After a LONG day of travel, we woke up in our 19th century hotel nestled between the wooded hills of the Cairngorm National Park. With our elopement destination a two hour drive through the mountains, we welcomed a few relaxing days in this small, picturesque Victorian village to catch our breath before we hopped back on the road.
Spanning eight miles along the River Dee to the west, this little town's rich history and royal connections are world famous. Ballater is the nearest town to Balmoral Castle, one of the residences of the Royal Family, which explains the many ‘By Royal Appointment’ signs that can still be seen on local shops and business.
One morning, we decided to fuel up for an exciting hike (any excuse to eat bread is a good excuse), so we stopped into a local cafe for some mid-morning bites. Hoping to blend effortlessly with the locals, the "Scottish breakfast" jumped out at the top of the menu.
The course included haggis and blood sausage. Hrrrmmm...
Joshua did a quick Google search for both items and quickly decided that "a savoury pudding containing sheep's pluck (heart, liver, and lungs), minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices..." was NOT an option for him. However, Chris, ever the adventurer, decided he WAS up for the challenge!
(This was even after Joshua explained that haggis is banned from the US.)
Forks up, Chris! You can see from the before and after photos above, the haggis and blood sausage left a mark on the plate (and some butterflies in his belly). Yikes!
After our hearty (and lung-y) breakfast, we headed a few miles south to Loch Muick to take in views of the waters, meadows, and legendary mountain of ‘dark Lochnagar’ made famous by Lord Byron and Prince Charles who wrote a children’s book about
‘The Old Man of Lochnagar’.
Once we arrived at Loch Muick, we snapped a few photos (failing to capture the majestic beauty of the surroundings) and soaked in the incredible magic of Mother Nature.
The strong, chilly winds rushed down the surrounding mountains with much power, while the gray textured sky reflected within the moody waters of the sparkling loch. We'd never experienced a land quite like this with its lush landscape quilted with ferns, moss, tufts of grass, and rolling heather.
Big Smiles + Messy Hair
On the way back to the village, we decided to take an impromptu off-road adventure to some old ruins we had heard about. We typed in the coordinates on our handy phones and followed the unmarked country road. The farmland was just beautiful. And, although Joshua had the perfect plans to update the old castle into our future home, Chris just couldn't get behind the investment. Joshua will just be forced to find another fixer upper for our future children and their little Scottish accents.
So much to share and we've gotten so behind on journalling! We promised our friends and family we'd carve out time to spit out the details of our trip, and we're grateful for those that are following along. Looking forward to seeing you all soon!
Xoxo,
Joshua and Chris
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