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A 28-day adventure by Jarrod. Read more

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Trip start
May 13, 2024
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Back to Europe
May 12, 2024 in the Netherlands ⛅ 25 °C
We sadly had to say our goodbyes to Kaz and Coz this morning, as they kept going south, while we began the long journey to Europe. They left, and we finished packing before getting an Uber to the airport. Luckily, we had a direct flight but it was still very long to get across the Atlantic back to Europe. When we arrived, it was a quick train and a tram to arrive at the part in which the hostel was situated. It was a beautiful location with lots of walking space, basketball courts, lakes, and plenty of spaces to hang out on the grass. The hostel is an old school refurbished to be modern and perfectly suited for a hostel. It has a café and bar and is great for the price we paid. We arrived too early to sleep, despite how tired we were, and so wandered around the park briefly and a bit of the city before heading back for dinner. We were ready for bed at 9, but with the sun still very much shining, we figured it might be best to wait an hour when it was darker.Read more
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Amsterdam weed
May 13, 2024 in the Netherlands ⛅ 24 °C
After sleeping in to try and combat some minor jet-lag, we took our morning pretty easy. We grabbed a coffee and went for a walk without any real objective or aim, just seeing the famous streets, canals, and architecture of Amsterdam. We were shocked at how far we could work without getting bored, it is such a pretty and lively city. We decided an early dinner and another early night might be on the cards, so we figured we would find some food. First though, I had to get the Amsterdam special. I looked around and found a very fancy looking dispensary that had great reviews online. I bought a couple grams and began my journey to find papers. Yet, somehow they are very difficult to find outside of the dispensaries that I just left. We were getting hungry, so I instead just went to another dispensary and bought a joint to dodge that whole process for now. Began smoking that, had a bunch, put it out and went for some nice Italian. A couple spritz and some nice pasta was great way to kick off the Amsterdam trip. After this we went back to the hostel and chilled in the rooms until we fell asleep. Quite expectantly, I slept amazingly and conquered any jetlagged.Read more
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Culture Kings (Van Gogh & Sex)
May 14, 2024 in the Netherlands ⛅ 28 °C
Today we woke up and explored the canals some more before heading to the Van Gogh Museum. We stopped for a lunch snack that was from a tiktok famous restaurant. It's basically cheesy chips with sauce, but I have to admit that it tasted incredible. The cheese and the sauces were amazing. Once we arrived to the museum, we saw some of the most iconic pieces of art known all around the world. Though neither of us are particularly artsy, we recognised some of his more famous self-portraits, his sunflower paintings, and perhaps most famously, the spring blossom piece. Although, once again, I know nothing about art, it was an exceptional experience seeing these in person and getting to admire and learn about the life and artistic mind of Van Gogh. As troubled as it was. The next stop on our culture journey in Amsterdam took us through the red light district and into the sex museum. Here, we learnt and experienced the history of sexual expression, prostitution, and famous incidents from ancient to modern history. It was a very unique, interesting, and funny time. We then headed back home where I chilled with Sarah a bit back at the hostel, before catching a train to Amsfoort. I caught up with MJ for a drink and a brief tour of the town. It is a very cute little Dutch town, and as a former medieval settlement, it has the ancient walls and history that make it a very cool town. You can walk around the town and see the moat that still remains, sections of the massive gates, huge walls, and more that remind you of the deep history of the city. These things, although mostly for their aesthetic purposes and to remain in touch with the rich history, are still used for practical purposes. For example, many utilise the moat to get around town. Whether by row boat or by stand-up paddle board, each bar and restaurant has stairs and a little area to park your boat, if that is how you choose to arrive. A certain way to avoid the breathalyser. Eventually, we found somewhere for dinner and a couple more drinks while we caught up. We chatted until about 11pm when I decided I should catch a train back to Amsterdam. I was shocked about how regularly and easily the trains still went. Took me less than an hour and I was back in my hostel. The public transport system is impressive.Read more
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Zandam
May 15, 2024 in the Netherlands ☁️ 22 °C
Our day started with our train trip to the town of Zandam just on the outskirts of Amsterdam. We then spent a good bit of time wandering through an authentic replica of an old Dutch town. It was very wholesome with some cute traditional houses, farm animals, workshops, stalls, canals, mills, and a lot more. The quintessential Dutch experience. The first attraction was walking though the old homes, through their gardens and over the tiny foot bridges. After that you begin to enter the main town centre where you can try some classic Dutch cheese, buy a pair of clogs, traditional beer, and other cool products that represent the history of the Netherlands. It was a very cute experience and it really had something for everyone. The final part of the experience was to walk along the major canal, see the mills, and the animals, until we stumbled across a little ferry run by a very nice elderly couple. They ferry you across the canal, to another very cute part of town, avoiding a huge walk back and around. This allowed us to explore a bit more and slowly wander back to the train station. We explored a more modern, yet still very authentic Dutch community. Maintaining the canal system as a significant mode of transport around town. These houses were so beautiful and quaint, it made me really picture the easy life as a Dutch native. The journey in Zandam ended in the very modern and artistic part of the town. This had very large and impressive houses, very beautiful but not very reminiscent of a Dutch household as one expects. We stopped for a meal and continued our journey toward the next town. This one famous for its interesting buildings and architecture. Especially one hotel that looks to be built out of hundreds of much smaller buildings. We explored the little village and shopping centre before heading back to Amsterdam. We went back to the hostel and had a hot chocolate (great choice) and an early night.Read more
