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Kilts and Cock-a-leekie; A Yank Wanders through Scotland
Quick information:
Preplanning:
Trip
background: 23 days, 2 years in the
planning. 6 people traveling: me, my husband (J), my mom (M), my dad
(D), my friend K, my friend C. Our
flights (which cost $800 including taxes) were JAX-PHL-MAN-GLA on the trip
out and GLA-LHR-PHL-JAX on the way home.
Me, J, M, and D were flying together on that trip, while K and C
were flying MIA-LHR-GLA and back, as they were spending the last week of
the trip in London.
The plan
was three days each in Edinburgh,
Grantown-on-Spey, Orkney, Stornoway (Lewis), Skye (4 nights here), Mull, and Killin. I arranged for B&Bs for all our
stops except Edinburgh. We were taking a taxi to Edinburgh and then
renting two cars when we left for Grantown.
I did a lot of research, and found decently priced places with some
charm and history, prepaid most of the ferries, and made a couple other
arrangements here and there. I
didn’t want to dictate where we would go each day, but a couple things did
need pre-planning, like the lunch at Three Chimneys or the private tour of
Castle Leod.
Lodging: All the places we
stayed at were great, and many were exceptional. I HIGHLY recommend Killin
Guest House (http://www.kinrosshouse.co.uk/)
in Grantown-on-Spey (Jane was a wonderful hostess, and it was walking
distance from a pub with delightful pies). Also The Lodge at Edinbane (http://www.the-lodge-at-edinbane.co.uk/)
on Skye was spectacular - 14th century haunted hunting lodge. Hazel and
Pete run a pub with food on the property as well, and all was fantastic.
Seaview (http://www.iona-bed-breakfast-mull.com/)
in Fionnphort and Mill at Eryland (http://www.millofeyrland.co.uk/) in Orkney were also
wonderful, and the apartment we rented in Edinburgh (http://www.aboutscotland.com/edin/westbow.html)
was perfect. The other places we
stayed at, which were perfectly fine, were Hal O’ the Wynd (www.halothewynd.com) in Stornoway
and Craigbuie (www.craigbuie.com),
in Killin.
Food: The good, the bad, and the
ugly. Most of it was great. A few shining moments: Three Chimneys (www.threechimneys.co.uk/)
restaurant
near Dunvegan, Skye; Oakwood Restaurant near Inverness (on the A82); The
Old Flax Mill (http://www.killin.info/eat/?ch=r)
near Killin; Pies at The Craig Bar (http://www.grantownonline.co.uk/accommodation/index.php?dir=29)
in Grantown-on-Spey (and the owners are real characters!). The Reef
Restaurant (http://www.mull-bedandbreakfast.com/restaurants.htm)
in Bunessan we ate at - expensive but fantastic fresh seafood! Some forgettable food moments: Tomato and
lentil soup with pasta = Spaghetti-O's sauce with ketchup mixed in with
some spaghetti noodles. Most of the dishes served at the Keel Row were
disappointing to us.
Sights: OH MY GODS! Why did no
one tell me how breathtakingly stunning the north coast of Scotland
was? This wasn't in anything I researched. As we drove along the coast
road, we kept seeing sights, and saying "wow, that's the most
beautiful thing I've seen!" - until we went into the next cove, glen,
or cliff - and said it again. Wow! The Isle of Skye
is gorgeous, but most people know that. The Lewis landscape was surreal - a
moonscape of peat bogs under a grey sky reminded me of some old black-white
film. The mountains in Mull were just as
beautiful as the mountains in Glencoe, with or without the rain. And the
Grampians were so desolate and achingly beautiful they took your breath
away.
Weather: Highest temp was probably
17C, lowest was 8C. It rained at least a little every day, and there were
about 10 days of all day rain and gloom. Evidently we got there just after
7 weeks of glorious sunshine and a heat wave. Orkney gifted us with 8C
temps, 40mph winds and rain - COLD! But we were prepared and wore lots of
layers  It
IS Scotland,
after all. The travel days (from B&B to B&B) usually ended up sunny
and bright, though.
Full-sized trip report:
Friday, 6/13: Mad dashes through the airport (of
course!)
Oh, I was
so excited! I had to work a half day
on Friday, but jumped out of there as soon as my boss said I could, and
away we went! We started this trip
by getting to the Jacksonville Airport (JAX) 3 hours early, per
recommendation, and had a quick bite for lunch at Quiznos. We had very little trouble getting our
boarding passes and getting through security, everything went rather
quickly, especially for a Friday afternoon, and I was pleasantly surprised
to have a 1.5 hour wait at our gate.
