My hols in Scotland with me kids...
Discussion
I’ve just returned from a week in Scotland with my children, so thought I’d let you all know what is available in the area that we visited, in case you’re ever in that neck of the woods.
My brother moved to Aberdeenshire with his family 8 years ago, and it’s taken us 8 years to go and visit (though they have been down south occasionally!). We were meant to have stayed with them, but my sister in law is ill and we decided it was best for us to stay elsewhere, so she had some peace and quiet when required. I suspect the prospect of 8 & 10 year old girls charging around her house filled her with dread (it certainly does me!)
They live in a little hamlet called Inverkeithny on the banks of the Deveron River, about 7 miles NE of Huntly, which is an hour NW of Aberdeen. We flew up with Flybe and my brother picked us up and drove us back to Inverkeithny. We had rented a log cabin on the banks of the Deveron River. It sleeps 6, but 4 would have been enough as there is only one bathroom, and queues may have been lengthy first thing in the morning. We each had our own bedroom and a nice open-plan kitchen/living room with vaulted ceiling and log burning stove. Everything was made of wood – even the telly! There was a small garden, through which bats would swoop in the evenings, and it was a 2 minute walk to the Deveron.
Here’s a piccie of the cabin:
Here’s the cabin from up the valley:
The Deveron at the bottom of the garden:
My sister in law kindly allowed us to use her car, essential as the nearest shop is 5 miles away and there’s no public transport in the vicinity.
My brother’s house is about 2 miles further up the valley from the log cabin. He built the extension himself (it took him 6 years!) and they’ve got 25 acres, sheep, cattle and a 17 yr old son!
Their pond is full of newts and frogs (and leeches!) which the girls loved pond dipping in. (My brother’s house isn’t open to the public by the way!!!!) The Deveron is 10 minutes walk from their house.
Their house:
Their house from further up the valley:
The Deveron River:
Art, but not as we know it:
Anyway, that sets the scene! The area in which they live is very different from what most people picture as Scotland. No mountains, lochs, bogs, heather moorland etc. It’s rolling farmland of barley, grazing for cattle and sheep, deciduous and coniferous forest. But, there’s NO midges at all, which is a huge relief!
We spent each day doing something different, and it’ easy for me to list what we did each day rather than make some sort of comprehensive list.
Monday morning: ASDA!
While the owners of the cabin kindly supplied us with a starter pack of bacon, eggs, sausages, bread, milk, butter and homemade jam, we ate a lot of it for breakfast, so needed to stock up on nosh. I’ve got to say though, the strawberries and raspberries up there are a hell of an improvement on the ones down here.
Monday afternoon: It was tipping down, and my brother and his wife were at the hospital for the day, so we took their Border Terrier, Dill, to Banff beach for a walk. We then drove to MacDuff, just next door to Banff and went to the aquarium. No exotic tropicals there, but it was a nice little aquarium with all sorts of local stuff to see, including jellyfish, pipefish, wolfish, lumpsuckers, cod, octopus etc etc, and they had a touchy feely tank for kids. The main tank was being cleaned by divers, so it was a bit murky.
Tuesday morning: We went for a boat trip from Macduff to Troup Head, principally to see dolphins and minke whales, but suffice it to say we didn’t see any. However, we did see seals basking on the rocks, puffins, guillemots, cormorants and/or shags, and huge colonies of cormorants & gulls of various types. The girls got to drive the boat and they got a certificate. (Anyone with small children will know that certificates are extremely desirable!) The sea was calm, though it was quite windy, so the journey was not unpleasant. The boat is run by www.puffincruises.com if anyone is interested.
Gulls on cliffs:
Cosy here, innit?:
Cormorants on cliffs:
Puffin
Seal:
Some kind of gull:
Some other kind of gull:
Driving the boat:
Too long at sea, she’s gone tropo
Fishing boat:
Tuesday afternoon: Went back to my brother’s house for tea and supper.
Wednesday morning: We went to the Falconry Centre at Cairnie, just outside Huntly. They’ve got an array of birds of prey, and the girls got to handle a Harris Hawk, barn owl and tawny owl. They also have a herd of red deer you can go and have a squint at. A large stag wandered over and had a look at what we were up to. We then went to Huntly Castle, which is spectacular, and in a lovely setting. Lots of dungeons, battlements, spiral stone staircases etc. Lunched at The Merry Kettle Tea Shoppe in Huntly (about as sophisticated as eateries are in that neck of the woods!)
Child with Harris Hawk:
Other child with barn owl:
Barn owl:
Alright, deer?
