Finally a White Christmas

Being away from my family during the holidays does not get any easier the more it happens. So the best remedy for homesickness is to distract yourself with something amazing. I’ve been away from home for almost 2 years and in that time I am yet to see snow. Boo! So in hopes of finally having a white Christmas a cabin was booked, the car was packed, snow clothes and hiking boots were bought and the Scottish Highlands were in my sights. I have yet to explore much of the UK as its much like travelling around Australia, generally more expensive than getting on a plane and seeing something further away. So I was pretty excited to be seeing something of my ‘backyard’.
The car ride to Scotland is a long one, however being Aussie is meant to make long car journey’s a piece of cake, right? Ahhh probably should have rethought that idea. But after a long 12 hours we finally reached our destination.
	The cabin was attached to a house right in the middle of nowhere. Nothing but snowy mountains and pine tree plantations around. It was truly beautiful. The owners of the cabin had really outdone themselves, the cottage was more wonderful than I could ever imagine, and I joked it was better than my home in London, haha not kidding; I would have easily lived there.
Christmas isn’t Christmas without tons of food and booze, and being away on holidays and away from family (well most of them) is no excuse. We stocked the cottage, mostly with booze and things to make cookies with ready for a fun 10 days. (we made sure we had enough Tim Tams for the holidays, hehe). The closest town to our cottage was Inverness and it was around 30mins away. So we were literally in the middle of nowhere.
Sadly the cottage was not covered in snow on Christmas day, but I settled on an early morning hike to go and see some snow, it’s practically the same, right? We were informed it was a fairly easy climb, and would take around 3-3.5hours to complete. So after a coffee and a quick Merry Christmas, we set off for a Scottish adventure.
	The sun was shining and the air was crisp, it was perfect hiking weather. I was surprised at how many locals were also out hiking early Christmas day. The hike was fairly easy, and the ground was sprinkled with snow, as we climbed higher the ground became an icy snowy track. I actually wasn’t prepared for how slippery it was. I didn’t think we’d make it to the top.
After a slow final climb we reached the top, and it was seriously the most amazing views I’ve ever seen. I couldn’t have asked for a better Christmas morning (except the one my parents and brother seemed to have on the Gold Coast of Aus, only slightly jealous of their first beach Christmas). Tons of photos were taken, and a hangry Bec emerged, it was midday and I was definitely ready to feast.
I was right at home in the cottage kitchen; it was fully stocked with everything I could dream of. I made shortbread, gingerbread cookies, Anzac biscuits, apple crumble, and loads of other delicious treats. After last year’s turkey, we decided that took way too long to cook, and we couldn’t really be bothered with that, so we cooked an amazing pork dish. I’m impressed with my awesome chefing skills.
	We spent the rest of the day eating, drinking, and playing board games, perfect wintery Christmas day.
Scotland has a lot to offer and we spent every second day in the car going to see some amazing sights. We visited the Loch Ness, Isle of Skye and the Eilean Donan Castle. I had no idea people still lived in castles, where is my Scottish Prince whisking me away to live in a castle. Scotland is also famous for whisky and haggis. I’m not really a fan of either, having tried both at a Rabbie Burns night, but travelling with a bunch of boys meant I was given no choice in visiting breweries and eating at pubs. I didn’t complain too much :P
	The views around the Loch Ness were seriously stunning. We walked along a Loch, which was super slippery, and I was sure my brother was going to fall in head first; I don’t think he took a step without slipping. As you drive around Scotland you can’t help but stop and take pictures every little while. The scenery changes and reveals more amazing sights. We stopped the car and climbed a small hill (when I say small it was still huge, it just wasn’t a mountain) and watched the sunset.
	Around our cottage there were walking tracks, and plenty of pine tree plantations to fill our time with. With such limited day light hours, we spent most of them outdoors taking in all we could. The great thing about Scotland is that even though the weather is snowy and cold, you still have that amazing sunlight. The sun was out every day, beautiful.
We had every intention of going to Hogmanay in Inverness, however the kind neighbours invited us over for an early whisky, and the thought of going back out into the cold weather and driving back into town was not appealing anymore, so we spent New Year’s drinking and being merry with the neighbours.
Before we knew it our holiday was coming to end, and to finish the trip off nicely, we headed to Edinburgh to see the castle. As we arrived and I was climbing the hill to the castle it decided to dump a heap of sleet over me, and I was freezing. I thought snow was meant to be pretty and fun, this was not. But within 30mins the weather changed and the sun was shining, and there was no sign of cloud in the sky. Haha typical. I was pretty exhausted by this stage, so we wondered around Edinburgh, feasted on pub foods, and had an early night, ready for our trip back to London the next day.	I would definitely go back to Edinburgh and really enjoy the city. I didn’t really have time, or energy to get excited and enjoy it. So back it goes on the bucket list.
	I can finally say I’ve had a white Christmas, and it was amazing!
	Peace out for now Bxxxx