I have been teaching for 24 years now and, at the age of 48, this much I know about why the Easter holidays are great! Easter is the best holiday of the whole year. It seems like a gift, somehow. And everything is starting afresh; whilst Chaucer went to Canterbury, our annual Pilgrimage is to the Scottish Highlands. There’s a lot to be said for familiarity and tradition. We always spend some time with our friends during these holidays in Plockton; we have stayed in the same cottages there every Easter since the boys were small. We catch crabs, climb hills, fish, read, eat good food, drink great whisky, watch mindless TV and generally replenish ourselves. Each year we begin at the Plockton Hotel, the view from which is thus (I kid you not):
The harbour beach at Plockton is a place of wonder. The very first day we arrived in Plockton the tide was out and the March sunshine made it feel like June; this shot captured perfectly the anticipation of the boys as they peered over the harbour wall that warm morning. Purely irresistible... Every cloud, and all that. The cold spring means that the daffodils will bloom this year whilst we’re on holiday.
The best way to drink whisky is to keep it in your mouth a second for each year it’s been distilled. We regularly picnic on Talisker Bay. Talisker 57° North is a raw beast of a single malt; try the 18 seconds held in the mouth test. Go on…it’s the holidays!