There are so many amazing sites and things about Scotland. We tried to narrow it down to 5 that summed up the feeling. Everyone should visit at least once in their life.
The Land and it’s beauty. It felt like we really experienced most of all Scotland has to offer in topography. Arriving by ferry on the ocean shores with its crisp air, serene beauty and quiet lifestyle. To the rolling hills and Huge pastures of the lowlands and Midlands. You were shocked at how much land with so few people it felt like! It is just mind boggling after living in Southern California. Land land and more land. To the Lochs and Highlands, of what you think IS Scotland. The misty rain hanging over the lakes (lochs). Tall mountains with waterfalls, and a lot of Pine trees which I wasn’t expecting. The Troon beaches of Ayr, which are very South Carolina feeling with scrub brush and Big sandy beaches. Really diverse and quiet pretty all around. One can feel life all around you.
Scotch the “Water of Life”– So says Darren. This one of course I can’t really agree on because everyone who knows me; knows that Champagne is MY Elixir of life. But for men, Scotland is to men what Champagne France and Paris is to women. Rugged outdoors with fine locally made, Single Malt Scotches, a mans world! The Whiskey Trail is the region of Scotland where you can follow Scotch Distilleries and do tastings like you go to Napa to taste wine. Beware however, Scotland has a ZERO tolerance for drinking and driving so be sure to have a designated driver!
History– So we’ve been all over where History has been in England, Ireland, France, Italy and even America, but there really is something about the stories of Scotlands history. Perhaps, because so many movies have been made and Mel Gibson made you know them; or you just know more about a lot of the names shared like Robert the Bruce, William Wallace and more. Driving down the road and a castle popping up and you read the history and its facts, and you actually have read about them in school. Wars you remember in movies and you are standing on the field that it actually took place! You can still FEEL the history coming off the land and the buildings you are in. The haunting bag pipe music really helps send it thru you too.
Fresh Scottish Salmon! I haven’t eaten Salmon since the Fukushima meltdown and I don’t like farm raised so to be finally able to eat wild caught Salmon in the cold waters of Scotland was a thrill for me. And boy is it good, the smoked salmon especially from our favorite small smoker we found: Marrbury Smokehouse, oh man this place was the best! They too have a castle!! Randomly we met the owners far from their restaurant in a town called Perth. They were so fun and nice. Unfortunately they only ship within the UK but if you are ever over in Scotland its a Must visit.
Castles, as always. Always in search of more Castles, Scotland did not let us down. We found some fabulous ones and even better, Actual Castles from Darren’s lineage of his Campbell Clan. So exciting to see in person what we’ve researched online and then be standing in it! Cannot imagine being a current descendant of direct lineage and knowing you OWN this castle, even if its been turned over to the National Trust. Crazy cool. (many of the gentry had to turn there lands/castles/manors over to the National Trust due to the Very expensive taxation put on them) TO SEE MORE OF SCOTLAND: HTTP://WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/BELLASTRAVELS1
Welcome to our new blog! This is our first attempt into the world of blogging so bear with us and love to know feedback.
You are all invited to search the archives and categories as we are sharing our stories, both good and bad in an effort to keep a record for ourselves. As well as, to help you avoid the pitfalls and possibly benefit from our experiences in many different areas of moving/traveling abroad; as we pursue our dream of an adventurous lifestyle with the world as our home.
We want to stay in touch with all of you as you enrich our lives so much. Have a look around and let us know what you think. Check back often as we will be updating the site frequently!
As a married couple with similar and varied interests we will have many perspectives and interests such as, Organic lifestyles, Skiing, Kitesurfing, Health, Dog Care, Housesitting, Sailing, Expat experience, Financial strategies, Technological challenges, and many other subjects. Thank you for being here and sharing the love.
We would love to hear from you anytime about new and cool places to see and if there is anything we can do to make the site easier to use.
Arriving by sea to an incredibly beautiful sun drenched rural landscape was not how I had envisioned landing in Scotland. I had pictured beauty, yes, but not the type that evoked such feelings of welcome and warmth. We drove off the ferry into a picture book come to life filled with castles, lakes and incredible panoramas and if that weren’t enough, when I felt tired from driving we pulled over and had the opportunity to be served some of the best smoked salmon I have ever had. Wild caught, house smoked delicious. The best part is it is Scottish not West Coast Salmon, so no fear of neon glow coming from Fukashima, even Darla finally ate Salmon again after years of abstaining! Needless to say we bought quite a bit and have already eaten it all. YUM
The cute girls behind the counter had perfect Scottish lilts to their voices that made me smile. It is very rare that I have heard true Scottish accents in America. Scotty on Star Trek certainly doesn’t count! I am not sure if the Scots just don’t travel much but I rarely have heard it. The Scottish I heard was from my grandmother, who was very hard to understand!
Our arrival truly was a series of events laid out in a perfect universal order and much beloved by all. Could we live here? It is an incredible place and I want to spend a lot of time exploring but the wet cold may limit that. We will be “living” here for the next 3 weeks so the weather is something we shall learn to adapt to. The raw natural vivid landscape is incredible. I can’t wait to get my camera going!
