Hello you. Yes, you reading this right here, right now. How are you doing? I hope you are having the happiest day made much better by the idea that I’m going to plant in your head and carefully water throughout this post that ice-cream is most definitely, a fantastic idea. Can I recommend the Hagen-Dasz Salted Caramel? I’m pretty sure the marketing team for Morrisons looked at Will and I before they released, and put on permanent offer throughout lockdown, that flavour and knew we wouldn’t be able to help ourselves, even a tiny bit.
It feels so strange to be sat here writing this. I’ve never looked at myself and thought of myself as a blogger. I’ve never quite known what to write about. But I decided when I created my website last month (hello new website, it’s very nice to meet you!) that I wanted to record all of the adventures that my boyfriend (Will – it actually feels really weird just calling him my boyfriend because he is my best friend/ love of my life/ partner in crime/ soul mate) and I have. If you follow me on Instagram (@_mermaid), you might know that I actually met my boyfriend on Instagram and after plucking up the courage drove 217 miles to meet him for our first date (that lasted 4 days) back in February 2018. Since moving up to Edinburgh in July 2018, we’ve been inseparable and spend every waking moment together. As a self-confessed totally happy singleton and introvert, I never thought I’d meet anyone like Will. But here I am. And he’s right here with me. He’s my best friend in the whole wide world and I love him with all of my heart. I’d love to look back on my life and have our happy memories written down to treasure – so here we are.
Throughout lockdown, he has continued to hold my hand tight when I have been sad, go shopping for us both when I have been worried about leaving the house (ice cream included) and continued to believe in me and my ability. Especially when I am not too good at believing. We’ve had hair cuts (who knew I was such a fantastic hairdresser?!), we’ve had rainbows hung up in our windows, we’ve tried our best to support our local small businesses, we’ve won and lost card games and we’ve watched all nine seasons of The US Office (maybe the best show I’ve ever watched).
Looking back at the list I have made of what we have been up to these last 3 months, I am a little bit amazed. After being in lockdown for most of this time and unable to explore, the amount of exploring that we have still been able to do is wonderful. Edinburgh is a fantastic city. It is the perfect combination of historical sites and coast (I am still in disbelief that you can see the sea from Edinburgh Castle – it just doesn’t seem right, whilst seeming like the most Edinburgh thing. Almost as if she would flick her hair and go *surprise* “I really do have it all!” I honestly can’t imagine living anywhere else in the whole world.
June
Throughout the month of June, the Scottish Government guidance advised the public to not travel more than 5 miles. With the local parks full of people, and the extremely rare Scottish sunshine out, Will and I were a little worried about spending time there. We decided instead to seek out walks around the streets near where we live. 5 miles is actually pretty far in terms of Edinburgh. I could drive to the opposite end of the city and still be within the limit but wanting to stay on foot we headed off to see what was quite literally around the corner. I normally spend my time running on the cycle path but watching how busy it became literally overnight was frightening. We tried it once and had to come off at the next stop. One thing I have learnt from these months is the utmost importance of green spaces. Last year, Edinburgh was voted the UK’s greenest city. We are incredibly lucky up here to have big, open spaces but of course, that is not the case for everyone.
Trinity, Warriston, Inverleith, Newhaven, Stockbridge, Crammond and Bonnington all sit within our local walking routes and it was within these areas that we discovered moments of beauty. A wall filled with children’s poetry that the entire community could contribute to, colourful animals painted on pebbles sitting patiently along the stone walls, colourful rainbows and children’s toys clutching messages of hope sitting in every window, flowers blooming around every corner, free flowers from friendly neighbours, caramel ice cream and bare legs and sunshine. Oh we have been lucky to have sunshine this summer in Scotland. My flowers in the garden haven’t done as well as previous years but being able to sit and read in the garden has been a blessing. We have spoken to neighbours we hadn’t met before, made friends and created a community and it has been lovely.
