A walking kind of week.

Ok – I know what you’re thinking. This is Baby Routes – isn’t every week a walking kind of week? Well yes, most of them are but last week was particularly outdoorsy as we headed off on a road trip of northern England and southern Scotland.

The main reason for our trip was to see an old school friend get married to a girl that I actually lived in hall with at university without realising – small world isn’t it? Their nuptials were to be held near beautiful Loch Lomond, with the reception on the shores of the loch itself. We were pretty excited to be invited.

Being fans of slow travel (and not such big fans of extortionate plane and train fares), we opted to drive, splitting up the journeys to and from Bonny Scotland into two day chunks each way.  It was also a good excuse to visit  Roo’s Godmother up in Scotland who we see far too little of. All this travel would of course also mean plenty of opportunities for testing out some new Baby Routes in some pretty special places too!

It was a fantastic week and it’s going to take me a long time to write up all the walks and things we did. We covered well over 25km of walking – not too bad given the little legs, lots of hills and fact no one day was entirely dedicated to walking. Whilst I sort out the dirty laundry and clear out the car (oh how glamorous life is road tripping with tots) here’s a little photo preview of where our walking took us:

Day 1) Lunch stop-off and wander at Hardwick Hall, just off the M1

Hardwick Hall: one of the most family friendly (and impressive) places I’ve visited for a while. All the kit for feeding/changing babies and a very large number of ladybirds…!

Day 2) Out and about exploring North Yorkshire and Scarborough. Such a wonderful part of the world and a new one for me. We looked for otters in the Forge Valley but they must have spotted us first!

Walking in Scarborough on what was supposed to be a 20 minute stroll (it wasn’t). Worth it for the amazing views though.

Day 3) Loch Lomond – no walking but a fantastic cruise on the loch and a carefree barefoot beach wander, high heels in hand. Roo loved the boat and the moody weather, with sunlight bursting through, made for some stunning photos for the bride and groom.

Waving goodbye to the wedding boat on the banks of Loch Lomond.

Day 4) Sunday. Rest day. You really don’t want to see a photo of us that Sunday…

Day 5) Exploring Loch Lomond. A trip up Duncryne Hill (known locally as The Dumpling and recommended by the bride who walked there as a child) and Roo clocked up another trig point, albeit for relatively little effort. Sadly the weather was against us and the view disappeared just as we reached the top, the sun reappearing just as we got back to the car…oh how Scottish weather taunts you! We then headed to Stirling for a walk with castle views and then on to Edinburgh.

Peak! Well ok then…dumpling! It’s a trig whatever and a bit of a view of Loch Lomond.

Day 6) Exploring Midlothian with Roo’s Godmother. Our feet took us to Crichton Castle and Vogrie Country Park – both fantastic spots for an autumn wander and the latter with an awesome adventure playground!

Crichton Castle – a lovely and atmospheric spot for an autumn wander.

Day 7) A day in the Peak District. Roo hunted for deer and I hunted for Mr. Darcy in the stunning parkland of Chatsworth House. We popped into Bakewell to pick up a famous pud and then strolled around Cromford before heading for home.

Stately wandering at Chatsworth House. Sadly no sightings of eligible young men…

Today we walked to the postbox and back. After our week away, it was enough!