Cool fact, there is a law called the Scottish right to roam that allows anyone basically the unlimited right to go, hike camp and go across almost all land and waterways unimpeded no matter who owns the land. Basically you aren’t allowed to invade peoples privacy, leave gates open, cause damage to crops or go cow tipping! That said, you are allowed to: pitch a tent on any hilltop you have the balls to climb, explore 3500 year old standing stone rings or cairns sitting on tree studded hilltops far from any road. This is a fundamental right set forth by the Scots long in the past. Such a different thought process than in America where, as a child I was shot at on at least 2 occasions for trespassing when I was just “creeking”, crawdading, or adventure exploring! (read, picking fruit). ha ha
Now that we have started to settle and “live” here for a day or two and the rains came over the beautiful hills in perfect Scottish fashion; I realize that there is a cost for the natural beauty and that is the weather! We hope for breaks to enable us to get to some incredible places but that remains to be seen. The British Open is playing at St. Andrews a few hours away, might do a drive by on that one, as unsure on the crowds/parking and Bella. Crazy to think that its happening so close to us.
One of our main goals is both of our ancestry quests here in Scotland. We have spent countless hours on Ancestry.com and have managed to trace both sides of my family here and one leg of Darla’s. We will be visiting the home parishes and looking at here these people live and when.
It is really a very exciting venture and we will lay it all out as soon as we put a few more pieces together. Kinda like an episode of Who do you think You are! I look forward to sharing what we find here and sharing it with you all soon!
The question was: How to get from the Southern most tip of England to Ireland with a dog? The answer was a car ferry, and we wanted the shortest crossing in case Bella wasn’t happy with this decision of transport! The answer to that is high speed ferry and there is only one and that is from Northern Wales across the Irish Sea into Dublin. Off the Isle of Wight, back to the UK mainland of Southampton and up the motorway to North Wales! An all day journey.
We were able to see fantastic Castles in North Wales on our way out to the tiny tip of Holyhead on the island of Anglesey, where the fastest ferry from the UK to Ireland is. Under 2hrs vs almost 4 hrs, at all the other crossings. Irish Ferry is like a giant cruise ship that happens to carry cars underneath. The only bad thing is No dogs allowed on deck; so either they stay in your car or they have kennels on board for them. With Bella having her bed and toys in the car, we chose to leave her for the journey in the bowels of the boat,in our car and leaving me a nervous wreck for 2hrs. All was for naught, as she did Famously and it appeared she slept the entire way and was all groggy as we greeted her on the dock of Ireland. (you are not allowed to stay in the car or go check on your car during the trip)
There’s a huge duty free shopping on the Irish Ferry and lots of good deals so go ahead and shop as we didn’t see that selection for the rest of the trip. Ireland is not big into gift shops and souvenirs.
Our return trip from Ireland To Scotland, was also from a tiny upper North Ireland tip called Larne, 30 min from Belfast and also under 2 hrs. A much bigger, slower, as we covered less ground and not as nice. But, It landed us right on the shores of Scotland at Cairnryan which is a gorgeous West shore of Scotland in the Galloway Park district and just gorgeous country and seashore.
Getting off a ferry and arriving into the gorgeous countryside, with no noise and chaos of an airport or train station and all your stuff and car right with you, is just the most exciting wonderful way to travel we have discovered. The cross over of less than 2 hrs is so relaxing, gorgeous views and no complaints. The arrival into Scotland was much better than Dublin which was commercial and a bit chaotic but not too bad.
We highly recommend it, its not cheap but you have ALL your luggage, your dog, there is NO security which was astounding, they don’t even check passports. Walk all around a huge ship so no cramped spaces, comfy seats with tables, Restaurant and bar (we didn’t partake and it looked like airplane food only a bit better) but all very easy and no cramped leg space. Next time you travel, check it out, we think it is the only way to “fly” now and will always search it as the best solution for future travels.
If you don’t have a car and want to travel on a ferry, you can also be a walk on passenger to the ferry. Unsure how the luggage works but they bring you on via an airport style shuttle and then return you to shore the same way. You don’t have to have a car to travel via ferry.
Our August/Sept house sit is a gorgeous house in the small village of Henley-On-Thames that is 45 min North of London. A boating community on the River Thames, close to Windsor Castle.
And the house sit comes with the great Westie, Bella’s new boyfriend to be. How fun is that, gorgeous house, super cute dog and all for free! that is why we love house sitting 🙂 And the owners seem super fun and nice so on top of all the above, you meet the most interesting people you wouldn’t have in a hotel.
Our arrival truly was a series of events laid out in a perfect universal order and much beloved by all. Could we live here? It is an incredible place and I want to spend a lot of time exploring but the wet cold may limit that. We will be “living” here for the next 3 weeks so the weather is something we shall learn to adapt to. The raw natural vivid landscape is incredible. I can’t wait to get my camera going!
Basically you aren’t allowed to invade peoples privacy, leave gates open, cause damage to crops or go cow tipping! That said, you are allowed to: pitch a tent on any hilltop you have the balls to climb, explore 3500 year old standing stone rings or cairns sitting on tree studded hilltops far from any road. This is a fundamental right set forth by the Scots long in the past. Such a different thought process than in America where, as a child I was shot at on at least 2 occasions for trespassing when I was just “creeking”, crawdading, or adventure exploring! (read, picking fruit). ha ha
One of our main goals is both of our ancestry quests here in Scotland. We have spent countless hours on Ancestry.com and have managed to trace both sides of my family here and one leg of Darla’s. We will be visiting the home parishes and looking at here these people live and when.
