The latest issue of the “Friend” brings a wonderful surprise for Karlie
The People’s Friend illustrated covers are instantly recognisable amongst the sea of magazines on the shelves, but this week’s issue of the “Friend” stood out for me for many more reasons.
The beautifully remote Loch Sween has been my children’s playground since they were tiny, with their paternal Grandparents having a holiday home there.
Most of the pictures of my children as toddlers are them playing around Loch Sween, running around the ruins of Castle Sween, or boating on the Loch itself. They’re 16 and 18 now, so you can imagine the memories triggered by this week’s issue.
Hide and seek
My in-laws had a static caravan, mentioned in the article, which proved a great getaway when the children were young. It was a home from home, and the children even had their own bedrooms.
Their paternal Grandma always made a huge fuss of them, (still does), and they loved every moment of their stay at Castle Sween. They still enjoy going all these years later, and my son has reached ‘pub age’ and is allowed to share a beer with his Papa in the on-site pub.
The site was always full of locals and visitors alike, and you could walk for miles without seeing a soul. The morning views over the Loch were stunning, and best enjoyed with a bacon roll and coffee. Why does holiday food taste better?
I even remember the children even enjoying the 3-hour car journey to the West Coast of Scotland and would play travel games such as “Yellow Car”. However, I also remember the “How long can you be quiet for” game being my favourite when noise and chatter got too loud, so perhaps I am romantising it a bit? (Who me?).
On water is best!
One of the best things about a visit to Loch Sween was being able to go out on Papa’s boat, a huge red rib! The boat was capable of reaching some great speeds, you were even able to water ski off the back, although they were too young. They simply watched their Grandma do it instead!
We even had our own boat for a while and happily went off to explore the Loch, although, as a Londoner, and staunch city girl, I was never entirely comfortable without earth under my feet!
The children, though, they loved the water! They would kayak, swim, splash, catch crabs, go fishing, and generally have the most wonderful time!
Thank you to our April 21st issue for bringing back such lovely memories!
Book your stay at the lovely caravan park in Castle Sween by clicking here
Karlie Simmonds Karlie has worked in Digital Media for over 10 years, she is passionate about health and wellbeing and lives in Edinburgh with her partner, children, and Pug, Poppy.
