May 2009 a

This is gonna be a LOOONNNGGG post!
Actually .. TWO long posts....



The four of us (including Jenny and Nick) took the overnight train from Euston station (London) to Edinburgh for the start of our fab self-driven week-long tour of Scotland.

Sat 02 May 2009
We arrived in Edinburgh before 7am, and had a leisurely breakfast at the station's Pub.
Picked up our hire car at the station, and took the scenic coastal route toward St Andrews. Stopped in at Aberdour castle ruins, below.

Below: the dovecot on the grounds (pigeon hilton!)


Above: Closer to St Andrews, the golden canola (rapeseed) was stunning.
Below: We arrived at St Andrews and checked into our lovely 4 star B&B.

Below: My goodness - a man actually voluntarily wearing a kilt!



Above: Nick took this pic of us relaxing in the local pub, after which we mosied on up to view the Cathedral ruins and cemetery.




Then we wandered down to the castle, and who should we come across but two SCA laurels, Caitlin and Otto, playing marvellous music in their medieval get-up! They were part of a larger demo run by local re-enactors.

Below: The famous golf course and bridge at St Andrews.



Afterward traipsing over and around the castle, we had a real struggle to find dinner as most restaurants were already booked out at 6pm! We lucked in however, and dined at a family restaurant called Little Johns.


Sun 03 May 2009
After breakfast and checking out, we walked along the beachfront while waiting for the local Aquarium to open.

Below: Jenny and Nick looking at one of the resident seals.


Next, we drove north (Steve did all the driving) through Dundee to Arbrouth, where we'd heard they serve a taste sensation known as "smokies" (traditionally smoked fish). Unfortunately when we got there, it was discovered the smokies were only available fresh and hot on smoke days, which did not include weekends. Drat it! We did try a bit cold, and it was tasty, but doubtlessly more drool-worthy served hot. So we had fresh fish & chips instead.

Next stop, Glamis Castle, childhood home of the Queen Mum. It was a fascinating tour, and fun to see all the family portraits and photos of the Royal family scattered about the place.



Next, on to a stunning sight - Dunnottar Castle at Stonehaven.





Mon 04 May 2009
In the morning had our first taste of highland Haggis. Today is our Distillery day! Having looked at the map, we discovered that "Speyside" whiskeys are all about the river Spey, and (obviously) being in the region. Setting out from Huntly, we headed West along a very scenic route to the Glenfiddich distillery, where we enjoyed a very informative tour.




Above: This is the ladies' loos at Glenfiddich. It seems to be a sop for the poor ladies dragged along on distillery tours!

Next stop, Glenlivet. Just shy of the Glenlivet distillery, we came across this lovely bridge....


Onward and our third and final distillery-shop tour was Tomatin, where we once again heard all about how whiskey is made, this time via a short film clip. Randomly, there was loads of wildlife roaming about the place including some bunnies and this pheasant:


Our final tourist stop was the Culloden battlefield, where there is a very good museum set up telling us all about the events leading up to the 1746 battle between Scottish Jacobites and the Royalists, and the aftermath of this turning point in history.

They had a bit about the Frasers too, which was of great interest to Jen.
Then off to our hotel in Beauly, the Lovat Arms Hotel.


It's owned by Lord Lovat, and the region is apparently “the heart of the highland Fraser clan”. The dinner and breakfast were superb, and the water was amazingly soft.
Below: Pretty cool for Jen seeing the family crest and motto in the carpet, and the bedroom furnishings were in the hunting tartan too. The motto means: I am ready.




Tue 05 May 2009
Leaving Beauly, we had a visit to the Lovat Mausoleum in Kirkhill (near Beauly) for Jen to say hi to a few of her ancestors.


Next we skirted past Inverness to drive down by Loch Ness.

Above: This is the first monster we saw.... and the second one!
Then we continued on and enjoyed the tour of Urquhart Castle ruins.


Strangely at this point, Jen's camera decided to start playing up, and is here onward hit & miss in deciding to take an OK phto, versus a completely overexposed one. Grrr.

Above: Next along the drive we came to the Commando Memorial.
Below: An unexpected discovery at Invermoriston, Saint Columba's Well. Photos by Nick, thanks!



We drove in behind Fort William to Glen Nevis. It was a miserably wet afternoon, but pretty nonetheless. Below: the lower falls, Glen Nevis.




The upper falls were less pretty (or perhaps we were looking at the wrong falls) but Jen inadvertently did a Snow White impression by taking a drink from the stream and having four or five tiny, curious, yellow wrens come land within arms length, observing her. Nice!

Above: We finished our sightseeing with a detour to see the Glenfinnan Monument....
and the 'Harry Potter' train bridge late in the afternoon.

Above: How the postcards show it, and Below: how it actually was!

We took the scenic route East and South along the shore of Loch Eil. It was much more scenic than expected - it was two-way but only one lane wide with passing areas! Because it was also raining, the mountain beside us created simply dozens and dozens of really beautiful waterfalls, right next to the road, much to our delight. Obviously this is a common enough occurance on this little road as there were plenty of bridges for the water to cascade harmlessly under the road into the Loch.

Above: the view across Loch Eil toward Fort William.
Below: view across Loch Eil

We arrive safe and sound thanks to Steve's careful driving, at our accommodation: The Inn at Ardgour.

Above: the view of the ferry crossing, from our hotel room window.