Tag: Scotland
-
A night to remember at the Fife Arms Hotel, Braemar
This is going to be a long post with lots of photos so apologies in advance. We’ve just had a magnificent weekend in Braemar staying at the luxurious Fife Arms hotel. It’s quite a contrast to our recent glamping adventures and definitely opulent but worth every penny. I’ve been longing to spend a night at…
-
A weekend at the Barley Bothy
We’ve just had a lovely weekend at the Barley Bothy: a little hut on a strawberry and sheep farm near Huntly. You can watch the making of the hut on Channel 4’s Amazing Spaces, (series 4, episode 4). We like staying in interesting places because that’s all part of the holiday experience and the Barley…
-
Creag Choinnich revisited
We took our Aussie visitor to Braemar for a walk up Creag Coinnich today. Creag Coinnich is a wonderful little hill walk as it’s not long but you are rewarded at the top with magnificent views that significantly outweigh the effort required to get up there. It’s only 3/4 of a mile and takes about…
-
Lunch at the Queen’s house
Last time we visited Loch Muick it was so windy we had to shout at one another to talk. We haven’t been back until today. We checked the weather forecast first to be sure we wouldn’t face another gale but I’m beginning to suspect Loch Muick and wind are two words that always go together…
-
Scottish vegan cookbook and lebkuchen
It’s lebkuchen time of year which means it’s time to share my recipe. It has become a tradition in our family to make numerous batches of lebkuchen every December. Lebkuchen is a German Christmas dish which translates to “ginger bread” but there’s no ginger in the recipe. I got the recipe from a German friend…
-
East Lomond hill walk
This morning we walked up East Lomond Hill in Fife. It was a pretty short walk from the Carpark but it started snowing just as we arrived and that combined with an Artic wind made it feel like we emerged from the car and into a blizzard. I think there are probably magnificent views up…
-
Pillars of Hercules Bothy
We’ve had the most relaxing weekend at the Pillars of Hercules Bothy just outside Falkland. The bothy is on the Pillars of Hercules organic farm, the name for which was inspired by a local 19th-century landowner with an interest in classical history, Onesiphorus Tyndall Bruce. There is a statue of him in Falkland: The history…
-
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…
-
Loch Morlich
We went for a walk around Loch Morlich today. Loch Morlich is an inland fresh-water loch near Aviemore in the Highlands of Scotland. It’s a reasonably flat walk on a good path that goes through forest and along the beach. Yes, Loch Morlich, which is miles away from the sea, has a beach with sand.…
-
The Queen’s Circular walk, Braemar
Snow has returned to Scotland and today we went to Braemar in search of some fun. Braemar is always gorgeous but particularly so when there’s snow on the surrounding hills and the drive through Royal Deeside is always lovely. We did the Queen’s Circular Walk which is fairly level and has nice views over Braemar…
-
Scotland bans smacking
It’s history in the making today with politicians in Holyrood voting to make it a criminal offence for parents to smack their children. We are the 58th country in the world to outlaw smacking and the first country in the UK. Sweden was the first in the world back in 1979. New Zealand did it…
-
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…
-
A walk up Scolty Hill
We went for a walk up Scolty Hill today which is a small hill just south of Banchory. It’s about a 40 minute drive south west of Aberdeen to get to Banchory. The last time we walked up Scolty Hill it was snowing so it was quite different today. Everything was very lush and green…
-
Pitmedden Gardens
Last Monday was a bank holiday here and we took the opportunity to visit Pitmedden Gardens. Despite being only 14 miles north of Aberdeen, we’ve never seen them before. We visited the café once on a trip to Tolquhon Castle but have never stopped to look at the gardens. Pitmedden Gardens is a recreation of…
-
Hot weather and visits from family and friends
Yesterday was hot. BBC weather says it was 24C here which felt pretty awful. How did I ever survive living in Brisbane? At least here the temperature typically falls overnight and one can get a good night’s sleep. We’re also cooler than many other parts of Europe which are experiencing heat waves right now. I…
-
A Scottish ceilidh
On Saturday night after the Braemar junior games, there was a family ceilidh in the village hall. A ceilidh (pronounced kay-lee), is a traditional Scottish event with dancing and fiddle music. Other countries have something similar called a “barn dance”. We’ve been to a couple of ceilidhs here and they’re wonderful fun. Someone, a caller,…
-
A great place to live
There’s a nice opinion piece in the Guardian this week, written by an Australian who thinks Britain is wonderful. I 100% agree and can relate to all the things she says. I love living here and can’t think of anywhere else on Earth I’d rather live. The people are friendly and polite. They will apologise when you…
-
Scotland’s renewable energy industry employs more than 17,000 people
Scotland’s renewable energy industry employs more than 17,000 people and had a turnover of £5.5 billion in 2017. Among the exporters are renewable energy consultancyfirm Green Cat Renewables, based in Biggar, South Lanarkshire, which opened an office in Alberta, Canada, in 2017. Technology developed by Glasgow software company Smarter Grid Solutions is being used in Germany, the…
-
The Highland Club, Fort Augustus
We have spent a wonderful few days staying at The Highland Club in Fort Augustus. The Highland Club is a complex of holiday apartments in what was once a Benedictine monastery on the shores of Loch Ness. It was constructed in 1880 and home to monks and a private school for boys right up until…
-
Caledonian Canal, Fort Augustus
Started in 1803 and completed 12 years late in 1822, the Caledonian Canal connects the North Sea with the Atlantic Ocean. It consists of 29 locks (not to be confused with lochs), 35km of man-made channel, and four natural lochs. It’s a feat of Scottish engineering, designed and built by Thomas Telford from Dumfries. Over…
