Our First Few Weeks in Scotland

Greetings Family and Friends,

Welcome to the Chronicles of the Bartons, our attempt at keeping everyone up to date on our oversea adventures. We arrived in Aberdeen, Scotland on October 25th, 2008 and have made the Doubletree Aberdeen our residence since our arrival. In our first few days here we completed our flat search and found one that we liked just a bit out of the city centre area. We look forward to moving in and getting settled. Living in a hotel for a month isn't as fun as it sounds!

After our first week we received our company car. In the UK not only is the steering wheel on the other side of the car, but you drive in the opposite lane than in the States. It makes for some very white knuckle driving...and riding. We are also quickly learning the art of large roundabouts in lieu of intersections.

Despite living in the hotel, we have had the opportunity to get out and about and explore Scotland a bit. We have visited several castles already, and made it to the western side through the Highlands. Below is a summary of some of our visits to date...

Dunnottar Castle is one of the only castles that William Wallace was unable to overtake. As the pictures show, it is quite a brilliant location for a castle. It's flanked by the ocean and sheer cliffs, making it impossible to attack. Although there is not much left of the original structure, it is a sight to behold.

Crathes Castle is another beautiful castle in the area which was a private residence until the 1960's when it was turned over to the Trust of Scotland. It is renowned for its beautiful gardens and acreage. When the castle was turned over to the trust, they kept a lot of the original furniture and pictures. An interesting fact about the castle is that the primary staircase has a "trip step" which is a step a bit larger than the rest. A trip step is used to cause attackers to trip and fall while going up the steps...allowing the family more time to escape. In this castle, it was the 11th step.

Urquhart Castle is located on the beautiful Loch Ness. While it has stunning views, the castle wasn't much of a fortress. It was actually overtaken every spring by the Clan McDonald who was part Norske and part Irish. The ultimate demise of the castle was completed by its Lord when they decided to blow it up with dynamite! What you can see from the pictures is all that is left. Loch Ness is a truly beautiful lake. Unfortunately we were unable to spot the notorious Nessie when we were there.

Glen Affric is a a gorgeous forest preserve south of Inverness. We could have spent days here taking several of the forest walks and hikes. This forest abounds with lochs, waterfalls and picturesque views. There were even sheep wandering around that had lost the rest of their herd. It was everything that we imagined Scotland to be...

This is just a taste of our travels. As we get settled into our new place we will keep updating the site!

Cheers!

Marin and Erik