A few people have posted about using a Now Page in place of regular blog posts. One Page that is updated regularly to say what is going on in my life under various aspects, so I will try this for a while.

Scotland

Just over 6 months ago, I moved to Scotland from Southern England to be with family. This is what is happening here.

• We are living in the high North East of Scotland, in Moray, near the coast. This is a sparsely populated area of the UK, still largely farmland, forests, hills, mountains and coastal beaches.
• This means much of our time is spent on walks outside with the family or just the two of us. The number of places to visit is almost overwhelming, with so many choices.
• There are many small villages along the coast. Some have developed small fishing industries, others provide places to visit for drinks or a meal, and overlook the sea. It is always peaceful and relaxing and some we return to on a weekly basis. In many ways, it reminds me of how life was when I grew up on the North Somerset coast.
• We also seem to have found a small area of Scotland that has its own weather bubble. There are hills to the west, east and south of us, so any poor weather seems to get pushed around us, and we often have bright, sunny days. Temperatures can be cool with the northern climes but otherwise it is usually perfect. On the odd occasion, with a storm blowing from the North Sea, it can get worse, but this is unusual.
• Another place we like to go is on walks in the forests. These are still natural and wide reaching around us and up into the hills. Often they follow rivers around here, which can be big and fast flowing, coming down off the mountains to the south of us.
• We have also done some walks on the hills, where you can come out of the forests onto magnificent views across unbroken country. It amazes us how little development there is apart from small hamlets, and feels like we are free. We are not able to make the big mountain climbs which are quite daunting, but have driven to see them, often covered in snow on the top.

House

Obviously with moving up here we have purchased a new home, and are working on getting it as we want it.

• We did look initially at getting an older bungalow but eventually bought a fairly new house that is just what we need, comfortable for the two of us, but able to have the grandchildren over to stay, or old friends come up for a visit, and allow them a comfortable stay.
• We have set up each room of the house as we want it, and put up pictures around the house, mostly of local places as well as some personal ones that we brought with us.
• The back garden was just a lawn with a shed, so my wife wants to develop this into our own little oasis. I feel better doing this over time and allowing it to grow naturally.
• Went to a local garden centre and purchased 3 trees, eating and cooking apples and a plum. Going to make a bed along the garden for wild flowers and bushes, with the trees along the bottom fence. Time to mow the lawn as well.

Family

Family were our main reason for moving here, so any general things happening will be added here.

• Moving up here allows us to help out with the grandchildren which was difficult for our son when he had to be at work. So we can help take them to places of learning and clubs each week, when they might have missed them before we came up.
• They were here for 7 monthe before us, so have had more experience in getting to know the area. Even now they still discover new places to see, as well as return to favourite ones again.