My sister recently got a job at a youth hostel in Loch Lomond. I have stayed there before and I think it is one of my favourite places in Scotland. It sits overlooking the Loch, the grand estate sweeps over the hillside.

She has been working there a week and had settled in making friends with the other workers and getting to know the area. It was her first weekend off and she called to invite me over. I was really excited because her boss was telling them all about the estate, its residents; dead and alive.
I was looking forward to some woodland adventures in the afternoon and sharing ghost stories at night, but above all spending time with Beth in her new digs.

So after roaming the house and meeting the staff we pulled on our wellies and headed into the woods. She was desperate to show me the Dead Man's House, and I eagerly followed with camera prepped.

'Apparently he just died and no-one has done anything with the house since'. The house stands (barely) in a field through an old gate past the overgrown greenhouses. We wandered up to it and decided to investigate.

After our snooping we decided to look around the woods and the estate a bit more. The building itself was built in the 18th century, and made into a hostel in 1945. There are lots of quite quirky features including this womans face- Beth told me she is the only one carved throughout the entire building. It is usually tradition for such sculptures to come in pairs.

At night we were served a roast dinner and treated to some music as a touring orchestra were staying the night and practicing in the big hall.
After attempting to demolish 8 slices of roast beef we retired to the Staff House within the building and snuggled up and watched a Christmas film. I know its the middle of summer, but I refer to a Scottish summer and cuddling up on the big armchair in this manor house seemed the perfect setting.