Scotland Road Trip Part 2 – Must See Places!

If you haven’t read it already, go and check out Part 1 to see what we got up to previously.

Driving from Perth to Nairn was full of stunning scenery. We couldn’t get enough!

It’s difficult to do all the beauty justice as you’re driving by, but I tried! You drive through Cairngorms National Park as you go up to Nairn. It was quite late, so we decided to drive through and get to Nairn and then stop off at places on our way home instead.

We had booked a caravan at a Park Dean (Loch Loy) resort. It was cheap and we thought it would be good to have a day to chill onsite; play in the park and the pool, etc. Our kids love to party and dance, so we had that option of taking them to the club house in the evening and joining in with the dancing and games too. It was ok, but unfortunately, we can’t give it an amazing review.

Good Points About Our Stay There

• It was right next to a harbour and the (lovely) beach
• The staff were nice and tried to be helpful
• The park area was good
• The kids enjoyed the kids disco and games
• The restaurant was ok and fairly reasonably priced

Bad Points About Our Stay There

• When we got to our caravan we were hit by the stink of smoke (and ‘No Smoking’ signs everywhere). It was really bad. They put us in a new caravan and when we got the door….it had another family staying in it! So they put us in another caravan! Third time lucky!? It could have been a bit cleaner, but….It was a bit nicer, didn’t smell of smoke and didn’t have another family in it, so we stayed put! ( I just popped to the shop and got some anti-bacterial wipes! )
• The swimming pool is very small and they only allow a certain number of people in at a time, on a first come first served basis , and they only let you in for an hour. We thought we’d be ok to stay longer, as it wasn’t that busy and there was only one family wanting to come in on the next session….but no!
• Our daughter was smacked in the face by a door (I think the wind blew it shut?) She had a very large bump on her head and it had broken the skin too. Took her to reception (it happened in the arcade just next door), and asked for an ice pack. They couldn’t find one and had to go and get one from the restaurant. Personally, I think first aid kits should be checked often and re-stocked as soon as something is used. I know this wasn’t a matter of life and death, but she was in a lot of pain and the bump was getting bigger and the bruise was getting worse.
• The onsite shop was EXPENSIVE! If you do ever go to this Park Dean site, there is a big Sainsbury’s about a 5 minute drive away. Turn left out of the road, instead of turning right towards town. Keep going straight and you’ll find it on you right.
• They run on their own time schedule….Not the one they give you when you arrive. We went to go swimming to find the pool was closed for an hour, but no mention of it until we got and all the (excited) kids ready and walk up to reception to get our bands to go in. There was a sign. If they knew that was going to happen – mention to people as they check in. Also, the kids disco started later and the games ran a lot later than stated in the information pack. (Not a huge problem, as we were there to let the kids party ….but thought I’d mention it in case it matters to you, regarding bedtime etc!).

We didn’t stay onsite an awful lot, so it was too bad. Would we go back? No. We’ll rent a house or something similar next time.

LOCH NESS

After a day of playing at the park, swimming, beach, partying and a good nights sleep; we started the next day looking for the Loch Ness Monster! We went to Dores Beach to see the Loch Ness. Absolutely STUNNING!! Such gorgeous scenery! And did we find the Loch Ness Monster??…

INVERNESS

After having lots of fun and Loch Ness we headed to Inverness for some lunch. What a great city! We parked in the Tesco car park. We bought some picnic bits for lunch there, so that made parking free. We then walked along the River Ness and found a spot by a church to sit and eat.

We had bought some Iron Bru for the kids to try. Can’t be in Scotland and not have Iron Bru, right!? Watch the vlog on YouTube to see what they thought of it!

CHANONRY POINT

After our short stop in Inverness we went to try and find Dolphins at Chanonry Point. What a place! It was so pretty! Sadly we didn’t get any great pictures of dolphins or seals that we saw, but we had a great time there!

We headed back to Nairn and got some Fish ‘n’ Chips (from ‘Dolphins’…..small portions and expensive – we wouldn’t recommend it). Dave picked up some Haggis for the kids to try too!! That’s also on the Vlog! We had a movie night and headed to bed.

CAWDOR CASTLE

We spent the morning at Cawdor Castle (mentioned by Shakespeare in ‘Macbeth’). We had a lovely morning. The grounds were nice to walk around and inside the castle was interesting. Our little Freckled Faces enjoyed themselves. They didn’t have any activities for the kids to do, so I set them little tasks as we walked around. It gave Dave and I time to look around and read!

We’re going to leave Part 2 here, as the rest of the day was spent at ‘Fort George’ and we LOVED it! We thought it deserved a separate post!

Don’t forget to take a look at our Facebook page and Instagram page for more photos. Go to YouTube and watch our Vlog too! Let us know what you think!