I love Belladrum festival.. Main reason being it takes place in the Highlands of Scotland about 20…read moremins drive from where I grew up. Bella is a fun, friendly, family festival. there is so much to see and do. There's lots of activities for the kids, theatre, comedy, art instalations, weddings, flashmobs, bike tricks, booze, music, good food and fun. There are 4 or 5 stages full of local bands, ceilidh bands and some big names.. But we always say we don't always go for the music we go for the laugh with friends. Bella has had some up and coming bands play including Ed Sheeran, The 1975 and catfish and the bottlemen who have gone on to become pretty big names. Bella is a lovely size, big enough to have a good wander around but small enough to get to the bar, toilet and stages easily.. Bar queues aren't too bad and toilets are maintained well. The food is also really good. You get your usual burger and chip vans but they also have the nicer versions.. My fav is always the stovies, good hearty food to keep your energy levels up. This year they had a new section where you could go and get locally sourced 3 course meal for around £35 each.. A few of my friends went and said the food was amazing.. All in all, my heart belongs to belladrum.. If you fancy a little chilled out happy festival vibe then I would highly recommend giving it a go.

Keep an eye out for all sorts of shows by independent performers: comedy, magic, fire, etc.. The…read moreEdinburgh Festival Fringe is a joyous annual event that happens every August. Short street performances are spread throughout the city, particularly centering around the Royal Mile. We were unlucky with the weather in that it was pouring rain the day we visited. And so it was difficult to find shows as well as for the entertainers who had to stall until a large enough crowd had gathered. For the ones that we did stop to watch, they were quite enjoyable.

I happened to be visiting Edinburgh for a college reunion during the time of the Fringe Festival,…read moreso after meeting up with my friends at the airport, we all headed to the Royal Mile (which I fondly started calling the High Mile on account of its elevation and because so many people were high on life, drugs or alcohol!) to soak in the atmosphere. And what an atmosphere it was! Full of buskers, mimes, musicians, and eclectic acts - from Japanese pop to American tap dancing to an Eastern European theatre group performing a moving play about Jewish children interned at a Nazi concentration camp. It was a warm and sunny afternoon and the crowd was out in force, and I could clearly see the shimmering blue waters of the Firth of Forth in the distance. After stopping by for a wonderful meal of haggis and salmon and IPA at the Whiski Bar and Restaurant (different review for that one), we plunged back into the creativity and madness, enjoying the magical experience that's the Fringe!

I had the opportunity to take part in the preview night of the Best of the West Festival, and I…read moremust say I was really impressed by what I heard and tasted in West on the Green this Wednesday night. Upon arrival, we received a few beer tokens, followed by a very welcoming introduction. First to the beer: West's beer is advertised with the slogan "Glaswegian heart, German head" and it is possibly the best sentence you sell me beer with - Munich Red and the Hefeweizen are both very good in their own genre, and I'm sure that you could say the same about the rest, too. Loch Fyne's oysters gained popularity quickly for a good reason, and the smoked salmon was brilliant as well. Luss Smokehouse's salmon paté and the trout are definitely a must try when you're at the festival, I always get surprised how great simple snacks such as oatcakes, paté and a bit of salmon can be. And now comes to the absolute highlight of the night for me - the cheese selection! J.R. Fine Foods exhibited several creamy cheddar variations from chilli and tomato to various whiskeys (including Laphroaig) and my personal favourite, the Old Smokey that has a somewhat unusual, but very harmonic and unique taste. One decision I made that night is that I have to change the fact that the Yelp business page has no reviews as of now, and I am likely to do that pretty soon. All this accompanied by delicious home made cup cakes, good music and last but not least, even most importantly, the people who I had the joy of sharing this evening with - I am really happy I could make it. As far as the food is concerned, I can only recommend visiting the festival. You won't be disappointed.

This has to be one of the most beuatiful locations ever for a festival. On the shores of the…read moremagical Loch Ness in Scotland the stage is set for a three day music extravaganza. This year Rockness takes place between 12 and 14 June 2009. With major acts headlining over the weekend such as Basement Jaxx, Dizzee Rascal, the Prodigy, Biffy Clyro, the Falming Lips, Placebo, Soulwax and other brillant bands such as the Alambama3, the wombats, the cuban brothersthe list goes on. Camping is available over the three days and there is a very chilled out relaxed atmosphere to the whole festival. You can also buy individual tickets for each day if you fancy just going for the day. The food stalls are excellent and gormet burgers, sausages, stovies and a multitude of other scrumptious delights to fill your belly are available. The toilet facilities here are better than some festivals and the whole thing generally is a bit more spread out. This is a great festival with the breathtaking backdrop of Loch ness to add to the experience.