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Goodbye Picnic
May 16, 2024 in the Netherlands ☁️ 20 °C
Our first stop of the day was to see the outside of Anne Franks house in Amsterdam. Sadly, we couldn't get inside because it books out months in advance and so we had to settle for the exterior. Although quite sad, it gives me an excuse to return to the city and we nonetheless observed the monument and the accompanying view from across the river. Nice monuments were laid out in her honour and it was a nice touch. We continued to explore the surrounding regions before making our way to the other event of the day that was much easier to get tickets for. This was the immersive Van Gogh museum. This was easily one of my favourite art instalments that I have ever seen due to the unique and interesting way to experience the art. Free of lines and crowds, you simply walked through a long hall or sat on one of the benches and watched the walls transform into a colourful show. It reflected the history of the Netherlands and Amsterdam, the personal history of Van Gogh, and the evolution of his Art before culminating in the visual and auditory expression of all of his most famous pieces. It was amazing and incredibly well done, never have I experienced art in such a way. After this we did a bit of shopping through the streets before grabbing some snack foods and heading to the park for a last dinner together. Along with this, I finished off a joint that I had been carrying around for 2 days and struggling to get through. This neglects the other 2 grams that I had bought and simply been unable to finish because I was clearly unaware of the strength of the shit over here. We had a very nice afternoon in the park, the weather was nice and the atmosphere was lovely and peaceful. We sat around for a while, eating smoking and feeding some of the animals before it was time to head home. Sarah and I enjoyed some drinks as it would be our last night together after pretty much 3 months travelling together in bits and pieces.Read more
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British Museum
May 17, 2024 in England ☁️ 21 °C
I woke up, said goodbye to Sarah, packed my bags, and headed for the airport. It was a sad goodbye but we have already planned for another trip with Kaz and Coz back in Aus hopefully at the end of the year, so there is always that to look forward to. Travelling on my own, without a sim card was a bit of a challenge but it was kind of fun I'm a way. Back to my roots of when I was first beginning my travels. But, against the odds, I shook the rust and made it to the airport safe and sound. I caught a quick flight to London and after a couple of trains I arrived at the British museum. I dropped my bag off next door, where I was staying and headed across to begin the exploration. World famous for its ability to reflect the UKs dominance over much of the world during the colonial period, it holds (stolen) artefacts from every corner of the globe. And that is not an exaggeration, there isn't a single country that I could list that didn't have some culturally significant artefact advertised inside. The moment I entered, I was overwhelmed. You could spend days in here. I only had a few sections I was really interested in so I could kind of speed through. But, with that being said it still took me over 4 hours. The highlight for me was the Rosetta stone. But there was sections on ancient Europe, Egypt, the Middle East, Australia, language, Greece, Rome, The Aztecs (and other SA empires), North America, Japan, Korea, China, medicine, astronomy, currency, and literally hundreds more. It would take you weeks to avidly read and observe each section inside. Each site had hundreds if not thousands of artefacts. My summary of the above items does not even begin to describe how each Empire and civilisation is in some way portrayed here. Their British Empire was truly enormous. Interestingly, I saw many artefacts from many sites I had been to in Turkey, Tunisia, Italy, Peru, and so on. This was cool and depressing, knowing how complete these sites would be with the original artefacts. Ephesus being the big one. So many amazing statues stolen from their original locations that fragment and fracture the beauty and impression that the sites has on you. I already loved Ephesus but cant help but think about how much more amazing it would be with these artefacts still there. It took many many hours until I was finally done, and made desperate for a feed and a drink after all the standing and walking. I hadn't eaten and barely drank any water all day. So, I found an Asian restaurant and spent a pretty penny filling myself up there. I went back to the hostel and laid down until it was a reasonable time to sleep. It was a big day and I was eager to rest as much as I could.Read more
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Crazy Catch Ups
May 18, 2024 in England ☁️ 18 °C
