Scotland

We spent our first days in Scotland in Edinburgh where we were once again impressed by the rich culture and ancient castles and churches.

On the days when we visit a city, we always try to strike a healthy balance between old and new, learning something new and finding something familiar, and finding something of everyone's interest. Raija usually finds the best playgrounds, Myron always flags a Lego store if a city has one, and we try to find a local delicacy or a hidden gem in the city. We are every time again surprised how excited the children get to visit yet another city.

We spend our nights quite often on campsites but when we can, we like to find a place perfect for boondocking. Not every country/city is safe for boondocking, but in Great Brittain we did find a few great places. Like here in Edinburgh, where there was a drive alongside an inlet of the North Sea, where we could park for free. The kids had a blast beachcombing.

On our way north, we stopped in Fort Augustus to have a look at the Caledonian Canal locks in this village. The gentleman operating the locks spotted the children and asked if they liked to open and close the locks for the next set of boats. What an opportunity to learn about the mechanism of the locks and to be responsible for the water levels in the canal between the locks! During these moments I am so thankful to be travelling and homeschooling. We do our daily writing and math, we spent time on social studies and science, but these experiences of meeting people who are willing to teach them about their lives, are much more powerful in my opinion.

The Caledonian Canal runs for about 100 kilometers and one third of the length is man-made, whereas the rest is being formed by a few lochs, Loch Ness being the most famous I think. We drove alongside Loch Ness for quite a while. Myron had his GoPro ready and a plan in his head who to call first (CNN or BBC) for the moment he would spot Nessie, the Loch Ness monster... You've got to love a kid with a healthy dose of imagination! We never saw Nessie, but we did have a great day!

We drove to the far north of Scotland and arrived in John o'Groats, on Great Britain's northeastern tip. It was a rainy day and the wind was strong. We did enjoy the small village and the walked around the harbour.

That night, while staying on the campsite next to the ocean, the wind picked up even more and we feared our rooftop tent structure would snap under the pressure. Around midnight we decided that we would not risk any damage, so we lowered our tent... John and I slept in our seats that night. It was not our best night ;)

The look on the kids' faces the next morning, when they found us curled up in our seats, was however priceless!

In the last six month we have often wondered what we would do if we would encounter another Canadian car on the road. Would be stop? Would we signal and find each other later? Never had we imagined we would meet them on a narrow road up in the Scottish Highlands, near Loch Dubh Beul na faire.

As we were about to pass them we realized they had an Alberta license plate. Around the same time they saw our Manitoba plates. We both just stopped in our tracks, jumped out of our cars and had an amazing 45 minutes getting to know each other and hearing about each others' travels. They were a lovely family with two daughters our kids' ages. Little did we know that a week later we would meet a couple from Ontario on their motorcycles, with their ON plates!

The Highlands of Scotland were absolutely breathtaking. We really enjoyed driving through this area of Great Britain.

We had expected to see the Highland Cows more frequently during our travels in Scotland, but when we saw these friendly giants, we did not know it would be the only time we would see them. I am glad we met them and took some pictures :)

A day spent at the water is a day well spent!

Raija's favourite hobby is cooking and baking. During our trip, this is not that easy to realise, as our kitchen is small and we do not have an oven. But this day, she did make us a delicious egg salad, of which she was very proud.

In Glasgow we visited the Riverside Museum. It was one of the best museums we have visited this trip and it was free! It was such a fun place, there was something to like for all of us.

We also visited the city centre of Glasgow, with its impressive townhall and George's Square. Since most major museums and galleries in Glasgow are free, we decided to check out GoMA, the Gallery of Modern Art as well. The children were not as impressed by the art as with the transportation museum displays, but they did learn a lot about modern art and appreciating the view of an artist.

Our last night in Scotland we spent on the southwest coast, in Ayr. Another beautiful spot next to the ocean, even though the road we stood on was not that quiet at night. The fresh ocean air and the sound of the waves, made for a good night!

Ireland, here we come!