The plane boarded a bit late and then sat for about 20 minutes on
the tarmac before we went, so we arrived 40 minutes late – not tragic, but
it did mean we had to make the mad dash through Philadelphia (PHL) to make
our second flight. Since M has
trouble walking fast, we got on a cart, but that only took us out of that
terminal, and dropped us off at the start of Terminal A – when of course
our flight was at the end of Terminal A.
However, we made it out of breath, 5 minutes before the doors
closed, whew! D and I made it first,
followed by J and finally M, close to passing out. It didn’t help us much that it then sat
on the tarmac and there was no air conditioning on.
We had
the four middle seats, but there was an extra seat a couple rows back that
I moved to after we were under way.
I never did get the IFE
to work, though – but I had bought the $5 earphones already, so I figured
I’d use them on the way back. I got
a little sleep I suppose, and used one of those inflatable pillows you lean
forward on. I don’t think I’ll bring
it again, it just added weight to my luggage, and wasn’t very
comfortable. Breakfast was a
wanna-be Danish, not much for a transatlantic flight, but at least it was
fuel. For the flight from MAN, the
gate agent gave us the exit rows, but we are large folks and need
extenders, so couldn’t sit there – which is fine, we had no problem
moving. There were plenty of
seats. We got in at noon, about 5
minutes early (glory be!)
View
of the Clyde River
in Glasgow
from the airplane
Saturday, 6/14: The Case of the Missing Luggage
We went
to collect our bags – well, some of them.
My bag and D’s were missing, so we filed a claim and waited for K
and C. K’s bag was also missing, so
we had 3 of the 6 checked bags. What
a wonderful start! D’s medications
were in his bag, so this might turn out to be a very bad thing – he takes
stuff for his heart, his blood pressure, his diabetes, etc. We went to call the taxi I had
pre-arranged to get us to Edinburgh,
but the number wasn’t working. We
did, however, find a minivan taxi that would fit all 6 of us (if we had had
all of our luggage, it wouldn’t have fit, though!). Jim was quite nice and chatted to us all
the way over about politics, energy crisis, The Knowledge, etc. He took us straight to our apartment on
87a West Bow in Edinburgh
(http://www.aboutscotland.com/edin/westbow.html). The owner was there and showed us about
the place. This place was
fabulous! There are two apartments,
one on the third floor and one on the fourth. The third floor apartment (the larger of
the two) had 2 bedrooms, and a day bed in a room near one of the other
bedrooms. It had two bathrooms, a
dining room, a kitchen, and a large living room. The double room had a small sitting area
as well. The property is 15th
century, and the décor reflects this history – four-poster bed, tapestry
curtains, etc. There was a small
washer and dryer, the shower was the nautilus-shell type – you kind of had
to fit in around the curved door to get in, but it kept the water in. The couches in the living room were
comfy, and there was wifi available.
The location was fantastic – the front door opened out to West Bow,
a little side street that had pubs, restaurants, gift shops, and the liquid
deli (more on that later). The back
door (a half flight of stairs past the upstairs apartment) led out to a
terrace that looked over the street, and had several pubs and cafés along
it. One more flight of steps up and
you were on the Royal Mile, not far from the castle. I don’t think my parents ever went down
the front stairs after arriving, preferring the shorter walk up the back
door.
Stained glass window in Roslyn
Chapel
We
settled in to our respective places and decided we were STARVED! 24 hours of travel and we were more ready
for food than naps (well, the parents napped). The first place we went to was the Bow
Bar across the street, but that was drinks only, and we were ready to eat
the bartender – so we moved on to the Steak and Mussel restaurant at the
base of the street. That seemed a little
expensive for a late lunch, so we moved on – Maggie Dixson’s was a nearby
pub, and that fit the bill fine. We
enjoyed some very tasty steak & ale pies – though that may have been
exhaustion and hunger spicing it.
The ciders went down REALLY well at that point! It’s a touristy place, but comfy. While at the bar ordering our food, C
(who is Dominican) heard one of the other customers speaking Spanish, and
couldn’t believe that she found Spanish in Scotland. Even odder – these were Mexican students
studying in Sweden,
visiting in Scotland
on holiday. How multicultural can you get!
