asking for trouble

Summer Holiday Up North

Usually I go and visit my family at Easter but I held out for better weather and picked a fabulous weekend with perfect weather. Here’s what I got up to.

Inverness Botanical Gardens

Inverness Botanical Gardens

Inverness Botanical Gardens

Inverness Botanical Gardens

Inverness Botanic Gardens

It was grey and dreary when I left home but lovely and sunny when I arrived in Inverness. One of my hobbies is visiting Botanic Gardens around the world and yet I had never been to the one closest to my home up north. It was the perfect weather and perfect time of year to visit and I loved it. So much colour! It’s not the biggest garden but there’s plenty to see – and it’s free.

Fairy Walk Drybridge

Fairy Walk Drybridge

Fairy Walk Drybridge

Fairy Walk

My mum always has a few interesting places on the to-visit list and we decided to search for the Fairy Walk at Drybridge, near Buckie. It’s quite well hidden, which is ideal as it’s much more fun to explore by yourself and spot all the little fairy houses. Angel Bunny had the best day holiday house hunting, especially since one had a swing! Some of the houses are really imaginative so hats off to whoever made it.

Craigmin Bridge

Craigmin Bridge

Craigmin Bridge

At the end of the fairy walk is a very old bridge that doesn’t seem very exciting when you walk over it. If you clamber down the side though, you discover it’s a bridge built on top of another bridge! There’s even a secret room in the middle.

Gordon Castle Walled Garden

Gordon Castle Walled Garden

Gordon Castle Walled Garden

Gordon Castle Walled Garden

We had a nice lunch (and cake) at Gordon Castle’s new walled garden at Fochabers and had a wander around the garden too. It’s still a work in progress but there’s some very pretty corners, plus you can see all the produce growing for the cafe and shop.

While the weather looks pretty glorious in my photos – the whole coastline was hidden by haar (sea fog) for days. Look at the total non-view from Portsoy harbour! Your brain gets pretty confused when everything looks like freezing winter but it’s also lovely and warm with flowers everywhere.

birthday cake

It was also my Granny’s 92nd birthday, so there was no lack of cake that weekend. I’ll show you the card I made her soon, along with some others I made recently.

Ghost lock protector

Most of the rest of the weekend was spent relaxing in the garden, but I also worked on some new product plans with my dad – it’s going to take a while but I can’t wait to show you. I did manage to paint a new face on my ghost lock protector, which will be coming back to guard my shed very soon.

marceline

Hello! I’m Marceline Smith, the designer and owner of Asking For Trouble. I create illustrated stationery, accessories and gifts using my cute characters inspired by Japanese kawaii. This is my business and personal blog where I write about my creative doings, inspirations, travels, Japan trips and daily life. Read more »


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