Scottish Outlander | A Lifestyle Blog from Lindsay McWilliams

14 March, 2016

Go Ape at Whinlatter Forest and The Proclaimers

14 March, 2016

For John’s 29th birthday I bought him a voucher for Go Ape and for my 26th John bought us tickets to see one of my favourite bands, The Proclaimers. We decided to book Go Ape for the same date as the concert and make a day of it.

We went to Go Ape at Whinlatter Forest in the Lake District, just 50 minutes from Carlisle. Since I was convinced the highest Go Ape in the country would get the better of me we asked John’s friend and business partner, Ben, to come along.

The boys were shown the ropes (literally) and began making their way around the course. With my feet firmly on the ground I watched them navigate through the trees and over all sorts of obstacles high in the canopy.

The course at Whinlatter features tunnels, bridges, crossings, cargo nets and more. Some of the obstacles look easier to tackle than others but looks can be deceiving. At one point Ben was pretty much horizontal after choosing the trickier way round.

Since it was raining and my camera and I were getting a bit damp I decided to retreat to the visitor centre for a cup of tea and a bite to eat. When I walked back into the woods I thought it might be difficult to find John and Ben again but I soon caught sight of John whizzing through the trees on one of the zip-wires before crashing onto the bark covered landing area.

The whole course took John and Ben around 2 and a half hours to navigate although they had no idea they had been in the trees for that long!

After dusting themselves down they were presented with a certificate to acknowledge their achievement (John was particularly chuffed!) and we headed back to the city for the concert at The Sands Centre.

John and I had seen The Proclaimers once before at Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival but this was a very different environment. John had asked for advice on the best seats so we were able to enjoy the show from the very centre of the audience and this time The Proclaimers had a full band in tow.

The Proclaimers were on top form and sounded album perfect. They played all of my favourites including most of the songs from the Sunshine on Leith album and a few of their most recent releases.

I absolutely loved the gig and John couldn’t get the smile off his face after his adventure in the trees. All in all I think we did pretty well with our birthday gifts!

6 January, 2016

Cueva de los Verdes – The Green Caves, Lanzarote

6 January, 2016

Cueva de los Verdes or the Green Caves is one of the attractions John was keen to take me to see while we were on holiday in Lanzarote and it didn’t disappoint.

The caves were created by lava flows from a nearby volcano over 3,000 years ago and two kilometres have been opened up for tourists to explore. The lighting in the caves was designed by Lanzarote’s beloved artist Jesus Soto and combined with the sound is used to tell the story of how the unique tunnels were born.

In times of slavery and piracy the islands inhabitants would hide in the caves. Its vast caverns known locally as a jameo offered protection but locals were often snapped up when setting foot outside to gather supplies.

Nowadays the caves house a concert hall which can seat up to 500 at any one time.

The tour climaxes with “the great Secret of Lanzarote” which you’ll probably be able to figure out by looking at the photos below!

The Lanzarote Express Caves Tour is run by Last Minute Travel and is €20 per person. It runs on Wednesdays and Fridays and you get a choice of visiting Cueva de los Verdes or Jameos del Agua. I would love to visit again and see Jameos del Agua, the world’s longest lava tube where a rare species of blind albino crab has made its home.

16 December, 2015

Snorkelling in Lanzarote with David Swimwear*

16 December, 2015

While on our winter holiday in Lanzarote we decided to buy some snorkelling gear and venture into the sea. I had my new bikini from David Swimwear to try out and John was excited to test the underwater camera I had bought him for his birthday.

We found a beautiful bay about 20 minutes’ walk from our hotel, made sure our things weren’t going to get swept away by the tide and dipped our toes in the clear blue water.

It was freezing! Tentatively venturing further we could see fish swimming past our feet and as we moved deeper into the water the fish got bigger and distracted us from the temperature of the water.

There were so many different types of fish and they certainly weren’t shy. People were feeding them in the shallows and huge shoals circled us to see if we had anything for them.

We swam around the rocks getting up close and personal with the sea life and even spotted a star fish!

And what about my new bikini? I was really pleased with the comfort and fit it provided and it looks great. It stayed on without any problems and didn’t hug my curves too tightly, perfect when you’re doing your best breast stroke trying to catch up with a particularly pretty fish!

The bright pattern of the bikini is eye catching too, ideal when your snorkelling buddy is trying to find you in a sea of other swimmers.

