and resolves to check opening hours

It's been all change. Nine months of commuting are over and now our new(ish) house is our permanent  home. Our planned extension and conversion is going to  turn everything topsy turvy but until building work begins we are going to start offering B&B using the existing spare room. This has meant making a few cosmetic changes and lots of breakfast practice. So to work off all those extra calories we've had lots of lovely walks . Dogstarke has been having a wonderful time;  you can read about them here http://sheilingchat.blogspot.co.uk

And as we're not likely to have a "proper" holiday this year  I've been especially keen to have little adventures slightly further afield; soothing my itchy(and tired) feet by exploring the local area.

Along the way we've had plenty of cups of tea.

At Airds hotel http://www.airds-hotel.com

Dolce Vita, Oban http://www.dolcevitaoban.com/find-us/

sometimes at home

Mmm, not this sort

And there might have been the odd slice of cake....

too delicious to capture at The Temple, Oban https://www.facebook.com/SeafoodTemple

But it's not all been tea and cake, we've visited some local heritage sites

that's the cottage Taigh Iseabal Dhaibh at Lismore Gaelic Heritage Centre http://www.lismoregaelicheritagecentre.org, - from the cafe

St Conan's Kirk, Lochawe http://www.stconanskirk.org.uk - it has a tearoom

I have a guide to some of the less well known Parisian museums, and i've really enjoyed visiting them, so I've rooted around for similar sites here.

Research delivered what promised to be a great little heritage centre at Bunessan on Mull,  http://romhc.org.uk/index.php?id=2   I thought it would be particularly appealing to Mr S with his background in Archives, and so feeling fidgety, persuaded him there was no time to lose and off we sped to catch the ferry.  The crossing was lovely, sitting out on the top deck, and the bus connection worked out well and we arrived at Bunessan and there was the Heritage centre.

But first, I wanted lunch. And what did I see? "Community cafe today - All welcome".  And indeed we were, even DogStarke.

So after a very pleasant lunch

I *could* have eaten all of this

 we made our way up to the Heritage centre. A little concerned that the rain seemed to be starting a few hours earlier than forecast.  I'd persuaded MrS he didn't need his coat. Anyway it was just a short walk  to the centre and then we'd be back indoors.
                                                                       
                                                                    Except.

                                                                         It was closed.
                                               
                                                                              Had closed before lunch.

                                                                                     Oh dear.

But all was not lost. We'd noticed a charity shop and decided to go for a rootle about. http://www.mict.co.uk/islandcastaways/

I bought myself a couple of souvenirs. One practical,

the other a little less so, but it does look pretty on my bar.

no whisky left inside

And guess what? I checked that website when we got home, the Heritage Centre does open in the afternoon. It's a small village so maybe the custodian was helping with the lunch?  But no matter.
MrS really wants to visit which means we will just *have* to go back.
                 
                                                 And next time we'll stay over.

                                                              A good result all round.