The Life Changing Experience of Your First International Travel- Stirling, Scotland

My mother-in-law said something to me recently that really impacted me. She said, “You cannot travel internationally and come back the same person.”

And honestly, how true is that?

Especially your first international travel experience.

Growing up we didn’t travel, especially to other countries. My mother is not the best traveller; severe motion sickness. Not at all pleasant.

So my first international travel experience was at the age of 22 in 2014 to the small-ish town of Stirling, Scotland.

Beautiful green rolling hills in Stirling, Scotland. The Old Stirling Bridge in the bottom and the Wallace Monument on the hill.

Taken with early 2000’s digital camera (type unknown)

The moment I stepped off the bus in Stirling after flying into Glasgow airport I fell in love.

Stirling was everything I had dreamed Scotland to be. It was a small town but big enough to have an important castle and a university. It had beautiful stone buildings, a monument, enough sights to fill an entire 10 days and cobblestone roads (oh, did I ever love those cobblestone roads).

Buildings in Stirling, Scotland featuring an example of Cobblestone roads

Taken with early 2000’s digital camera (type unknown)

But there was something that amazed me the most…

It was how I felt.

Now I might have been expecting to feel different so the self-fulfilling prophecy made it so but honestly, I felt everything lift off of my shoulders immediately. I felt free. I felt empowered. I felt at home.

We got off the bus in front of a watering hole (I soon found out this meant that they did not serve food, only drinks and I was sober at this time so when I ordered an ice tea that request was met with a very strange look). Our accommodations weren’t ready yet so my entire band filed into this little tavern (taking up the entire place) at about 2 in the afternoon. There we met a young girl with her parents.

It turned out she was from the US but had been going to school at Strathclyde University in Stirling, conveniently that was where we were staying, and her parents were there to watch her graduate.

I remember thinking that she had exactly what I wanted. I had always wanted to study abroad. I had even started making plans for it. Those plans didn’t end up working out but these things happen for a reason.

Photo of Stirling, Scotland and the Stirling Castle Graveyard taken from Stirling Castle

Taken with early 2000’s digital camera (type unknown)

Here’s what I love the most about Stirling (and why it’s my favourite city in the world (so far)):

1. The greenness.

   Okay, so this is all of Scotland and the UK thing in general. It’s very green.

2. The historicness.

   I was so intrigued by the cobblestone roads (that is until I had to march and drum in a parade up them and almost ate it) and fell in love with the look of the buildings and the “old town” part. There is a lot of that all around Scotland but Stirling felt like all of it was this way. If you go to Glasgow there are a decent amount of old-looking buildings but it honestly is like any other big modern city.

3. The small and safe feeling.

   It was definitely a small-town feeling. And I felt so safe there. It was almost like it was familiar. And I think honestly, for a first-time international trip that was such an important part. If I hadn’t felt so safe and comfortable I don’t know that I would be as in love with travelling as I am. I think your first one is a make-or-break-it kind of thing. No matter if it’s good or if it bombs you come back a changed person but having a good first travel experience will really set the tone for how you go about travelling in the future or if you even do.

But I’d like to tell you a story about this first experience that led to some great things in the future.

The Old Stirling Bridge, Stirling Scotland

Taken by Dave Mann - Photos By Dave

On this first trip to Scotland when we stayed in Stirling we came as a band. We had two main events; playing in a parade where we march through the streets (yes, those cobblestone streets… And yes, I did slip on the cobblestone while marching) of Stirling for a festival and playing in Queen Anne’s courtyard in Stirling Castle.

These were absolutely amazing. I cannot describe to you how exciting it was to play in the castle. The acoustics in the courtyard were unbelievable and the feeling of doing something so unique that I had never experienced before was amazing.

The band then got to tour the castle for free. We took photos and had a blast. It quickly became my favourite castle in Scotland (yes, even more than Edinburgh). My secret dream was to get married there however, that dream was soon squashed when I discovered it cost about $17k (probably more now) to get married there. I even started a fiction book which was based at the castle…

No, in case you’re wondering, I never finished it.