The gem details add to the luxury feel and it’s obvious from the quality of the material that this bikini is a piece of high fashion beachwear. It was a real treat to wear something so lavish!

I was hoping I would feel confident enough to share a photo of myself in the bikini but here’s a photo of it on a stunning model instead! I was also given a beautiful Iconique cover-up in blue to complete my beach look. The image on the right is the same style and it’s plain to see that Iconique pieces are inspired by the Mediterranean coast and are designed to be easy to wear.

The David Swimwear collection for 2016 features more bold prints inspired by Italian design and focused on comfort.

Patricia Eve is the UK distributor for David Swimwear so if you would like to see more from the new range you can visit www.patricia-eve.co.uk.

13 December, 2015

Lanzarote South Tour – Timanfaya National Park

13 December, 2015

In November John turned 30 and we decided to celebrate by spending a week in the sun. We chose Lanzarote as John had visited before and really liked the island. We decided to stay at the same hotel he had stayed at previously, Santa Rosa Apartments in Costa Teguise and flew from Newcastle. After a few days of relaxing and trying to acclimatize (I am useless in the heat!) it was time to explore.

For our first excursion we chose to go on the Short South Island tour, mainly because I got a little over excited at the prospect of riding a camel…

The tour took us to Timanfaya National Park in the southwestern part of Lanzarote where we saw the stunning scenery created by eruptions in the 18th century. Brimming with different colours and textures the lava fields look unearthly and photos of the area where apparently shown to Nasa astronauts to prepare them for what the moon would look like.

To demonstrate how hot it is below the surface of Montañas del Fuego we were shows geothermal experiments.

At the restaurant in the heart of the Fire Mountains they even cook the food with the natural heat from under the ground.

Next we were taken to the base of Fire Mountain where the camels were waiting.

We took our seats on either side of our camels hump and up it got. The camels were all connected and in convoy took us round a track on the side of the mountain.

The last stop on our tour was a traditional vineyard where we tasted some very sweet wine.

The vines are grown in sunken pits surrounded by semi circular walls built with volcanic stones. This protects the vines and means that around 2 million litres of wine are produced each year.

The Lanzarote Short South Tour is run by Last Minute Travel and is €20 per person. It runs Monday-Thursday and if you’re visiting Lanzarote I really recommend it.

3 November, 2015

The Really Useful Chocolate Teapot

3 November, 2015

How useful is a chocolate teapot? Recently I was given the opportunity to find out by reviewing the Schokolat Chocolate Teapot. As a chocoholic I was pretty pleased and the answer? It’s more useful than you might have thought!

The teapot is hand-made in the UK and is made with real Belgian chocolate. It’s much heavier than it looks and would make the perfect gift for family or friends with a sweet tooth.

We decided to use ours to make hot chocolate but you can also use it for fondue by adding hot water and dipping marshmallows, strawberries or anything else you fancy into the teapot and topping it up with more hot water whenever the chocolate starts to run out.

To make our hot chocolates we put two teaspoons of organic cocoa powder into the teapot then filled it two thirds full with water and stirred. Holding the lid John poured the thick chocolate drink into our teacups and we savoured the rich flavours.

Then we couldn’t resist taking a bite.. You can refill the teapot as many times as you like and once you’re finished you can break it up and eat it or do what we’ve done and store it in the fridge for whenever you fancy a nibble!

The chocolate teapot is available to buy here and maybe the next time you hear the phrase “as useful as a chocolate teapot” it will remind you that sometimes they really can be. However I wouldn’t recommend using one to make a cup of tea.

22 October, 2015

#Bloggerlodge at Travelodge Gateshead Hotel

22 October, 2015

The North East is one of our favourite places so when we were given the opportunity to spend two nights in a hotel near the Metrocentre in Gateshead we jumped at the chance.

After work on Friday we made the relatively short trip over to Gateshead. We were staying at Travelodge Gateshead Hotel just 3.1 miles from Newcastle City Center. The hotel is just off the A1 and is pretty easy to get to. When we arrived we were given some tips on where to eat before heading up to our room to get settled in.

The room was a good size, nice and clean and had everything we needed. Stomachs rumbling we headed out in search of somewhere nice to eat. The lady who had welcomed us had recommended the pub next door for tasty homemade food so we decided to give it a go.

