Scotch Summer Day at The Queen's
After what felt like an eternity, K finally made her way up to Scotland and we decided to honour the occasion by paying The Queen's summer residence a visit. The weather decided to be atmospheric, which means gloomy and raining. But we weren't easily discouraged, pulled up our hoods, got under my umbrella and conquered Balmoral Castle.
We ended up doing the tour backwards which is why our first image of the castle was the slightly less impressive back entrance.
I have to say the garden and, generally, the whole landscape surrounding the castle are breathtaking and very peaceful. I can imagine walking the grounds and relaxing from a hard year at work here. Naturally, that has nothing whatsoever to do with the idea of owning a castle.
This side of the building houses The Queen's study. We were only allowed inside to see the ball room and no photographs were allowed in there. It has very much the charm of a hunting residence is a far cry from the grandeur of Buckingham Palace
If we had done the tour correctly, this would have been our first view of Balmoral. Certainly much more impressive. And it was around this point of our exploration that I decided the rain suited the castle much better than sunshine would have.
Walking around the grounds we discovered other little gems like the Garden Cottage which offered shelter from the rain on one hand and little glimpses through the windows on the other.
Non-stop listening to the audio guide K led the way on to the Gardens.
The rain alternated between light drizzle and straight out downpour so K decided to leave the safety of my umbrella whenever it let up.
Inside the green house we could pretend for a minute that it was summer in all its warm and bright and colourful glory.
Poor K still has to learn that the paparazzi really are everywhere when it comes to royal stomping grounds
The garden isn't just used for growing flowers but also a lot of the food that will later be consumed by her majesty like cabbage, lettuce and these strawberries.
On a side note, I hesitated a looong time before finally giving in and buying the Scottish strawberries at Tesco. There is nothing I love more in summer than living on strawberries and iced tea so I take my fruit pretty seriously. And to my ears 'Scottish strawberries' just didn't sound all that enticing. But, boy was I wrong! I have been eating tons for more than a month now and have not once been anything less than perfectly happy with the quality. You go Scotland!
On our way back to the castle we (or maybe it was just me) magically turned back into children. Because the one good thing about rain is being able to jump into puddles with your wellies on. I refuse to believe you can ever be too old for that.
Things quickly spiralled out of hands from there.
As it turns out I may have to go back and watch Mary Poppins. Try as I might I did not seem able to fly away with my umbrella.
Just as well I got to spend the three hour drive home stuck in a car with this lovely lady and that really is the best possible way to end a wonderful day.
We ended up doing the tour backwards which is why our first image of the castle was the slightly less impressive back entrance.
I have to say the garden and, generally, the whole landscape surrounding the castle are breathtaking and very peaceful. I can imagine walking the grounds and relaxing from a hard year at work here. Naturally, that has nothing whatsoever to do with the idea of owning a castle.
This side of the building houses The Queen's study. We were only allowed inside to see the ball room and no photographs were allowed in there. It has very much the charm of a hunting residence is a far cry from the grandeur of Buckingham Palace
If we had done the tour correctly, this would have been our first view of Balmoral. Certainly much more impressive. And it was around this point of our exploration that I decided the rain suited the castle much better than sunshine would have.
Walking around the grounds we discovered other little gems like the Garden Cottage which offered shelter from the rain on one hand and little glimpses through the windows on the other.
Non-stop listening to the audio guide K led the way on to the Gardens.
The rain alternated between light drizzle and straight out downpour so K decided to leave the safety of my umbrella whenever it let up.
Inside the green house we could pretend for a minute that it was summer in all its warm and bright and colourful glory.
Poor K still has to learn that the paparazzi really are everywhere when it comes to royal stomping grounds
The garden isn't just used for growing flowers but also a lot of the food that will later be consumed by her majesty like cabbage, lettuce and these strawberries.
On a side note, I hesitated a looong time before finally giving in and buying the Scottish strawberries at Tesco. There is nothing I love more in summer than living on strawberries and iced tea so I take my fruit pretty seriously. And to my ears 'Scottish strawberries' just didn't sound all that enticing. But, boy was I wrong! I have been eating tons for more than a month now and have not once been anything less than perfectly happy with the quality. You go Scotland!
On our way back to the castle we (or maybe it was just me) magically turned back into children. Because the one good thing about rain is being able to jump into puddles with your wellies on. I refuse to believe you can ever be too old for that.
Things quickly spiralled out of hands from there.
As it turns out I may have to go back and watch Mary Poppins. Try as I might I did not seem able to fly away with my umbrella.
Just as well I got to spend the three hour drive home stuck in a car with this lovely lady and that really is the best possible way to end a wonderful day.
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