Most of today would be spent catching up with Cait who had moved to England 2 years ago, and a bunch of her other mates who I had met in Australia that all seemed to make the pilgrimage to the UK around the same time. She was also nice enough to let me crash on her couch, too, saving me 80 euro in accommodation as hostels are not cheap in London, no matter how low you are willing to drop your standards. We sat for a while in her apartment catching up with her and AJ before we went for a wander through the markets of London. It was here, as we were looking to buy some food that I realised this was my first country that has English as it's primary language since I left Aus. Although many of the countries it was very easily managed, it was a hell of a relief to go talk to a local and be absolutely free of the stress of a language barrier. We explored the streets and continued to catch up before heading to the park to eat our burritos. They were surprisingly good. We then caught up with Rory and hung around chatting shit and embracing the rare London sunshine. We chilled at the park until it seemed a good time for the pub. However, upon our arrival to the beer garden we realised that we were hardly the only people trying to see some sun and enjoy a beer. A such we hung around for a couple drinks then ventured to the next pub for somewhere to sit and chill. This one was very dingy and much more your typically English pub. We stuck around for a few games of pool before once again heading on to try find somewhere a bit more lively. We took Lime bikes to and through the park and when we saw a pub popping off, we figured we could try find a spot to chill for a drink. This was expected to be the last stop as Cait was running a marathon the next day and although I can hardly blame her, I was a bit gutted I was gonna miss out on the London nightlife. Although too busy to get a seat again we stuck around and stood out the back and enjoyed our beer and the sun. As we stood I thought I spotted Grebit, Liam Hairs mate who we travelled Sicily together at the very beginning of my journey. I was very unsure so had to get a closer look. It so happened that when I wandered up to him, he was part of the way through trying to convince a British girl that he was famous from Summer Heights High. So, it worked out well that I made a big deal about seeing him and she was all the more convinced he really was an actor. We quickly lost interest though as we caught up, and wrapped our heads around running into each other in a random London pub. I knew he was situated in the UK but had no idea where so to see him was crazy. And, even better, it took a matter of minutes before we both knew we were going to be having the huge night that I had so desperately wanted. We caught up with Cait briefly, said our goodbyes and let her go off and prepare for her half marathon. We had a bunch of drinks, he bought a packet and we hit the clubs. It took no time at all until we were both fucked up. Against all the odds I remembered my way back to Caits, got the key and put myself to bed for a very limited sleep. I had to be up early for a train to catch the family in York, It was very exciting times.Read more
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Family in York
May 19, 2024 in England ☀️ 21 °C
Sadly, I was forced awake early, hungover and tired because Cait had her half marathon early Woke up early in the morning. When I managed to organise all of my belongings (minus my charger), I said my goodbyes, grabbed a coffee to keep me moving and headed to the train station. Although the public transport in London is exceptional I was hardly in the mood. In the end it almost went horribly as it was very difficult to get an Uber but luckily one came for me in the end just in time to make the train. I met Brendan outside the train station and we boarded our 2 hour train to York. It worked out well that we could spend the two hours catching up before disembarking and wandering around York. Of course, we had a lot of time to explore York with the family, and given we had our bags, we stopped at the pub for a drink and a quick feed. This was the chance to try my first British Sunday roast, and it was bang average so I'm hoping I got a shit one. Then, as the F1 started we found another pub that had some TVs before sitting down and watching. Not long after the folks wandered past so we could say g'day before they continued to the accommodation to drop off their bags. We finished off the F1, which wasn't particularly exciting as Max Verstappen won, before the EPL kicked off straight after. So we sat with the family, drinking, watching sports and chatting. The EPL was as uneventful as the F1 as Manchester City won, but eventually Melissa and Andrew arrived and we could really begin the family holiday. For the first time in a long time the whole family was together, and the fact we all made it to York was a miracle. After a couple drinks we headed to a different pub for a feed before all heading to the accommodation and relaxing for the evening.Read more
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Spooky York
May 20, 2024 in England ☁️ 18 °C
When we woke up, we continued our catch up and enjoyed a relaxing, slow morning. Eventually though, our walking tour of York was to begin and we met basically right outside our accommodation. Melissa had struck gold by getting a beautiful three tory house right next to the famous York Minster. The tour started by exploring the area around the minster