On a road just off the Royal Mile
After
stuffing ourselves on touristy cuisine, we went wandering around the castle
and down the Royal Mile a bit. We
marveled at the beautiful structure that is St. Giles Cathedral (not really
a cathedral, as we find out later), and the touristy tat that is available
on the Royal Mile – but what else did we expect? It was chilly, but very nice out –
certainly a welcome change from the 96 degree weather and 100% humidity we
left in Florida. As the evening went on, we decided to go
down and sample the crepes on sale near West Bow – boy, was THAT a
mistake! OK, J’s was tasty – roast
apples and cinnamon. But my toffee
crepe was just a bit of syrup on a broken crepe. It was a bit too floury and not what I
was hoping for. A well – again, you
pay for going to the touristy spots.
The two French girls were quite indignant that we should interrupt
their little chat to ask them to actually cook crepes for us.
One of the many closes off the
Royal Mile
We
marveled at the odd crowd walking about that evening. Lots of women in pink bras and t-shirts –
evidently there was a charity walk for breast cancer starting the following
morning at dawn, and many were jumping the gun. There were some very creative outfits
walking around! Mix that with a good
dose of hen parties in devil’s outfits and cowboy hats, and you had lots of
great people watching. You could pay
good money to go to Vegas and get less entertainment and variety!
Sunday, 6/15: Mountain Climbing 101 – don’t wear
sandals!
We woke
up refreshed (or mostly so) and decided to make some tea and go in a search
for breakfast. Ha! We forgot it was Sunday morning! So, while we saw hundreds of girls
walking around in pink bra tshirts, bras, and the odd corset, (some wrapped
in thermal blankets on top of that, for a truly surreal look) we wandered
around Victoria street
looking for something that would serve us food. Everything was, of course, closed –
foolish Americans! Looking for a
Denny’s in Scotland
– that’s not right!!! J We wandered
around street after street, and finally decided that perhaps the Royal
Mile, Tourist Tat haven that it is, might actually cater to foolish
tourists like us. So we climbed up
the road beside the mountain, and came to the Haggis café – not yet open,
damnit. BUT! There was a light at the end of the
tunnel – or the end of the Close, in this case. Along the Royal Mile was a man selling
papers (he looked a bit ratty and might have been homeless). He directed us to a small café that
served stuff in sandwich rolls – egg, bacon, etc. Just what the doctor ordered. I had a bacon and cheese bap with brown
sauce, K had a brie and cranberry sauce sandwich, and we all had hot chocolate
to warm our tummies. We chatted with
a family we had seen earlier, also looking for breakfast – they had two
toddlers in tow, and were from Newcastle.
Scott Monument
Duly
sated, we went off in search of today’s goal – the Hop on/Hop off bus tour
of Edinburgh. We wandered down the Royal Mile, noticing
that the shops were all starting to be opened by gangs of teenagers, all
controlled by a couple of Arab men – looks like many of the shops are run
by one Arab family. Go figure.
We were a
bit early for the bus, so we continued to window shop along the Mile. We ended up in Canongate, and drooled a
bit on the glass of the closed fudge shop, saw John Knox’s house, and a
couple other places. I didn’t feel
like parting with money yet for souvenirs, so I just bought a couple
postcards here and there. I know,
I’m weird – I have to be in the mood to purchase anything, and the first
day I’m not yet in the mood. I KNOW
I can get anything in the Royal Mile elsewhere, and likely much less
expensively. Though I rather wish
that fudge shop was open, food is always good to buy.
St. Giles Cathedral
The bus
finally came around, and we took it around the city. We saw the controversial parliament
building, Arthur’s Seat, New Town, etc.
Edinburgh
truly is a beautiful city, just the small areas we saw were full of
majestic architecture and delightful history. I would love to spend some more time
there. My mother lived there 40
years ago, and really enjoyed it then as well.
We got
off the bus after a full round, and had soup and tea at the Holyrood
Café. We decided to climb Arthur’s
Seat, fools that we were. It’s all
C’s fault – she was the instigator this time. Our first day on vacation, and she wants
us to climb a bloody mountain! OK,
not quite a mountain – 823 feet.
Wikipedia claims it is easy to climb, I beg to differ! OK, I’m overweight and 40, and was
wearing Croc sandals. My walking
shoes were in my missing luggage, so I had to wear the Crocs – comfy but
not exactly hiking boots. We kept
encountering marathon runners that were evidently insane enough to be
running over all seven bloody hills in Edinburgh. We all agreed they were crazy, especially
the ones older than us J
Halfway up Arthur’s Seat
The path
was fine until the last 100 feet or so up.
