BIKEPACKING 2 days (50 miles) – visiting my favourite castle // Scotland’s Aberdeenshire Coast Ep 07

After a winter break, I’m back on the trail! At least partially. I was recently able to spend two glorious days cycling along the Aberdeenshire coast, which completes the full 165 miles of the Aberdeenshire Coastline. Turns out because of the routes I took, it was more like 185 miles! But either way, it was a fantastic journey. In this video I’ll share the last 50 miles to complete the Aberdeen coastline and along the way show some absolutely SPECTACULAR views and my favourite castle in Scotland.

Read the blog with images and notes about my journey: https://bit.ly/SSABEp7TrailNotes

If you’re new here, hello! My name is Sarah and I moved to Scotland after meeting my (now) husband Shaun (aka Wolfy) while traveling in Scotland. You can hear about it in this video: https://youtu.be/DPt9iFlQZdw
I’m an independent artist and I make a living teaching art online as well as making videos here and on my art channel @SarahBurnsStudio

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[Music] I’m here at Duffy Park in Aberdine about to start a 2-day journey my headed along the dside way today and then down towards ston Haven where I’ll stay the [Music] night this lovely Wooded Trail leaves Aberdine and follows the river D and goes for about 40 Mi but I was only doing a small section in order to get out of the city and then head south towards the coast [Music] I’m leaving the dside way now to head into town to a little cafe sorry I know you’re really crooked I’m leaning on my bike going up a hill um but I’m very very happy I just I went this way because my alternative was to follow the coast more closely and that involved a lot of industrial areas right outside of Aberdine it involved uh just being much more exposed to really intense traffic so this is one of the parts of the journey around Scotland that I’m just going with the flow and deciding for my own safety and enjoyment I’m going to take a little detour Inland and enjoy the views and it’s been beautiful [Music] that was a very busy section I was not a fan of that okay well the cafe that I thought I was going to uh turns [Music] out it’s at a fuel station so [Music] there was roughly 12 miles until Stone Haven and I tried to take as many back roads as I could to avoid the busier roads sometimes it was unavoidable but mostly it was just a gorgeous day off and on showers but it created the most beautiful Patchwork light moving across the fields I was in heaven [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] it is such a cool view so I am just getting ready to head down to dinner but I’m looking for my wallet oh got it that always makes me nervous when I’m traveling it’s such a cute Harbor very yeah very w [Music] there was something so nostalgic about being in Stone Haven I had only been there once but didn’t really explore and it felt very familiar and yet strange like I was in a dream the town has a very old world feel but also has some Modern amenities and I definitely fell in love with the old Harbor so I stayed quite a while and sketched and although it looks really nice in the video it was really windy and cold so I caught a bit of a chill and I didn’t want to risk ruining my next day of cycling so I headed back into the hotel room for another little sketch session before bed [Music] [Music] EX [Music] after a very long day it’s nice to just chill in the hotel room and I’m having my little Waffle dessert um and watching watching some comedy show I don’t watch TV usually so I don’t even know what all the shows are called uh anyway I’m going to try to go to bed soon it’s almost 9:30 and then I can wake up early get on the Trail it took me like an hour to get unchilled from being outside and it’s really light out still so I’ve had to close the blinds because otherwise I just stay up it’s very weird this time of year [Music] anyone else what a way to start the morning who needs coffee I do and I already had two this was a very steep climb first thing so now I get to go up another Hill that’s one of the interesting things about the coast is that it is definitely not flat and boring it gives you iety and actually that keeps me excited but I need to catch my breath the next couple hours of my morning were some of the best moments I’ve had on the entire Scottish Coast I I’m just going to let the video speak for itself [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] it’s difficult to convey the emotions that flood through me when I’m walking among structures like these and especially in a location like this I have been to quite a few spectacular places in Scotland but this one it’s just so [Music] special like most castles in Scotland there’s quite a turbulent history among the previous tenants and owners and people who attacked or laid claim to it for certain times and there’s lots of cool history and plaques with information throughout the castle ruins [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] on