SCOTLAND

Scotland....the highlights! There are just too many pictures to share (I will make a book of just Scotland at some point), but I had to make sure I at least added the highlights of the trip. So back in November, Ashley asked me if Perry and I wanted to join her (and Chris) on a trip to Scotland for a photography workshop. She knew if she could get Perry to go anywhere, it would be there. So we booked the trip and of course had to tell Donne and Ben about it. At first they said no, but a couple of days later they decided they just had to go too! Once we sat down to order our airline tickets, D suggested that we surprise the big girls and take them too. So off we went.....

Our boarding passes!

We rented a van to drive to Atlanta. Tickets are always cheaper if you fly from Atlanta, even if you have to rent a van.

This was the first flight for all three of these girls!

Poor Ben was stick over in the middle by himself. At least he was on the aisle.

Perry and I were lucky, we had seats at the front of this section. We could stretch our legs a little.

Boarding the plane in France.

Perry driving away from the airport. He was not happy with me at this point and didn't want to drive a stick shift on the wrong side of the car and the wrong side of the road. Of course he did a fabulous job and we didn't even need that insurance we paid so much for.

Our first stop was Stirling. I convinced Perry to go ahead and stop since we had paid for the Castle tour package. After no real sleep on the plane, it probably wasn't the best idea, but I'm glad we were able to stop. This little bagpipe store was the first place we headed. 

Stirling Castle had amazingly beautiful gardens!

The entrance to Stirling Castle

Of course we were starving from all the travels, so we decided to walk down to this cute little place. The guy at the bagpipe shop said it was the place to eat.

Unfortunately it wasn't exactly what we were looking for. We ordered fish soup which turned out to be more of a seafood soup with octopus, shrimp and all kinds of ooey gooey stuff. Ben was the only one happy since he had a hamburger.

After a couple of hours of driving, we made it to the Kinblethmont House where we would be staying for the next 7 days. It's also where everyone for the photography workshop was staying. This house was beautiful inside and out. There were something like 20 different bedrooms, two kitchens and who know how many living areas. It was decorated with all kinds of antiques.

The back of the house.

The grounds were beautiful and the trees were HUGE!

They even had an authentic Pictish stone in the front lobby.

Our first day out we headed to Glen Coe. This was on the top of my to-do list! We stopped here alongside a Loch on the way.

The weather was perfectly Scottish. We enjoyed wearing our rain gear and feeling the cool breeze.

The beginning of the Glen Coe Valley.

The house at the beginning of the valley and the one I printed for a Christmas present!

The most photographed house and area in Scotland!

The three sisters. Of course I had to have a picture of this one!

The scenery was insanely gorgeous!!

On the way back, we saw signs for Pictish stones. So we drove down a little road and there it was in the middle of a little community of homes. We made a big fuss and took pictures with the stone. Then we read the plaque....This is a replica of the stone. Ugh! So where is the real stone then? Inside some church. Oh well. Hey what's that....the church! Thankfully they had just moved the stone into the church so it wouldn't weather any more. I'm glad we were able to see the real stone, I just wish we hadn't made such a big deal about the fake one outside! LOL

They all seemed to have the cutest, well kept gardens. Oh and for some reason Blue seems to work over there!

Finally saw sheep!

I wanted to see sheep in the road. You know, like they show in movies. These two, a mama and her baby, were hanging out really close to the road. I may or may not have gotten out of the car to get them to go in the road.

The next day we headed out to the town of Pitlochry. It is the outdoor activity capital of Scotland. They had kayaking and biking and hiking and everything else in between. If we ever go back, I want to be stay here as our base camp.

The little place where we stopped to eat. The guys aren't really too much into selfies.

I swear we saw a rainbow everyday!

Abby hung out with me for the workshop. The scenery was amazing.

Dunnottar Castle.

We ate a lot of fish and chips!! Yum!

The port town of Arbroath. The house we stayed in was about 10 minutes from here.

I finally got to see a lighthouse!

More Arbroath.

The girls got to be models for the day. WOW!!

We loved Dunnottar so much we took everyone back. This is the beach at the bottom of the castle.

Rainbows at Dunnottar!!

On the way back we decided to stop at one of the coastal cliff areas and hike down to the beach. This was probably my second favorite part.

The old fisherman's cabins.

Walking in the North Sea.

One of Abby's bucket list items...walking barefoot in the North Sea.

A waterfall flowing right to the beach.

Sassy!

Oh the bridges and aqueducts!

More Arbroath!

After our stay at Kinblethmont, we headed north to more Clan Hay territory. We stopped to see both Old and New Slains castles. All that was left of Old Slains was a rock wall. Here we found what remained of New Slains. I wish someone would restore or at least keep it up a little more. I'm afraid before too long it will look like Old Slains and have nothing left. It is a Hay castle and where Bram Stoker got his inspiration for his famous "Dracula".

Ben and Perry at their ancestor's home.

Camera eye candy was everywhere!

We finally arrived at another Hay castle, Delgatie, and stayed a couple of nights.

Around the grounds of the castle.

One of my favs.

The next day we drove to from Dundee to Loch Ness making stops at Culloden and Inverness.

Papaw photobombing. A wall at Culloden.

A very good piper in the town of Loch Ness. It was very touristy. 

Here Nessy, Nessy!

The drive into Edinburgh. The bridge was huge. 

The view from the window of our Flat in town.

A panoramic of the tiny apartment.

Waiting for the Tattoo to start. It was extremely crowded. Little did I know, the world's largest Fringe festival was also going on at this time. They estimated about 50,000 people in this one little area we were in. Lord!

The largest gathering of pipes in the world. Military Tattoo 2017!

After the show, Perry and I went downstairs to the World's End bar. It was right on the corner under our flat. It was a nice ending to the evening.

Cheers!

Eek! He drove 1,317 miles while we were there for 10 days.

Finally on a plane headed back home!

Our crew at Dunnottar Castle Beach. It was great trip and lots of memories were made. I hope we can go back again soon. Maybe it will be a little more relaxed.