Slow & Cozy Autumn Days in Scotland 🍂 Aberfeldy, Dunkeld, Killiekrankie, Glen Lyon, Edinburgh 🏰

Hello friend, this autumn I returned to Scotland. Not to sound too dramatic, well, in fact I like to be dramatic, but this is my favourite place on earth, the home away from home, the most magical country to visit in autumn. I might be biased, but this is the place I'm ready to write love letters to over and over again, it's that serious. So please, get Get cozy and let me take you on this journey and show you what we got up to. Every time I go to Scotland I try to stay somewhere new. This time we woke up on top of a hill above Aberfeldy with far-reaching views and wildlife right in front of the window. I had a few moments all to myself as my little family was fetching breakfast in town so of course I took this opportunity to drink some tea in silence. I try to find a cozy cabin with panoramic views, somewhere that feels like a destination in itself, without leaving the warmth and comfort on October nights. I am actually a self-proclaimed expert now in finding the best places with the best views to stay at. It's funny how things changed in the last decade though. In my early twenties I was happy with a place to sleep and no other comforts. I walked 30k steps per day, without exaggeration, in each new place I travelled to, seeking only a bed to sleep in at the end of the day. I might be guessing older, or maybe that's the result of having an 11 month old in tow. Nowadays I prioritize good views and a home away from home feel, somewhere to linger, somewhere that feels warm and wonderful to sit by the window and observe red squirrels, resident pheasants and many birds go about their business each morning. Perhaps each season of life brings something new and wonderful, and while I miss the freedom of my early twenties, I miss just deciding to go somewhere and going for it. I wouldn't ever change what I have right now. Aberfeldy is a perfect base to explore this beautiful edge of the Scottish Highlands, full of woodlands and waterfalls. It's so different from the western Scotland where I usually like to go. While the west is more intense with its dramatic glens, towering mountains and solemn lakes, the woodlands and valleys here in Perthshire felt more lively, bubbly with rivers and colourful autumnal trees. We drove through Glen Lyon, the longest enclosed glen in Scotland that spans roughly 34 miles, or as described by Sir Walter Scott, the longest, loneliest and loveliest glen Glen in Scotland. It felt truly quiet and pleasant to explore. The little walk we went on led us through the valley and up into the woods, with more bubbling waterfalls and streams on our way. Not another soul around. There is, however, a rather popular little tea room we stopped at on our drive. I must say, as a coffee lover, I was very much impressed with the quality of coffee served in this region of Scotland and yes, this is very important to me. There was a little roastery in Aberfeldy, also called Glen Lyon Coffee Roasters, and their beans seemed to be served in every cafe in the area. We sat at a cafe in the valley overlooking the Lyon River. Lots of other people stopping by after their hikes and drives through the Glen. Don't know if that's the effect of having a rather charismatic baby with us, or in general people in Scotland being very friendly, and I think it's probably both, but we got a lot of smiles and occasional chit chats on our way. Speaking of travelling with a baby, I'm sure some of you are not interested in this, but this is my life now. If you've been following me for a while, you know how much I love nature walks and always end up somewhere deep in the grass or a slightly more challenging trail. I don't want to give you an impression with this video that now that I have this little change in my life, things are as easy breezy as they were. However, life doesn't stop after having a child. Most of the time he's with us and here in the video you see him a little more often as he was very much awake and enjoying the views as much as I did. Most of the time he's just peacefully sleeping or hanging about in the carrier, so all the usual walks are still possible to do. I still walk a lot, explore a lot and occasionally end up in deep grass or steep hills. And you know, there is something special in sharing these experiences with yet another soul. We arrived to rainy Dunkeld for a short morning stroll on a weekday. It's a small town in the Perthshire region, named one of the best places to live in Scotland and often called the gateway to the Highlands. I discovered that there are quite a few towns here called exactly the same, so I will leave this information for the debate between those who are really in the know where the highlands actually begin. This was a charming but very busy little town full of pretty shops and lovely cafes. After having a quick lunch and coffee by the river, we went a couple of miles down the road to a popular hermitage walk. An enchanting forest trail that goes through towering Douglas firs, past a bubbling river towards a tumbling waterfall. Originally designed as a pleasure ground in the 18th century for the dukes of Atholl, Douglas firs that grow in this forest are some of the tallest trees in the UK, but interestingly enough, they are not native to the UK as they were actually brought from North America and are now completely naturalized, providing a habitat for red squirrels and many other forest creatures. The most striking to me, however, were the colors of the beeches, of course, so wonderfully golden at this time in autumn. As the rain picked up, we found ourselves wandering over the bridge in Killiecrankie. While we didn't stay here for too long, as the weather was really turning, this spot was special and high on my list to visit as someone recommended it to me for both its beauty and gory history under my very first video from Scotland here on YouTube. I've been wanting to see it for myself ever since. I've been thinking about the meaning of home recently a lot, as someone who never really felt the sense of belonging to a culture and country I was born in. Maybe it's written in the stars, who knows. Or maybe home isn't much where we are born, but a place we choose, a place that accepts us, a place where we deliberately build our own lives, ourselves and our sense of belonging from scratch. I'm sure we all have a very different definition of the same word, or shall I say, not exactly a word but rather a feeling. Because home cannot be rationalised, it has to be felt. Home is in people, in places and feelings that are so intimately our own, maybe unexplainably so. One day you find yourself walking on these streets or amongst towering mountains or bubbling rivers and realize that you indeed love where you are. To me the life I built in the English countryside is my home and Scotland is my home away from home I always long to return to. Thank you for coming on this journey with me. I will see you again very soon.