The Great Scotland Road Trip Part 2

Day 5:

Relaxing around Oban. A boat tour with seal sightings plus some hairy cows enjoying the beach, some hiking and a great afternoon with the kids at a beach while Craig was off tasting some Scotch.

This was our down day so I didn't have firm plans for the afternoon but the weather was amazing so we opted for the beach which was a great choice. The tide was low and there were no waves, the kids could easily explore and I didn't feel panicky trying to keep everyone alive so I could actually enjoy myself too. Jonah's part way through Pagoo for school so our finds were extra special. (It's Pagoo the hermit crab! And traveling towers! And sea anemone!). Now it's lots of laundry (for me) a movie night (for the kids) and early to bed (for us all!)

Day 6: We're staying at a farm here so the farmer showed us his hairy cows this morning. They really are adorable. Then we were off for some hiking (and blackberry picking) with the most amazing views, souvenir shopping and more beach fun. A good relaxing last day in the area. Tomorrow we're back on the road for more fun!

Day 7: On to Glascow! Not too many pictures today but we got some selfies at Loch Lomond before heading on to Glascow. And yes, we did play th song as we drove along. And The Skye Boat song too. Folk songs FTW! Then Jude got his dream come true - to ride on a double decker bus (affectionately called "deckle bus" around here). We only got off at one stop, the Kelvingrove museum, but it has both natural science and art so it's basically a two for one museum. The kids loved the animals and ancient Egypt but started to poop out after the dutch painters. I was determined to see some impressionists so Jonah and I swung by the french section while the rest refueled with some snacks into a green before we finished up the bus tour to end our day.

Day 8: Change of plans!

We were actually supposed to finish up tomorrow but last night this guy just didn't seem himself and I got suspicious so we cancelled the plans for a pub night and got take away in our hotel room. Good thing too because in the middle of the night he spiked a fever. So we packed up and came home early. We had already finished all the trip stuff that was in Scotland, today and tomorrow we're both northern england days. We'll go back eventually because I'm not leaving this country until I've seen Hadrian's Wall! (We made it back up north. Post on that coming soon!) I'm about to start my third reading of Our Island Story and I've wanted to visit since our first read-through! So I'm not worries about missing out for now.

But today was not our day. Not only did we have the 5 hr car ride with a sick Jude wanting to hold my hand whenever he wasn't asleep, we stopped so Craig could grab us food and the car battery died. Apparently jumping someone's car isn't a thing here. (Are the cars different? Do people just not diy any car stuff? Not sure but people said no when we asked and just generally seemed confused by the question) but we waited for the recovery van to jump us. I have to brag on my kids though. This was our second 2 hr delay during this trip and both times they really did handle it like champs. Especially this one bc unlike our first time where they could get out and run around, this time we were stuck and Jude literally did not leave the van all day (thank goodness for tiny potties!). Traveling is exhausting at times and everyone has there moments but overall they are great travel buddies and deserve credit for that.

And even with our hiccups, we had such a good week. A dream trip with my favorite people making amazing memories. Scotland is awe-inspiring, I already want to go back to explore more of Edinburgh and the west side. Sometimes you have such high expectations for trips they can't live up to them but this one did!

Now I gotta unpack because (home)school starts Monday. Because, you know, I actually gotta start "educating" these kids, right ;-)

The Great Scotland Roadtrip Part 1

If you follow me on Instagram, much of this will be a repeat with maybe some slight changes/additions in photos, but I have a few people who have been patiently waiting for these because they aren't on IG or facebook. So, sorry it's taken this long! 

Great Scotland Road trip Day 1: Traffic was a beast but we still made it to Edinburgh in time to hike Arthur's Seat. It was pretty steep so I wasn't sure if we'd all make it but Norah hung in there and we were rewarded with some amazing views. And then since this is hiking with actual children, we also had to take some pictures of them sitting on a rock they found that looked very similar to a toilet.

