was the most perfect day and I didnt want to leave this view.
Lovely thread
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Yes I remember that Homemade Bread too and the Munro Mountain Muffins too @GenesisDevice
Happy memories 
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How wonderful @Leigh65
Sounds like a fantastic trip.
Have you been to the Western Isles before?
Guessing that you may have.
Some amazing beaches in both Lewis and Harris.
Dalbeg and Dalmore on Lewis are both beautiful beaches.
Uig is worth a visit and if you carry on through Uig for a few miles there’s Mangerston Stacks which are amazing.
Have a safe, healthy and wonderful trip 
P.S Best to stock up on provisions in Stornoway. Coop and Tesco both excellent. There are smaller but still well stocked shops in Tarbert and Leverburgh in Harris
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@DuncanB…Thankyou!
Getting almost excited now, especially as am sitting here looking at my suitcase.
Feel I’ve stocked up with all my supplies and my DP is trying really hard to make it fun and not demanding. We’ve decided to make more stops, which has helped my stress.
No, never been. Furthest North I’ve ever ventured is Dumfries!!!
Am allowing the odd ‘there be dragons’ moment 
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Definitely sensible to have more stops along the way and enjoy the journey @Leigh65
Look forward to hearing your thoughts when back home and rested.
Safe travels 
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Such a great idea for a thread @DuncanB, and with inspiration like the Isle of Harris I can see why. Looks so volcanic there with the lumpy hills! Stunning. I bet a lot of great finds wash up on those rocky shores.
Your waterside images @Spangleystar make me want to jump right in! I’m going to have to share an image of a pebbly Sussex beach too, for comparison’s sake 
We 3 were/are lucky to have a great airport like Gatwick so nearby, it’s taken me to such interesting places and only a short train ride from Brighton.
All this talk of Scotland is making my travel toes tingle, I love that there are places familiar to many here popping up—uncanny really about you travelling north right now @Leigh65 and you having been to the very village that @DuncanB knows from childhood, @GenesisDevice! Just to make the world seem even smaller still, I was born across from Anglesey, @Leigh65! That looks like the Menai Strait if I’m not mistaken 
I waited for a carefree moment to cast my mind off to daydream about places I love. There’s so many! These I keep returning to, hard to pick just 3 snaps…
I was lucky to live near the Cat’s Back for many years and would always marvel at how it seemed like a different place every time I hiked around there, with its dramatic Black Mountains light and shadows.
Aforementioned Sussex beach in Hove, actually where the dilapidated West Pier continues to just about cling onto land. I nearly moved to Brighton when I was 18 (astrophysics was clearly not for me!) but was drawn back again by this old pier as research for a sculpture and made my mind up there and then to move there as soon as I could. And did!
Perhaps my favourite place in the San Francisco Bay Area is just up the hill in Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park where I first started exploring the (currently) 420-mile Bay Area Ridge Trail. I find redwoods so beautiful and calming. They smell incredible too, sort of rich and alpine to my nose. I didn’t know if I’d be able to hike up to the ridge again after my Polycythaemia vera ('PV') diagnosis but here I was on its sandy trail! My mere human concerns are just a fleeting moment to a redwood, which puts a lot into perspective for me.
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So True 
Such beautiful photos too @Duncan
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Enjoy your trip @Leigh65 xx
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Great images and stories about them @Duncan
Thanks for sharing
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Enjoyed a lovely walk along our local beach this morning. Some really nice lighting and little or no wind.
A little different from the stoney beaches in Sussex @Spangleystar
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