Yesterday, Thursday, was moving day.

The bit in the middle consisted of our Ohio walk.

But the early part of the day involved saying goodbye to the little area we've occupied for the last week or so. I felt absurdly sad.

The cottage has been an awesome place to stay. It's true that you have to be prepared for spiders. Large ones. And occasionally they turn up in really unwelcome places. True story: One materialized as we were having a decadent breakfast in bed one morning. I thought it was my glasses chain that was tickling the back of my neck -- until a spider suddenly dropped onto the duvet in front of me... Now, normally, I'd have leapt very nimbly up and away. But on this occasion, breakfast consisted, in part, of the haul of blackberries we'd harvested the day before. So I got up very cautiously, while Nigel cornered our arachnid friend. I'm very happy to have definitive proof that my love of blackberries exceeds my fear of spiders...


Then there was the frog... Also in the bedroom... But he allowed himself to be escorted out without making too much fuss:


Its zoological qualities notwithstanding, I'll always have fond memories of this little house. Traditional it may be, but it's really cosy and comfortable inside, and very well equipped. I think it would be wonderful to revisit at Christmas. Bring plenty of food, and plenty of books, and do beach walks twice a day to aid mental and physical digestion... Perfect.





The area has been great as well. Worthy of repeat visits were The Old Guardhouse Coffeehouse in Jurby (their cooked breakfasts are every bit as good as their scones) and The Grosvenor in Andreas:



Anyway, we're now down south. In Colby, to be precise. This little cottage dates from 1853, but it has obviously been extended and provided with cladding:



Our guess is that it was just the left-hand side that formed the original tiny cottage. It's a very lofty living-room now, but it could well have been a one-up-one-down in the old days, and the right-hand wall is very thick:





We have great views out down the hills to the sea, and our orientation gives us very pretty sunrises:



As well as the sizeable front garden, there's an area at the back where you can peg your washing out:


We'll do very nicely here, I'm sure, and I probably won't want to leave this one either.