The Williams Family: Scotland

Though Scotland feels close, it is also a long drive away. We stopped at a beach along the way for a break. I wish we had had more time to waste there because it was fun and I love the relaxing freedom of just roaming around. It was also quite cold!

Earlier in the month, Koen's school class had done a play about Grace Darling, who is a young girl that was a key helper in saving the lives of some stranded sailors. Koen played the Darling's house cat. We were hoping to take a tour to the lighthouse where the Darling's lived. Unfortunately it didn't work out to be able to do so this time.

Macie found a shell.

A crab's shell.

If you look in the back distance on the left, you can see the silhouette of a castle.

Edinburgh Castle

We were told that Edinburgh and its castle was a must-see stop to make.
The set up of this castle is much different than others that we had seen, as it sort of had its own little village within the walls.
I can't say it was our favorite castle though.

It was a very crowded castle.

Pretend there's a sword in hand.

This photo makes it look like Koen likes to read about the museum display... really, all of my kids prefer just looking briefly and walking through... or playing around on their way through.

There's really not much more in size to this room than what you see in this picture, but a king was birthed in it.

This hall was probably one of my favorite rooms to admire... except that it too was very crowded.

Walking through a high street in Edinburgh.

This cafe is known as the place where J.K. Rowling wrote the Harry Potter series. It has a view of the castle, which is said to be a part of her inspiration.

Just a building that I liked in Edinburgh... also notice how the parked cars in front all look alike.

The Discovery

The Discovery was the last traditional wooden ship that was built in Britain. It was made for a research journey to Antarctica in 1901.

Koen and Hadley put on a puppet show for us.

They're constructing a building behind the Discovery that is in the shape of a ship.

I have no idea what this place is, but we spotted it during some slow traffic. It looks like home to a disney princess though.

This is another place we could only see glances of as we drove through. I think because we couldn't get a long look of it, our short glances made me want to see it more. It's on the edge of a beautiful lake.

Other scenery from our driving through Scotland:

There was a semi-large area where many people have stacked stones on top of each other. I noticed a few in one spot had engraved plaques on them and wonder if they're from a returning group each year or so.

Eilean Donan Castle
(The Piano Guys Castle)

Our family has named this the Piano Guys castle because we first saw it in one of their music videos. We're fans of the Piano Guys and this was the place in Scotland that Koen wanted to see most.