The Skiff Inn is a typical local pub with a wide range of dishes on offer and friendly, attentive staff. The Skiff is named after the boat Harry Clasper, a professional rower from Tyneside, used to race and is decorated with nautical items including a rowing boat that hangs from the ceiling.

For our starter we chose to share a portion of calamari and we were so glad we only ordered one as there was more than enough for both of us. It was crispy, tasty and came with a spicy tomato dip.

For our main courses I opted for a garlic chicken pizza and John chose a chicken burger.

My pizza was huge and very tasty and John really enjoyed his burger although wasn’t that impressed with the chips.

Feeling pretty full we headed back to the hotel to relax.

The hotel doesn’t have a restaurant so in the morning we got ready and headed to the Metrocentre to get something to eat before getting the train into Newcastle.

The area around the hotel is mainly retail park so there are lots of busy roads but there is a path by the river that takes you directly to the Metrocentre. It takes about 20-25 minutes and delivers you to the transport interchange.

We decided to get something cheap and cheerful for breakfast so popped into Wetherspoons. John had his typical full English while I had a bagel with salmon and cream cheese.

Fenwicks had just opened a Christmas pop up shop so we had a look around and even bought our first Christmas present. After a quick look around the Metrocentre we caught the train to Newcastle City Center and spent the next few hours shopping, something we don’t usually do and aren’t very good at! (We mainly played with toys and looked at tents!)

Before long we were ready for a bit of refreshment. I had wanted to show John The Botanist for a while so I thought we could pop in for a cocktail but it was absolutely packed.

Instead we decided to go for a drink and a snack at dAt bAr on Market Street. dAt bAr is popular for it’s urban style, craft beers and tasty food and I love the relaxed atmosphere.

We ordered some shoestring fries and sourdough bread with french butter, mainly because I couldn’t remember having ever tasted sourdough bread and we weren’t that hungry.

The shoestring fries were amazing. Honestly. And the sourdough bread was very tasty. Next time we visit we’ll be sure to bring our appetites and sample some more of the menu.

All shopped out we got the train back to the Metrocentre and made a beeline for somewhere a bit more exiting than the shops… Namco Funscape! We played a few games, won plenty of tickets and got way too excited when we discovered we could trade them in for a prize. (We chose a minion slinky and three maoam bars, easy pleased!)

No trip to Gateshead is complete without a trip to everyone’s favourite Swedish furniture shop, IKEA where we picked up some bits and bobs before heading back to the Metrocentre in search of some dinner. There are over 50 restaurants and you’re sure to find one of your favourite chains. We found one of ours, Nandos, and treated ourselves to some Afro-Portuguese chicken.

On Sunday morning we had a bit of a lie in (check out isn’t till 12 so you’re free to make the most of that king sized bed) before grabbing some breakfast at Frankie & Benny’s just around the corner from the hotel. Breakfast is served till 12 but the food was very slow to come out.

Typically John had another full English and I decided to try the eggs royale which was a toaster muffin, two poached eggs and slices of smoked salmon topped with hollandaise sauce and chopped chives.

The eggs royale was lovely but very rich, especially after such a food filled couple of days!

We had a lovely weekend thanks to Travelodge although I’m not sure my waistline will be as appreciative!

5 October, 2015

My Style Icon with Boohoo – Jessica Alba*

5 October, 2015

When boohoo.com asked me to choose my celebrity style icon I knew instantly who I would pick. Jessica Alba has been one of my favourite actresses since I first saw her in James Cameron’s Dark Angel and her effortless and classic sense of style means she often appears on the pages of magazines and acts as inspiration for fashion conscious women worldwide.

After scrolling through hundreds of images I found the perfect look to steal for Autumn/Winter with the help of Boohoo.

A photo posted by Jessica Alba (@jessicaalba) on Jan 12, 2015 at 11:52am PST

My weekend style is fairly laid back and I wanted a look that I could wear whether I’m heading out for lunch or traipsing around a DIY superstore (something we’ve been doing a lot recently!) so this outfit Jessica Alba wore for a day in the office really appealed to me.

To recreate the look I chose the Yazmeen Belted Mac, the simple white Alice Swing Vest, high waisted jeans from Oasis (old season), crocodile print Olivia Zip Side Skater shoes, the Melissa Winged Bag from Accessorize (old season) and a Maria Bar and Coin Layered Necklace to complete the look.

