Who said escaping to a castle in Scotland for Christmas would be boring?
Some of our friends said exactly that.
After booking a two week trip to Sharm-el-Sheikh from the 23rd December 2021 to the 6th January 2022, excitement enthralled us. At last we were getting away to a warmer country and going away for Christmas and New Year for my husband and I was a first. Being away for the family for the first time was a tad daunting. By the way, our kids had other plans anyway, so we wouldn't be seeing them anyway over the Christmas period.
New COVID restrictions came into force.
The time to fly off to Egypt was nearly upon us. Then Boris (bless his cotton socks) announced that travellers returning to the UK from foreign countries needed to take a pre departure COVID test. Brilliant, that means if we go to Egypt then find we test positive before flying back to the UK, not only will we have to quarantine, but the additional cost would be hard to bear.
Let's go to Scotland instead.
Thank goodness, after many hours on the phone, I managed to push our Egypt trip back to the end of April 2022.
With no turkey or any trimmings and not even a Christmas tree in sight at home, we decided we would like to go to Scotland instead. Naturally, hubby left all of this for me to sort out. I must say, I had a field day trawling through the internet looking at hotels. With many of them fully booked, I eventually found a place called #MelvilleCastle. 'Wow, what a fab looking place to stay and what made it even more appealing, some of the rooms had four poster beds and they had one available. 'Yes please can I book it.' I heard myself shriek down the phone. I booked us five days, from the 23rd December to the 28th December.
Christmas in the castle.
And one we would never forget
From the time we stepped through the door of #Melvillecastle to the roaring fire burning away in the grand hallway, giving off an aroma of burning wood, I knew I had chosen something a little bit special. Even my husband, who was a tad sceptical about what it was going to be like agreed.
Our room was very grand and spacious and the four poster bed was gorgeous and very comfortable.
Throughout our stay, we met some lovely people, some from different parts of Scotland and others from different parts of the country. The more we got talking to them, the more fun we had as a collective group.
Christmas day was very relaxing. We leisurely got ready to go down to the dining room for our festive lunch, which was lovely and very tasty, before moving into the bar where all of the guests congregated. My husband and a few other guests thought it would be a good idea to drink their way through the whiskey collection. Great idea, but by 9.30 pm, we had no choice but to retire to bed.
Touring Edinburgh.
Boxing day, we decided to go into Edinburgh for a drive around sight seeing trip and ended up at #TheRoyalYachtBritannia. What a place to visit, being allowed on board to see where the queen and the Duke of Edinburgh spent so much time together on their yacht was such a treat. Seeing where Prince Charles and Princess Diana slept while on their honeymoon aboard the ship was also thrilling. I recommend anyone who visits #Edinburgh, must visit this remarkable ship. It's the most interesting tourist attraction we have ever visited
Visiting #Scotland was a real treat and staying at #Melvillcastle was what made our stay so much more special. The staff at the hotel were friendly and nothing was ever too much trouble. But all in all the people of #Edinburgh were so friendly and nice.