Venturing further afield in the city, we also visited Blackford Hill, Arthur’s Seat, found secret hidden poppy fields, Portobello beach and walked along the coast from Crammond to South Queensferry. I didn’t realise it was so green out that way. Arthur’s Seat is a classic if you are only ever in Edinburgh for a few days. A quick 20 minute walk to the top and you’re met by Edinburgh’s historic beauty with every glance.
July
Around came July and with lockdown restrictions easing slightly in Scotland, Will and I were able to see some of our friends! Yipeee! Our first victorious walk was out in The Pentlands Hills. The Pentlands are a range of hills to the South-West of the city running around 20 miles in length. The Water of Leith starts in The Pentlands, with the walk beginning in Balerno where you can follow the river 13 miles to Leith. I spent a day walking beside it last year after completing my master’s degree and I am desperate to take Will. Our Pentland walk led us to Glencorse View and Castlelaw, Flotterstone. This short, easy walk on a sweet summer evening took us to an iron age hill fort (where we ate monster munch) and were blessed with a soft, golden sunset.
July was also the month we climbed 3 Munros. In Scotland, a Munro is a mountain with a height of over 3,000 feet (or 914.4m). There are 282 and along with the 1 Munro we climbed last year (Ben Vorlich) we now have a total of 4. Out of 282. That’s 1.42% according to Walk Highlands. There’s still a verrrrry long way to go but I’d love to one day say that I climbed them all! Or “did a round” as I’m sure the lingo is. We climbed 2 in 1 day with some friends: Mayar and Dreish in Angus, South-East of the Cairngorms National Park. It didn’t just feel like we were climbing mountains that day. If you have ever climbed these Munros, you’ll know that the walk out to Mayar begins with a thick forest opening out into the magnificent Corrie Fee. Will described it as an “amphitheatre”. Sculpted by ice, I don’t think I have quite seen anything like it before. It feels like you are walking out into the Hunger Games! Climbing up through the rocks, I found incredibly enjoyable. It didn’t feel like we were climbing a mountain and reaching the summit didn’t feel too bad. We ate lunch and continued along the flat, boggy ground to reach the final peak of Dreish. It didn’t look horrific but climbing up it, I quickly changed my mind. Will sat down at one point, looked at me and said “I’m not having fun anymore.” But we continued and we did it! Met by a small stone circle at the summit, the cool wind had picked up so we hurried back down as fast as our little legs would carry us. I’m not going to lie, going down was worse than going up. A tight, rocky path every step had to be counted and it seemed to take forever to get back to the warm car with comfy seats. As you can tell from the pictures, Will and I had definitely had enough at this point! Arriving back into the carpark, we dipped our toes in the crisp river and immediately felt better. There is something magical about Scottish water and its healing powers.
Less than two weeks later, with the sunshine still miraculously shining in Scotland, Will and I decided it was time for another Munro; the first just the two of us. Armed with our Baines sandwiches and sausage rolls, we drove to the base of Ben Lomond. We knew it was a popular Munro, but didn’t realise it was the most popular! The carpark was full at 9am and the walk was very busy. If we had known just how busy it was going to be, I don’t think we would have made the journey in August. Ben Lomond is known as one of the prettiest and easiest Munros but we found the ascent quite difficult. It is quite windy and starting at the bottom, it is pretty much just one direct route to the top. Once we’d climbed the main false peak, the path started to even out and we began to enjoy the walk. The views are incredible. Unfortunately, the cloud came in thick and heavy and the last hour called for our jumpers and long pants. You couldn’t see a thing and my hair was damp from the cloud! A sharp contrast to beginning the walk in our shorts and t-shirts! Heading back, we were desperate to be out of the cloud and once free, the views that followed us were other-worldly. Taylor Swift’s new album ‘Folklore’ had been released at 5am that morning, so naturally I listened to it on top of the mountain. The walk back, we spoke to many people heading up telling them they were almost there, and were met with smiles and laughter. Apart from one incredibly rude lady who shouted at me for being on her path (I know, turns out inconsiderate people climb mountains too), we had a fantastic day. Heading home we stopped off by the shore of Loch Lomond himself to dip our toes in the cool water. It was there, that we met the most beautiful golden retriever named Chester. I can’t not include a picture here of his model good looks!
