Innellan: The Snug

Where we stayed a couple of years ago - a few miles down the coast road at Innellan. A very comfortable little detached house, ideal for a couple wanting to 'get away from it all'!

The lounge and kitchen are upstairs, with the bedroom and bathroom downstairs. Everything is clean, well equipped and comfortable with bedding and towels provided. We searched for ages for a self-catering place on this side of the Clyde and could find nothing as good as this (or at such a good price)! There is a TV/DVD player, radio and lots of extras too, including books and games for rainy days or cosy evenings!

Below: the lane leading to The Snug

The coast road beside Trinity Lane

and, looking in the opposite direction, the wonderful Clyde view

I'd definitely recommend The Snug as a lovely quiet place to stay!

See the owners' website - click here

A. J. Cronin - New Biography

Wonderful News! This first full biography comes out this October by the author, Alan Davies, entitled, 'A. J. Cronin, the Man who created Dr Finlay'; definitely not to be missed by anyone who loves Cronin's works.

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'A. J. Cronin, author of some of the best-loved novels of the mid-twentieth century and the creator of Dr Finlay, has been unjustly overlooked by literary biographers. In this, the first full-length life of this eminent but often neglected writer, Alan Davies recounts the story of Cronin's Scottish childhood as the son of a Protestant mother and Catholic father, his subsequent medical career, and ultimately his rise to literary prominence, emphasizing throughout the importance of holding at arm's length many of the apocryphal tales that have accumulated around the memory of the author of "Hatter's Castle", "The Citadel" and "The Stars Look Down", many of which are based on mistaken autobiographical readings of Cronin's fiction itself. Incorporating an account of Cronin's tempestuous relationship with his publisher, Victor Gollancz, and revelations about his private life, Davies' timely and moving book paints a clearer portrait of both Cronin the writer and Cronin the man than the world has hitherto seen.

About the Author:

Born in Pontnewydd in South Wales, Alan Davies read Anthropology at University College London. After a career in industry, he turned to writing and the study of the life and works of A J Cronin, one of his lifelong passions. He has two children and lives in Shropshire with his wife.'

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Some places on line where you can buy this book (needless to say, I have already pre-ordered my own copy!) For those ordering from a local store, the ISBN number is 9781846881121

Alma Books

WH Smith

Amazon (UK)

Amazon (USA)

House Sale Update

After three and a half months of marketing, no one has bought our home in South Wales - in fact, no one has even been to view it! It looks more and more as though we won't be moving to the Firth of Clyde in the near future. Very disappointing :-(

House Price Increase

Our house went on the market yesterday! If it sells then we should be able to move to Scotland before too long. However, the latest news about property prices rising so high (and so fast) is very worrying and will make things difficult for us:

"INVERCLYDE Has Biggest House Price Rise
(04 May 2010)

AVERAGE property prices in Inverclyde in the first three months of 2010 increased by more than anywhere else in Scotland.Figures from the Government’s Registers of Scotland show that house prices in Inverclyde between January and March rose by 27.7 per cent compared with the same period in 2009.

The average price of a property went up almost £30,000 from £102,493 to £130,856.This was the highest increase in Scotland. Argyll and Bute had the next highest increase – 18.8 per cent. The average Scottish rise was 5.4 per cent and the Scottish average house price was £147,854.

Inverclyde had a 0.8 per cent house price increase between the final quarter of 2009 and the first quarter of 2010, compared with a fall in the Scottish average price of five per cent."

(Source: 'Inverclyde News')

Greenock Cut - Heritage Walk

I was delighted today to see my photo (above) of Shielhill Farm and the Greenock Cut in May's edition of the magazine, 'Scottish Memories', thanks to the historian, Nate Pedersen. It appears in his article 'A Walk Through Time' as one of his recommended ten heritage walks.

Information about the magazine can be found here

The photo appeared originally in my first blog 'The Greenock Cut', (there is some information about its history too) and there are many more of my photos in 'Greenock Cut 2'.