What can I say about Rockness..As an avid festival goer, Rockness is undoubtably the prettiest…read morefestival in Britain. The scenery is amazing with the main stage backdrop being the loch itself. This years line up will cater for all tastes, the food is amazing and the drink selection on offer is far better than the standard beer/cider/wine offered at other festivals (The Pimms bus being a favourite). The campsite is only a short walk from the arena, buses run regularly from Inverness, Taxi to the site from Inverness is an affordable option at around £17 (for 4, that is a steal compared to other festivals) The food is amazing, by far the best selection in Scotland (Stovies should be tried by all). The toilets in the arena are the best i have ever seen. The stages are a short distance from each other, minimising what you can miss :D All in Rockness is so well organised and laid out you'd be silly not to go and its the best chance you'll have to get a tan in Scotland in June.

I loved this the first time I came with my little pal Erik. Fantastic line up! Great scenery!…read moreFantastic people! NO queue in NO queue out!!!!! Gotta be worth a few stars just for that :-) This year however, someone thought it would be a good idea to allow a bus GIVING away Muller Rice! Not only did the muppet on the tanoy start shouting about it at 9am on the Friday morning (OMG) but because nobody ever disposes of the empty or partially empty pts, the whole area stunk of cottage cheese by Friday afternoon! Mr Muller Rice The most hated man at T in The Park 2008

This is the biggest music festival in Scotland and popular UK wide. It takes place on a disused…read moreairfield in Balado, near Kinross. Since it began in 1994 this has grown to a capacity of 85,000. The festival takes place over three days between 10 and 12 July 2009 and will feature more than 120 acts. Camping tickets for 2009 have long sold out, however, there are still tickets available for individual days. 2009 sees the return of the Killers on the main stage and new acts such as Lady Ga Ga and the Script. The mighty Kings of Leon are headlining on the Friday and Seasick Steve will be on the main stage on Sunday. Blur and Snow Patrol will be playing on Sunday also. The atmosphere is always electric with lots of things to see and do. The food stalls are amazing and there is always plenty alcohol to go round. This is a fantastic experience and everyone should try it at least once. Just bring wellies and a mac just in case. Even though it's in the summer, it's still Scottish weather that rules!

Game Fair's are one of those things most people will never go to, ever, in their lifetimes, and…read moreit's such a shame because it's such a great family day out! And with so much to see and do my review probably won't do it justice, but I'll give it a whirl... The Scottish Game Fair is undoubtedly Scotland's largest Game Fair and rocks up at Scone the first weekend in July each year. Set with the stunning Scone Palace on one side and the River Tay on the other, it's setting alone makes it worth a visit. On the day entry is £19 for an adult, children are £5 or having just checked, £40 for a family ticket, so not the cheapest but worth it in my view. Heads up, you can usually buy online in advance with a few ££ knocked off. Okay so first off, there's actually LOADS for kids - trampolines, inflatable castles, crocodiles and octopuses (I kid not, wish I'd taken a pic now!), archery, climbing, segways and mini-carts to name but a few. For grown-up kids, try your hand at clay-pigeon shooting, the air rifle range (glad to see my shooting had improved since last year's attempt!) or the off-road 4x4 course for a white-knuckle ride! Aside from the activities, there is easily over 400 traders selling everything from fishing and shooting supplies, clothing (expect to see a lot of tweed and barbour on show!), jewellery and crafts or even treat yourself to a new car if that's what you fancy. The Food Hall stocks a plethora of local produce, most with free samples, and this year also included cookery demo's from Flora Sheddon (of GBBO fame (and also a local lass)) and Three Sister's Bake **TIP ALERT** Make sure you're not on driving duty...gin samples are definitely a highlight in here! Outwith the food hall, there are plenty of food trucks for refuelling (Tomintoul Venison a must-try!) and a beer tent for a cold one or 5 ;-) As if all that wasn't enough...(gutted you missed it now huh!)...the main ring has demo's varying from birds of prey to duck herding (highly entertaining!) and features everything from pipe bands and tug o war to terrier racing! Other activities to watch or take part in include fly-casting, the dog scurry (dummy retrieval) and the gundog working competition so get training now for next year! Oh and one last thing, being a game fair a lot of people bring their dogs so if you're not doggy-minded, this maybe isn't the place for you. I however, was in doggy heaven!

