Travel diary Scotland day 7, 2016: Forests freak me out.

 **Disclaimer: I write and upload the same day, often after a long and exhausting day. I often don't have the focus to re read and take out the typos, grammatical and vocabulary errors. Beware!**

Hallooo!!

You might have guessed from yesterday's blog post, yesterday was quite a long and hard day. No wonder that I woke up this morning feeling all sore.

During yesterday's descent I decided that I was going to take it easy today. 3 to 4hour walk, nothing crazy, just some nice scenery and no summit. All said and done and I selected a hiking trail which would keep me busy for about 4hours. It turned out to be a bit over 4 hours, closer to 5.

I did take it super easy today though. I didn't start walking until 11am. I sat down for about half hour whilst I was eating my lunch with my face in the sun to let me feet dry after I stood in the river Feshie for a bit.

Unfortunately the hiking guide that I have isn't up to date. Or the map isn't accurate. Or the route explanations don't add up to reality. (Or I'm being really thick) It really was a case of: if the trail description fails, I need to go on what the maps says and visa versa. But also, if map and description fail, lets go by where the sun's at and common sense. I'm certain that I walked parts of the trail descriped in my guide, but I'm also certain that I winged some parts. Ah well, I made it, didn't I?

Also, forests freak me out.

By 4.15pm I was at the car. Originally I wanted to go to a cake shop which was recommended by the land lady of the guest house I'm staying at and apparently has an impeccable reputation when it comes to tea and cakes. But it was already half past 4 and I was sweaty so I just wanted to get some savoury dinner and head to my room.

Before actually heading back to the guest house I took a moment to walk around Aviemore. I've past through it and I've stopped at Tesco's numerous times, but I never took the time to see what other shops they have. A lot of outdoor type of store (duh), but also a Waterstones! How cute is that? Unlike London, shops closed at 5pm or 5.30pm so I couldn't wander around too long. Maybe next year?x)

Anyway, I'll leave you to it for today. Tomorrow I'm off to Culloden and Inverness. No doubt I'll be sore as hell (again) and cursing my converse as I have two lovely blisters on my toes... Yikes...

Thanks for reading!
xo - Sara

Travel diary Scotland day 6, 2016: Hiking in the Cairngorms

 **Disclaimer: I write and upload the same day, often after a long and exhausting day. I often don't have the focus to re read and take out the typos, grammatical and vocabulary errors. Beware!**

Halloooooo!!

What a day! Instead of driving for 8hours, I did a 8hour long hike! Yes, you've read that correctly. An entire day of hiking! Bliss. Well, for the most part of it.

It all began this morning at 8am when I had breakfast. In an ideal world, by 8 am, you should start hiking. Not for me. Breakfast is served between 8am and 10am. Earlier is possible, but I just couldn't get it over my heart to ask the lovely landlady to get up earlier for me.

Then, some necessities needed to be attent to. Getting some fuel for my car and getting some fuel for my belly for when I was in the mountains.

I also needed to get a more detailed map of the area to ensure I didn't get lost. Sure, I have a hiking guide, but only the lower level route had detailed maps provided. So I had to pick that up at Glenmore lodge.

And lastely, I had to drive for about 40min to get to the parking where I was about to start my tour. All in all, by 10.30am I was en route with my hiking boots and maps.

Because I started this late, I thought I wouldn't be able to do the tour I wanted to do. Rather than getting completely discouraged, I just decided to try and get to the Cairn Gorm (1245m). You know, the mountain that bares the same name as the park. It's the 6th highest mountain in the UK.

But weather conditions were pretty bleak and by the time I was ascending to the first 'summit' Sron a' Cra-no, I was faced with rain and a lot of wind. I decided to push through just to get one top in today. By the time I reached that top, I thought, let's go to the ski lift and take no unessesary risks. But hey, Cnap Coire na Spreidhe seemed close by and now that I'm up here... Lets just keep an eye on the weather real close and try to assess the situation as I progress to the second top.

Sure enough, I made it. At that point I thought it be safer to proceed with my plan to descent. The periods of wind and rain was freezing and on my entire walk of 4hours I hadn't come across another living soul... Time to head back to the car. But wait, the ski station is just down there, from there it is only a short walk! Lets just push a little bit further.

I ate my lunch inside the ski station and started talking to a guy who worked there. I asked him how long it'd take to get from the station to the top of the Cairn Gorm, as I wasn't sure with the weather, etc. It would only take me 20 to 30 minutes to get to the top and then follow the cairns if you please. The weather has been this and that, but it should be fine... Yupla, at 2.30pm I started my ascent on the 6th highest mountain in the UK. You could tell that the path leading to the top was prepared for tourists. Blue robe guided my way up and offerd support when needed. In the meantime, rain was splashing in my face and putting my hiking trousers to a thorough test.