All photos taken at Stirling Castle in Stirling, Scotland on an early 2000’s digital camera

When the band goes to Scotland we stay at the university residence. It’s an easy way to keep band members altogether for an affordable price and our first trip to Stirling was no exception. We stayed at the University of Strathclyde residence across a bridge from the main part of town.

That bridge was the Old Stirling Bridge where the battle of Stirling Bridge took place (I know, you probably never would have guessed that name. It’s so creative).

The Battle Of Stirling Bridge was a historic victory during the first war of Scottish Independence. The forces of Andrew Moray and William Wallace (after the Wallace Monument in Stirling) defeated the combined English forces as one of the only victories the Scottish had against the English at that time.

But here’s what my bandmates and I knew about it…

Every morning for breakfast a whole herd of us would march ourselves across the bridge (it was right where we were staying) into the little bakery on the other side of it to grab ourselves a coffee and pastry for about 1 pound. And their stuff was amazing.

One thing I came back from Scotland preaching was that the coffee over there was far superior to any coffee in Canada. It’s true. I no longer drink coffee (since about 2018 but I would absolutely drink coffee there).

This little bakery made amazing coffee and their pastries were out of this world. They were in a strange part of the town and I don’t think in a touristy part but they were the best kept secret in Scotland.

The best bakery in Stirling

Taken with early 2000’s digital camera (type unknown)

Ultimately, this trip changed me.

I fell in love with the freedom and independence I felt.

At home, I was so dependent on people, yet hyper-independent at the same time. I felt like I didn’t know how to be alone yet I always suffered in silence.

I had severe depression and extreme anxiety, I had OCD, undiagnosed ADHD, undiagnosed Sensory Processing Disorder, suffered from selective mutism and shyness and I was in the middle of an Eating Disorder I didn’t want to admit. I lived in fear of everything and anything. I always felt stuck. Stuck having to be the person everyone thought I was. Stuck in perfectionism. Stuck hating life. I didn’t want to be there anymore.

But on that trip to Stirling, I was none of those things.

I no longer felt scared or anxious, actually, I felt empowered and brave. I no longer felt sad and I genuinely wanted to still be on this earth. I ate without needing to run for 10 km’s or have an hour-long workout where I told myself how disgusted I was with myself (I went to the same restaurant multiple times alone and devoured the most amazing bowl of mac n cheese). I didn’t feel obsessive I felt present in the moment. I no longer felt scattered and overwhelmed I felt grounded.

That was the trip that made me fall in love with travel and showed me a world without my “alphabet soup” of struggles.

I can’t say that my life was perfect from there on out. Once I returned home and had demands placed back on me I still struggled but that trip showed me there was another way.

It showed me that those things were not out of my control and there was something that could be done. I wasn’t hopeless anymore. Travel gave me something to live for. In those rolling green hills I chose to live.

I felt so brave that one day I went off exploring Stirling on my own.

All photos of Old Town in Stirling taken on an early 2000’s digital camera. Photo quality is poor.

If you’ve been considering a solo travel experience (or any travel experience) let this be your sign…

Travel and exploration is the thing I love most in the world.

I literally owe my life to it.

XO,
Sarah

How To Find Beauty In Your Backyard - Saxe Point Park, Victoria, BC

Why did I decide to start an adventure travel blog you ask?

Don’t you already have so much on the go?

The answer is yes, I do have so much on the go but the full answer is a little more complicated than that.

See, I’m an online business owner. I am a copywriter. I write for other people. But I only changed my business back to that just a couple of months ago.

The story is kind of funny actually.

When I first started as a virtual assistant my first ever VA job was writing a blog for a real estate company in New York. I had never been to Queens, New York and I certainly did not know anything about the real estate business. Nor had I ever been paid to write for someone.

At that point, I did have my own blog. A parenting and development blog and I was in the process of writing a book (no, I have not finished writing that book).

