Christmas 2012

Down by the sea

Winter blooms in our garden

SES choir at the Kempinski

Dad's wall - thanks Nina!

Jebel Shams - Oman

Over the long Eid weekend we travelled to Jebel Shams in Oman. This place is nicknamed the Grand Canyon of the Middle East and has the highest peak in the region at just over 3,000m. We found a nice camping ground along with a friendly donkey...

The birthday girl

We celebrated Amy's birthday with doughnuts for her class and toad-in-the-whole for dinner. She looked kind of happy...

Nina's 9th at SW

We enjoyed Nina's 9th birthday at SW - about 30 children came to have fun in the pool and cake in the Dive Bar.,, 

Climbing Ben Nevis

How to get there: drive to Edinburgh and then take the ring road towards Glasgow. On the M9 exit at junction 10 to Stirling (good services with free WiFi). Take the A85, then A84 and then A82 to Fort William.
How long: four and a half hours
How about the hike: it took 3 hours to the top with some rests. The bottom is most challenging as the path is not even. the upper part of the path is good and well marked, although the part across the scree at the top is less distinctive.
At the top: the views must be magnificent on a clear day
On the way down: there is a nice pub at the bottom called the Ben Nevis Inn
Overall: would be great to do again on a clear day and could easily be a whole day activity.

Extra: saw the attempted lighting of the Para Olympic flame at the top - the scouts were having some difficulty...
The drive along the A82 is magnificent - see the last three photos.