Norah was a bit scared at the top - and we were very high so I don't blame her! I was wishing the other kids were a little bit more nervous about getting close to the edge. And I've very glad I didn't know that the policemen weren't normally up there but were there because there had been a recent incident leading to a young woman's death. Sounds like they think it wasn't a complete accident but I was still glad to only hear about that after we were all safely down at the bottom again. 

But the views were really amazing!

Day 2: Edinburgh's Royal Mile. Walked part of the mile to get to Edinburgh Castle. The castle was okay but Jude wasn't in the best of moods. He wanted to be a cat and kitties don't sit in a stroller or get put in a carrier, they crawl, but crawling and sightseeing is difficult. 

Eventually he settled on being carried in my arms while I pet him so we could see the crown jewels and great hall then the sights of the royal mile (Bagpipers! Live owls! Stuffed Nessies!) distracted him.

 Then lunch and a nap and out again to tour the palace with a much happier Jude. And he loved having something with buttons to occupy him even if he was never listening to the right room at the right time. The palace was my highlight of the day - full of history and beauty with a great kids audio tour. Jonah particularly liked the ghostly bloody spot on the ground. 

Day 3: On to Inverness with some hiking in the Cairngorms National Park and a visit to the Highlands Folk Museum. We saw more types of mushrooms on the first part of this hike then probably the rest of my life put together. (I couldn't keep track but Lucy says she counted 17 types and I believe her).

Spotted another one!

Jude got so excited about the mushrooms he actually smiled in a picture!

The Folk museum was pretty cool with my favorite section being the 1730s village. A bit of Outlander was shot here so now I've got to go preview YouTube clips of that episode to see if I can find any that are suitable for kids....maybe if it's a super short one ;-) One of the reenactors showed us how she was dying wool with rosehips and we've got some bushes nearby so who knows what ideas the kids will come up with now!

Day 4: Busy day - luckily we started with Full Scottish Breakfast to fill is up. Most of us even tried blood pudding. I thought it was tasted okay but mentally unpleasant. Jonah LOVED it but even his enthusiasm couldn't get Norah and Lucy to give it a try.

Then we were off and running - Clava Cairns and the Culloden Battlefield and Museum were our morning stops. The Cairns didn't take long but I find all the ancient things that align with the sun fairly interesting. 

The museum was really interesting and set the stage well. Battlefields aren't generally my thing (sorry dad!) but this one does have a feeling to it, especially with the clan markers. 

We had enough extra time to stop and go down to the waters edge at Loch Ness but as soon as Jude noticed the monster was missing (we showed the kids the Disney Nessie short right before we left so the first thing he asked about in Edinburgh was "where's the monster?"), he was more interested in the rocks than the views.

After lunch we did Urquhart Castle. It took us a good 10 minutes (and 4 smooshed pennies from one of those machines) to get out of the gift shop but eventually we made it to the beautiful views. The weather was really cooperating with us today. 

Lucy even got inspired by the view and did this watercolor for her room. I think it's lovely. 

Then I actually added something to the itinerary with an impromptu stop at the Loch Ness center to learn about Nessie bc kids wanted more of the cliche stuff. It's definitely skippable if you're pressed for time but we enjoyed it and it was surprisingly scientific, covering hoaxes and eye witness accounts and errors along with different ways people have tried to explore the loch and solve the mystery. Plus it had my name on a coaster so it gets points for that. 

Then we had our two hour drive to the next stomping ground with some of the best views I've ever seen. Add in some Peter Hollen's Hobbit music and the pumpkin spice latte has a run for it's money for fall feeling inducer. Alas, about 15 minutes from our final destination for the day, there was an accident that causes a road closer. The thing about the highlands is that there aren't tons of road options which meant our detour was about 2 hours long. But we regrouped, found a chippy with nearby picnic tables and ran out some energy. Then I am happy to say that all the attitudes were much improved and we made it those extra few hours just fine. And while I highly recommend trying to avoid multiple hour detours that keep your kids up past their bedtime, if you have to, the highlands is the place. It's so beautiful that I didn't even try to take pictures because it's not the same. I wish I was better at the Charlotte Mason picture taking exercises because I want to remember some of those scenes for the rest of my life.