During the summer break we took a trip up to Scotland for a family holiday, staying in a lovely Airbnb bungalow and using it as our base to enjoy the area. We were, on the whole, extremely lucky with the weather as it was often sunny – or at least mostly dry.
During the week we made several day trips to local attractions, as well as enjoying some of the local towns and beaches. We enjoyed some lovely meals in the local pubs, and also spent a happy afternoon buying second hand books in the many bookshops that can be found in Wigtown – Scotland’s Official Book Town.
As we took the furballs with us we tried to stick to dog friendly places, and the Castle Kennedy gardens were a great place to stretch our legs, walk the dogs, and enjoy the beauty of the gardens.
One morning we drove around to the Mull of Galloway, which is the Scottish mainland’s most southerly point. Built in 1830 by Robert Stevenson, the lighthouse stands 99 metres above sea level and is still in active service – we could see it across the water from where we were staying. You can purchase tickets to the exhibition explaining the history of the lighthouse, and also to go up to see the view from the lighthouse balcony.
James and Lydia both undertook the climb up to the top of the tower, and we all enjoyed visiting the RSPB visitor centre and the nature reserve around the area. We also enjoyed a meal at the Gallic Craig coffee house, and did a little shopping in the gift shop.
Another day trip was further inland, and we packed a lot into our day by spending a morning at Ernespie Farm – including a rather delicious lunch at their cafe – before driving part of the Galloway Kite Trail with a stop at the feeding station, followed by a visit to the red deer range.
It was a lovely morning with an informative tractor ride tour of the farm (through the actual farmyard and cowsheds, with loads of info about their operation, not just a jaunt around some fields), goats to feed, zip lines and cresta sled runs to zoom down, and other outdoor fun at the farm.
The red kite feeding station was amazing, we had done some research ahead of time to work out what time was best to visit, and so we got to see a huge number of red kites swooping down to get their dinner. The people running the feeding station & cafe were friendly and informative, and it was one of my highlights of the summer for sure.
The red deer range was a short detour on the way back to our holiday cottage, and the girls enjoyed seeing the deer up close and feeding them some carrots.
During the week we got some great beach weather, and the girls and I even managed a dip in the sea, which was rather glorious – if somewhat surprising! I never dreamed we’d have such a lovely sea swim in Scotland but the water was lovely, as we were in a rather sheltered bay.
This was our first visit to Scotland since switching to using electric vehicles, and we found the charging experience to be pretty good. There were plenty of chargers available in the local towns, and by making sure we had a Charge Scotland card ordered before we went we didn’t have many problems at all starting the charges – only one charger the whole week played up.
We all enjoyed the week away so much that we have booked a holiday further North in Scotland next year, as James & I want to take the girls to see the highlands.
