River swimming (numbing but exhilarating) Barefoot paddling Dam building The joy in the simple things. Wood-fired bath on the river’s edge. Bird song Deep breaths. Tree-patterned sky. The sound of water rushing by. From the river’s biting sting into the heat of the bath – bliss. Fireside meditation. Listening to the flames hiss and spit. […]
Aberdeenshire
Touring Rora Dairy
Until this weekend, we had never been on a farm tour. I knew the kids would love exploring a dairy farm and so we set off in the beautiful May sunshine for the Rora Dairy Open Day. I don’t often venture north of Aberdeen and I love the sprawling farmland flanked by the coastline. Rora is […]
- Aberdeenshire
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A Weekend at Boutique Farm Bothies
Glamping at The Barley Bothy I first heard about Boutique Farm Bothies when scrolling through Instagram and saw a repost by VisitAberdeen of someone relaxing in a hot tub in a picturesque countryside setting. ‘Wood-fired hot tub’ in the caption caught my attention and I immediately wanted to find out more. Years ago, when we […]
- Aberdeenshire
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5 National Trust for Scotland Properties We Love
National Trust for Scotland Properties in Aberdeenshire and Angus We spend a lot of time visiting National Trust for Scotland properties in Aberdeenshire and Angus with our two little ones. With castles a-plenty in Aberdeenshire, a local NTS property is often the meet-up location of choice when catching up with friends (fitting the requirements of […]
- Aberdeenshire
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Snapshots and Scenes from September
I went on a week-long course at the beginning of September and then crammed in two weeks’ of revision before the exam, which meant that September passed in a bit of blur. When I wasn’t working or studying and I had some time with the littles, we mainly spent it collecting fruit at Charleton Fruit […]
- Aberdeenshire
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St Cyrus Beach Walk in Winter
Working flexible hours is perfect for life with two little ones and it means, on beautiful days like today, when my head is pounding and I can’t bear to sit at the computer screen, I can make an impromptu visit to our nearby beach in St Cyrus National Nature Reserve to blow the cobwebs away and recharge. […]
- Aberdeenshire
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Balmakewan
I’m all about a good cafe. Throw in the fact that I am always on the look out for nice walks and places to explore on our family days, and it is quite baffling as to how Balmakewan has stayed off my radar this past year. The family-run farm and mansion house, with its wonderful tea room, farm […]
- Aberdeenshire
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RSPB Fowlsheugh in Photos
I’ve already written about the amazing sea bird spectacle at RSPB Fowlsheugh so I thought I’d just put together a little photo blog post on our recent walk here. The lovely cliff walk is just a short drive south of Stonehaven (you can actually see Dunnottar Castle in the distance) and I can’t recommend it highly enough […]
St Cyrus Beach
Part of the St Cyrus National Nature Reserve, this beautiful beach is a must-visit if you’re in the area. Nestled into the coastline between Aberdeenshire and Angus, 18 miles south of Stonehaven, St Cyrus beach stretches for three miles, hugged by red sand cliffs and complete with interesting rock formations and a ruined castle. In previous visits […]
- Aberdeenshire
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The sea on my doorstep
I am a beach person. I grew up on the Moray Coast, spending summers and weekends in Findhorn, and I feel the tug and pull of the sea on my heart. So it is perhaps not surprising that we have ended up on the coast, living in a small fishing village called Gourdon. The last […]