Tag: Scotland
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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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The school garden
I spent most of my day off yesterday in the garden at school with Ben and a friend, weeding and putting in new plants. There’s a small garden there but it has been neglected and is a pretty sorry sight. Someone at some point has put in some bamboo which was a big mistake because it just takes…
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More snow
One day the novelty will wear off but for the moment I’m still just as excited as ever by the sight of snow. It snowed today despite being a positively balmy 4°C. We had snow last week too which was beautiful. Busby is still at the bike shop so the kids have had to walk…
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More snow in Aberdeen
Most of the snow melted yesterday but then it snowed again overnight so there are beautiful scenes outside again today. I wish we had more days like this each winter but I guess Aberdeen is too close to the sea and the mercury mostly hovers above 0°C over the winter. Still, I really love the…
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Snow in Aberdeen!
Last night I decided we were going to book a car today and drive in search of some snow. But when I woke up and looked out our bedroom window this is what I saw: Finally the snow has come to Aberdeen. Yay! The summer house in our backyard: I think the gnome in our…
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William Wallace Monument
We’re in the train on our way back to Aberdeen. Here’s what we can see out the window: Before leaving Stirling we walked to the William Wallace Monument. Is there anyone who hasn’t heard of William Wallace? Think Mel Gibson, Braveheart. Some famous battles were fought in Stirling because at one time it was thought…
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Stirling
9 years ago today I became a mother. Daniel’s birth was very quick and hideously painful. I did not get any pain relief for his birth because although I asked for an epidural, there was no anaesthetist available at the hospital in Christchurch to administer one. It was ghastly. But now he has grown into a…
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Edinburgh Christmas market
I’m writing this on the train back to Aberdeen. We had a fantastic day in Edinburgh today. The Christmas markets just began this week and they are wonderful. We went on the ferris wheel and it was a gorgeous day which meant we had spectacular views from the top. There’s an outdoor skating rink there which I couldn’t…
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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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Urquhart Castle and Glen Affric
Today we went for a very scenic drive alongside Loch Ness, home of the infamous Loch Ness monster. We didn’t see any monsters but we did see Urquhart Castle, a ruin in a picturesque promontory in the middle of Loch Ness. The castle has seen more battles than most and was eventually abandoned in the 17th century. The…
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Mediaeval battles at Drum Castle
We went to Drum Castle today. I have been itching to visit this castle again ever since our cycle ride from Banchory to Aberdeen via Drum Castle. It was so hot that day and we were so exhausted by the time we arrived at Drum Castle that I took one look at the tower with all its…
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Surviving a haircut and learning to swim
I took Daniel to get a haircut today at the first barber’s I came to on our way to swimming. The hairdresser was a short and muscular middle-eastern-looking man with tattoos up and down each arm. It all seemed to be going fairly well except that Daniel kept moving his head. He’s not the easiest customer and indeed for…
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Ring of Brodgar and Skara Brae
We visited some more neolithic sites yesterday. First stop was The Standing Stones o’ Stenness and the nearby and well-known Ring of Brodgar. Both are stone circles about 5000 years old. The stones are huge and heavy and would have been quite difficult to move and stand upright in their positions. Why did humans build…
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Orkney and the Tomb of the Eagles with puking and ticks
We’re in Orkney. We caught the ferry from Aberdeen yesterday afternoon and arrived here just before midnight last night. The ferry stops in Kirkwall, Orkney a few times each week on its way to Shetland. Here’s a map showing the route we took on the ferry and also the route we plan to take back.…
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Duthie Park and buying a house
I took this photo of Duthie Park back in April this year just before all the buds on the trees opened up for spring: Today I went for a run through the park and took some more photos. Here’s how it looks now: I love watching the plants and trees change with the seasons. Duthie…
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You’ve Been Trumped!
Here’s my image for day three of the five-day blogging challenge. The image is not mine. It’s the work of artist David McCue and is the poster for the film, You’ve Been Trumped, a documentary about Donald Trump’s development just north of Aberdeen. I bought the DVD online and we watched it last night. I…
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Deeside Way
We’ve just been out for a cycle ride on Deeside Way. This is the old train line which used to ferry Queen Victoria and entourage out to Balmoral Castle every summer. It was closed in the 60s and has recently been converted into a cycling/walking path. The pathway goes all the way out to Ballater,…
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