Duncan Stephen

This weekend Alex and I got engaged.

On Saturday 4 November, we had been together for 2 million minutes. So I whisked Alex off for a mystery trip to the north east of Scotland.

We visited Lunan Bay, our favourite beach, situated between Arbroath and Montrose. We always came here when we first started going out when we both lived in Dundee. So it seemed like the perfect place to ask, and we couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful morning.

The ring was made by Scarlett Erskine. I really appreciated her wise advice when we were exploring different options for the ring. We are both delighted with it. 💍

After that, we made our way to the Barley Bothy, a glamping facility in a remote part of Aberdeenshire near Huntly. The two holiday lets there have been featured on George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces and Shed of the Year. Alex is an architect and she loves a shed, so where better to take her?

The Barley Bothy is very cleverly designed, with ample storage and an immersion heater placed underneath two box beds to maximise the space. There were only two of us, but four could stay here very comfortably.

Velux windows in the box beds were another fantastic touch, allowing us to easily take advantage of the rural location for a spot of stargazing in bed.

With a bit of effort working with the wood burning stove, it was easy to get the place very warm. We were surprised to emerge on Monday morning to find ice outside, when inside was at times too hot for us.

We might go back one day and visit the shed!

The bothy is situated close to the whisky trail, with lots of famous distilleries nearby. So on Sunday, we decided to visit Glenfiddich distillery, who were able to book us on to a tour at very short notice.

The distillery is well set up for visitors. We’ve been on a few brewery tours before, but have never visited a distillery. So it was good fun and interesting to learn more about how whisky is made.

Monday was our last day away. But on the advice of a waitress at the Glenfiddich coffee shop, we decided to visit Roseisle near Findhorn first, to take in another beach — and a different route back home.

Roseisle is a forest and beach looked after by the Forestry Commission. It reminded us a lot of Tentsmuir in Fife, another favourite location of ours.

We both love a bit of concrete, so the wartime coastal defences were up our street.

It was a brilliant long weekend in the wilderness with Alex. I’m so excited for our future! 🐌🐢

• Aberdeenshire
• Alex Oliver
• Angus
• Beaches
• Engagement
• Glamping
• Glenfiddich
• Lunan Bay
• Roseisle
• Whisky