Our holiday is over. All good things must come to an end and now we have lots of wonderful memories to tide us over until the next one.
The week we’ve just spent in Braemar was our first full week of holiday since our trip to Glencoe in April 2019, more than two years ago. Each holiday we’ve booked since then has been cancelled due to covid. We have had the odd weekend away in the meantime but it’s not the same as a full week where you really get to stretch out and relax.
Our last night in Braemar was spent with friends around a bonfire where we toasted marshmallows, ate too much, and got bitten by midges. The kids ran wild on the forested hillside with other unknown children (whose parents were nowhere to be seen) joining in on the fun. It’s the sort of childhood holiday experience I had with loads of cousins all running around after dark playing games.
Swimming with trout was the highlight of the trip for me. Swimming in the Linn of Dee and Linn of Quioch are experiences I’ll never forget but the little water hole – Clunie Water – next to our holiday house was my favourite because this is where we saw Kilgore the trout and lots of other fish. It’s also very convenient when you can go outside in your bathers and walk back wet in your bathers and not have to worry about changing somewhere. One day I swam in the Clunie three times.
This was our local swimming spot and here’s Daniel snorkelling.
We swam here on our last day after the rain which made the river deeper and the current stronger. We were unable to see Kilgore this time so we suspect he got stuck in that little patch when the water level was low and once the rain arrived it allowed him to move on.
Victoria came with us and enjoyed her stay. We mostly kept her inside except on a couple of occasions which we supervised. We also took her out in her carry case for a walk. We’re not sure whether she enjoyed it.
Ben says he liked swimming in the Falls of Garbh Allt best. A friend of mine took this photo of the four of us just beneath the bridge.
The Linn of Quoich was my second favourite place to swim although the water was cold there.
The kids were sad when we left Braemar but Ben and I are back to work on Monday and if you’re sad to leave then it’s a sign the holiday was a good one. We love Braemar and it’ll probably be our summer holiday destination next year too. Maybe we’ll even retire there one day.
rachel.blog 
I like returning to a place for holiday. It’s like coming home and going away.
I’m glad the kids made some new friends. I remember not being good at that on holiday and my kids were definitely not up for socialising with others – I think children as a whole seem to have lost the socialising instinct through not being allowed out to play in the evenings.
Yes, this is the first time our kids have really had this opportunity to run wild outdoors with random other children. I guess it’s the sort of thing that happens at camp sites and we haven’t been camping with the kids. I wouldn’t feel comfortable with them roaming the streets on their own in the evenings in Aberdeen.
No, we can’t let our kids out in the same way. I remember taking Rhiannon to a soft play centre when she was 4 and one of the children being really nasty to her. I was very young (as in not very sure how to cope with the world) then and didn’t know what to do. I remember in my community growing up, kids used to look out for each other more because they were more used to sharing and having to get along with others.
Fabulous that your kids got to be a bit wild for a short time 😄 It’s great for the soul. We all need it now and then, but seldom get it for all the usual reasons.
[…] since we returned from our holiday in Braemar Daniel has been asking to go swimming again. The weather here has got much cooler lately so we […]