The view from the top wasn't much to begin with. Clouds everywhere. I started talking to a girl who was hiking on her own as well. She just came from Ben Macdui which stands at a whopping 1309m. She was far from fased by the rainy weather conditions.

When I was climbing to the top of the Cairn Gorm I had in mind to return the same way and start my descent from there. But when I was up there, I thought "now that I'm up here...". Hupla, my descent on the other side of Cairn Gorm began at 3.15pm.

It was so impressive. By this time the fear of not being able to do what I wanted to do was gone. I was freaking making the tour I first intended! By this time I really enjoyed the weather. The rain on my face, yet I was warm and confortable with my gloves, beanie, buff and million layers of clothing. There was no one waiting for me at the bottom of the mountain and there was no one with me to complain about the 'extended' tour

All went well, up until I started my proper descent. Halfway through the path was blocked by a hugh patch of ice. Too steep to walk over so I decided to try and walk past it... Yeah, that didn't work. So I tried to go higher up the mountain to find the path that I had seen from above. Didn't really work either. I just couldn't get higher up the mountain. Fear and ignorance got the better of me.

Luckily there was a couple right behind me. They had the same idea and somehow they did manage to find the path above. They saw me struggling and signed which direction I had to go. I knew which direction, I just didn't know how. Then all of the sudden the guy started walking over to me just like he was walking on flat ground. He kindly gave me his hiking sticks and started talking in English with such a familiar accent so I just asked: "Zijn jullie van Nederland?" "Ja hoor, Belg?". I followed the guy up the steep mountain side and in no time I was standing on the lovely path. I followed them for a bit further, but it was obvious that they were seasoned mountaineers so I soon fell behind. Not to worry though, I was on the right track. Well, I was, until it got covered in snow...

By the time I reached the first car park, it was already 6.45pm. Another 20min walk to the car park where my car was actually parked. As I was about to start my final walk, a jeep with first aid supplies pulled up next to me and the two guys in the car asked me where I needed to be. Sugarbowl car park. It was only when I got in the car I thought that this might not have been the smartest idea. Luckily it turned out to be a very smart idea. Had a nice little chat with the two blokes and I was at my car in less than 5minutes. Hurray for Scottish hospitality!

By 8pm I was in my room with some sushi from Tesco. Mission accomplished! I can't feel my legs though. And tomorrow I've scheduled another hiking day! Maybe I should consider a shorter route, less high? We'll see :)

And that is it for today!

Thanks for reading!
xo - Sara

Travel diary Scotland day 5, 2016: I am Merida, firstborn descendant of Clan DunBroch. And I'LL be shooting FOR MY OWN HAND! - Merida, Brave (2012)

 **Disclaimer: I write and upload the same day, often after a long and exhausting day. I often don't have the focus to re read and take out the typos, grammatical and vocabulary errors. Beware!**

Halloooooo!!

So, today wasn't the best day of my trip so far. First of all, I feel like 15 days holiday isn't going to be enough. Secondly, I'm staying in a town that wants to leave the EU and thirdly I've had so many delays today. Ugh.

No one to blame but me.
The day started off pretty fine. Got up on time, had a delicious full Scottish breakfast, fruit and yogurt, by 9.30am I was checked out and ready to hit the road (after snapping a few more images of the square). All seemed to go to plan, until my sat nav decided to bail on me. I wanted to visit Dunnotar castle in Stonehaven, which is about 20km from Aberdeen. I always check the route on my sat nav to ensure that I'm going in the right direction. So it seemed. So I started driving, everything went smoothly, no issues, no traffic, no road works, nothing. Until the last 20kilometers. Like an idiot I followed sat nav rather than the signs on the side of the road. I ended up in freaking Aberdeen!! Luckily it was only a 30min drive back, but that 30min meant that I had to drop my plan to go to Aberfeldy on my way to Grantown-on-Spey. If you don't know, Habitat (local 'restaurant') has the best burgers in the world (in my opinion). I was soooo annoyed with myself! Travel diary Scotland day 7, 2015: Mrs Rowling, are you home?

Castle DunBroch
Finding Dunnotar Castle in Stonehaven turned out to be another adventure, which made me loose even more precious time. But when I finally arrived, I was blown away by the look of the castle. It just stands there, impressive on a rock.

The main reason why I wanted to visit Dunnotar castle is because I believe it might have been the inspiration for DunBorch, castle where Merida lives in the Dinsey Pixar movie Brave. This has not been proven and there are of course a lot of other castles on rocks near seasides. Also, a colleague heartily recommended it to me.