A few days later, we were lucky enough to visit Scottish Lavender Oils, Kinross with friends. Row after row after row of cheerful purple flowers bloomed in the Scottish sunshine. The peacefulness of the warm day, and no doubt the scent, of the lavender led to us gently sitting by the hedges soaking it all up.
The following week, we drove 3 hours up to Inverness to visit Will’s parents for the first time since January. Along the way, with freedom on our minds, we stopped off at Loch an Eilein. Will and I have both visited this Loch separately on numerous occasions and I have been eager to visit again for a number of years now. Nicknamed, “Loch of the Island” there sits a hidden castle ruin in the centre of the loch. The surrounding Rothiemurchus Forest is one of the last remnants of the Caledonian Forest covering 180km2, around 1/10th of its size compared to 7,000 years ago. Will had just got a new phone the day before so we decided to test out some of the portrait features!
It was when we arrived in Inverness that the excitement started to kick in. That week, we would be making the pilgrimage out to Sandwood Bay. After trying and failing to visit last September, when it rained so heavily it genuinely ruined my walking boots, our second attempt was met by 22 degrees, warm wind and bare legs. It still feels like a dream to be totally honest with you. 100 miles away, the journey took us another 2 and a half hours North-West of Inverness. The walk out to Sandwood Bay from Blairmore carpark is 4 miles, however it is completely flat and you are met by many small lochs along the way to prepare you for meeting Sandwood Bay. Looked after by the John Muir Trust, the walk does have similar connotations to a pilgrimage. The journey you are on is an experience that you simply must live to enjoy. You arrive onto a beach so wide that your eyes simply can’t take it all in at once, or twice. Or even three times. We immediately headed for the water. We just had to be in the water. We stayed in for about an hour and I don’t think I’ve laughed as much in the longest time. Dolphins jumped along the horizon and we laughed and laughed and laughed. We had a BBQ, played cards, spoke to strangers and individually took in the beauty of the moment we had so wonderfully walked in to. I will return here over and over again. Sandwood Bay quickly became my new favourite place in Scotland (overtaking Calgary Bay on the Isle of Mull). One day, years from now, I will bring our children here in their swimming costumes and tell them stories about the dolphins and the games and the strangers and the perfect day. I will talk with them about the moments we will share that are so unbelievably perfect that your body can’t help but let out signs of love in laughter.
August
August is normally festival season in Edinburgh. The Edinburgh Fringe Festival is the world’s largest arts festival which spans the entire month of August. Founded in 1947, this is the first year in 73 years that the Fringe has been cancelled. I moved up to Edinburgh on 30th July 2018, so was thrown headfirst into complete madness my first month of living here. It is a celebration of my coming home. So, it feels strange to be sitting writing this with not much going on.
Will and I were supposed to be visiting my parents down in Lancashire at the beginning of August, but local lockdown restrictions meant we sadly weren’t able to visit then. I haven’t been home since January, or seen my parents since March, and to be honest it’s really kicking in now how much time coronavirus has stolen from us. Our family dog was put to sleep the day after I was supposed to be going home and I have been heartbroken. I’ve lived more of my life with H than without him. Being unable to say goodbye has been awful. My darling boy was so special, so full of character and so unbelievably loved.
We did visit Pease Bay (yes that’s fun to say isn’t it?) in early August for a friend’s birthday. I’d not been there before but it’s a great, small beach. You have to walk through a caravan park to get to the beach but aside from the people staying on the site, I’d say it was quiet for an East Lothian beach in August! We had a BBQ, played some games and enjoyed all the pretty dogs that walked by.