Eventually, I lost track of the reason I had initially started my own business. I left it behind because I was so focused on making money and on pursuing someone else’s dream. I tried offering a million different services and never felt fully satisfied with any of them.

We moved into the place we are currently living in September of 2020 and since then I have gone on an almost daily walk into a place called Saxe Point Park.

And I have always been amazed by the fact that I never seem to get bored of taking that same walk 5-6 times a week. I find myself just continuously taking photos of the same places because the views just completely take my breath away.

Photo taken on iPhone 12

I have also started learning to shoot on a DSLR camera. Now I am by no means a professional I am still learning about the settings and how to not have my photos end up so bright but it’s been fun to invest time into learning.

Saxe Point was the first place I took that camera. I spent almost 2 hours there one day playing around with the camera trying to get some great shots. Doing that quiets my brain and gives me time to reflect.

What I reflected on during one of these walks was that I was lying to myself…

I never really wanted to be a coach, I didn’t start my business to become a 7-figure business owner (don’t get me wrong that’d be awesome but it wasn’t the dream I was chasing), I didn’t particularly want to do a lot of the services I was currently doing (I only did them because I thought they’d make me money).

It was on the particular photo walk where I took this image of the ocean that I finally got honest with myself.

Photo taken on iPhone 12

All I really wanted to do was capture the beauty. I wanted to write about it and I wanted to photograph it.

Now writing I knew how to do but photography… Not so much.

So I declared I was a copywriter and started to learn everything I could. I’m still learning about the photography (both on the iPhone and on a DSLR, just to see which one I like the most and sometimes the phone is just the convenient one).

And I realized, from diving into this, that there is beauty literally in my backyard. It takes me 5 minutes to walk to Saxe Point Park.

Photo taken on iPhone 12

I crave adventure and I love travelling. I’m not as good at taking vacations, you know the kind where you just relax for a week or two, lying on a pool deck or beach doing nothing. Turns out… I suck at doing nothing.

I love the travel where you explore, see new things, new people, learn stuff.

I love getting lost in the expansiveness and the beauty of a place I have never seen before.

I also love to capture that beauty.

But the thing is… I have beautiful sights and amazing places to explore right here.

Even in the winter, I don’t miss a walk into Saxe Point because just look at this!

Photo taken on iPhone 12

That’s why I decided this wasn’t just going to be exclusively a travel blog. This was going to be an adventure travel blog because I live in a place that is so beautiful and full of life that people come here for their vacations.

When my dad came for my wedding in 2021 (don’t you worry, there will be a blog on that as it was full of adventure!) he said something I’ll never forget…

“You live where we like to vacation.”

And he’s not wrong. I’ve been told this a lot. Friends and family love to come visit me because this is a very appealing local and non-local vacation or travel destination.

Saxe Point Park is one of the many areas in Victoria that offer both a wooded backdrop and an ocean backdrop. Sometimes you can get both in the same photo.

Photo taken on iPhone 12

But here’s the thing….

We get so caught up wanting to chase the overseas vacation and travel that we forget that we have beauty often right in our backyard.

I might live in a tourist hotspot but if you look hard enough I bet you can find beauty too.

Here are some suggestions for how to find these gems:

1. Check hiking apps for great hikes if you live in a place with mountains or trails

2. Google your town or city as if you were a tourist and see what’s advertised for tourists

3. Get in the car and simply drive around. Not with a destination in mind but just simply with a curious mind

4. Slow down when you head out. Sometimes to see the beauty in the everyday all it takes is to unplug those headphones and to slow down and notice what’s around you

5. Join FB groups for your local area or search hashtags of your town or city for some good ideas

So, if you ever decide to come check out Victoria, British Columbia go check out Saxe Point Park on the beautiful lək̓ʷəŋən traditional territory also known as the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations.

To learn more about this territory and the original peoples who lived here head to www.songheesnation.ca/community/l-k-ng-n-traditional-territory

Photo taken on iPhone 12