Now here is my recommendation: definitely go see it, but do not visit it. It's not worth the £7. There is no audio guide included or even an option, and it is basically just ruines on top of a hill. It missed some character, unlike Doune castle which has plenty (thanks to the audio guide).

Although I saw the entire castle in less than 30min, I did spend a good hour up that hill. My brain was in over drive so just sat on one of the benches to process everything. After I left the castle I sat outside on the grass with a splendid view on the castle and surroundings, finishing my thoughts process. It was bliss.

2hour drive turned into 4hour drive.
Of course I'd like to have a travel companion. It is nice to share experiences with someone else, but I when there are none available I don't mind going by myself. I'm very comfortable on my own and I am very picky with my travel companions. However, the idea of sharing experiences is just something I'd like, not something I need. The only time I actually would need a travel companion is when sat nav bails on me (again) and I have to ride based on the good ol' map. Part of the road on my way to Grantown-on-Spey was closed due to road works. Fair enough, but a road closure in the Cairngorms means a detour of at least 70kilometers. Hurray! My sat nav was completely confused and kept asking to 'keer rechtsom indien mogelijk' (return if possible). Luckily I had a map of Scotland (thanks dad!) with me so I could plan out an alternative route. I tried to memorise a few of the towns that I needed to pass and in which direction I had to drive everytime I had to make a turn. That part was easy. The difficult part was to check if I was still going in the right direction whilst driving. Since that is a no no, I had to pull over everytime, get the map out and look. If I've had a travel companion co piloting next to me, they just could have said where to go. That was the only time I actually really wished I had someone with me.

Anyway, I made it ;)

Grantown-on-Spey wants to leave?
By the time I was approaching my final destination I was already a bit grumpy. I hadn't had the most delicious burger in the world and I had to drive 2 hours longer than intended. I was starting to get hungry and on top of that my batteries of my phone and two cameras died. But when I came closer to Grantown-on-Spey signs with "Vote leave" and "take back control" started to appear. By the time I was driving through the town, the signs popped up left, right and centre.

Now, I had heard the reasons for Brexit. I've seen them on social media, in articles, interviews with politicians, etc. I've also read and heard alot about people who want to stay. Now, this is all good and well, but when I actually saw those signs today, it really made me feel unwelcome. It was probably the combination of my entire day that magnified that feeling, but it really hit me. It'll be very interesting come Thursday. Now, when I checked in at my guest house, I saw a sign that said: Vote Remain. I'm in good hands here ;)

Also, allow me to introduce you to...
... my travel companion for 12days of my trip. This is a Vauxhall Corsa. Nice car, not too big a fan of the colour, but it drives me through Scotland so... Unfortunately it can't read maps...

Car rented via Europcar

This is where I'll leave you today.

I've got two days of hiking in front me, so better getting that sleep!

Thanks for reading!
xo - Sara

Travel diary Scotland day 4, 2016: Castle Leoch or Winterfell?

 **Disclaimer: I write and upload the same day, often after a long and exhausting day. I often don't have the focus to re read and take out the typos, grammatical and vocabulary errors. Beware!**

Hallooooo!

**picture heavy post**

Unlike yesterday, I did get out of bed in time. Wanted to get to Doune Castle as early as possible and then get breakfast in town. I managed both ^^

Had the most delicious pancakes at the Buttercup Cafe just in town Doune.

Castle Leoch or Winterfell?
By 10am I had bought my ticket and had my audio guide at the ready.

I really really really recommend to visit this place! Audio guide is included and is sooo funny. Monty Python and the Holy Grail was shot here in 1975 and the tour is narrated by Terry Jones, one of the directors, actors, producers of the movie. They let you hear fragments of the movie and it's so funny. I must have looked like an idiot, standing in the courtyard, laughing at apparently nothing. Sam Heughan (Jamie Fraser) narrates the little side tour about Outlander which was also shot here. The castle also featured in the pilot for Game of Thrones as Winterfell, House of Stark.

Did you know that the kitchen in Castle Leoch isn't actually filmed at Doune Castle? The art departement made a replica in the studios near Glasgow as the crew could damage the stone walls by hanging up lights or sounds equipment. Interesting hein?

It took me a bit over an hour to get around the castle. I listened to the entire audio guide and walked around the castle just to get a better picture of the area. Unfortunately the battlements were closed due to the bad weather. It was drizzling on and off all morning...

Prison or residence?
...And by the time I arrived at Loch Leven to visit that castle, it was proper raining. However, the moment we stepped onto the little boat that would bring us to the island, the sun came out and it stayed like that for the rest of the afternoon.

