Mud House Wines #Tasteforadventure in Scotland*

It’s been a rather special weekend,
if you haven’t seen on my Instagram I have spent a magical couple of
days staying in a beautiful cabin in the Argyll Forest with Mud House Wines on
their Taste for Adventure campaign*. I have never been to Scotland before
and it has always been on my list of places to explore and visit. We
flew into Glasgow and for me that was a big adventure as I had only been
on a return flight from Italy before, so I boarded the plane with
excitement like a small child. Once we reached the cabin the views were
just stunning and I had to grab my sketchbook and capture everything. 

You may have seen over on my Instagram (_ellamasters_) along with my doodles and photos of the landscape there is a little hash tag #TasteForAdventure this is all about being outdoors and sampling all that its has to offer, enjoy the adventure and exciting thrills that can take place when you step outside and do something different, its also an easy way to see how other have embraced the ethos of Taste for Adventure, I dare you to have a little look! Mud House Wines hail from New Zealand which to me is in my top list of places to one day travel to.
Mud House create beautiful, award winning wines for people with fresh ideas. Mud House was created by John and Jennifer Joslin, after traveling around they fell in love with New Zealand and settled down, starting to cultivate land and plant vines. #TasteForAdvenuture springs from New Zealand’s famous adventurous spirit but also the foundation that Mud House Wines were built on and their taste for adventure. This ethos is vital for creating such a wonderful brand.

On
our adventures exploring this hilly and pine strewn landscape there was
so much to take in, we walked to the nearest town following the banks
of Loch Long stopping every twenty seconds to snap a photo or two. I
couldn’t get over the vast beauty of this place, the Loch stretched for
miles around us. On the first full day of our adventure we donned our
walking boots and headed across to Arrochar taking in the sights the
landscaped had to offer. The morning of the second day we made the most
of our hot tub and the peace and quite that the location had to offer. I
read my book while Chris read his enjoying the warm sunshine. After a
few hours enjoying the beautiful sunshine, we decided to hire mountain
bikes and head along one of the trails away from the Argyll Cabins. The
trail led us down a river that fed into the Loch. One of the things I
was really excited about was the prospect of wandering around the pine
forest. I wasn’t disappointed, the trees were vast and tall and I just
couldn’t help but snap a few pictures wishing now that I had brought my
watercolours along with me.

For me getting out of London is an adventure in itself, but to find yourself exploring the glens, lochs and fresh air of Scotland isn’t just an adventure, it’s good for the soul. It’s been many years since I have fully explored the outside world, like I did as a child. You would always find me barefooted, either up a tree or collecting bugs, messy unruly hair and a graze on each knee. My mother would  always describe me as a bit of a “Stig of the dump” which is always so heart warming… not! Seeing as my family are from this part of Scotland (also hailing from the banks of the Loch Ness) I found myself connecting more with the environment, feeling rather at home amongst the pines.

This trip for me was a way to connect back to the way I was as a child, it was great to not be overly bothered by dirt or mismatched clothes, there was a lot less climbing trees and more of the connecting with wildlife and getting some much needed fresh air in my lungs. I probably need to work on the mountain biking and my lack of balance. I guess you can’t have it all. 

The lovely people over at Mud House Wines are running a competition over on their facebook to win a trip to New Zealand to experience the great outdoors similar to mine and Chris’ adventure but obviously out in New Zealand, for terms and conditions head over to their facebook to see how to enter.

Having explored a small part of Scotland has made me realise how much I have missed being outside, even if there isn’t really a purpose a nice ramble through the woods snapping a few pictures occasionally is a really nice way to spend your time, I’m already planning a lot more adventures. Do you have any trips, adventures planned?

*This is a sponsored blog post for Mud House Wines