Our Epic Summer Holiday Part 1

Here's what we got up to over our summer holiday to Scotland and elsewhere...

Packing the car - a bit of a squeeze

The kids are now very good travellers - the babies are happy to look out of the window or sleep and Zachary enjoys reading his books and listening to stories.

All set and ready to go

Our favourite stop-off location when we're heading up north is Worcester Woods Country Park. Since we were on holiday, we treated ourselves to a tasty lunch in the cafe...

Swith's chilli cheese hot dog and wedges

Zachary loved his burger and wedges

Our second stop was a soft play area in Lakeside Village Shopping Centre, Doncaster where they were all changed for bed.

Jory likes climbing up steps

Our first visit was to Uncle Humphrey (Daddy's brother) and Auntie Amanda in Newcastle. The babies had a great time exploring.

Still not walking, but Auntie Amanda was there to help

Jory wasn't sure at first, but soon settled in

All of the children loved playing the piano with Uncle Humphrey

The following day involved a trip to the Discovery Museum in Newcastle.

Zachary gets ready to put the ball into the machine and watch it zoom down the corkscrew

Tahlia can't resist buttons!

Checking their eyesight

How many Zacharys?

Then it was back to Uncle Humphrey's house for a delicious dinner...

Mmm, homemade pizza!

There was just time the following morning for a play and a few cuddles before we had to set off...

Peek-a-boo!

A last cuddle goodbye

We began our journey up to Glenrinnes in Scotland. We enjoyed a stop-off at the Falkirk Wheel on the way up.

Already asleep

As expected, on entering Scotland the weather turned from dry to drizzle

The Falkirk Wheel is the world's only rotating canal boat lift

Standing by a replica of the famous Kelpies statues nearby

We finally arrived at the home of Uncle Richard, Auntie Angela, Kirsten, Heather and the dogs: Meg and Jet. We enjoyed a very comfortable stay in their house.

Some beautiful buildings

Lovely views

Still not walking!

Such a pretty place

The following day we visited Huntly Castle which was the seat of one of Medieval and Renaissance Scotland's most powerful families. 

Zachary liked the 'caves', mainly store rooms

An elaborate fireplace

It's exhausting work being carried around

There was time for some playground fun before we left

That afternoon, we headed to another local castle, Auchindoun.

Fantastic views from the top

Heather helped Zachary reach the top

Heather, Jory, Daddy, Zachary, Angela and Kirsten

The following day, we explored an unusual bridge and the dogs had a swim:

Walking to the Medieval style bridge

Watching a guy fishing

Really lovely views

The weather was actually very good most of the week; we made the most of it with a visit to Roseisle beach:

Jory seemed to like the waves

Burying poor Heather in the sand!

Then we travelled to Burghead, a peninsula with stunning views.

View from the Visitor Centre

The sea looked very inviting on that hot day

Zachary's highlight was walking the dog, although he also liked letting go of the lead.

The next day, the weather wasn't quite so lovely, but we still enjoyed a look around Elgin Cathedral.

Beautiful ruins

Intricate ceilings

Zachary celebrated his fourth birthday during the week. He enjoyed some presents and birthday cake.

He's now a lot better at blowing out the candles

We had a lovely visit to Speyside Cooperage and watched the men making the barrels by hand. It takes a lot of effort, and precision. Each worker is paid by the barrel so they work incredibly fast!

Hard at work

It was surprisingly hard, but they finally managed to put together their own little barrel

One of the many lovely views on our scenic drives through Scotland

Here's our trip to the Highland Folk Museum where we saw how Scottish Highland dwellers lived, with actors to bring it to life.

A lovely setting with lots of thatched buildings

Milking a cow model

Zachary bought some old fashioned sweets

Daydreaming in the classroom

Tahlia had to taste one sweet too

We didn't know if these were chickens or ducks, but they were very friendly

Zachary milled some grain

Dressing up as a Scotsman

In the Chapel

We headed home for some dinner. The children were a little preoccupied when we got back to eat their food though...

After gradually emptying this cupboard, Jory made it his den

Zachary had set up his own tombola with items from the kitchen

Finally, they all dug in

The next day was one of our highlights: visiting a neighbouring farm to have a look at their reindeer and other animals up close. The reindeer are very tame, as they travel all around the country with Santa during the Christmas period and visit shopping centres.

Zachary had a great time riding along on a quad bike

Feeding the wild boar

Uncle Richard strokes a reindeer

Zachary enjoyed seeing them up close

Daddy and Uncle Richard headed to the Glenlivet Distillery while the rest of us headed to a small ruined castle and playground.

One of the many whisky distilleries in the area

Zachary loved playing with Kirsten and Heather in the playground

Boing!

Some found it simply too exhausting...

We headed to the village of Fochabers and sampled some of the local cuisine...

A delicious macaroni pie (it was actually pretty tasty)

Then we visited Fochaber's Folk Museum, filled to the brim with an eclectic mix of memorabilia from the local area.

Zachary loved doing the quiz

He also had fun counting in the schoolroom

The babies also had a good roam around

Our next stop was ...

Spey Bay

After a wonderful week staying in Glenrinnes, it was time to head onto our next destination (see part two). Thank you to Uncle Richard, Auntie Angela, Kirsten and Heather for a lovely stay.

Packed up and ready to go