It's divine to get away from the city darling...

 Whilst Edinburgh is lovely, it is always nice to get away to the fresh air. The country side is where my heart feels at home. Putting on my wellies for walks, the spectacular views and the gleaming sun just make everything so peaceful.

We arrived in the Trossachs area for a weekend away with my aunty and uncle. It was dark when we arrived, so we soon got comfy with chocolate fondu and a movie (maybe even a few rounds of carpet boules too!). The beautiful place we stayed in, Tigh Mor, is so beautiful. I felt like I was in a castle, a true Scottish castle in fact.

But we found ourselves tired out at the first hurdle, so we fell into our warm, cuddly beds and drifted to sleep...

I especially like the tartan pillow...and the Lindt bunny (it didn't last very long)!

 

 I woke up to thee most beautiful view I have ever seen in Scotland. It had just snowed a few days ago, so the hills were capped with white goodness. This was a contrast to the bright blue skies above, which screamed for me to get up and enjoy this day.

 

But no day begins without a good, hearty breakfast, wouldn't you say so?

We ate and drank everything in sight, from the buttery croissants to the steaming coffee. As students, we know how to stock up our energy for the day.

Don't you just adore the Scottish feel here? Tartan is on every corner, and I even have a highland cow staring at me whilst I drink the last sip of my coffee...

But we thought we could try to burn some of it off at the pool, so we grabbed our towels and bikinis, and dived straight in.

I could lie and say we all stepped in rather gracefully, but no. Not one bit. It was more of a "Look at this pool...CANON BALL!" Not our finest moment, but one of fun and giggles...especially when you find out the pool isn't actually deep and you hit the floor. Whoops!

We must have been there for hours, just soaking up every moment in the sauna and steam rooms too.

Ahh, bliss.

Since this was only a short trip, we knew we had to make good use of our day here before we left for home. Therefore, we dried ourselves off and popped off for some lunch.

Now I don't have any pictures (sorry), but this restaurant was divine. Small, quaint and sitting on the loch, I was in heaven staring out at the glistening water and the high mountains. With fish and chips to follow the view, it seemed like a perfect afternoon. There may have been some carrot cake sqeeeezed in too.

We decided a walk around the beautiful sights were in order. So we packed our coats, scarves and boots, piled into the car and drove to Loch Katrine. 

We arrived to pouring rain, but that soon drifted and we were able to emerge from the misty car. There wasn't another soul in sight, just the loch and us. We walked for a while, stopped every few minutes to indulge in the crisp air and the billowing views.

However, we knew there was a train to catch later that evening. So, we piled back into the car and drove back to collect our things with sighs and groans. We wanted to stay so much longer, but university was calling our names. 

We did have a few more cake bites back at the apartment...you know, to get us energized of course! We even saw some deer on our way to the train, which let us know the highlands were a wonderful place to be.

Short and sweet, yet exactly what I needed. I just want one more swim in that beautiful pool...