Wandered around the minster, learning about the famous Guy Fawkes who grew up and lives in York. There were many pubs and hotels that claim to be his local, but the guide informed us that pretty much no buildings in the town exist from his era, so it is unlikely that any of them are authentic. The next step was the equally famous shambles of York. Known for their dark, mysterious environment that inspired Diagon Alley in harry Potter, it was the formers butchers quarter of town. They built the buildings very close together to stop light penetrating and causing the meat to go bad. To further this effect they built second and third storys that overhang the previous floors meaning that essentially no light gets through during any part of the day. The atmosphere was great and it really is a spooky, creepy part of York. After our tour, we sat at the pub and enjoyed a drink. The pub was very gothic and old. The floors weren't level and the roof was short, but it did feel like the classic Scottish pub. To add to the immersive aura, there are plenty of ghost stories that go back hundreds of years. They are present and displayed all around the pub. However, it wasn't until the afternoon that we kicked off the really spooky side of York. We started our second tour of the day, that was the darker more scary side of York. The guide, although dramatic and a great story telling, he was a bit over the top for me. Very exaggerated and loud, but he was very funny and knew how to improvise. Although the tour had some spooky stories, it was probably more fun and entertaining than anything. After this tour, we went back to the Shambles to experience it at night and get the full experience. It worked, it was a much more suiting atmosphere at this time.Read more
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Puffins
May 21, 2024 in England ☁️ 13 °C
Today we were leaving York, and didn't have anything specific planned. We wandered around the town and saw anything we may have missed during the tours. This was the old city walls that you could walk all the way along that almost completely encircle the city still. A strange and interesting experience. The moat is even visible to this day, though overgrown and grassy. We then split with Dad and Andrew going to pick up the rental car, and with the rest of us walking through the fields and parks. There are hundreds of squirrels everywhere you look that are very friendly and likely fed very often. We continued to the more consumerist part of town and did some op shopping. There were some great pick ups to be had but my lack of funds at this point of the trip restricted my spending. I did still pick up a pretty great shirt. After this we were picked up by the boys and we headed off to the main reason for everyone being in the UK, Scarborough. Where Nanny had grown up, we were excited to see her childhood home, where she worked, and of course, scatter her ashes in the Moors. She loved it there and it only seemed fitting to let her rest there. On our way we stopped at the Bempton cliffs to see the puffins that call this place home during this time of year. As we quickly learnt, the reason they love it is its a sheer cliff face that is safe from predation. But the frosty wind that the cliffs generate make the walks very painful. It is truly a sight to behold and well worth battling the cold for a little while. There are thousands of birds of many different species occupying the sky and cliff face that make the spectacle pretty mind blowing. Although the walk was incredible, we were becoming disappointed and disheartened by the fact we were yet to see a puffin, there were simply too many birds in the sky to be able to easily differentiate which was which. We had heard the best bet is to find them in the cliff face in their nest. But hundreds and hundreds of nests made this an equally difficult task. Eventually we found a volunteer there who had spotted a puffin nest and allowed us to use his telescope to take a photo. It was very lucky and we were so happy to be able to utilise him. It provided a great view. Having seen what we came to see, we could begin the journey back, and get out of the cold. Once we had done this we continued the journey back to Scarborough. We unloaded all of our stuff, which was becoming quite the task, relaxed, had a drink and enjoyed a nice afternoon overlooking the quiet, coastal town of Scarborough. Although Nan hadn't lived here in many, many decades, it felt like the town likely hasn't changed all that much. Of course more modern, the city still felt like it was stuck in the past to some degree. In a good way, though.Read more
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Nannys legacy
May 22, 2024 in England ☁️ 13 °C
We started our day by continuing the celebration of nanny's life, and in doing so took a journey through her early childhood in Scarborough. This, of course, started in the exact house in which she grew up (5 Princess Royal Park, Scarborough). At first it was quite difficult to image what life would have been like in the 1940's and 50's, but as we shared pictures from this period we realised it doesn't seem to have changed all that much. it was a peaceful and quiet place, Scarborough, and very much matched how I saw Nanny all the way to the end. You have to be thankful of the preservation and appreciation the British have for retaining and preserving their history, as it allowed us to look back 70 or 80 years in the past and reflect on how nanny stood in this exact spot, with grandad, and took a photo that her grandkids and whole family we able to look back on, like she was still here. The house, almost the exact same, the street, the same, the neighbourhood, the same, and even Scarborough looks to have changed very little from that time. We knew this, because we continued our journey to her next home, where she lived and worked as a cleaner. Chris, of all people and over the phone, was able to direct us from street to street, and house to house, using monuments and buildings to guide all the way to the exact location (3 Belmont Road, Scarborough)- showing how little the place changed, and how of-sound-mind, Chris could be when it came to important details about his growing up. It was quite astonishing. We then continued up the road briefly and got a nice view of the beaches and coast along the esplanade, apparently one of Nanny's favourite places within the town.

We found another critical part of nanny's upbringing, the location in which she danced as a young woman. Peasholm Park. We explored the nice area and found some great historical photos that allowed us to reminisce a little bit more. Finally, in a reflection of nanny's proudest legacy, her 3 sons, daughter, 3 grandsons, 1 granddaughter, and 3 spouses all found their way to Scarborough to honour her and spread her ashes in her birthplace. An unbelievable feat, and a true reflection of the love she created, shared, and felt.

