Tag: edinburgh

Summer of Sand and Sea

There’s been a slight crisp coldness sneaking into our mornings foreshadowing autumn, and after a very overcast and rainy summer, I’m ready for the change of season. Despite the weather, the highlight of my summer was our family holiday, when we returned to East Lothian again though a different caravan park this time around, right beside the seaside.

There’s something so wholesome and nostalgic about the simplicity of spending days at the beach paddling in the sea and filling our pockets full of shells then returning to a cosy caravan in the evening.

The weather was patchy with the best days on the days we arrived and departed, and mostly overcast with showers in between but it didn’t stop us from doing everything we had planned. We are none of us very good at relaxing and usually squeeze a lot of activities and sightseeing into our holidays, and this trip was no exception.

We enjoyed a morning in Edinburgh visiting the Camera Obscura and World of Illusions, which exceeded all expectations and was really fun with so many interactive displays that the kids loved. Our favourite parts were feeling (and bumping) our way through the mirror maze and the Vortex, which is an optical illusion with a bridge through a revolving tunnel that had us all clinging to the barrier convinced we were going to be tilted and turned upside down.

We also returned to one of the beautiful beaches we’d discovered on our holiday last year. Coldingham Bay is a beautiful beach with colourful beach huts and crashing waves favoured by surfers and bodyboarders. My husband and our oldest daughter went splashing in the waves while I built sandcastles for our youngest to smash. We all took a wander along the hill and found a rocky little shingle where the kids entertained themselves stacking pebbles, before returning to the main sandy beach for one last splash in the sea before heading home. It was definitely one of my favourite parts of our holiday.

As much as I love our little family holidays and look forward to so many more as our girls grow, after a few days living in close quarters in a caravan, it’s always good to return home to be reunited with our cat Mara who stayed home with my dad pet-sitting while we were away. Now we’re looking forward to autumn and another wee break away. X

Spring Wanderings

We’ve been enjoying a prolonged spell of good weather in our part of the country, and a few weeks ago we took advantage of the sunshine and warmth to have a little day trip to Cramond Island and the Edinburgh-Kyoto Friendship Garden.

15 Cramond Island Causeway2

Cramond Island sits about a mile off the coast of Cramond village in the Firth of Forth. At low tide, it’s possible to walk the causeway that connects the island with the mainland, and Queensferry Lifeboat Association helpfully provide safe crossing times for every day of the year.

Cramond Island was part of the defences during both world wars and the abandoned gun batteries and searchlight stations are still standing today. It’s a small island and it took us about an hour and a half to meander around the buildings and along the beach at a leisurely pace.

Back on the mainland, we visited the nearby Edinburgh-Kyoto Friendship Garden set in the grounds of Lauriston Castle. Spring is my favourite time of year to visit the Japanese-inspired garden as the cherry blossoms are in bloom.

15 Kyoto Friendship Garden415 Kyoto Friendship Garden3

My husband and I wandered around the gardens reminiscing about the places we visited in Kyoto on our honeymoon, chatting about adding a few Japanese plants to our own garden and simply enjoying the beauty and peacefulness of our surroundings.

15 Kyoto Friendship Garden2

Both Cramond Island and the Edinburgh-Kyoto Friendship Gardens are a little off the beaten path and as a result weren’t overly crowded when we visited, and it was lovely to enjoy a leisurely wander in the spring sunshine. Have a lovely week. X

Happy Chinese New Year!

 

As it was Chinese New Year at the weekend, my hubby and I decided to visit the Giant Lanterns of China that have been on display at Edinburgh Zoo over the winter.

As darkness fell over the city, we wandered along the mile long circuit marveling at over 450 handcrafted silk lanterns illuminating the zoo. The beautiful displays featured elements from Chinese culture as well as various animals, birds and insects to be found in the zoo (though all of the real animals were kept inside overnight).

As with any outdoor event in Scotland, we were glad it was a dry evening, especially when we stopped to watch a twenty minute performance by Chinese acrobats who impressed the audience with their feats of strength and balance.

It was a wonderful way to spend a winter evening while learning a little bit about Chinese mythology and some of the conservation work that the zoo does. Have a lovely week. X

ChineseNewYear6