Life of Jodie : Wilderness Adventures!

Hello everyone! So for the last couple of days Duncan and I decided to put our outdoor skills to the test and endure the wilderness around Blair Castle in the Cairngorms for a camping adventure break; and what a fantastic getaway it was! The drive up there is nothing short of magnificent with beautiful views of the hills and everywhere you look there is some form of historical tourist spot from castles to working mills to whiskey trails.. all totally up my street!

The camp site we stayed at was in Blair Atholl, in the former estate of Blair Castle where we received discounted entry for our stay. It was such a pretty and clean site with all the facilities you would ever need. On our first evening we pitched up, got the BBQ fired up and then went for a lovely early evening walk around the grounds of Blair Castle.

On our second day we woke up to rain! The weather had kinda been expected so in the morning we went and toured around the castle in the hope that by lunch time the rain would of ceased a little. Blair Castle is probably one of the coolest castles I have ever had the privilege to look around. Unfortunately photography was strictly forbidden on the 30 room tour apart from in the ballroom so the only photos I can share are fairly limited! But if any of you are keen history castle goers I would totally recommend this one for a wander! The history behind the families that formally ran the estate and the ancestors that run it today is so interesting and its so nice to think that even to this day the estate and castle is somewhat still in the hands of the distant family of the past.

It didn't exactly stop raining after the Castle tour so after we had left Blair Atholl we decided to take a trip into Pitlochry to have a look around some shops and out of sheer luck we came across a Mountain Warehouse outlet with a sale... and yes even with an outdoor shop I am a complete sucker for a bargain so it was safe to say new waterproofs and some new snazzy camping gear was bought! We left feeling and looking like true hiking outdoor loving campers!

A break in the rain meant a trip back to camp where our chairs and mini stove were brought out for coffees in the fresh damp air.. may not sound too appealing but it was honestly pretty awesome! A bit of a caffeine hit and refuel and it was off to House Of Bruar for a wander around the poshest cashmere shops I have ever come across in my life... I must say I was feeling totally snazzy in my new outdoor camping wear until I turned up to first class store cashmere land and all I could do was cringe and try and not squeak my sodding trainers on the mirror shine floors of the shops... squeaky wet and awkward!

Our last little trip to round off the day was to the visitor centre at Killiecrankie where we went on a mini hike around the gorge and walked to 'the Soldiers Leap' where apparently...

The views around this part of the valley were just incredible and when the sun finally started to shine at the end of out hike it was smiles all round and a very keen trip back to camp for dinner and a few sneaky outdoor drinks before bed.