After a small walk along the water and some lunch, we then spent the afternoon in the apartment drinking and reflecting on nanny's legacy and life in Scarborough.Read more
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Nannys Final Goodbye
May 23, 2024 in England ☁️ 14 °C
We had quite a nice apartment for our time in Scarborough, and made the most of it in the morning, as we enjoyed the view and a couple coffees, before heading to explore the towns historical castle. We had heard the stories from nanny about the castle that overlooked the city, one that she herself had never visited due to the proximity and visibility of the French coast during WW2 and then presumably because of safety afterward. Yet, when we arrived and spoke to a tour guide, he said that although it was likely closed during the world wars, it had been open for most of the 20th century. Perhaps nanny never thought to check after the war. After a nice walk to start the morning, the whole family went toward the coast for a photoshoot that Melissa had organised. Which is fitting given how shocking it is we all managed to make our way over.

As we explored the tiny coastal town you realised the impact someone can have on the world. 10 people had travelled all the way from Australia to a small coastal town to honour a an amazing woman, mother, and grandmother. Continuing in the tradition of remembrance, we took the rest of the family to visit nanny's parents grave. Once again relying on Chris's surprisingly impressive memory, he directed us to the exact location of the graves in a considerably large grave yard. Interesting what the mind remembers. We cleaned the gravestones, took a moment, and left a piece of nanny to rest with her parents.

The final part of our journey would be the most mournful. Parts of nanny had been laid along the beach at Mooloolaba, laid with her parents in Scarborough, and the final part of her journey were to end in the Yorkshire Moors. We drove through, admiring the views as she once did on her bike, and found a suitably quiet area that we could say our final goodbyes. I say "final goodbyes" for dramatic effect, she's far from gone as long as her memory lives on through all of us, which I know it will. We shared a brief word, and spread her ashes across the landscape. It was a moving and beautiful moment with the whole family. Miss you Nan.

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Cycling
May 24, 2024 in England ☁️ 14 °C
To relive one of nanny's favourite things to do, we decided we would endure a 26km bike ride from Scarborough to Whitby, and although it was a beautiful ride, aided by electric bikes, in the end it would be slightly disastrous. The landscape was incredible as we traversed farmland, coastal rides, medieval bridges, beautiful country towns and homes, and incredibly green forestry. As peaceful as the views were, the rides themselves were more hostile and after many hours of riding, the uncomfortable seats started to become painful. After some sore backs, a couple falls, and some short patience, we had started hoping the end would be soon. That being said, the start was still very pleasant, even finding somewhere for a coffee break. The next significant stop after this was Robin Hoods bay and it was already at this point we hoped the end would be soon. But we had to push through to the Whitby. Luckily it eased up, the road smoothened, and the gradient began to work in our favour to allow us to push through. When we did arrive, Steve, Shelly, Mike, and Mikey caught a taxi straight home, whereas the rest of us decided to get some famous Whitby Seafood. Safe to say we were also starving. The bikes were collected and we ate some great fish and chips, of course, accompanied by a beer. After this, we even found the energy to explore the endeavour, Captain Cooks famous ship he used to discover Australia and other Pacific countries. We had no idea it was here but were glad to g for a walkthrough of a historical piece of Australian and world history, whether for better or worse. We caught the bus back along the route, and it was far comfier, before essentially passing out upon arrival back at the accommodation.Read more
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Moors Exploring
May 25, 2024 in England ☁️ 14 °C
We had a bit of spare time before leaving Scarborough and chose to explore the surrounding areas. This started with Thornton Dale, a very cute, quintessential English town with great bakery's, food places, and shops. Not to mention the nice green parks with plenty of water. Despite being beautiful, it was still very small and we could only spend a couple hours here before moving on. We decided to drive further into the Moors and explore as much as we could. This time we could enjoy our views, and take our time a bit more now that we had already spread nanny's ashes. It's a large region and so there was still plenty of places to drive through, and it was a great to see the unique landscape in this way. We then decided to return to Whitby since our legs were much more capable of carrying our weight compared to last time. This time spending a bit of time walking around and seeing the markets, before finding a nice pub for a beer. There was a walkathon in the area so it was quite busy in town and as such didn't bother to stick around. This did mean that the abbey was crowded with cars and people and still low on energy from yesterday, we decided to simply do a drive by rather than waste anymore energy. It means the photos aren't great but suffice for the memory's. We grabbed a quick feed on the way home and then relaxed in the afternoon due to a big couple days.Read more
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Scotland
May 26, 2024 in Scotland 🌫 13 °C
Though we had the car since York, today was the first of many days driving around the Scottish countryside. There was a lot of distance to cover, and we didn't have a lot planned as a result. We stopped for lunch, whenever a photo opportunity arose, and briefly at the occasional castle. Other than that we continued all the way to the campsite for the night, where we would have a great experience in the Scottish outback. Although just little cabins, the location was amazing and was a great place to spend the night. This location most mostly chosen for the price, but it ended up being a great way to experience Scotland. There was a cute little stream, some farmland, and plenty of sheep. They were cute. Other than the cabins, it was a proper camping experience, we roasted marshmallows, and even lit sparklers while we watched the sky turn to black. It didn't. By 11pm there was still a solid tinge of sun covering the horizon. Guess that's the norm in Scotland. We sat and admired the view the whole night while we had some drinks before eventually going to bed in our warm cottages, escaping the cold.Read more
TravelerLoved that night and those cabins!
