Doune Castle has become famous in the last few years for its role as the notorious Outlander, Game of Thrones and Monty Python Castle. However, it has a great history behind it as well. Doune Castle is located just northwest of Stirling and only three miles west of Dunblane in Scotland. It was built in the fourteenth century by Robert, Duke of Albany who, I learned from my visit, wasn’t afraid to spend some cash.
I would like to say it was another sunny day that prompted us to try to find The Devil’s Pulpit, but in fact it was cold and rainy when we went. Located just 30 minutes from Glasgow, the pulpit is a hidden gorge just off of the A809 Stockiemuir Road.
Last month I travelled down to the Yorkshire Dales for a long weekend in celebration of yet another family birthday milestone. We stayed in a farmhouse in a little town called Kirky Stephen which is located just at the tip of the dales; we spent our mornings reading, our afternoons exploring the countryside and our evenings relaxing in the hot tub. Absolute peaceful bliss.
With a break in the winter weather and an urge to get outdoors, we prepared ourselves for a small hike up Conic Hill one Saturday afternoon. Conic Hill is a sharp summit located in Balmaha in the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park. It’s about 350m high, so about 2.5 miles in total distance. It also incorporates part of the West Highland Way, but breaks off near the tip where you can get spectacular views over Loch Lomond and the surrounding hills.
Loch Lomond. It’s literally an hours drive away from my house in Glasgow yet I’ve never really made an effort to explore it to its capacity. Probably because it’s so accessible, I know it will always be there for me. But this winter, when looking for a quick little weekend away, we found a great little place that would allows us to wander Loch Lomond for a few days.
After visiting Golspie last winter, I knew that I wanted to spend more time visiting new places in Scotland. And with the idea that we weren’t doing a big trip this year in order to save for a big one in 2017, we decided a few days up in Loch Lomond would quench my thirst for more natural Scottish goodness.
2016 was officially my first full year of blogging. Officially I started in December 2015 so to keep a project going this long is just amazing. 2016 is also the year that I got to tick a few more things off my bucket list, including road tripping up to Glencoe, visiting Auschwitz in Poland and getting to see the Berlin Wall in person.
The Glasgow Christmas market is almost always overlooked for their friendly neighbours on the east coast – Edinburgh. With not only one market but two, Glasgow has a lot to offer for locals and visitors. The two markets are located in St Enoch Square and George Square, and offer an array of European hot foods, sweets, handmade trinkets and alcohol (think hot ciders and mulled wine!).
Living in a big city can feel claustrophobic sometimes, and most of the time you don’t notice it until you get out away from it and smell the fresh air. Whether you live in Glasgow or Edinburgh, there are plenty of alternative destinations to the two big cities within only an hour or two drive, train or bus.
Glasgow has SO much to offer to both tourists and locals. The city is primarily split into two sections – the city centre and the west end – that involves most restaurants, tourist attractions, pubs and fun activities. I’ve condensed the list down to just 21 (I have 100 more that I will probably spread out into different posts!) so that you don’t get bored half way through reading. Be sure to let me know if you do any of these!