When my Dad came to visit over the last week of my Easter holiday I wanted a chance to get out into the "real" Scotland. We initially headed up the west coast but couldn't' see a thing through the pouring rain so we spent a quick night in Fort William and then took an early train over the the east coast where the weather was supposed to be better. In the end, we got one and a half good sunny days out of five.
During our time in Aberdeenshire on the east coast, we rented a car (Dad did all the driving as my stick shift abilities are somewhat lacking) and drove about the countryside hunting castles. We visited eight castles and saw a few more from a distance. By our last day, they were all starting to seem alike!
I had also planned on doing a bit of hiking as the area has some wonderful wilderness areas and stunning scenery, but again the weather conspired against us.
All things told, we both really enjoyed the trip and I hope to get back again in the future when there is a bit more sunshine.