After a good nights kip (and a much needed clothes wash), so it was that we bade farewell to family and jumped in our loaner car “Sukki”, onward to adventures new in the land of my kin. I was excited not just to share my country with Katrine, but also to rekindle and renew my relationship with this land, its peoples and its history. A history that I continually find I know relatively (too) little about but that, despite me being absent for so long, still holds a special place in my heart and mind.

Nationalistic ramblings aside, we were “aff” and the first port of call was Banchory, a place I knew well from my youth. We stopped to browse the high street and grab a coffee and after our short stop it was on to Balmoral and more specifically the Prince Albert Pyramid, a short hike from the castle grounds.

The Pyramid and views didn’t disappoint. The pyramid itself told a romantic tale of the broken hearted Queen Victoria, who had it erected in honour of her late husband, Prince Albert. There aren’t that many Scottish Pyramids around (as far as I’m aware) so it was quite the find, especially given the beautiful surroundings.

We moved on to our hotel in Elgin, which turned out to be completely gorgeous and quirky in equal measure. There was a nervous drive through the Scottish countryside to get there, given the petrol tank on wee Sukki was smaller than we were used to and depleted at an alarming rate… with narry a petrol station to be seen for miles… but everything turned out fine, as it usually does, and a good nights sleep with dreams of what lay ahead was had.