Tag: Cairngorms
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Tomintoul
We went to the village of Tomintoul today. Many times we’ve driven through it and I’ve always thought it looked cute and wanted to linger but usually we’re en route somewhere and haven’t had time to stop. Today we made a special visit just to see Tomintoul. Tomintoul is about 60 miles west of Aberdeen […]
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Loch an Eilein and Landmark Forest Adventure Park
We’re back from our holiday in Aviemore and although we were sad to leave it’s nice to have decent wifi again at the very least so I can see all the photos we took. It’s also nicer to view them on a big screen. My new Samsung phone has a brilliant camera and so we […]
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An Lochan Uaine and the BMW i3
I managed to tick swimming in An Lochan Uaine (green loch) off my bucket list today. It’s an emerald-coloured lochan with a sandy beach about 5 miles from Aviemore. It’s so inviting that even Daniel and Ben ventured into the water, despite the frigid temperature. I’m not sure what the temperature was exactly but it […]
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Scottish reindeer, Cairngorms
We visited the Cairngorm reindeer herd near Aviemore today. Reindeer are native to Scotland but were hunted to extinction by humans a long time ago. They were reintroduced in the 1950s to the Cairngorms and there’s now a managed herd of 150 of them. They cap the population at 150 because that is all the […]
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BBQ cabins and walks in the woods
Yesterday we went out to Deeside Log Cabins to get a part for our shed (we bought our shed from them) and they have a wonderful BBQ cabin/spa/sauna that I took some photos of. On the inside is a BBQ and very inviting seating area: A spa: And a sauna: The whole thing costs about […]
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The Glenlivet
The Glenlivet whisky distillery is about 1.5 hours north-west of Aberdeen in a beautiful, rural pocket of the Cairngorms. It’s surrounded by forests, rivers, hills, and farmland. The buildings are black in this next photo because the whisky production process attracts microorganisms causing it to go black. A fungus – Baudoinia compniacensis – feeds on […]
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A bit of wind at Loch Muick
My father is visiting and as a day trip today we decided to check out Loch Muick. It’s a large fresh water loch bordering the Balmoral estate, just south of Ballater. We have never been there before despite making countless trips to Ballater. The loch is surrounded on all sides by steep cliffs with lots […]
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My son told me off for being sexist
My 11-year-old son told me off for being sexist this week. We were watching TV and one of the characters threw something poorly and I said, “That’s a girly throw”. I know, I know, I’m ashamed to admit I said that but at the same time I’m proud to say my son told me off […]
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Ballochie Suspension Bridge, Braemar, Glenshee, and snow
I took these photos today of the magnificent Ballochie Suspension Bridge which is just outside Braemar. It was built in 1924 and spans the River Dee. I always admire it when we drive past, not just for the bridge itself which is beautiful in its own right but also for the setting – the forests, […]
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Craigendarroch, Ballater, Scotland
Today we walked up Craigendarroch which means hill of oak (craig = hill or crag/rock, and darroch = oak). It’s a steep, rocky hill overlooking the village of Ballater. From the ground it doesn’t look very inviting because of the rocky cliffs and indeed the women behind the reception desk in our hotel tried to […]
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Back in civilisation
We’re back in Aberdeen after a lovely break in the Cairngorms. The wifi at the place we stayed was so bad that I didn’t write very much on my blog while we were there. I couldn’t even load the site on my laptop. However I was able to publish photos using the app on my […]
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The Cairngorms
We’re in the very lovely Cairngorms in Scotland for a short break. I love this place. It’s my favourite landscape: rivers, fields, forest, and hills. It’s so quiet and peaceful with very few people around and is perfect when you want to relax and unwind.
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Balmoral Castle
We left Mar Lodge today but extended our holiday somewhat by visiting Balmoral Castle on the way home. Balmoral Castle is owned by the Royal Family. The estate and original castle were bought by Prince Albert in 1852 but a new and bigger castle was built in 1856 to the designs of Aberdeen architect William Smith. Queen […]
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Mar Lodge, part 3
I love this place. We’ve had another wonderful day at Mar Lodge and I don’t want to leave. It has been so relaxing and although I wouldn’t describe myself as stressed my life is incredibly busy and so it has been nice just to relax and enjoy nature for a couple of days. Nature here is […]
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Mar Lodge, part 2
Two posts in one day because we’ve just come back from a fantastic walk in the hills and I like to relive the experience by writing about it and looking at all my photos. It’s a glorious day here today and so we decided to make the most of it and go for a medium length […]
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Mar Lodge, Scotland
We have gone away for the long weekend and rather than going to a city where we typically spend our time racing around to all the sights, we’ve done the opposite and come into the heart of the Cairngorms to peace, quiet, and spectacular scenery. We booked one of the Co-Wheels hybrid cars, a Toyota Yaris, which […]
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Inverness to Aberdeen
We went for a short walk in Inverness this morning before driving back to Aberdeen through the Cairngorms. Inverness is a lovely city. The population is only about 50,000 and the city is built around the River Ness which is beautiful. Here are some pics: We wanted to drive back via the Cairngorms to enjoy the lovely […]
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Craigievar Castle
We booked another Co-Wheels car today. I think I’ve got the system all figured out and have tried a few different cars now including electric, petrol, and hybrid. Most of the problems I had in the beginning were down to user error, I’m embarrassed to say. We drove out to Craigievar Castle, about 30 miles […]
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