Huntly Castle:
Huntly Castle:
I appear to have lost the key...:
Wednesday afternoon: We went to Portsoy, to the west of Banff. It’s a quaint little fishing village with 16th and 18th century harbours, with some nice little fishing boats. We went rummaging in the rock pools and looked under rocks for crabs etc. There’s an excellent ice cream parlour on the high street with a range of weird and wacky flavours. If it had been in Cornwall it would have been heaving with people, but it was almost deserted. Very nice indeed.
Thursday morning: We went to Sunnyside, a spectacular beach about 3 miles west of Portsoy. You have to park in the middle of nowhere and walk about 1½ miles along the cliff tops, past the ruins of Findlater Castle, built precariously on a prominentory jutting from the cliffs into the sea. You then walk down a tiny track to the beach. The beach is amazing, with a long stretch of golden sand and at either end fantastic rock pools. We found the usual host of hermit crabs, sea urchins, brittle stars, juicy red sea anemones etc, but the icing on the cake was a family of about 20 beautiful fat dark chocolate brown sea slugs in one rock pool. I defy anyone who enjoyed rummaging in rock pools as a kid NOT to enjoy it as an adult!
We were there for perhaps 3 hours and in that time the beach filled up – with about 10 people. On a sunny day it would be a great place to go with a picnic and spend the whole day. I expect the walk puts most people off. We then went to have lunch in Portsoy.
Findlater Castle:
Sunnyside beach:
Child and dog:
Seaslug:
Thursday afternoon: We went to Sandend, between Sunnyside and Portsoy. Another great beach, about a mile long. It’s popular with surfers when the sea’s up, but it was quite calm when we were there. Again, nobody on the beach, and we did the usual rock pooling, and the girls got soaked!
Friday morning: We went for a walk in the Deveron valley and had lunch at my brother’s.
Friday afternoon we went to a place called Archaeolink near Insch. It’s a sort of open air museum that shows how people in Scotland lived from the stone age through to Roman times, with roundhouses, a Roman Marching camp and various other things. Problem with it was that it looked like the exhibits had been built in the stone age and not been attended to since. It was very dilapidated and run down. It COULD have been great, but wasn’t. There were 5 cars in the car park, which probably sums it up. It needs major investment and I doubt that’s going to be forthcoming. A shame really.
Some wickerman thingy at Archaeolink
Saturday morning: Packed up and decamped to my brother’s for the final night, as we had to be out of the cabin by 10.00am. Pond dipping, wild raspberry picking and red squirrel hunting.
Saturday afternoon: Back to Sandend beach to get wet, build sand castles, have ice cream and generally have a good time. BBQ and malt whisky!
My daughter has crabs:
Sunday: Fly home
All in all we had a great time. The weather was kinder to us than the Met Office had said it would be. It only rained a couple of times during the week; most of the time it was a mixture of cloud and sun. It was cool (16/17C most days) but tolerable. It did turn chilly at nights, though, so the log fire was a nice touch. The roads are empty (and free from potholes – please take note, Kent & Sussex Highways (lack of) Maintainence!), the villages exceedingly quiet and the towns not much noisier. There are few places to eat out during the day, so we mainly picnicked, and no quaint country pubs. But, if you like castles, great beaches, lovely rivers and rolling countryside, it’s beautiful. And if you like salmon fishing, my brother caught a 20 pounder in the Deveron 2 years ago. We’d go back like a shot, and not just because we have family up there. The children loved it, and that’s what a family holiday is all about, innit?!
Hope you enjoyed me little travelogue!
My brother moved to Aberdeenshire with his family 8 years ago, and it’s taken us 8 years to go and visit (though they have been down south occasionally!). We were meant to have stayed with them, but my sister in law is ill and we decided it was best for us to stay elsewhere, so she had some peace and quiet when required. I suspect the prospect of 8 & 10 year old girls charging around her house filled her with dread (it certainly does me!)
They live in a little hamlet called Inverkeithny on the banks of the Deveron River, about 7 miles NE of Huntly, which is an hour NW of Aberdeen. We flew up with Flybe and my brother picked us up and drove us back to Inverkeithny. We had rented a log cabin on the banks of the Deveron River. It sleeps 6, but 4 would have been enough as there is only one bathroom, and queues may have been lengthy first thing in the morning. We each had our own bedroom and a nice open-plan kitchen/living room with vaulted ceiling and log burning stove. Everything was made of wood – even the telly! There was a small garden, through which bats would swoop in the evenings, and it was a 2 minute walk to the Deveron.
Here’s a piccie of the cabin:
Here’s the cabin from up the valley:
The Deveron at the bottom of the garden:
My sister in law kindly allowed us to use her car, essential as the nearest shop is 5 miles away and there’s no public transport in the vicinity.
