Scotland July 2011

Whilst on holiday with the family in Scotland last week, I got the chance to fish the River Tweed with my brother on Tuesday. We set off for Peebles at about 7.30am and arrived around 8.45. We went to the tourist info centre and purchased our permits for the day. Arriving at Traquair Bridge about 9.30am we got set up and walked the short distance to the river.
We watched the river for a time before deciding to head up river a little way. We entered the river and started to fish, moving down a couple of steps every few casts. I was soon into my first fish of the day, a small salmon parr about 4inches long. This went on for pretty much most of the day with plenty of salmon parr and one or two small brown trout. We watched a couple of guys set up their dingy and inflatable kayak and set of for Kelso.
I went for a bike ride with my son along the new cycle path at Hillend Loch. He thoroughly enjoyed his time on the bike along by the loch. I was feeling tired and worn out as I am still not really fit enough for some of the rough riding that he was enjoying.
On Friday I took the kids to Fort William, their first ever visit. The day started off a little bit overcast, so we were prepared for the worst that Scotland’s weather can throw at us with full waterproofs packed in the car. We needn’t have worried as we were soon in glorious sunshine as the clouds disappeared. On arriving in Fort William we decided to have lunch a little earlier than normal and then head into town. We wandered around town stopping off now and again and having a browse in the shops. I called into the Rod & Gun shop to enquire about fishing on the Rivers Lochy and Nevis.
I decided to take my son and daughter to Glenfinnan to see the bridge used in the Harry Potter films, we arrived just as the Jacobean was coming across the bridge. We headed back to Fort William soon after and stopped off at Banavie to have a look at Neptune’s Staircase locks on the Caledonian Canal. We were walking over just as the siren sounded and barriers came down on the road bridge as it was about to open to allow the large yacht through. We stayed a while and watched it mover through a couple of the lock gates.