The Yazmeen Belted Mac is a bargain at just £25 and looks great with jeans and a simple white top like the Alice Swing Vest. The Alice Vest is light and hangs beautifully hiding any lumps and bumps, plus it’s only £5. I think I’ll be investing in a couple of other colours for my holiday!

I’ve written about the Melissa Winged Bag from Accessorize before but unfortunately it seems to have been discontinued. Although not as bold as Jessica Alba’s bag I think it works well with the outfit.

The Olivia Zip Side Skater shoes are just £15 and I love the zip detailing and subtle crocodile print.

Since Jessica Alba tends to layer necklaces I opted for the Maria Bar and Coin Layered Necklace to finish off my celebrity style icon challenge.

I really enjoyed taking part in this challenge and I think it’s only increased my admiration for Jessica Alba. Thanks to boohoo.com for making it possible and to my amazing boyfriend John for playing fashion photographer.

3 October, 2015

The Alnwick Garden and Treehouse‏

3 October, 2015

To celebrate our first anniversary John and I decided to go back to one of our favourite places, Northumberland. Northumberland has a special place in our hearts as we’ve visited it throughout our relationship and we can’t get enough of the white sandy beaches, fishing villages and outstanding scenery. Having camped around the Bamburgh area on our last few trips we decided to try something a little different and explore in land. We booked a stay at Clennell Hall Hotel on the edge of Northumberland National Park but decided to stop off in Alnwick first for a long overdue visit to The Alnwick Garden.

We had both visited The Alnwick Garden years before so we were excited to see what was new. Tickets for the garden are £12.10 per adult which is quite pricey but there is plenty to see and do. The Treehouse was closing early for a function so we headed there first.

The Treehouse is one of the largest in Europe and we loved bouncing around on the rope bridges and exploring the wooden structure. As well as the restaurant there is now a bar called The Potting Shed which serves cocktails and light bites. We had already eaten but it looked well worth a visit.

The view that greeted us as we entered the garden certainly hadn’t changed. The fountain, the Grand Cascade, is an impressive center piece and mini tractors line the base of the water feature for kids to play on.

Armed with a map we were determined to explore every part of the gardens and started with the labyrinth. Lined with bamboo it twists and turns until you reach the center stone.

We wandered around the rose garden then got a little bit damp in the serpent garden! The serpent garden is full of interactive water features and I just couldn’t help myself..

… I got soaked all down my back!

The ornamental garden sits at the top of the Grand Cascade inside 16th century Venetian gates and is filled with one of the countries largest collections of European plants.

We also took a tour of the Poison Garden and discovered that our garden houses quite a few plants we didn’t know were poisonous! We really enjoyed the tour which was very interesting but if you decide to go on it remember to heed the warning..

After stocking up on snacks and wine we headed off to find our hotel. Clennell Hall Hotel is in a remote location near Alwinton at the foot of the Cheviot Hills, 18 miles west of Alnwick. The historic manor house and it’s grounds are beautiful but the hotel itself is a little faulty towers. We had the oldest room in the house which was pleasant enough, breakfast was nice and we spotted a red squirrel which really made our day.

By happy coincidence my Mum was also in Northumberland for the weekend so we made plans to meet her for lunch on Sunday. We had a couple of hours free beforehand and the sun was shining so we couldn’t think of anything better than to head to Bamburgh for a walk on the beach.

We always seem to be drawn to Bamburgh and it’s beautiful stretch of coastline. I’m not sure how anyone could visit the Northumberland coast and not fall in love with it.

We rounded off our trip with lunch and a walk by the river in Warkworth with Mum before dropping her off at the train station and heading home.

17 September, 2015

Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival

17 September, 2015

Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival is a music festival just five minutes from my parents home near Beauly in Inverness-shire. Since one of my favourite bands, The Proclaimers, were headlining we decided this summer was the perfect time to see what the “friendliest, wackiest, most inclusive festival in Scotland” had to offer.

John had never been to a festival before so didn’t know what to expect and our first impressions weren’t what I wanted his to be! The five minute journey from my parents took an hour and then we had to queue for over two hours for our bags to be checked and to collect our wrist bands. This year was the first the festival ran over three days and in past years campers were granted access a day early to ease congestion. Unfortunately that wasn’t the case this year and everyone arrived at once causing long delays and the first few bands to play to empty arenas. When we eventually got in we pitched up (with some help from a very nice soldier who was collecting for the Royal Legion), made ourselves some chicken burgers then headed out to explore the festival.