My brother’s house is about 2 miles further up the valley from the log cabin. He built the extension himself (it took him 6 years!) and they’ve got 25 acres, sheep, cattle and a 17 yr old son!
Their pond is full of newts and frogs (and leeches!) which the girls loved pond dipping in. (My brother’s house isn’t open to the public by the way!!!!) The Deveron is 10 minutes walk from their house.Their house:
Their house from further up the valley:
The Deveron River:
Art, but not as we know it:
Anyway, that sets the scene! The area in which they live is very different from what most people picture as Scotland. No mountains, lochs, bogs, heather moorland etc. It’s rolling farmland of barley, grazing for cattle and sheep, deciduous and coniferous forest. But, there’s NO midges at all, which is a huge relief!
We spent each day doing something different, and it’ easy for me to list what we did each day rather than make some sort of comprehensive list.
Monday morning: ASDA!
While the owners of the cabin kindly supplied us with a starter pack of bacon, eggs, sausages, bread, milk, butter and homemade jam, we ate a lot of it for breakfast, so needed to stock up on nosh. I’ve got to say though, the strawberries and raspberries up there are a hell of an improvement on the ones down here.Monday afternoon: It was tipping down, and my brother and his wife were at the hospital for the day, so we took their Border Terrier, Dill, to Banff beach for a walk. We then drove to MacDuff, just next door to Banff and went to the aquarium. No exotic tropicals there, but it was a nice little aquarium with all sorts of local stuff to see, including jellyfish, pipefish, wolfish, lumpsuckers, cod, octopus etc etc, and they had a touchy feely tank for kids. The main tank was being cleaned by divers, so it was a bit murky.
Tuesday morning: We went for a boat trip from Macduff to Troup Head, principally to see dolphins and minke whales, but suffice it to say we didn’t see any. However, we did see seals basking on the rocks, puffins, guillemots, cormorants and/or shags, and huge colonies of cormorants & gulls of various types. The girls got to drive the boat and they got a certificate. (Anyone with small children will know that certificates are extremely desirable!) The sea was calm, though it was quite windy, so the journey was not unpleasant. The boat is run by www.puffincruises.com if anyone is interested.
Gulls on cliffs:
Cosy here, innit?:
Cormorants on cliffs:
Puffin
Seal:
Some kind of gull:
Some other kind of gull:
Driving the boat:
Too long at sea, she’s gone tropo
Fishing boat:
Tuesday afternoon: Went back to my brother’s house for tea and supper.
Wednesday morning: We went to the Falconry Centre at Cairnie, just outside Huntly. They’ve got an array of birds of prey, and the girls got to handle a Harris Hawk, barn owl and tawny owl. They also have a herd of red deer you can go and have a squint at. A large stag wandered over and had a look at what we were up to. We then went to Huntly Castle, which is spectacular, and in a lovely setting. Lots of dungeons, battlements, spiral stone staircases etc. Lunched at The Merry Kettle Tea Shoppe in Huntly (about as sophisticated as eateries are in that neck of the woods!)
Child with Harris Hawk:
Other child with barn owl:
Barn owl:
Alright, deer?
Huntly Castle:
Huntly Castle:
I appear to have lost the key...:
Wednesday afternoon: We went to Portsoy, to the west of Banff. It’s a quaint little fishing village with 16th and 18th century harbours, with some nice little fishing boats. We went rummaging in the rock pools and looked under rocks for crabs etc. There’s an excellent ice cream parlour on the high street with a range of weird and wacky flavours. If it had been in Cornwall it would have been heaving with people, but it was almost deserted. Very nice indeed.
Thursday morning: We went to Sunnyside, a spectacular beach about 3 miles west of Portsoy. You have to park in the middle of nowhere and walk about 1½ miles along the cliff tops, past the ruins of Findlater Castle, built precariously on a prominentory jutting from the cliffs into the sea. You then walk down a tiny track to the beach. The beach is amazing, with a long stretch of golden sand and at either end fantastic rock pools. We found the usual host of hermit crabs, sea urchins, brittle stars, juicy red sea anemones etc, but the icing on the cake was a family of about 20 beautiful fat dark chocolate brown sea slugs in one rock pool. I defy anyone who enjoyed rummaging in rock pools as a kid NOT to enjoy it as an adult!
We were there for perhaps 3 hours and in that time the beach filled up – with about 10 people. On a sunny day it would be a great place to go with a picnic and spend the whole day. I expect the walk puts most people off. We then went to have lunch in Portsoy. Findlater Castle:
Sunnyside beach:
Child and dog:
Seaslug:
Thursday afternoon: We went to Sandend, between Sunnyside and Portsoy. Another great beach, about a mile long. It’s popular with surfers when the sea’s up, but it was quite calm when we were there. Again, nobody on the beach, and we did the usual rock pooling, and the girls got soaked!
