The plan had been to hike &hillwalk, my sisters &I, on Mull, Iona, Barra, the Uists &Skye, but foot &mouth precautions had closed footpaths, nature reserves, farms, standing stones &some of the hostels of the Gatliff Hebridean Trust. So we just found other adventures instead, including 3 lovely days on Barra &the stunning flight from Barra to S. Uist on BA's twin otter. It's incredible, landing on the cockle beach at Eoligarry when the tide's out!

We skulked around graveyards looking for great-grandparents (none confirmed, but we're getting closer!), listened to fun music at the Taybank in Dunkeld, visited museums in Glasgow, tried to get a handle on Gaelic (well, maybe next year), watched snow storms race down Loch Lomond &enjoyed almost every minute of the trip.

We sprayed our car, drove over the disinfectant-laden straw mats, dipped our boots &stayed off farmland &rural roads, but the tragedies played out nightly on tv as the UK tries to cope with foot &mouth nearly drove us home early. I hope none of our fellow 'Ziners are affected by this dreadful outbreak.

I used a digital camera for the first time, so when I figure out how to pry the images off the flashcard &get a travelogue done, I'll post.

Gail The vagabond vegan