The festival itself is very artsy and there was an installation around every corner.

Everywhere you looked there was something different going on. You could try your hand at trapeze, circus skills, a myriad of dance styles, yoga, meditation and more or sit back and enjoy some live music, poetry, comedy or even an aerial stunt show.

It turns out circus skills aren’t my forte..

Performing artists roamed the arena with a metal unicorn and a highland cow whose rear end you needed to keep away from if you wanted to stay dry!

The lineup was varied and really did have something for everyone. Our favourite area was the Walled Garden which housed The Burk and Hair stage, a crazy steam punk bar where we watched a man DJ using two gramophones and another sing some pretty hilarious songs about celebrities.

Music wise we had three priorities to see over the course of the festival and none of them disappointed. KLOË, an 18 year old artist from Glasgow had amazing stage presence, Honeyblood, a musical duo also from Glasgow were album perfect and The Proclaimers were every bit as good as I had hoped.

To get a taste of what was on offer you can listen to the Belladrum 2015 playlist below.

There was a fantastic selection of food available and I enjoyed some mussels in white wine sauce from the Loch Fyne tent and a stone baked pizza which was the perfect way to sober up. The bar operated a token system which made it pretty quick to get a drink. We bought our tokens during the day when the queue was small and spent most of them at the main bar.

Having been to a couple of festivals one of the real pluses for me was that the toilets in the arena were cleaned continuously over the weekend. If you’ve been to a big festival you might empathize although if you’re planning to camp in the main site it might be a good idea to invest in tickets for the posh loos! For us camping in the main camp site turned out to be a little ambitious. The place was full of teenagers who had no intention of letting anyone get a wink of sleep and one who decided to use our BBQ as a football so after one night we accepted my parents offer of a comfy bed and some peace and quiet. In hindsight we should have opted for the family area but I was determined we were still too young for that!

We loved the chilled out atmosphere, beautiful setting and variety at Bella and will be back although next time I think we’ll leave the tent at home..

20 August, 2015

Guest Bedroom Inspiration

20 August, 2015

The renovation of our new house is well under way and we move in at the weekend! I’ve mentioned the work we’re doing in a previous post and although there is still a lot of DIY to be getting on with it’s time to start thinking about how we want the individual rooms to look. We’re moving from a two bedroom flat to a three bedroom house and in the near future both sets of parents will be living over the border in Scotland so will need a place to stay when they come to visit. That means we’ve got a whole bedroom to furnish so I’ve been gathering some inspiration.

I’ve always liked the idea of having a fabric bed as I think they look fantastic and add a bit of warmth to a room. A fabric ottoman bed would be perfect as it would provide loads of storage space and achieve the high end look I’m after. To compliment this I would love some grey floor length curtains in a similar shade to tie everything together. I’ll definitely be asking John to put up curtain poles as I think they look much better than plastic rails.

Quality is key when looking for the perfect bedroom furniture and I think it pays to invest in pieces your likely to keep for years to come. Websites, such as bedstar, offer various possibilities and are a great place to start your search. Style wise I like to keep it clean and simple which I don’t think will ever go out of fashion. I’ll be choosing a white wardrobe and matching bedside tables to reflect the light and make the room nice and bright. This is especially important as it will probably be the smaller of the two spare bedrooms that we’ll be furnishing from scratch.

Adding accessories will make the room feel more homely and add some interest. I love the idea of putting the wi-fi code in a frame on the guest’s bedside table. It means they don’t have to feel awkward about asking for it and you don’t have to read it out from underneath your router every time someone comes to stay. Antique brass frames are on trend and you could easily swap their content for photos that include your guests if everyone visiting already knew the code. I would also love a world scratch map. I bought one for a close friend and really like the way it acts as a piece of art and a reminder of all the wonderful places you have travelled. I would like to display one in the guest room, I can imagine it being a fantastic conversation starter!

Lighting is really important and I would like something a little bit different. I usually play it safe with a neutral lamp shade but I think an unusual fitting would give the room a little extra and create some interesting shapes. A simple bedside lamp would give guests another option if they prefer more muted lighting.

We’ve already got furniture for our other two bedrooms so it’s exciting to be able to style a whole room and imagine what it might look like. Hopefully we’ll have three functioning bedrooms by the end of the year!