July 17th Tuesday

So today we went the furthest from the Stable Flats down to Crathes Castle and Craigievar Castle. Both were tower castles with long spiral staircases. The first was wander about on your own and the second was tour guided. We did managed to find a bit of sunshine today which was a nice break between misting.

I enjoyed seeing both these castles though neither were my favorite of our tour. One thing I haven’t mentioned is that the National Trust of Scotland does not allow photography inside the buildings they maintain. So all the pictures I’ll have will be exterior with the exception of the ruins and Stirling Castle (which are both Historic Scotland sites).

July 18th Wednesday

Well, today dawned gloomy as ever. We’d held off on going to the ruins at Tolquon Castle and Castle Fraser until the last day hoping that the sun would finally grace us with it’s presence. No such luck. We had a picnic lunch at Tolquon Castle. The ruins were amazingly preserved. You could almost imagine how the kitchen help would take the meal up to the lord and lady in the great hall. Where most of the castles we visited had been lived in until the last century, Tolquon had been abandoned some time ago. No longer a family home, but a shadow of what once was.

Castle Fraser was supposed to have a Woodland Play Area. But it really wasn’t much, just some interesting wooden stuff. We didn’t spend a large amount of time there due to the drizzle.

July 19th Thursday

We drove from Haddo Hall down to St. Andrew’s to take a look at the golf course. Not horribly exciting for the kids and I, but my FIL liked it. We skipped the castle and cathedral and headed to Edinburgh. Unfortunately we’ve spent the day either in the car or our hotel room, but it’s been relaxing. Tomorrow morning the kids and I will head over to Edinburgh Castle and hopefully explore Mary King’s Close (some vaults under the city).

July 20th Friday

The kids and I packed up in the morning and left the hotel around 9ish to go to Edinburgh Castle. We hiked it leaving the car at the hotel and with two wrong turns we went uphill three times. We arrived at Edinburgh Castle and had a bit of a wander. We did see the crown jewels of Scotland and the Stone of Destiny. We hurried through like the children love doing. We spent more time in the shops than at any particular exhibit. We found out that the Mary King's Close doesn't allow children under 5 on their tours, so we skipped it. I promised Little Man that we'd come back up with daddy and spend a weekend in Edinburgh sometime.

We packed up the car and headed home. We lost an hour to traffic in the middle of nowhere. I really don't know what was the problem, but we made it home safe and sound and with way too many books by Phil's standards.