We spent a few glorious days relaxing in Banff in Aberdeenshire, in northern Scotland, in this little cottage right on the water. Banff is extremely small and there isn’t a ton to do in the area, so we enjoyed some long walks along the coast and slower days. We found a delicious pub in town for dinner one night, but otherwise cooked at “home” and relaxed.

We did do two activities while there. One day we drove to the Scottish Dolphin Center where we spent some time relaxing on the beach, then went into the centre to learn more about the area. While in there, we saw on the webcam that there were dolphins swimming right along the shore, so ran out and spotted them as they swam by. So exciting!

On our drive back to the cottage, we spotted several people running and realised it was a 50-mile run (for some, others did 50km) ending in a town we had wanted to check out, Cullen. So we drove to the end, cheered on a few finishers and took in the beautiful views. Quite an impressive feat to run that distance! It made me itch to get my running shoes on again…

The Sunday we were there was Mother’s Day, and I was spoiled! The girls and Steffen made breakfast, complete with a delicious chocolate cake and sweet cards. Then we headed out to Balmoral Castle, a place I’ve wanted to visit for years. I’m not an huge Royal follower, but had heard about the Royal Family spending their summers in the Scottish highlands and then, of course, knew that the Queen passed away there a few years ago, so it was always on my radar. I just love the thought of generations of kids running wild and free in the summers (much like my own summers growing up) in steep contrast to their lives in London or Windsor where they are watched and judged and contained. So I put it on our “must see” list for the Highlands. And it did not disappoint! It is so beautiful! The grounds are peaceful, with a path leading down to the river, several gardens and lots of huge trees. We had a yummy lunch in the cafe that was decorated to perfection.

From there we walked up the short but very steep trail to Prince Albert’s Cairn, a huge pyramid in the forest built as a memorial for Queen Victoria’s husband upon his death in 1862. It was a beautiful hike with wonderful views, though not everyone agreed that the steep hike was worth it. But it was Mother’s Day, after all, so they had a pretty good attitude overall!

On Wednesday, May 8th, we drove from Banff to Edinburgh with a stop at the world’s first golf course, St. Andrew’s Old Course. We had lunch at the Jigger Inn which dates back to the 1850’s and overlooks the course. We then walked around a little but were very scared of getting hit! The course was quite chaotic with so many groups playing in a bunch of different directions, it felt like. We didn’t stay long but we got a glimpse of the Swilcan Bridge and the course.

On our way out of town we drove by St. Andrews Castle and the University of St Andrews.

And then we made our way to our place in Edinburgh where we spent 7 nights, wrapping up our time in Scotland.