The Last Supper In Scotland

I don't know how David does it. He finds these interesting places, so well suited to being in a wheelchair, often out of the way, certainly off the beaten track. Tonight we are staying in a place called the Woodland Bay Hotel. It's just outside of Girvan, in Ayrshire, along the west coast of Scotland, aside the Irish Sea. We are close enough to Ireland that we can see it, dimly, in the distance, a vague line of hills off in the distance.

The hotel itself is lovely, along with being one of the best equipped for wheelchair access that we have been in so far. The room is large enough for me to get around easily and there is a smaller alcove bedroom, so it sleeps two but feels like each of us has our own space. The handicapped washroom is well laid out with plenty of room, setup in a "wet room" style where the whole room is the shower floor. It's much better than anything else we've been to, and the lowest in cost!

The hotel used to be a working farm up until just a few years ago, with the hotel simply set upon the farm grounds. There's still a working horse stable where they were kind enough to let me go in to visit the horses. The hotel building itself is setup quadrangle style with a pleasant centre courtyard and parking right next to the room, although we parked around the side in one of the many handicapped spots.

The most pleasant part of this whole thing is the restaurant and bar. They have a limited, but good, beer selection, a perfect countryside view outside, and terrific food. I would say that tonight I had one of the best Steak and Ale Pies I have ever had in my life. Not only did it taste terrific, but it was a gigantic meal. I actually told the waitress there was too much food. At that point she told me about their last animal on the farm, an old pig. They fed the pig the leftovers. Unfortunately it grew so fat it developed severe arthritis; they had to have it put down. I recommended smaller portion sizes lest we guests arrive at the same fate.

This is a wonderful place for our last day in Scotland, our last supper in Scotland, our last Scottish Ales. Tomorrow we take the ferry across the Irish Sea, 25 miles to Belfast, where we start the second part of this adventure.