Scotland

I've always been a 'home bird'. I love where I live and I'm a massive fan of Scotland. We've got so much in our little tiny country, that I don't feel I'm missing out on anything by not travelling extensively. Out of every country in the world the only places I'd be really interested in visiting would be Paris and Italy. In Scotland however there's much more. I'd love to go to Orkney and to Skye, take a wee trip to Tiree and Stornoway. I love Edinburgh, it's such a beautiful city and although I've been to Aberdeen it's been years and I'd love to go back.

 I'm desperate to go a wee driving tour up to the north of Scotland to get to visit all of these places. It's so beautiful the further north you get, plus we've got daft things like the Kelpies and the Loch Ness Monster to amuse you. (Kelpies for those of you wondering are mythological shape shifting seahorses, who would Lee people onto their backs and then drag them deep into the lochs to drown them! Creepy, huh?) 

 Scottish mythology is a wonderful thing, packed with tales that can actually be quite creepy! We've got Selkies - half seal half person who can change between the two by the removal of their skin - and then there's the Blue Men of Minch - who are blue skinned men who live in the sea between the Isle of Lewis and the mainland seeking sailors to drown. 

 Even Ayrshire, where I was born and bred, has plenty of wonderful places. We have Vanilla Joes (Scotland's best Ice Cream Parlour. And I'm not just saying that, they were voted Best Gelateria at the Italian Awards this year), we have Loch Doon and the coastline between Girvan and Ballantrae is a beautiful drive on a sunny day. 

 Irvine itself isn't terribly bad. It's close enough to major cities for an escape if you need one, but we don't have a huge amount of stuff. 

We have a fairly run down Mall, filled with poundshops and crammed full of teenagers with no manners every weekend (I sound about 74 never mind 24!), and we have an oddly placed massive TV right in the centre of our town. 

 Recently though, for the first time in my life I've been considering life outside of my comfort zone. Maybe I'm having a mini mid-life crisis, or maybe I'm just starting to see there's not much here for me other than what I'm used to. Irvine is what I know, maybe a little bit too well.

 Maybe a change should be on the horizon.