That’s when it got too steep for me, too much dirt and rocks for me
to be sanguine about not falling. K
and C continued up to the top, and I went down a bit and looked around from
the ¾ up point. It was a fantastic
view of the city, and I got lots of panoramic pictures of Leith. You could just hear the hum of traffic
and the occasional cry of a seagull or sing of a siren as you stood up
there and looked around. The
wildflowers were winking in the dappled sunlight, and a cute guy was
walking his dog down the path. I saw
him later, and the previously yellow lab was dark brown – he had found some
lovely mud to roll in! When the sun
came out, all was warm and sweet in the world. I looked up when I heard K’s giggle
tumble down from the top of Arthur’s Seat like a bubbling waterfall, and I
looked up and waved at my friends.
I took
much less time to climb down, but that’s when I slipped. One foot went back and to the left, the
rest of me went down – scratched up my knee quite a bit, and left me a bit
shaky, but I was fine. When I got
back down, I headed back to the apartment, but got lazy and took a taxi
back (hehe). Of course, we only had
one key per couple, and I had given mine to J – and there was no answer
when I rang either the downstairs or upstairs apartments. So I wandered around to Maggie Dixson’s
again and had a pint and a snack (tomato, pesto and mozzarella Panini, not
too bad).
Inside Edinburgh Castle
After
about an hour I went back, and J was just woken up, K having called just
called him looking for me. We
watched some TV and relaxed a bit, waiting for K and C to return after
touring Holyrood. I headed up to the
castle to meet them, and waited near the Camera Obscura (there was a
bench). I watched a French and
Australian family try to gain control of their rampant children amongst
screams and screeches. I then went
up to the castle itself, and the guard David told me the last admission was
20 minutes ago, so I went down to get K and C, got J from the apartment,
and tried to call about our luggage.
They said they found one of my bags, woohoo! We don’t know which one (mine or D’s) but
one is certainly better than none. I
hoped it was D’s, so he could get his medicine. He hadn’t done much sightseeing yet
because he was listless without his meds, and couldn’t sleep well.
The four
youngsters went to Deacon Brodie’s Tavern for dinner up on the Royal
Mile. Yes, it was touristy, but the
food was relatively tasty and the atmosphere well-engineered. We had venison steak, smoked salmon and
prawns in rose marie, and some ciders.
C got a bit drunk, and we were all highly amused by this phenomena –
and told her so, which made her even MORE amusing!
Looking out of our living room
window over Edinburgh
at midnight
K had
made reservations for the Mary King’s Close tour, and we met the parents
there for that. Yes, it was cheesy,
and touristy, but it was kind of cool to go underground and see the
alleyways and holes people lived in.
The information given in the tour was great, lots of realism. C was horrified and traumatized by this
time regarding all the descriptions of what went into the North Loch (what
is now Prince’s Street
Gardens), and was
very glad it had been drained prior to her visit (by about 180 years). A warning to intrepid explorers – if you
are clumsy or have trouble walking, this might not be the tour for you. There are lots of dark spaces, uneven
floors and difficult stairs.
K and C
went to the City of the Dead tour, while the rest of us headed back to the
apartment. I really wanted to see
it, but was just about pooped at that point. I had to do some laundry (I had packed
one outfit in my carryon, and needed to wash that for tomorrow). Somehow I had acquired a bit of a sunburn
from my day up on Arthur’s Seat.
Monday, 6/16: Takeaway?
This
morning started later (around 10am) and I tried to call about the luggage,
both the one found and the one not yet found. The number I was given was always either
busy, or a recording answered. I
left a message, and called Flybe – they gave me the courier number that had
our found bag. They said it would be
delivered by 2pm today, excellent! I
called Enterprise
to arrange for our car the next day.
I had reservations at the airport, but they said they couldn’t come
pick us up in the city – they would have to transfer my reservation to the
city office. So I called the city
office, and luckily they informed me that they couldn’t waive the CDW
insurance there, only the airport could – so back to the airport it was. I called for two cabs to come pick us up
in the early morning to make it to the airport. What a mess! (a needless mess, as we find out later).
Edinburgh Castle
The
castle was first on the list this morning, so off we went to explore. We sampled haggis (my second taste,
everyone else’s first taste) at the Haggis Café, and it was quite
good. Creamy and spicy, on a piece
of melba toast. Everyone rather
liked it, despite themselves. We
went into the castle (which was covered by our Great British Heritage
Cards), and chatted with Japanese tourists while in line. I showed off my 5 words of Japanese and
they all laughed, probably at my attempts.
We each bought the audio tour, and agreed to meet at a particular
time. We were loose!
