Twenty-four years ago, Sherrie Hansen rescued a dilapidated Victorian
house from the bulldozer’s grips and turned it into a B&B and tea house,
the Blue Belle Inn. Sherrie and her husband, Mark, who is a pastor, divide
their time between two different houses, 85 miles apart. Sherrie writes murder
mysteries and novels whenever she’s not working at her B&B or trying to be
a good pastor’s wife. Her contemporary romantic suspense novels include Night
and Day, Love Notes, and Thistle Down, Wild Rose, Blue Belle, Shy Violet and
Sweet William, her Wildflowers of Scotland novels.
Kilts, Castles, and Hairy
Coo by Sherrie Hansen
On our recent trip to Scotland, my husband and I laughed about
the various touring signs we saw for Castle Trails, Whiskey Trails, Victorian
Heritage Trails, Coastal Paths, and even an Art and Eats Trail (which suited us
perfectly) along Loch Carrann and the Isle of Skye.
Although we never spotted an official Wildflowers of
Scotland Trail, they dotted the hills and valleys in abundance while we were
traveling.
Although the wildflowers made everything we saw more
beautiful…
If I could choose a personalized designation for our trip,
it would have to be the Kilts, Castle and Coo Trail. A close second would be
the Walled Gardens, Pretty Little Lambs and Millionaire Bars Tour (envision a
trail of chocolate, caramel and shortbread crumbs winding through flowery
secret gardens pathways and laburnum and wisteria arches with a trail of baby
lambs frolicking behind). You’ve got the general idea.
Our first stop was on the Isle of Arran, where we saw Brodick Castle Scotland in
Miniature” and claim you can see it all on their tiny but enchanting island.
Although we missed seeing Tobermory and my favorite place in all of Scotland , the
Isle of Mull, where my book, Blue Belle, is set, it was fun to start our trip
by exploring a new island.
After a quick stop at St. Conan’s Kirk, on Loch Awe, where
Wild Rose is set, we moved on to Perthshire for the Atholl Highlander’s Parade
and Highland Games at Blair
Castle
We enjoyed sweeping views of the sea from Dunnottar Castle
The walled garden
of Drum
We found the forests of Aberdeenshire so rich with castles that
we barely knew where to begin.
We reveled in the bluebell and rhododendron lined pathways
in the walled gardens at Castle Fraser and Leith Hall before climbing round and
round on hundreds of tiny, uneven stairs to the very top of Craiglevar Castle
A spooky legend about a fall from a fourth floor window has already
found its way into my next book.
As we headed north to the seaside towns of Crovie and Banff , we stopped at Brodie
Castle , and toured Cawdor Castle
We met up with a Scottish friend in a small village by the
sea north of Inverness before we headed south
toward Loch Carran for the last, most beautiful part of our journey.
My love affair with Eilean Donan
Castle
 |
| Eilean Donan |
Dunvegan, on the Isle of Skye ,
was the last castle on our list.
As it turned out, we were so enamored of Skye’s fairy glen
and pools, little lambs and hairy coos, lighthouses, coral beaches, and
magnificent views that we never even got around to visiting the castle.
People have been asking me for years why I started writing
books set in Scotland .
Although my new release, Sweet William, journeys across the pond from Scotland
to my home state of Minnesota (with cows being the unifying factor), I think
the castles and kilts in the photos of our journey very eloquently explain why
I love books set in Scotland.
If you haven’t caught the fever yet, I hope you’ll come on
the Wildflowers of Scotland tour with me and experience Scotland through the eyes of Ian
and Rose, Michael and Isabelle, Nathan and Violet, and William and Lyndsie.
I think you’ll agree that there’s no better backdrop for a
book, and no place in the world more beautiful.
Sherrie’s new release is Sweet William. https://amzn.com/B01H2TUD3U
He’s a real sweetheart. She’s a wee bit tart. When Minnesota farm boy,
William McKnight, and sassy Scot, Lyndsie Morris, are forced to work together
in the kitchen of Rabbit Hill Lodge, the atmosphere is as charged as an episode
of Chopped. Will someone get cut, or will they find a recipe that works? Things
just start to get spicy when an angry bull butts his way into the picture, and
Lyndsie has to decide if she loves William more than everyone and everything
she holds dear.
You can see what Sherrie’s up to at:
4 comments:
Your photos are spectacular. Simply wonderful. You have another talent besides writing. Your series sounds lovely. On my list, which as you can probably understand, grows ever longer.
Thank you, Mary. I take that as high praise coming from you - I also enjoyed your beautiful photos of Ireland and Wales last month. I've been to Wales, but never to Ireland, and hope to one day soon. I hope you will read the Wildflowers of Scotland novels one day! Thanks again for stopping by.
Thanks again for hosting me, Vonda! I appreciate it!
Thank you for being our guest, Sherrie, and for sharing your stunningly beautiful photos! So glad you had a wonderful trip!
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