Category: Travel

Today started with a grocery shop at the Tesco in Aviemore. We then walked up and down in search of crafty shops to buy stuff in. But there was only one and they didn’t have anything especially nice. I was rather dissapointed as I remembered some good shops here 10+ years ago. Amy did spot a Goldie though :-).

We then drove the Highland Fork Museum.

This is an open air museum that is amazingly free to get into. First up we watched a film about the museum and then visited the 1930s school house. Then down to the 1700s highland village. It was great to get a real feel for house people once lived.

The girls were also able to dress up.

And Christy had fun pretending to grind oats.

We then headed back to the cafe for some lunch. Today I had a roast veggie quiche – it was nice but would have been so much better heated up.

And I had some of this orange hedgehog slice. The caramel slice was Amy’s.

After lunch we explore the other end of the museum – which was more about farming. And we found a cute hen with 8 little chicks.

Lastly the girls visited the play park. It was a great one and I think Christy could have happily spent hours here.

From here we went to the Leult Working Sheepdog Farm. When we arrived the dogs (well some of the 18) all came running to greet us. I was surprised how much they wanted to be patted – even nudging our arms much like our own dogs would.

There were some 10 week old puppies as well, already in training.

And, of course, the sheep.

At 4pm it was time for the demonstration. This was amazing. Watching one of the dogs bring some sheep from the back paddock. All the dogs were just itching to have a go.

I took most of the photos with the Nikon but took a few to share with you now. The shepherd lined up the dogs and had one of the dogs weave the flock through them. So clever.

He also sheared one of the sheep….

and the girls got to have a turn as well…

Lastly they got the bottle feed the lambs.

We enjoyed our time with the pups and sheep. Unfortunately Poppy wasn’t feeling the best (possibly coming down with the flu). We drove back to the caravan park and I got a load of washing done while dinner cooked. Christy went off to play with some friends. Pop rested and had a bit of a sleep. Amy played on her DS and I played on the computer.

Oh, and I forgot to show you the mismatch socks I got yesterday. Aren’t they cute?

So nice to have a bit of a sleep in this morning. Eventually we got up, got organised and set off for todays adventure. After a quick stop at the Estate visitors center we went to the Cairngorn Reindeer center. We saw some of the reindeer (most of the 100 odd herd are on the hills).

There was also a lot of kids activities and info about the reindeers which filled in time before our trip up to see the herd. We followed our guide in a convoy of cars and then walked for about 20mins. It was a lovely walk through the forest.

Then finally we arrived at the herd. The reindeer were just so gorgeous and all came running down when they saw our guide with the bag of food.

Their antlers are like velvet and full of blood so continually growing and very sensitive.

Food was spread out on the ground and we were also able to handfeed them.

And just check out the hooves – perfect for the snow!

We spent around 30mins with the herd and then walked back to the motorhome.

From here we drove further up the mountain to the Cairngorn Mountain Railway. We caught the railway even further up.

We had lunch at the cafe. Despite having an unpleasant time getting Christy to eat a few bites of her fish, the view and Vegetable Soup was great.

Then we went out to the viewing area.

Then it was back down the railway and to the Highland Wildlife Park. The first part is a drive through, which the girls thought was fantastic.

Lots of great animals. I took lots of photos with my Nikon but can’t download those until I get home.

You then walk around to see some other animals – just like a normal zoo. Not too many photos with my normal camera as the battery was getting low.

We enjoyed our visit here but it started to rain right towards the end so we missed the last few animals and Christy missed out on a play at the park. We headed back to the caravan park but the rain never really came to anything. Shortly after we arrived back some nearby neighbours came to invite the girls on a walk with them (and their dog). Christy had gone with them yesterday and another family with a little boy she befriended and must have made a good impression. They returned about an hour later. We had an easy dinner and relaxed (again). Can’t believe we’re into the last week of our trip and that it’s nearly over

Just how beautiful can one country be. We woke to blue skies again and set off at 8.30am for the scenic coast road to Ullapool. We started off with more rolling green farm areas and I was beginning to wonder if the whole coastal area would be like this. But then we spotted the mountains in the distance.

The scenery was just incredible and around every corner or bend it was even better. I lost count of the times Pop and I said beautiful, amazing, gorgeous, fantastic, spectacular and awesome. Words fail to describe the land we drove through so hopefully these photos will capture some of it. And truly amazing part was that everywhere was 360 degree views.

We stopped at Smoo Cove to stretch our legs and take some photos.

Later we stopped at a Spar and bought some lunch ingredients. I few minutes up the road we found the most amazing place to eat. There was even a picnic table for us to have our picnic lunch. It was a little chilly out but it was too magical a day to eat indoors.

 

We had make your own wraps…

Followed by some butterfly cakes…

Driving on down the coast (and slightly inland) we had a number of photo stops, including Ardvreck Castle.

We were admiring the view (again) and coming down a big hill when I spotted our caravan park in the distance. WOW!! Another magical location.

Once set up the girls went off to play on the stone beach. Pop & I enjoyed a cup of tea/coffee then we all went for a walk around the park. I took LOTS of photos.

The girls flew a kite….

Christy made rock sculptures…

and they both sat together on the beach being loving Sisters (actually they were getting on very well all day today).

Poppy and I relaxed. I thought it only fitting to read Coast magazine.

Dinner tonight was pasta with a tomato sauce.

We played some blackjack, I typed up todays report and we headed to bed at 9.30pm. Another beautiful sunset.