The Festival Theatre in Pitlochry has a reputable name for itself and is set by the river in a…read morelovely location. The theatre has varied acts on there all through the year. The theatre also has a small gift shop (and not selling 'tat'!) and there is a large cafe/restaurant. One section of the restaurant is an elevated glass restaurant, with beautiful views.

Not a patch on the Edinburgh one, but still worth the walk from centre of town to see this unique…read moreplace, mostly interior structure is wooden beams, kind of reminds me of a large country village hall or church, with wooden beamed ceiling. The day our party visited it was full of over 50's, waiting for a show. This left us with no seating and no lunch. Snaking strenuously back uphill to the High Street, we visited a cheese shop for smoked cheeses and oatcakes to go with wine later. So we came back 30 mins later the show which had now started meant there was now seats a-plenty! Shows and events expected to appear this year 2014 are the likes of...elvis, whiskey kisses, queen, miracle on 34th street. But if you get the chance try their Food hall/cafe hub, or surrounding the building is a maze of gardens. A few hours later after seeing the nearby salmon ladder and dam we jumped on the EY bus, this took us back a couple of miles to our luxury abode at Blair Castle about seven miles for around £1.70.

We arrived at the end of the Great Escape with our instruments; we were closing the festival. We'd…read moredid our bit to promote but, naturally, the festival had begun to wind down. The food vendors and stalls had packed up and all that was left was the music stage. We played, and it was probably the quietest point in the day. That was okay for us, but it felt a real shame that we'd been booked for a paying gig that wasn't the busiest. A little chalkboard by the stage listing who was on when would have been really useful, as people most probably thought that the event was already coming to a close as the DJ played before our set. I think there definitely could have been a lot promotion around the event, as unless we were booked, we probably wouldn't have found out about it. There wasn't even a mention on the day from Destination Stirling on Twitter, which when you think about the power of the retweet, is a crying shame. Great that they are supporting local musicians but, next time, shout it from the heavens. - A food and drink festival with music and entertainment is just bound to go down a storm!

Came here with our English Bulldog to spend a nice afternoon. And indeed we did…read more The earliest known part of the present castle dates from 1269. In 1740 the 2nd Duke began his transformation of the medieval castle into a Georgian house. A remodel to the exterior of the castle happened in the 1860s/70s. Later on architects Jamie Troughton and Hugh Broughton constructed a new exhibition hall known as the Banvie Hall. And that's now how the Castle stands here until today. We did book the admission to the Park and Grounds online and saved some money. There were a good number of visitors, but no problem finding a parking space - there's plenty of it only a short stroll from the castle. Admission with 9.50£ was a very fair deal. We were just in time to listen to the bagpipes, which were played hourly (until a certain time). Very nice - we love bagpipes. And to sit there on the bench, listening and with the Blair Castle in the background was just a wonderful moment. Then we went to the Deer Park, watching the wildlife. Then through the woods and Diana's Grove. A nice trail through the forest, with some nice creeks and a beautiful little bridge. Then onto St. Bride's Kirk. From there to the Blair Castle Gardens. Then back again to the Castle. Suprisingly few visitors along the paths. Really wonderful grounds here. Nice walks - nice nature and landscape. The Castle is pretty and the park offers nice ways and paths to spend some hours here. Also of course a restaurant, a shop, a nice playground and toilets. We really had a great time here. Dogs allowed on the grounds was a great thing. A real good visit, well worth the fair-priced admission.

Great visit of the Blair Castle located in its grounds near the village of Blair Atholl in…read morePerthshire. It is the ancestral home of the Clan Murray, and was historically the seat of their chief, the Duke of Atholl, though the current (12th) Duke, Bruce Murray, lives in South Africa. The castle stands in Glen Garry, and commands a strategic position on the main route (A9 road) through the central Scottish Highlands. It has many interesting signs of masonry as the 6th Duke George was the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Scotland.