No place like home

Although I live in Scotland, I'm actually English and so is my husband, and so are our kids, despite both having been born here. This means that during the current Football World Cup, we are not waving a St George flag or wearing Engerland shirts. After our team's less than perfect start, we also have to put up with some teasing, and many of our friends here are supporting ABE (Anyone But England).

In addition to this disharmony, one thing that really bugs me is the light here. Daylight hours are much longer here than in England, which means that we tend to wake up far too early in the mornings in summer, and we try to put the children to bed in bright daylight in the evenings. Weather conditions are generally not ideal for running either. It rains a lot, and the temperature is usually a few degrees lower than in the South of England, where we come from.















Soaking wet after a run in pouring rain last week!

So how do we manage? Well Scotland is absolutely beautiful. The climate means that gardens and wildlife flourish. There is some stunning scenery around, especially on the West coast and in the Highlands. Edinburgh is a picturesque and exciting city, and we are lucky enough to live in a very rural area, with great connections to the capital.

We are always considering the possibility of moving down to England - primarily to be nearer our families now we have the kids - but recently I've realised how lucky we are. We live in a gorgeous village with cycle paths and walks all around, and Robbie's nursery (and soon school!) are literally just over the road from our house.















On one of my favourite running routes

Yesterday I had a fantastic run in the sun (for once!) and I did 10k at race pace. I was only about 30 seconds outside my PB, despite running up a huge hill, which really slowed me down. The views were great through the country and past the little beaches, and I was a sweaty mess by the end! When the sun comes out, it would be difficult to find a nicer place to live than here.















sweaty mess