Lochleven Castle had various functions throughout history. Robert the Bruce used it as a residence, Mary, queen of Scots' first visit was as a guest, her last as a prisoner. She stayed on the second floor of the tower house for a year before dramatically escaping the island.

I'm really happy I got to visit it this year. Last year I arrived just after closing time... It is also nearly on the day that I returned a year later. 19/06/2015 and 20/06/2016 Travel diary Scotland day 7, 2015: Mrs Rowling, are you home?

No ghost of a Highlander to be seen
After my visit to Lochleven Castle it was time to check in at my next hotel. And that is in Falkland. Does the picture below look familiar? It might be, as it features as the little town near Inverness where Claire and Frank stay on their second honeymoon. I'm actually staying in the Covenanter, which is the little hotel that also featured in the series!

Outlander is quite the presence at the hotel. The series probably has increase the tourisme in town. I'm a prime example for that.

After taking my pictures around the square I also visited Falkland Palace, because, you know, I'm a member of the National Trust so it was free for me. Why not pop in and see if it's interesting? Turned out, ANOTHER link with Mary, queen of Scots and her father, James V. It just keep coming and coming. She used to stay there for hunting parties and tennis matches. Who knew?

The palace closes at 5pm and as it was a bit too early for dinner, I decided to work a bit and enjoy the sun whilst I was at it. This was my 'office' for today. Bliss.

This is the little hotel I'm staying on the Square if anyone is interested: the Covenanter, Falkland.

And that is it for today!

I'll see you tomorrow!
xo - Sara

Travel diary Scotland day 3, 2016: "Long may she reign" - Nostradamus, Reign

 **Disclaimer: I write and upload the same day, often after a long and exhausting day. I often don't have the focus to re read and take out the typos, grammatical and vocabulary errors. Beware!**

Hallooooo!!

Today's photos make it look like it was such a dreary day, but I promise you, it wasn't. Well I know some people would have found today boring, but that is each to there own ;)

So yesterday evening before I went to sleep, I made sure I had set my alarm clock for every morning for the rest of the week. I have a busy schedule and I'd like to get the most out of my trip. I did set my alarm clock for the rest of the week, except today... When I woke up this morning, it was 9am. 9am! I had my alarm set for 7! A 2 hour delay. Anyway, rather than rushing out of my hotel room, I just adapted to a new plan. If I get up later than anticipated, let just take the rest of the day super laidback as well.

I drove to city centre and parked my car near Stirling Castle. The first thing I needed to do was to find breakfast. It took me a while to locate a Cafe Nero or any coffee shop that was open for that matter. Living in London really gives you a false idea of reality where all the shops are open every day of the week until ridiculously late hours.

All the links to Reign
Anyway, after breakfast it was time to make my way to Stirling Castle. Didn't do much research about it before hand so it was a nice surprise that the main focus on the audio tour was King James V (Mary, queen of Scots' father). It was so interesting to hear someone actually talk about a certain periode in history (16th Century). I've learned so much about that periode thanks to one TV series. Back in May, a friend introduced me to the show and I've been hooked ever since. Not only do I think the show is great, it also makes me look for information and actually learn something. It was amazing to be able to actually link names to a place and other people in history.

The main reason why I wanted to visit the castle in the first place was not because it was a film location of anything that I was familiar with (yet), but it was featured in Dragonfly in Amber, the second book in the Outlander series.

I really need to see Braveheart now
After my 2hours wandering around Stirling Castle it was time to move on to other places. I've visited Argyll Lodging, which I don't really recommend and the William Wallace monument on the other side of town, which I do recommend. By the time I arrived it was proper raining, which gave the below view on Stirling Castle:

I'd recommend this with an audio guide! I knew who William Wallace was and why he was a local hero, but I've learned a lot more thanks to my visit to the monument. It's also inevitable: I have to see Bravehart...

And yes, that is actually Wallace's (broad) sword. 1.67meters long!

You can actually go on top of the monument, which should give you (with better weather) a beautiful panoramic view on Stirling. Instead I got this. Quite a view hein?

The monument closes at 5, so I had wandered around for a good hour, which was enough.

After I got back to the car I wanted to back to the hotel and get some dry shoes, but I changed my mind as I wanted to have an "early" night. That didn't work, it's passed midnight... Again -.- Anyway, had dinner at a pub in Bridge of Allan, not to far from Stirling University (where I'm staying) and was 'home' around 7. And that is it for today! Tomorrow I'm leaving Stirling to visit more places, especially one I'm very very excited about x)

That is it for today. Thanks for reading!
xo - Sara