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Loch Ness
May 27, 2024 in Scotland ☁️ 15 °C
We woke up, freshened up, took in the last of our beautiful scenery at the campsite before getting back on the road. We started in Ballater for breakfast and a quick walk through the small town. It was a decent breaky and a cute little town with a nice church and a cool bridge, great for some photos. Back on the road, traversing the countryside and really taking in the amazing landscape, stopping regularly for photos. The next stop was definitely Andrews most anticipated, the Glenlivet distillery. Here, we stopped for a tasting and a wander around the very cool shop. Andrew even bought and poured his own personalised bottle of scotch Glenlivet whiskey. We then made out way to the shores of loch Ness and boarded a speedboat in the freezing and windy weather conditions. Although very much subject to the spray and wind, the speed with which we could see the lake was incredible. We saw castle Urquhart from the water, enjoyed some still water in the bays, and followed in the footsteps of 2 men who died trying to break the water speed record 1952. He was going 200mph when the boat hit a wake and disintegrated around him, throwing him 50m into the lake ahead. Dying instantly. As the day went on, the wind increased and the ride became even choppier. When we got to shore, we said our thanks and hustled to the car for warmth and continued our journey in relative comfort. Our next stop was Fort Augustus, where we would spend the night. The town was interesting to explore and wander through, with castles, rivers, a lock, and some cool forests. We enjoyed another pub feed where I tried haggis for the first time. Bang average but worth a try when in Scotland, I guess. probably doesn't help when you know what it's made of.Read more
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Isle of Skye
May 28, 2024 in Scotland 🌧 13 °C
The first stop of the day was the Eilean Donan castle, and due to traffic and parking issues, we couldn't get easy access up to monument, and instead found a great viewing point up ahill. This turned out to be a great and much quieter alternative. We got some photos, flew the drone and continued for a coffee stop. We then stopped in Plockton for a walk along the water, in the quiet town within a little cove. Of course, a distillery was sniffed our which resulted in some gin being purchased before we continued on again. Sligachan Bridge was the next stop, where we walked briefly and took photos. There was a walk but no one seemed overly keen. Not long after, the rain started anyways and we figured this was a good chance to pack up and move on. When we stopped at our accommodation for the next 5 nights I was blown away. Due to tourism, finding accommodation was difficult so Melissa used the opportunity to Airbnb a beautiful home as a way of thanking mum and dad for putting her through medical school. Brendan and I just leeched off her generosity. It was an incredible building; modern, spacious, it had a fireplace, plenty of rooms, and incredible views over the water. the location was the best bit, it was so peaceful and quiet in the Scottish countryside. We tried to enjoy a drink outside but it was to cold so settled for a drink by the fire on the comfy couch. The large windows meant we could still appreciate the views. We had a few drinks and called it a night pretty early.Read more
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Fairy Pools
May 29, 2024 in Scotland ☀️ 14 °C
We started our day early to get to the fairy pools before the crowds and ensure we can fit in a visit to the world famous Scottish beaches. We arrived early enough to comfortably get a park, and embarked on the 4km right away. The significant Sgurr nan Gillean mountain commanded over us throughout the walk, splitting the clouds and disrupting the bright green landscape that it protruded out from. It was a great monument to situate yourself for a walk. The walk itself took you through the stream originating in the aforementioned mountain and conjoining mountain range. The stream creates waterfalls and streams of pristine clear, blue water. As tempting as it may have been to jump in, the water was close to freezing and the outside temperature felt not too far off that either. Although warming up on the walk, unsurprisingly we all chose against this option. When we reached all the way to the end, beyond the gravel path and onto one mostly of mud, the view was slightly underwhelming, but did show the exact origins of the stream we had been following for 4km. The rest of the walk more then made up for it anyways.

