For the past 10 or so years our family has spent the same week in May each year in a lovely place on the west coast of Scotland called Portpatrick.
Picture postcard pretty
We were introduced to the place by a good friend, and 3 or 4 families and close friends of ours rent a house and stay together for a week. It’s bliss.
The village was founded on fishing, has just a couple of pubs and a post office – and the people are incredibly friendly. Also, for some reason, we’re always incredibly lucky with the weather – and this year, for example, we were baking in 24c heat sitting outside the wonderful Crown pub enjoying a pint or two. Portpatrick is a stunningly attractive village wrapped around a fascinating harbour, and well worth the trip wherever you are coming from.
If you do visit, my recommendations are the elegant Mount Stewart Hotel for a lovely meal (excellent service and grand piano accompaniment), the Crown Pub for a lunchtime treat and a pint (uber friendly, try their open sandwiches), and for seafood delights everyone raves about a restaurant called Campbell’s, although we’ve yet to try it.
It takes around five hours to drive from our home in East Yorkshire but it’s SO worth it. Give it a try, but don’t tell too many people.
The port holds a special Lifeboat Week every year in August to raise money for the lifeboat – and it’s the busiest week in Portpatrick’s calendar.
Undiscovered Scotland sums up Portpatrick’s attraction well: “What makes Portpatrick so nice is the sense of an amphitheatre: the low level view is complemented by a line of attractive buildings stretching along the skyline.” It really is unspoilt. No amusement arcades, no high rise buildings, and not much mobile phone signal (bonus!).
You can find out more about this wonderful place at the following sites:
Visit Scotland, Portpatrick page
