The Big Adventure Blog: Who do you think you are?

This week has been all about family. We have spent the week in Aberdeenshire in the North East of Scotland exploring where my ancestors came from and meeting relatives that are still in the area. We seemed to have timed things well, staying indoors all week, which was nice since it hasn't been ideal camping weather.

Our first stop was a couchsurf. We stayed in a cosy stone croft which was heated with power from the owners windmill. We really enjoyed their home-made furnishings and sitting round the chunky wooden table in the kitchen at meal times. There were also a Spanish couple staying through Help-Ex and the atmosphere of the house was very relaxed, with everyone chipping in and doing things together. I cooked tea the three nights we stayed there and had to be a bit creative as the host was vegan, but I enjoyed the challenge!

During our stay there we visted Peterhead where my Dad's ancestors came from. Peterhead has always been, and still is a fishing town - it smelt like it! It was fairly easy to imagine things how they were in the old days and listening to the seagulls overhead helped to set the scene. We took photos of a couple of houses my ancestors lived in, but some of them are no longer there.

In the second half the week we headed over to Fintry Farm at Turriff. During WWII my nana Molly and her brother Donald were sent from their home in Kent (right on the bombing path) to stay with their cousins in rural Scotland. Think of the start of the Narnia movie "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe" and the children that were sent as evacuees, and you'll be about right (except with a much more friendly family). It has been a very special time for me to stay at Fintry Farm after hearing about it so much as a child. Parts of the house have been nicely modernised but there is still plenty of old charm. Even though the house has been divided into two, the part we were staying in still has 6 bedrooms including a lovely big wooden staircase (perfect bannister for sliding down). You would expect a big old house this far north to be chilly, but with a clever boiler burning their oil seed rape straw, it was roasting!

There is plenty of family still close by in the area and we had a fantastic time sharing old memories and making new ones. Various relatives popped in for a cuppa during our stay, and it was fun chatting and listening to their accent. Around this area they have their own dialect and if you're not concentrating, it's nearly impossible to understand what is being said (especially if they're chatting between locals). Between many cups of coffee, lots of generous meals, lots of stories and joking around, a warm house and a very friendly family, it has been a very precious time.