my travels I’m constantly confronted with the Sorrows of the past and while some places are profoundly beautiful they can be just as devastatingly hot haunting the reverence I feel for the lives of our ancestors and what they built in their way of life always Rises to the surface in places like this I choose to celebrate them by painting these wondrous places and reflecting on what I can learn from our shared history [Music] I think this is one of the most spectacular places in Scotland to visit if you can I felt such a roller coaster of emotions and it was the highlight of my trip I’ve stopped for a latte I got these little like energy waffles that I’m really excited to try there was a little food truck at the top of the um path leading away from the castle so I got a oat milk latte I’m going to eat my Waffle have a little rest and then I’m starting my next section which is about an hour hour long I might see something along the way and stop but yeah it’s turning really hot and sunny so I’ve loaded up on sunscreen as well I was laughing because you know I always try to wear bright colors when I’m cycling so that people can see me on the road and today I’m wearing my bike shorts so my legs are exposed and you know they’re basically white they’re reflective so you know it’s a it’s it adds to my safety I think who needs tanning oh no I crushed P it it’s a chocolate filled waffle I don’t know if you can tell tastes like a cookie I could get used to that that’s much better than an energy bar that’s for sure I’ve also got some Knack Ultra energy powder so I’m going to put that in my water bottle hopefully that’ll keep me going over the next several miles it’s quite hot today so I think I need electrolytes but it’s watermelon flavor which is really lovely let it soak in a little it’s like floating on the top for a second [Music] finally I’m off the main road and I’m headed down towards the coast let’s see if we get some better views down here and less traffic but it’s such a gorgeous day oh my goodness [Music] [Music] morning [Music] they are so so noisy oh that was an amazing painting session but I think I need vast amounts of sunscreen because I feel like I’ve been fried on the right side oh I don’t want to leave but I have a lot of miles I I have like 20 more miles to do still and I have 6 hours left till my train so I mean that’s plenty of time but I’d like to give myself time to paint along the way if I can or have a snack somewhere just enjoy it and not be rushed [Music] [Music] [Music] I think I’ve been going uphill for the last 5 miles it’s beautiful though the farmers are out in their fields sheeps and coups and all of it is just so gorgeous but I am so tired like I I just desperately need a downhill soon to lift my spirits spe [Music] it’s like straight up Boulders down here technically this is the route it says I should go which is funny because it was a nice path beautiful Coastal path and then all of of a sudden just instantly a muddy Rocky dirt path sow warning but I’m just walking for a second because I can’t really talk and and record while I’m riding because it’s so incredibly [Music] bumpy oh my God that section rattled me I feel like a martini oh my God but I’m about to hit the main trail [Applause] again oh this looks glorious this is exactly why I could never tour Scotland on a bike on a hard tail this is why I have a mountain bike dual suspension that saved me and I still struggled oh it’s getting quite humid and and heavy clouds hanging low I might get rain on but that would actually feel really good that really made my shoulders tense up if anyone has any good tips or exercises for releasing tension in your upper back or shoulders please let me know because this is painful and this always happens after a really long ride or really rough ride okay let’s see I have 12 miles left which sounds like an hour at the rate that I’m going actually that’s pretty normal no I’ll probably take an hour and a half cuz I’m moving slow now all right onwards [Music] [Music] [Music] well folks I am a couple minutes away from reaching the edge of the Aberdine CH Coast I did it oh and I think it’s all downhill all the way to Montrose to catch the train home but I did it I’m going to have to do like a recap of the whole Trail because it’s been incredible okay time to focus we’re back on the main road that bridge that crosses the river is the [Applause] [Applause] Border I made it we did it I am on the border of the aine Cher Coast on the bridge over the river this has been an incredible journey I actually enjoyed most of the aine Shire Coast Trail I think what would be fun is if I did a little recap video about the overall Journey the parts I really loved and the parts I didn’t love so much and maybe give some tips and advice for anyone else interested in doing it [Music] apparently now I’m on the Angus Coast Trail so I guess next time I come down this way this will be the trail on not a bad view Al orations on [Music] [Music] [Music]