We spent a few days in the Cairngorms - Scottish Highlands - celebrating the recent milestone 60th birthdays of my mum and dad.
Our first stop was Aviemore for a bite to eat - which I didn't film - and then onto a very windy Loch Morlich. Now you're going to have to trust me when I say that this is the perfect beach with the right weather. A sandy beach surrounded by forests and mountains is pretty great but on this occasion we were heading back into the forest to find shelter from the wind.
And with a hop, skip and a jump it was over to see the Cairngorm Reindeer. You can take a hike up to see the full herd but, travelling with a baby, this paddock was the lazy alternative we needed.
And then it was back to the cottage for a nice relaxed evening.
It should be no surprise to you in this area of Scotland that a castle could be found just a long the round from our cottage. Corgarff Castle dates back to the 16th century but the most impressive part of it, apart from the star-shaped wall, is the stunning surroundings.
The Watchers Art Installation provides a stunning viewpoint and the Moment In Time standing stone provides some words of wisdom.
Warm Your Soul Before You Go. Take a moment to Behold. As Still Skies or Storms Unfold.
What do you get an aging Scotsman for his birthday? Whisky, obviously! And the only thing he wants more than that is a distillery tour with whisky drinking included! And from our base in the Cairngorms we were just a short drive to the southern tip of the whisky trail. So it was onwards to the Glenlivet distillery.
Thankfully he didn't think much of the £5,000 bottles and opted for something a bit more affordable for his birthday.
It was then time to meet up with the rest of the party with a quick pitstop at the Old Bridge of Livet.
If you want a playpark all to yourself I recommend finding one that is in the middle of nowhere. The Tomintoul Adventure Play Park was ours for the afternoon.
Our last day started with a goodbye to our little cottage and a quick visit to Ballater which is a beautiful village in Aberdeenshire that seems to really love that they can call the royals neighbours during the summer months of the year.
It was then time to get a little taste of royalty. Well, actually, it was more like seeing what it was like to be a royal groundskeeper as we wandered the gardens of the Balmoral Estate.
The flowers are kept in greenhouses until the impending arrival of the royals. So expect to see some bare looking flower beds as you wander.
It's a bit awkward because this castle is probably now best known for being the place where the Queen died which, of course, was major news across the world. But walking around, you can definitely see why she would pick here as the place she'd want to spend her final days.
You are allowed in one room, the ball room, but no photos or videos are allowed so you'll need to go watch The Crown or something if you want to see that.
So we had seen the castle and then it was off on our search for a pyramid. Yes, you heard me correctly, a pyramid. In Scotland. This is one of several cairns erected to commemorate members of the royal family.
It's not a long walk. It might have taken us about half an hour to find it. But be warned it's quite steep!
It says Queen Victoria erected the cairn it but I'm pretty sure she got some lackey to do it for her. The pyramid is clearly the pick of the bunch, dedicated to Prince Albert who was not only married to Queen Victoria but was also her FIRST COUSIN! Aye they didn't put that on the cairn, did they?
Filmed on the Canon R6.