Sometimes the best laid plans go awry. Such was the case with our plans to blog all along our trip. What we didn’t realize, was that we would be staying at places that were quite remote and without wifi. We had a wonderful time recharging, relaxing, baking many batches of scones, and taking time to just be.
Looking back, it was just what we needed! So, we are going to relive some of our favorite places through the many pictures we took, and we’d love for you to come along!
We are planning to draw the name for our winner on Saturday! So if you haven't subscribed to our blog yet, be sure to do so!!!
Three flights in one day is a lot. But everyone was all smiles, and we have a really good routine with the kids. We pack never before seen treats and work to minimize screen time. It works for us, and we find it keeps the children in a happier mood and easier to get them to sleep on the overnight flights.
At the beginning of our trip, we had a lovely little layover in Amsterdam. We took full advantage of those 6 hours and took the train into the center of town. Small streets, cafes and flowers galore, bicycles, and lunch on the canal…
It was magical. We can’t wait to go back and explore more of that wonderful city someday!
We hopped on our small plane and headed to Inverness. To be quite honest, we were expecting to fly into a large international airport, and were surprised to see a small airport in the middle of farms! The kids loved being able to deplane outside, and we wandered into the warm building to get those highly desired stamps in the passports!
From there, we collected our luggage, picked up our rental car and headed up to the north coast.
As I think back to every drive we took, I can’t help but be mesmerized by the beauty that surrounded us. We kept marveling at how every every way we looked was a like a gorgeous painting or postcard.
Food is always a priority to us, so we stopped off in Tain, a quaint little town with a lovely restaurant. Fish and chips, bangers with tatties and neeps, and beef and ale pie filled the table, and it was all so delicious!
Our first destination was our AirBnB reservation: the lighthouse on Dunnet Head - on the very northern most tip of Scotland’s mainland. I wish you could have seen the sheer delight on the children’s faces when they heard that Robert Louis Stevenson’s grandfather built the lighthouse! We spent the summer reading Scottish history and literature, and Kidnapped was one of our favorites! We later found out that for over one hundred and fifty years Robert Stevenson and his descendants designed most of Scotland's Lighthouses. And we got to stay in the lighthouse keeper's cottage at one of them!!!! Our cottage was so cozy! I wish we had been able to spend more time there!
Outside was even more wonderful than the inside! The grounds around the lighthouse are very well kept, and there is a cute play garden for children. There is a gate that leads to the cliff. We took the kids out for a quick shot on the cliff and then carefully hurried them back inside the walled area. The views from the cliff were incredible.
The next morning, we grabbed some delicious coffee with my parents and explored some the adorable streets in the town of Thurso.
Once we were warmed and full, we set off for some fun! First stop, Rock Rose Gin distillery! I like to call this place the gin version of Young Living. Hehe… They have a variety of gins that are infused with different botanicals. Some botanicals are grown in their greenhouse, others are harvested from the North 500 route for that particular bottle. They harvest specific berries and botanicals from each season to create seasonal gins, and one of our favorites was the Castle of Mey botanical gin. To be honest, we wanted to take bottle of each one home! This trip was where I learned how much I love a good gin and tonic!
If you ever find yourself on the north coast of Scotland, do yourself a huge favor and stop in here!
Our last stop that afternoon was the Castle of Mey, the Queen Mother’s favorite getaway. Nestled up against the coast, you’ll find the beautiful castle, walled gardens and well manicured grounds.
Unfortunately, pictures are not allowed to be taken inside of the castle, so you’ll just have to plan a trip to go see it in person! We highly recommend it! The children enjoyed the gardens and the gift shop, and the tour was so fun!
Top: Ben by the coast, Lilyana in the garden, Ben heading for the watch tower.
Bottom: Ben and me, just wishing we could move right in, the driveway to the castle, Ben and my dad!
We had the pleasure of meeting a close friend of the Queen Mother, Major Perkins and listening to him tell quite a few stories of the Queen Mother. She sounded like such a wonderful person to know!
My parents came over to our adorable lighthouse cottage and we enjoyed some strawberries, chocolate and wine before heading to dinner on the coast.
Our first day in Scotland was wonderful in every way, and I am so thankful to have shared these moments with my parents. We saw some beautiful things and sometimes I wish we had all of the time in the world so we could see it all. But now we have lots of reasons to go back. <3
