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What's this blog all about?

Hi, I'm Nicola - welcome to a blog begun in 2012 about family travel around the world, without leaving the UK.

I love travel adventures, but to save cash and keep my family's carbon footprint lower, I dreamt up a unique stay-at-home travel experience. So far I've visited 110 countries... without leaving the UK. Join me exploring the next 86! Or have a look at the "countries" you can discover within the UK by scrolling the labels (below right). Here's to happy travel from our doorsteps.

Around 2018 I tried a new way of writing my family's and my own UK travel adventures. Britain is a brilliant place for a staycation, mini-break and day trips. It's also a fantastic place to explore so I've begun to write up reports of places that are easy to reach by public transport. And when they are not that easy to reach I'll offer some tips on how to get there.

See www.nicolabaird.com for info about the seven books I've written, a link to my other blog on thrifty, creative childcare (homemadekids.wordpress.com) or to contact me.

Sunday 8 July 2007

I capture the castle

Nicola, Pete, Lola and Nell want to travel the world with a difference. We hope to get a taste of many countries without adding to climate change (with needless emissions from aeroplanes) or having to waste hours of holiday time in airport terminals. We hope our adventures inspire you to take a Grand Tour of your neighbourhood. This post is from Nicola (pic shows the sort of cliff you'd have to scale to get into this castle)

Dunnottar Castle http://www.dunnottarcastle.co.uk/ is privately owned but they sometimes let children in for free... if an accompanying adult will pay #5. The castle's unique position - on it's own cliff edged island about two miles outside Stonehaven - makes it impenetrable any other way than via the ticket office or the back of the kittiwakes that nest noisily around it. Of course people have broken into it - that's why it's a wreck. But it's undoubtedly the best ruin I've ever seen.

On the Saturday we visited there were talks on the hour given by a fascinating curator in obligatory tartan trews (we must remember that we are in Scotland). The curator had a clever technique of explaining why Scotland is covered in such defensive looking homes - "you've got to remember that the clans and tribes and tartans weren't romantic, Scotland was wild then, neighbour fighting neighbour. It would be like Afghanistan is today with war lords controlling and raiding at will."

Sobered by this the children then headed for the lion's den (a pet lion was a sign of power) and the notorious, damp room where 167 people were imprisoned for around three months because they wouldn't convert faiths. When some managed to escape they were caught and tortured - most of the rest were then sent to the West Indies. Which might sound better but was probably as bad as being tortured then.

There are ghosts says the curator, as any "respectable castle" should have. These include several tragic women, a vanishing dog and a pre-Christian spirit known as "the green lady" who mourns for her lost children. The green lady is Nature and her children are us, the ones who went down the Christian/consumerist/ big business model. On the day of the Live Earth concert http://www.liveearth.org/ it was interesting to have another type of reminder that we need to try to find more sustainable ways to live - especially if we have any hope of tackling climate change.

After a thorough explore of the castle - plus a chance to oggle two wedding parties, one with the guests dressed in either kilts (men) or Norwegian long skirts and embrodiered bodices (women) - we picnicked on the stoney beach below. It's a brilliant place for caves and rock pools. The girls were thrilled to get a crab, three prawns, a fish, seaweed and loads of cockles in their trawl. We put them all back of course, with a quick nod of thanks to the green lady...

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