Friday morning: We went for a walk in the Deveron valley and had lunch at my brother’s.
Friday afternoon we went to a place called Archaeolink near Insch. It’s a sort of open air museum that shows how people in Scotland lived from the stone age through to Roman times, with roundhouses, a Roman Marching camp and various other things. Problem with it was that it looked like the exhibits had been built in the stone age and not been attended to since. It was very dilapidated and run down. It COULD have been great, but wasn’t. There were 5 cars in the car park, which probably sums it up. It needs major investment and I doubt that’s going to be forthcoming. A shame really.
Some wickerman thingy at Archaeolink
Saturday morning: Packed up and decamped to my brother’s for the final night, as we had to be out of the cabin by 10.00am. Pond dipping, wild raspberry picking and red squirrel hunting.
Saturday afternoon: Back to Sandend beach to get wet, build sand castles, have ice cream and generally have a good time. BBQ and malt whisky!
My daughter has crabs:
Sunday: Fly home
All in all we had a great time. The weather was kinder to us than the Met Office had said it would be. It only rained a couple of times during the week; most of the time it was a mixture of cloud and sun. It was cool (16/17C most days) but tolerable. It did turn chilly at nights, though, so the log fire was a nice touch. The roads are empty (and free from potholes – please take note, Kent & Sussex Highways (lack of) Maintainence!), the villages exceedingly quiet and the towns not much noisier. There are few places to eat out during the day, so we mainly picnicked, and no quaint country pubs. But, if you like castles, great beaches, lovely rivers and rolling countryside, it’s beautiful. And if you like salmon fishing, my brother caught a 20 pounder in the Deveron 2 years ago. We’d go back like a shot, and not just because we have family up there. The children loved it, and that’s what a family holiday is all about, innit?!
Hope you enjoyed me little travelogue!
Edited by Fezant Pluckah on Monday 3rd August 18:51
Edited by Fezant Pluckah on Monday 3rd August 20:55
Photos like that do nothing for the popular and cultivated misconceptioon that Scotland is all midges and rain, there'll be hoardes sweeping up the M1 as we speak now the cat is out of the bag! Looks like you had a great time - we did this year too - spend pretty much all the summer holidays camping around places like Findhorn and Applecross, marvelous.
You came home the day of the Turriff Show!
I'm not far from Banff and know the coastline you speak of well, likewise the Deveron.
Great you enjoyed it & have some fantastic photo's to show for it.
Andy
(Re the Quite portsoy Comment - A different kettle of fish when they've the boat festival)
I'm not far from Banff and know the coastline you speak of well, likewise the Deveron.
Great you enjoyed it & have some fantastic photo's to show for it.
Andy
(Re the Quite portsoy Comment - A different kettle of fish when they've the boat festival)
Edited by AndyAudi on Tuesday 4th August 12:58
Fezant Pluckah said:
Cormorants on cliffs:
OK, I give up. Where are the Cormorants.A sort of ornithological "Where's Waldo"
you must have been staying pretty close to Bridge of Alvah I think, GF and I took a
down the Deveron from Turriff to the sea & when you pass through the gorge you swear you can hear 
Glad you enjoyed it! I live between Insch and Huntly. Come in for a dram next time you're up this neck of the woods. The door's always open for ph'ers.
Shame you didn't manage to visit a distillery while you were up here, Glendronach and Glen Garioch both pretty close and jolly good.
Archeolink is a bit s
t, did you stop at Gadies cafe/reataurant? Decent grub in there...
Shame you didn't manage to visit a distillery while you were up here, Glendronach and Glen Garioch both pretty close and jolly good.
Archeolink is a bit s
t, did you stop at Gadies cafe/reataurant? Decent grub in there...Lefty Guns said:
Glad you enjoyed it! I live between Insch and Huntly. Come in for a dram next time you're up this neck of the woods. The door's always open for ph'ers.
Shame you didn't manage to visit a distillery while you were up here, Glendronach and Glen Garioch both pretty close and jolly good.
Archeolink is a bit st, did you stop at Gadies cafe/reataurant? Decent grub in there...
We hope to be there next year Iain, so we'll let you know nearer the time! Thanks for that!Shame you didn't manage to visit a distillery while you were up here, Glendronach and Glen Garioch both pretty close and jolly good.
Archeolink is a bit s
t, did you stop at Gadies cafe/reataurant? Decent grub in there...Glendronach is just over the hill from my brother. He's doing some work on the main house this week, afer it was flooded.
We didn't go to Gadies, no. We had lunch beforehand. we had an ice cream there. And that was expensive too. I think they need some people in their to kick some botty...
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