as morning breaks the heaven on high I lift my load to the sky, sun comes down with a burning glow

Young Ben and I were chatting yesterday and I was recounting tales of his dad when he was a boy. I was telling him of the many summers we had in Rothesay and what great times we had down there over the years.

One of the great attractions of Rothesay was that you went on a ferry to get there and although you were only an hour and a half from home crossing the water made it seem like another world. There was only a small black and white TV in the flat we stayed in and no telephone so you felt cut off from the outside world (this was in the days before everyone and their granny had a mobile phone)

The flat overlooked the promenade and had a fantastic view out over the bay but more importantly it overlooked the finest putting greens in the West of Scotland. Many a hole in one I sank on those greens and also unfortunately many a par busting four after a disastrous "half way Harry" first putt. The prize for the winner (and everyone else for that matter ) was normally a Knickerbocker Glory at the ice cream shop and then on to further adventures

We would often cycle out to Ettrick Bay and partake in the great family tradition...Crab Hunting (I look forward to taking Ben on his first Crab Hunting expedition). No rock was left unturned in search of a "beauty" and I recall one sunny afternoon we turned over a sheet of corrugated metal and there underneath was the Holy Grail...Crab City. There were crabs of all sizes everywhere who had been disturbed by the Gods above but after we had picked up and inspected a few we returned them to their home and carefully put back the cover to their world so they could once again go about their duties and tell tales to their crab grandchildren of how they repelled the giant invaders from above.

On the way back from Ettrick Bay we would pass through Port Bannatyne which for some reason used to have flags of the world on poles all along the prom. This proved to be very educational for my sons and their flag knowledge now is far superior to mine (admittedly, at first, it did help if the country had played in the World Cup)

Heading out of Rothesay in the opposite direction is Craigmore and we would regularly walk out to the excellent cafe situated there. Along the way we would skim stones in the sea and play another of our home made games where you stood on the prom and had to land stones on top of the the concrete pillars which were situated on the shore. They had metal hatches partly covering their tops and I recall you were awarded 3 points for landing on top of the pillar but 5 points if you landed on the metal hatch. I admit it is not exactly an Olympic Sport but it did keep us entertained

Further down this coast is Kerrycroy with it's maypole. This was a great spot for picnics and games of rounders and french cricket. I can remember the boys jumping into the sea here off the stone jetty. I think I did it once and realised even back then I was getting too old for that kind of reckless abandon

Another favourite spot for a picnic was St. Blane's Chapel which is beautifully isolated. I am not a religious man but there is an aura to that place which touches even my cold heartless soul

I recall one evening when I was having a well earned pint in Mac's Bar the locals were talking about a whale being washed up on Scalpsie Bay on the other side of the island, so next day we set off to see this. As we came closer the whale looked absolutely huge and it was only when we reached it and touched it that we realised it was actually a fake made from fibreglass for use in the updated version of "The Tales Of Para Handy". We later saw them filming the show at Kilchattan Bay but we did not manage to persuade them to give any of us our big acting break

Putting was not the only sport available to us on Bute. At Kingarth I remember my dad trying to teach the boys the finer points of Bowls. He fought a losing battle here I am afraid and their bowling action was more Ian Botham than David Bryant

And then there was the 9 hole golf course at Stavanna Bay. If all golf courses were like this I may even have taken up the game seriously. It was open to the public with a Courtesy Box for payment for your round. The "greens" had fences surrounding them to stop the cattle from wandering on to them. Their were stone dykes across the "fairways". One of the holes has the beach as most of it's fairway unless you are extremely accurate (which we were not) and your ball would often disappear from sight never to be seen again, down a rabbit hole, into a burn or into clumps of bushes which had their own life forms inhabiting therein. You needed a vast supply of golf balls when you played this course.It was wonderful and the scenery was breathtaking. On a fine day looking across towards The Sleeping Warrior in Arran you would not wish to be anywhere else in the world

My word I feel like I am writing for the Bute Tourist Board here but I think Young Ben and I may have to take a trip "doon the water" fairly soon