A colleague of mine lives in a castle. Yes, you did in fact read that correctly, a castle.
After growing up in Reading, she left for uni and her parents decided to sell the house and move up to Scotland to live in a castle called 'Cullen House', which is split into several private homes. Although it is perhaps more common for empty nesters to downsize as their children move out, her dad was originally from a nearby village in Scotland and they'd owned a holiday home nearby so had spent many summers around the area and had long-planned to retire there.
I'd heard a lot about Cullen House, including its (haunted) history, and was therefore extremely excited when my friend offered for me to dog-sit with her while her parents were in London. It was exactly a month after my break-up so the timing was perfect and it was exactly the pick-me-up that I needed.
We flew out on a Friday night after work and I returned on the Sunday night, but despite the short duration, it was perfect. On the way out, we dined in the lounge in Heathrow, and her dad was waiting to pick us up from the airport on arrival. The house is about an hour and a half from Aberdeen and although it was February, and thus dark at this point, we managed to spot a deer, a hare and a badger all on the drive and I learnt a lot about the area, including the various landscapes and castles that we were passing.
As we arrived at Cullen House, it reminded me of a scene from Fresh Meat, in which Oregon's uni mates visit and are shocked by the size of her estate - the building was gorgeous (online images do not do it credit) and it looks very grand. I was introduced to my friend's mum and dog and after a chat, we headed to bed. There are two sections to their part of the house, and whilst the main living room is on one side, my friend's bedroom is on the other, so we said our goodbyes and headed through the ballroom to the other section of the house. This side was colder and my friend had informed me, creepier. I scare very easily when it comes to spirits and ghosts so tried not to think about it, despite knowing that this side was spookier. We chatted for hours and then finally nodded off. I had never used an electric blanket before, but this was honestly life-changing and I completely understand the obsession with them - I don't think I've ever been as cosy as I was under the electric blanket.
On the Saturday morning, we waved goodbye to her parents as they set off for London and I was given a tour of the beautiful house. I had never had an appreciation for high ceilings, but suddenly I understood why people liked them so much and they felt very regal, especially as my friend stood up by her vanity and there was enough space for at least 3 more of her before reaching the ceiling of her bedroom. The house was very well furnished and each room had character - I especially loved the full-sized snooker table (which was much bigger than I'd realised) in the ballroom, the fireplace in the living room, and the gorgeous library. Eventually, we went to the room that I'd been dreading: what my friend had termed 'the suicide room'. This is the room in which an Earl had slit his throat in guilt after murdering another man, and was the room that was supposedly most haunted. That said, I saw it in full daylight and it will now filled with archives and books, so felt much less scary. The house had many bedrooms and my friend recounted tales of family visiting and playing laser tag on the grounds, which sounded so wholesome.
Over the weekend, we took the dog for a couple of walks around the gardens and woodlands, which were so relaxing and peaceful. We also drove through the nearby villages, stopping for local ice cream, visiting my friend's great aunt (who I had heard a lot about and was lucky to have met), and walking along the beach (my favourite place is by the sea so I was in heaven at this point). It was very wholesome and relaxing, which was exactly what we were after. We also had a night in on the Saturday, watching the rugby (Scotland won against England), eating brownies and Pringles, and enjoying my friend's classic salmon tagliatelle (a favourite of ours). It particularly made me laugh when my friend offered me a coffee, which ended up being a lengthy process (but tasted delicious).
We witnessed a gorgeous sunset from the castle on the Sunday afternoon and as my friend dropped me off at the airport, we saw ruins, sheep, and even a Highland cow, which I'd never spotted before (the house is located about an hour from the Scottish Highlands).
It was a perfect weekend until I reached my front door at 11pm on the Sunday and realised that I'd lost my house keys; luckily, my brother was living next door at this point.
If you have the chance to visit this part of Scotland, I would strongly recommend it as Portknockie, Cullen, and Buckie are very picturesque and lovely getaways from the city. Alternatively, I would recommend visiting one of my favourite cities in the UK: Edinburgh, or perhaps doing the NC500 road trip around the north coast of Scotland.
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