Even before the London Marathon ended, we knew Joe's chances of running the Edinburgh Marathon a month later were very slim.  We also knew that even if he wasn't gonna run, we were still going to head up there come hell or high water.  We had some crazy friends we wanted to support regardless and WE needed a holiday!

And boy, Edinburgh did not dissapoint.  The Old City was stunning with its winding cobblestone roads, dark and mysterious closes and gothic architecture. 

The New City was equally intriguing and with the amazing weather bestowed on our week there, we couldn't have asked for more.



National Trust did not dissappoint with free access to some fantastic period properties and some fab NT volunteers who seemed to have bottomless knowledge of Edinburgh's history.We went to the castle of course:


We also managed to go on a bus tour to the Highlands which was really fun, even if we were the oldest members of the group!  The bonus stop was the castle used in Monty Python!


One day we spent 12 hours on the road travelling from east to west trying to take in as much of the Highlands as possible.  Man, words cannot express how breathtaking the scenery was!
We visited Kilchurn castle, a ruin, but very well preserved and in such a lovely setting at the tip of Loch Awe.


My favourite castle was Inverary castle, a real life Disney Castle whose actual 30-something year old couple inhabitants are what dreams are made of.  What a surreal reality that must be for them.

We also found a great little garden tucked away in the village we were staying in.  It was lovely!


To top off a fab week, we got to cheer on some of our friends on the hottest recorded day in May for Scotland as they pounded through the heat to finish the Edinburgh marathon.  Considering that I was feeling heat exhaustion just standing there watching, Joe and I were amazed how great they looked at the end, bar the amazing sun burns they were sporting!