Tag: Scotland
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A family walk at Finzean and a visit to the farm shop
We went for a lovely walk in Finzean yesterday with a visit to the Finzean Farm Shop. Finzean is pronounced “Fing-an”. The z replaces an old letter than no longer exists and has an ng sound. Finzean is such a pretty spot to walk as it has a good mix of forest as well as…
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Irish Jig
Elizabeth danced the Irish Jig at her final school assembly today. This time I got it all on camera. She hasn’t forgiven me for missing the end of the Hornpipe when my phone battery ran flat. It’s nice for her to see herself dance as it’s not something she gets to do very often. Filming…
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Newburgh seal colony
We took mum to see the seals yesterday as she’d never seen them before and it’s quite a fun outing. There are hundreds of them lounging on the sand at the mouth of the Ythan Estuary in Newburgh which is about 16 miles north along the coast from Aberdeen or a 20 minute car drive.…
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A walk in the snow at Tom’s Cairn
We woke up to a winter wonderland today. I immediately went out for a run in the snow, stopping many times to take photos. After breakfast we went for a hill walk in Finzean up to Tom’s Cairn. We haven’t done this walk before and I was a bit hesitant about an unknown hill walk…
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St Machar Cathedral and the University of Aberdeen
We took Ben’s mother and her partner to some sights in Aberdeen today including St Machar Cathedral which was built between 1380 and 1520 on the site of a 6th century Christian church. The cathedral has a particularly lovely timber ceiling, recognised internationally and possibly the earliest flat ceiling in a British public building. It’s…
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Falkland and the Pillars of Hercules bothy
We’re back in Aberdeen again after a lovely week’s break in Falkland staying at the Pillars of Hercules bothy. We’ve stayed here once before, back in 2019 and ever since I’ve been wanting to go back because we all enjoyed it so much. It’s a simple, rustic building on the edge of the forest and…
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Loch Leven nature reserve
We visited the RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) nature reserve at Loch Leven today and I was able to learn that the bird of prey we saw yesterday was a male sparrowhawk. The nature reserve at Loch Leven is a fantastic place for a visit and the RSPB centre in particular is…
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East Lomond Hill and Maspie Den walk
5 years ago we walked up East Lomond Hill in a blizzard. It was December. It was cold and visibility was very poor. We couldn’t see far beyond the edge of the path and when we reached the top everything was white. I took this photo of Ben and the kids huddled together in front…
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Seabirds at Fowlsheugh
We took dad to see the birds at Fowlsheugh yesterday. Over 100,000 seabirds come to the cliffs of Fowlsheugh over the spring and summer to breed turning the cliffs into a bustling King’s Cross Station of Guillemots, Razorbills, and Kittiwakes as well as the odd Puffin and Fulmar. Scotland’s seabirds have had a challenging few…
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Picnic at the King’s house and a smile from the Queen
We had an epic day today. Dad is a very keen e-bike tourer and has completed several cycling holidays now in multiple countries. He suggested we go for a bike ride while he’s here so we booked some e-bikes from the Bike Station in Ballater and cycled to Loch Muick. It’s my first time riding…
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Elizabeth dancing the Highland Laddie
Elizabeth performed the opening dance for her school’s international festival last night. This is the Highland Laddie which is danced to the tune of the same name and is a renowned regimental march. Indeed the dance steps were apparently choreographed by soldiers in the first world war.
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Lost Loch Distillery and standing stones
I experienced a tasting session at the Lost Loch Distillery yesterday for a friend’s birthday. It was a wonderful experience. Lost Loch is very different to your average Scottish distillery because it’s not a traditional one with giant copper stills and they don’t actually make any whisky. They do produce two whisky products but they’re…
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Scotland’s new hate crime law
In 1697, Thomas Aikenhead became the last man to be hanged in Scotland for breaking blasphemy laws. He was a student at Edinburgh University and only 20 years old. His crime was to criticise Christianity. Edinburgh tour guides tell tourists that, while walking home inebriated one very cold evening he told his friends he wished…
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Fowlsheugh Nature Reserve
About 20 minutes south of Aberdeen by car along the coast is the Fowlsheugh Nature Reserve which hosts the largest seabird colony on the east coast of Scotland. In summer it is teeming with over 100,000 Guillemots, Razorbills, and Kittiwakes. We visited it today. Since it’s only March there were not very many birds. You…
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Aberdeen Town House and other photos
This week I had the pleasure of going into Aberdeen’s Town House, a civic building built in 1868-74 by architects Peddie and Kinnear. It is built in Scottish Baronial style which means it has a neo-gothic appearance and a roofline that resembles a castle more than a city town hall. The inside of the building…
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A Christmas to remember – snow, storm, vomits, and drunks
We’re back in Aberdeen having spent an enjoyable yet dramatic week away in Aviemore over Christmas. We arrived last Friday night packed like sardines in a hire car with the largest boot I could possibly get. It was a scary drive because it was dark and there were blizzard-like conditions. We had to take Rocket…
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Fiona the sheep
I was delighted on Saturday to learn of the rescue of Britain’s loneliest sheep. Fiona’s story went viral late last month after a plea from a kayaker who had spotted her while kayaking off the coast of Brora in Scotland way back in 2021. The sheep had apparently called out to the group and followed…
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Strathmore Highland Games at Glamis Castle
We gave Grandad a true Scottish experience today at the Strathmore Highland Games at Glamis Castle. There was highland dancing – which Elizabeth participated in – caber tossing, stone throwing, running, cycling, tug-of-war, and various other heavy weight competitions including ones I’d never seen before like throwing beer barrels and carrying whopping great hunks of…
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Fettercairn Distillery
Earlier in the week we visited Fettercairn distillery which is in the loveliest of little villages, Fettercairn. Fettercairn has a general store, a cafè, a dress shop which was incredibly busy when I went in – it seems people travel from all over to visit it – and of course the distillery. The village has…
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Glen Esk and Loch Lee
Scotland never ceases to surprise me with its landscapes. Decades ago when I came here as a very young adult I can remember driving around with friends and it felt like every mile or so we wanted to stop the car and take photos. It felt a bit like that today. You can drive up…
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