After this, we headed toward Talisker Bay where we began a walk to a well known Scottish beach. Although a place for surfing, the beaches aren't well renowned for their beauty or tranquillity. The much more rugged and rough landscape of Scotland didn't simply end at the coast, instead we were greeted with steep cliffs dumping freshwater into the oceans through waterfalls, and beaches strewn with rocks in place of sand. In contrast to harsh and grim surroundings, the water and wind was surprisingly easy, allowing us to get right up to the water and even fly the drone for some good photos. The sheep also appeared to favour the oceanside views. When we left we walked back through the random peoples property, as it is all apparently private land but which the locals want everyone to be able to enjoy, and hopped back into the car to head home for the day.Read more
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Neist Point
May 30, 2024 in Scotland 🌬 13 °C
After a relaxing morning we began our day by setting off to Dunvegan castle. Yet, upon arrival, we discovered entry was 30 aud each and we decided, fuck that. We continued on to Neist Point for a lookout over the ocean and a potential walk to the lighthouse. We jumped out the car and walked up a small hill to capture a photo of the interesting headland. Although slanted quite heavily, all sides provide a steep and sudden drop off into the rough North Atlantic sea. Atop is a green plateau that round the corner to a lighthouse. It was reminiscent of Madeira with the cliff faces and grass covered slopes. We continued to wander around the viewpoint to get photos and admire the landscape, but opted against the walk to the lighthouse, as the best view was right where we currently were. As such we headed home for a relaxing afternoon before a big day tomorrow. We stopped off at the tiny town near our accommodation for a drink then then did our best to enjoy the time we have in our beautiful accommodation. So we had a few drinks, snacked and sat watching the twilight over the oceanRead more
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Hike Day
May 31, 2024 in Scotland ☁️ 14 °C
Today was due to be a big day of walks and I was excited for it. Scotland is great for hiking but we haven't been able to do too many, so any opportunity to stretch the legs and see the natural beauty got my excited. We started at the Quirang Circuit, which was suppose to be about 8km of walking, however, that was cut very short before it even really began when we found the path destroyed by water and erosion. As such, we had little option but to turn back. We still got some great photos of the natural monument but would have been great to see from the top. Nonetheless we have plenty more walks so it didn't affect my mood. We stopped at a beach near portree to see if we could find dinosaur footprints on the rocks. As we wandered around aimlessly looking at the ground, with a entourage of other people doing the same thing, we had just about given up. Then on our way out we spotted a definitive set of prints that meant we could leave satisfied with ourselves. Before we left we were also lucky enough to spot dolphins. The Portree cliffs were the next stop and provided a great opportunity for Andrew to fly his drone. It was the perfect place for it. The immensely green Scottish grasses (No doubt made this way by the climate) just abruptly fell into the ocean creating amazing dark cliffs that went as far as the eyes could see along either coast. Only large boulders at the base disrupted the waves and the cliff. We watched the birds flurry around the skies and cliff faces where they nested, and the water cascade into the ocean.

We then stopped for a brief walk toward brothers point, another beach near Portree. It was a nice walk down but the walk also became a bit treacherous as we approached the end. It wasn't particularly pretty so we also decided to cut the walk a bit short and head back to the car. Still cool to see the types of beaches Scotland has on offer. After another couple of brief stops for viewpoints we continued into the hike of the day, Old Mann Stor. t was due to be quite significant, about 6km up some brutal hills, but well worth it. The views were incredible, with amazing rock formations, lakes, oceans, grasslands, and more. Brendan and I chose to do a longer path to ensure we got a bit of an extra work out while also traversing a split between two rock spires that stood out in the landscape. It was a bit of a scramble getting up but the view was very cool from the top. We re-joined the rest of the family as they approached the top, got some amazing photos and videos. The wind and cold up the top was brutal and the weather appeared to be rolling in so we had to head but the views were easily worth the walk. Although not a great day it didn't impede our view and that was all you could ask for. The whole circuit and took us about 2 and a half hours. The long way back wasn't as exciting but was a bit more gentle on the knees and backs that were still sore from the Scarborough bike ride. We went home afterwards, enjoyed some warm showers, and ate about 30kg of nachos between us all. Well earned after a big day.Read more
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Portree
June 1, 2024 in Scotland ☀️ 15 °C
- Today was an easy day as we were tired from yesterdays antics but it was our last in the Isle of Skye, so we had to make the most of it somehow. So, we wanted headed to Portree after a lazy start to the day and arrived about midday. The girls did some shopping and dad and I wandered around the pier. It was quite lively and colourful little town, with some very cute local stores and stalls. Eventually caught up with Andrew for a drink where the girls met us shortly after. After a bit more exploring, we headed back to the stein pub near our house for a final dinner. I had the venison and mum got the crab. It took her about an hour to crush and eat the enormous crustacean, but it was tasty once you got inside. We then went back and enjoyed a bit of a sunset and drinks. It warmed up enough for us to be able to congregate outside and even fly the drone, getting some good photos of everyone to remember the amazing place we called home on the Isle of Skye. It was a pretty late night of drinks but we were all still quite exhausted from the last few days of travel, so we eventually had to call it a night and enjoy our final nights sleep in luxury.Read more
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Skyfall
June 2, 2024 in Scotland 🌫 13 °C
Today was our final day on the Isle of Skye, and although quite sad, it had been an incredible time and we really felt as though we had done just about everything we wanted to do. This meant that we had a pretty lengthy travel day ahead of us to get to Edinburgh, but we made the most of it stopping at some iconic locations and Glasgow on the way down. The first stop was at a farm on the side of the road where we could watch some highland cows graze around on the grass. They're very cute and goofy animals but I had expected to see more along the journey, so I was glad we got to see some up close before we left. The next stop was a viewpoint called the three sisters viewpoint which was called this because of the three rocky outcrops / mountains that protrude out of the earth in a remarkably orderly fashion. We didn't stay for long as the weather was cold and the fog didn't allow for the most perfect viewing. We then chased the Skyfall waterfall which is basically famous for having the James bond movie shot there. That wasn't anything crazy exciting, and not having much memory of the movie, was slightly underwhelmed when we arrived and found a "waterfall" of just a few feet.
