For a long time my idea of bliss is a cabin in the woods. Secluded, quiet, nothing but me and family spending quality time together. Minimal interaction with others. Just me and mine doing what we want, when we want.
Read.
Hot Tub.
Good Food.
And Repeat.
At the beginning of last year I made the decision to book Forest Holidays for over the Christmas week. Monday to Friday. Just Joel, the girls and myself.
Of course things don’t always work out as you plan so what with one thing and another the girls stayed home with their Dad and we had Christmas early. Our new Christmas day and Boxing Day were Saturday and Sunday (21st/22nd). We did all of our usual, Christmas eve boxes, quiet Christmas day just the 4 of us, gave out all of the older boys presents and spent boxing day at mums all together.
Monday came around and the girls were picked up before we set off to Strathyre, Ben Ledi in Scotland. Check in was from 4pm and by the time we had negotiated finding a service station and the weather we arrived pretty much bang on time.
We were greeted by beautiful Christmas lights strung around the reception and a piper playing carols, in a kilt, in the cold! Receptionist did say they were lighting the fire pit so he wouldn’t get too cold much longer. I was given a glass of mulled wine while Joel went to take a video of said kilt clad piper.
Those who know me know how much I believe in fate and the universe. Well, imagine my delight when she hands over the key to the cabin and it is number 23! My lucky number. Don’t even get me started on the amount of times 23 has popped up in my life when I needed it. I felt guilty about leaving the girls at home but this kind of gave me the reassurance that they were just happy to be having a whole second Christmas with their dad and the boys!
After settling into the cabin we flipped on that hot tub and barely left all week. Ok, slight exaggeration but it was bliss! Between nipping into town for bits to make our own little Christmas dinner and shopping for goodies to take home, we spent all of our time just chilling out.
The weather wasn’t great and it did rain lots but it didn’t spoil the time at all, hot tubbing in the rain is in fact quite relaxing!
We did go into town for lunch one day and had the most amazing haggis fritters. Worth a trip to The Crown for those alone and we did try to go back before we headed home but they were closed – sigh!
On the way back we presumed we would pass the Scottish border and be able to stop and take pictures. Sat nav had other ideas and brought us back a different way. However, it brought us back via Hadrians Wall which was a nice little surprise.
We stopped and got out to appreciate the sights, the weather wasn’t nice enough for us to take a decent trek but it certainly gave us a taster to want us to go back again another time.
Having taken a more scenic route home meant we found a little library tucked away in one of the villages. It was a bus shelter converted into a toy/book library and you could tell it was really well kept. It makes me want to start my own little library…
Overall the 5 days spent in Scotland were just perfection and it really was the break I think we both needed. The girls got 2 full Christmas days so were happy and we had so much to tidy when we got home I am still working my way through finding places for all the gifts!
Oh and lets just see who actually gets this far in reading my blog. I said YES!