The next weekend, the weather looked like sunshine was on the cards (side note: I’ve actually been warm in Scotland this summer! Hooray! – How’s that ice cream sounding now?) so I had a little look on the good, old Walk Highlands website at my wishlist. I’d had the St Baldred’s Cradle and Ravensheugh Sands walk in East Lothian saved for a while so we picked that as our winner and headed there the next morning. The walk begins by walking through a tree-lined track which gives me allll of the mystical fairytale vibes. You walk through a thick forest (where we got lost and accidentally led people astray), full of old WW2 tank traps. Immediately, you come face-to-face with the sea. There’s a seat to sit on at St Baldred’s Cradle and watch the waves out over by Bass Rock. We sat for a while with the sun warming our faces, before the wasps came and stung me twice! I’d never been stung before so it wasn’t very nice. You continue walking past an old cairn before dropping down from the grassy headland onto the soft sand. The walk along Ravensheugh Sands is incredible, I’d say it’s about a mile long maybe. It is vast and open and pretty unknown. The space is quite frankly unbelievable. It still baffles me that we are able to live in such a historic city, with this on our doorstep. It doesn’t make any sense but I am completely in love. I found some beautiful dark blue shells and carried them home to remind me of our day. It’s been a strange and stressful time but the walk (wasps aside) made me feel so inspired and at peace. On the way home, we decided to nip into North Berwick. We ate chips on the beach front, dipped our toes in the sea and wandered around the Lodge Grounds admiring all of the colourful flowers and beautiful houses. It was a very special day and one I will remember for a long time to come.
Will and I’s final August (and summer) adventure was a trip to Edinburgh Zoo! I had never been to Edinburgh Zoo before and I’ll be totally honest, having booked it 3 weeks earlier had been completely ecstatic at the thought of going since we’d booked it. Will and I have driven through Edinburgh city centre a few times so we’ve seen it has been quite crowded in places but haven’t been in the crowds (as we’ve always been passing through in the car). The busiest place we’d been in was probably the day we climbed Ben Lomond. I was slightly worried about how busy it would be and wondered if we’d have to wear our masks all day but I needn’t have. The only time we were with a large crowd was when we were queueing to get in. We’d booked in advance for a 10am time slot (the booked slots are every hour 10am-1pm), but because it didn’t open until 10am it took a while to get everyone in. It was a one way system the whole way round (which was great as it meant you didn’t miss anything!) and you had to wear a mask in the indoor exhibits. The zoo wasn’t too busy and was honestly really lovely and chilled out. There was staff ensuring people weren’t congregating in small spaces and it felt safe. I must say I really enjoyed myself. We saw pandas, lions, tigers, chimpanzees, monkeys, sun bears, pelicans, meerkats, rhinos, penguins, hippos and lots more. Edinburgh really does have everything, huh? I’d been told before Edinburgh Zoo was very hilly but I didn’t think it was too bad. I thought it was very green and in some ways much better than any other zoos I’ve visited, in that sense. There was lots of space for children to play and picnics to be eaten – I will definitely visit again!
I can’t finish this blog post without writing about the pizza oven I bought Will for his birthday on the 18th August. We waited for a sunshine afternoon to test it out and boy did it work a treat! Will had been mentioned building one outside in the garden for around a year. The one I bought is a great, little portable thing. I don’t think it would work on a disposable BBQ but we have a small stone one it sat nicely on top of. We made our dough, prepared our toppings and we were both thrilled with how it turned out. A nice crunchy crust and the cheese melted beautifully. Yes, I am a pineapple on pizza person and I love it! I can’t wait for more sunshine days when we can try it out with friends! Fingers crossed we have a few warmer days left before we head into autumn (oh my goodness, my favourite season! I am so excited!!!)
On that note, I am going to say goodbye, give you a biiiig virtual squeeze and remind you that you are simply wonderful. These past few months have been tricky and traumatic but we are still here. You are still here. Living and breathing and creating magic in your fingertips. We do not know what the next few months are going to bring but we are going to get through them because we have each other.
Keep smiling, keep going and take it one day at a time. Take a breath.
Lots of love,
Beth X
P.S. eat the ice cream!