But the landscape was still incredible as it had been throughout Scotland and soon we continued on our journey to the accommodation for the night. We were lucky enough to all be sharing one bedroom for the 6 of us, but given the luxury we had experienced the last few nights this was allowable, especially just for the night,Read more
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Glasgow
June 3, 2024 in Scotland ☀️ 20 °C
Today we left our little one bedroom cabin and headed to Glasgow early. We arrived in time to do our walking tour right after arriving. The guide was a great old fellah, he was funny and well educated on the city. He has a diverse background and it reflected in his attitude. The city had an interesting history, though didn't quite compete with the Edinburgh walking tour. We then explored a bit more briefly, seeing the cemetery of the city that has some rather famous names about it, and some great views of the cathedral. We then entered the cathedral and explored the very moody atmosphere that most cathedrals tend to create. This one was quite large and had multiple layers to explore. This was our final stop before getting back in the car and heading to our accommodation in Edinburgh. There was a lot of driving today, so when we checked in, we had an early night.Read more
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Haunted Edinburgh
June 4, 2024 in Scotland 🌬 14 °C
We started our day with a short history tour of the city of Edinburgh, apparently referred to as the Athens of the North. Once again the guide was great and clearly struggle to fit in all the information he had in his mind to a 70min tour. He rambled on and tripped on his own ideas as he tried to tell curious tourists everything he knew able the fabled and historical city. I guess Athens of the North isn't completely inaccurate. He had been a journalist, writer, and historian. He helped to create the movie Braveheart and later wrote Mel gibbon Autobiography, a very interesting man. He took us on a great tour along the royal mile that ended at the gate of the castle, which we would be seeing tomorrow. The royal mile was really cool, you could almost see the ancient city that lie within the old stones of each building, as the layout had changed very little since its inception in the 7th century. After the tour we went back down the royal mile to the cathedral and had some lunch to prepare for our night tour. This started by a very interesting, spooky, ad enlightening exploration of the underground, ancient city, that the more modern Edinburgh was built on top of. See, to connect the old town and the new town more effectively, the constructed a bridge, and filled it with lavish shops and high-end products, eventually becoming one of the most well known and wealthiest parts in all of the world. This made people want to live nearby, and so building were built alongside the bridge, and eventually began to fill out more and more, slowly devouring the older city that lay below. Although not fit for living, the poor in the 18th and 19th century had little choice but to access these areas and try and make them hospitable- in the end disease and death ran rampant. This is what lead to the whole purpose of the tour, the ghost tour. There have been many, many stories of ghosts and other supernatural events occurring in these parts and so we wanted to get a taste for it ourselves. It was surprisingly immersive, and when you are standing a cities width from the sun, in dark, wet undergrounds, with a guide sharing harrowing stories of the cities history and the horrendous deaths, fear does start to creep in. The tour got admittedly less scary as we left the underground, but more informative, as we then wandered the modern city and the graveyard. When he took us inside a mausoleum, the fear creeped back in, but after he finished telling his stories we were free to roam the outside world, free from any dark stories. It was exciting and quite an intense way to do a walking tour but it was very different. As someone who has now done many, many walking tours this was a refreshing way to learn a lot about the city while keeping it fresh and engaging. This ended a big day of walking through a great city, and one I would love to come back to, if not for the beauty- for the history.Read more
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Edinburgh Castle
June 5, 2024 in Scotland 🌬 12 °C
Most of today was spent exploring the Edinburgh castle as we did want to take it a bit easy after a big day yesterday. As the longest occupied fortified castle, and apparently the most besieged castle in Britain, you could expect that it has an interesting history- and it sure did. Constructed as late as 1000AD during the iron age but expected to have been occupied as early as 900BC, it has undergone developments, renovations, and reconstructions to keep up with the times. We broke up and wandered around while we listened to the audio guide that did a decent job at explaining the prison system, the defences, the dining halls, the cathedral, etc. But there was a lot to explain and it was difficult to listen to it all while battling the brisk Scottish cold. After a walk through a small museum / gallery, we stuck around until the 10m gun went off and then set back down the royal mile. We went back to the room briefly while we waited till later that night when we were due to go to a comedy club. Although I didn't expect much from a free comedy show, it had me in tears, they were so funny, especially the opening acts and the host. It was a nice way to spend the night and enjoy a drink.Read more
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