Scotland Travel Diary: Loch Lomond + Aberfoyle

Ah Scotland, what a beautiful country!

Day 1

So after Christmas, on Boxing Day early morning, we made the trip from Bournemouth to Scotland and I fell in love with what I saw. Nathan's grandma has a home in a little village called Aberfoyle, not too far from Loch Lomond and the Trossachs. But there was so much family coming that we stayed at a B&B - The Bield Bed & Breakfast. On our first day, we walked for about 10 minutes through the forest to encounter this adorable café that overlooks such beautiful hills and mountains and also has a waterfall. We didn't have too much time to explore on our first day because of the sunset being so early (3:30/4pm in the winter!)

Day 2

On our second day, we went to Balmaha to take a walk up this gorgeous mountain and to get to a view point. I had such a bad cold but I was determined to go up! We stopped a couple of times where we found some gorgeous view points as well. After our big climb, we stopped for a gorgeous salted caramel hot chocolate down the road in a small (or "wee" as Northern Irish/Scottish people would say) coffee shop by the fire and I was totally impressed. I totally didn't document this because 1. it was so tiny and there was 15 of us trying to get in alongside other people who were already there and 2. I had a cold and I didn't particularly feel like whacking out the camera too much haha.

Day 3

On our third (and very sunny) day, we made our way to Callander through Duke's Pass - Duke's Pass is just up the road from Aberfoyle and is supposed to be a scenic drive - and boy was it! It was super icy for a bit of the drive (of to which Gran panicked when Nathan started pretending to skate and slide all over the ice when we got out for photos haha) but it was definitely worth the look! We passed by gorgeous mountains and through winding roads, and even passed by some Scottish bulls (Ferdinand anyone?!). I wish I would've gotten pictures of the gorgeous Callander because it reminded me so much of Innsbruck in Austria. Who says you can't get gorgeous views in the UK?!

Day 4

On our final day, we finally got some snow. It had been sunny the whole time we'd been there (shocking, I KNOW!) but the forecast had said it should be snowing throughout the whole morning (of which I was praying for the whole time!) and we woke up to a magical winter wonderland. I asked Jill, Nathan's aunt, to take some pictures of Nathan and I in the snow and we got absolutely drenched from playing around and throwing snowballs on each other. I don't know what it is about snow, but it is just so magical to see those little fluffy snowflakes which are totally God's signature on nature. It just looks like cotton candy has covered the whole town and I can't get over the look of snow. It makes everything look absolutely magical. So, naturally, I was a little sad to be leaving on the day it snowed, but we had so much fun during that time that I was happy enough going home. 

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Now, I'm ready to discover so much more of Scotland! Stay tuned for more adventures!

Love you all,

Nat xx

"Surely your goodness and unfailing love will follow me all the days of my life" - Psalm 23:6

I absolutely love this verse because of I can always trust that God will always care for me. When fear knocks on my door, I can stand firm on God's word that He will always be with me and His goodness and unfailing love will follow me all the days of my life.