Queen's View, Loch Tummel, Scotland ~ Family photography

Before we left Scotland yesterday, we stopped at Queen's View at Loch Tummel.

When Queen Victoria visited in 1866 she assumed it was named after her. It's believed it was actually named after Isabella, the first wife of Robert the Bruce some 500 years earlier.

Loch Rannoch, Scotland ~ Landscape photography

On our way back from Loch Laidon there was just enough of a pause in the rain to get some shots of Loch Rannoch, with the peak of my mountain in the background.

Loch Laidon and Red Deer on Rannoch Moor, Scotland ~ Family photography

During our trip to Scotland last week we visited a place that meant a great deal to us all. Ever since we were small we've visited Loch Laidon up on Rannoch Moor whatever the weather but this time was the first we went without my darling Dad. It was lovely to be there but very emotional for us all.

Red Deer Centre - Highland Safaris ~ Aberfeldy, Scotland

We had a gorgeous afternoon at the Red Deer Centre just outside Aberfeldy. The girls loved it. We were able to feed red deer, met a barn owl and they spent an hour panning for 'fools gold' and other gems.

The animals were magnificent - especially to be able to see them up close, the staff were awesome in every sense of the word (good humoured, polite, knowledgeable...) and the weather was very nice too!

Garden Fairies - Children's photography, Oulu and Yorkshire

I've had an idea in my head for a themed photoshoot to do with the girls for months. It was born out of discovering old bridesmaids dresses in the wardrobe and having a glimmer of inspiration.

Two boxes of dye, some floral headbands and a trip to Scotland later...and I have taken what I think are some pretty gorgeous photos of my girls as fairies. They don't have wings and I was originally thinking of adding some digitally but I decided against it and I just love how they've turned out.

Climbing Schiehallion ~ Rannoch, Scotland

Today I did a thing. A big thing. Today I climbed a mountain in memory of my darling Dad. The Scottish Munroe, Schiehallion, which I grew up seeing and never managed to climb. Until today that is.

Garden Visitors - Kinloch Rannoch, Scotland

Ever since I was a child, we've been visiting the small village of Kinloch Rannoch in the Scottish Highlands and now that I have children of my own I love bringing them here during our summer trips to the UK:

We stay on the Dunalastair Estate in some of their gorgeous holiday cottages. So far we've taken the girls to one of the houses called Maragdubh and this year we're visiting a charming little cottage called Rose Cottage which we last visited to see in the new millenium in 2000! Rose Cottage is opposite Schiehallion, the mountain I'll be climbing tomorrow in memory of my darling Dad and to raise money for the RSPB. You can read more about my fundraising here.

The cottage and it's garden look like they could have fallen straight out of a Beatrix Potter story and I can honestly say I love it up here. The cottage is surrounded by farm land, with sheep and cows meandering around, and the garden is packed with flowers, as well as a chamomile lawn and an impressive bird feeder that attracts tens of birds from dawn til dusk. Including a family of great spotted woodpeckers! So far we've seen Mum, Dad and three juveniles, which is an awesome thing to sit and watch from the kitchen window.