A week in Braemar

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.