Last weekend, we were back up in Scotland for a flying visit. It was a very special occasion.  My grandparents both turned 90 years old this year and so my family all gathered outside Edinburgh to celebrate with them.

My parents booked a huge house for the weekend on beautiful farmland called Craigengar Lodge.  I must admit, I’ve been eyeing it up online for years so I was super excited to stay there.  It didn’t disappoint!  The pictures below don’t do it justice – the weather was incredibly changeable and I chose the greyest moments to pop outside for pictures!  It felt like we were in a Channel 4 Grand Designs episode, with huge picture windows looking out over the beautiful landscape and luxurious furnishings and rooms.  I’d highly recommend it for a large group – only 30 minutes from Edinburgh airport.

After a really busy few weeks at work, we loved being somewhere so calm and isolated (although with my entire family there, it wasn’t exactly quiet!) . We didn’t see another soul all weekend.

As I mentioned, the weather was very Scottish – changing every few minutes, sometimes torrentially raining, sometimes foggy, sometimes clear and sunny – always cold!  We took a few opportunities to get outside into the fresh air so the little ones could run around.

Here’s my brother and his family leading the way along the farm track

And looking back towards the lodge and nearby wind farm!

Here’s my brother, sister-in-law, nieces and the kids after a spot of scrambling enjoying the blue skies for a few minutes!

And in a foggier moment, Sophie with her cousins!

Matt and I escaped for an hour to have a wander on our own – it was so wonderful walking straight out of the house in our boots into the fresh, clean air, it made us have a few minutes of imagining leaving London…

Back in the lodge, the children had been busy creating an art gallery including lots of cake pictures ready for the birthday celebrations that were the reason for our visit.

My grandparents, who live about 20 minutes away from the lodge, joined us at the lunchtime on the Saturday and spent some time opening cards and gifts from us all.  I loved watching the children snuggle up with their great grandparents to help with the unwrapping.

We enjoyed a huge buffet lunch before bringing out a big birthday cake for them both!

They, of course, had plenty of willing assistants to help with candle duties!

We couldn’t have so many of us together without the traditional group photograph – I love this picture of Sophie with her cousin Rose helping me get the shot ready.

And here’s the clan – my grandparents, parents, aunt, brother, sister-in-law and all the children!