Mons Meg,
the cannon that goes off every day at 1pm, was quite impressive, but my
favorite area was the little St. Mary’s Chapel, the oldest part of the
castle. It was very cozy, and
notwithstanding the people crowded in it, very quiet and peaceful. I’m a sucker for pretty stained glass
windows, and was not disappointed. I
wandered around the grounds, the halls, the war memorial, sucking in the
tidbits of history and trivia from my audio guide. It was great, because you can request
additional information on most of the subjects – I think I listened to
every scrap of information it was willing to give me. I had a scone and some water at the café,
and watched the birds try to convince me I should share.
After
meeting up with everyone, J and the parents went back home while K and C
and I went shopping in New Town. K
and I were still missing luggage (so was dad, but he was unconcerned) so we
had to go get some toiletries and essentials to make up for the lack in our
toilet. Princes Street, here we
come!
St. Giles Cathedral
After
more than an hour at the drug store, we chatted with the shop clerk and the
security guard about the weather differences between Florida
and Edinburgh,
and the different celebrities we had all met. Finally K finished her sacking of the
place, and we went in search of clothes, cash, and water. We finished up in another café, got some
sweet pastries and drinks, and unfortunately sat next to an older woman
that probably hadn’t had a bath in a long time.
On the
way back home, we stopped in a local music store to get my first dose of
Scottish music CDs. I am so glad
that the innovation of letting you listen to the CDs before you buy them is
everywhere – I picked up a couple local bands and one I’d heard before
(Runrig), and something for my friend M, who loves ethereal Celtic music. I wandered back to the apartment, but got
waylaid at the Iain Mellis Cheesemongers.
I tried about a half dozen types of cheeses before I decided on one
I liked. The gorgonzola from
northern Italy
was too strong, the brie was too bland – the other was just right (I was
keeping an eye out for the three bears).
I got some oatcake crackers to spread it on and figured I’d have
some for breakfast in the morning.
K and C
had a more exciting detour at the previously mentioned liquid deli. That’s not what the name of the shop was,
but what we called it from then on out – the shop made their own liquors
and liqueurs, like raspberry gin and elderberry vodka and such. That took some time, as they were given
samples as well, and came back wreathed in giggles and bottles.
Inside St. Margaret’s Chapel, Edinburgh Castle
We
decided that tonight we would dine at the curry place on West Bow that had
been tantalizing us with delightful aromas for the last several days,
Kushi’s. The chandelier in the entry
way was very grand and impressive, and the food was wonderfully delicious. However, there was a miscommunication
between K and the waiters, and they kept trying to take her half-eaten
dishes away when she wanted a take-away box for them instead. He kept saying ‘take away?’ and grabbed
at them – she practically stabbed his hand with a fork to keep her food! J
We had lamb sag, garlic naan, (which doesn’t go well with Irn Bru!),
mango lassi, and it was all yummy.
Back home
we reorganized what luggage we had (D had his bag delivered that afternoon,
finally, mine was still no where to be seen). K called about hers, and they said they
would deliver it tomorrow. However,
we would be on our way to Grantown-on-Spey tomorrow, so that wouldn’t
do. She was told she needed to pick
it up after 9pm at the Edinburgh
Airport, so she took
a taxi out there after dinner, got there at 11pm – no bag. The guy at the counter called the
courier, and the courier wanted her to come get it there. She said ‘no way, you bring it here,
now!’ And they finally did. He kind of avoided looking at her as he
walked all the way around her to deliver the bag to the BA desk. I think they finally got home around
midnight. Two bags recovered, mine
is still missing in action. Glasgow Airport still refuses to answer
their phone or return my (by now) half dozen messages. The courier doesn’t have it, and Flybe
doesn’t have it. Sigh. I did hear from someone that it had been
found, but no one seemed to have it.
GLA said they sent it on, the courier said they never got it, and no
one was willing to actually take control of the situation and look for it.
Just off the Royal Mile, near the
back stairs to our apartment (that little sign on the right)
Tuesday, 6/17: Highlands, here we come!
We got up
early for our taxi ride through the city to Edinburgh Airport
to pick up our cars. The taxi drivers
had trouble finding the Enterprise
office, but eventually we found it.
We were upgraded from the reserved Standard sizes to a minivan and a
Standard (later known as the Car from Hell), which worked out fine. The last week of the trip, one of the cars
had to fit me, J, M and D and our luggage, while K and C dropped theirs off
and went to wander around London. There was a problem with my credit card
covering the CDW (even if we hadn’t been upgraded, it turns out). The coverage only goes up to $50,000
vehicles, and these were £26,000, so we had to pay an extra £14 a day in
insurance. Ouch! That came to an
extra $560 on a $600 rental. Double
ouch! Warning to intrepid explorers
about this!
Roslyn Chapel
I went to
the airport itself to find out if I could talk to someone in person
regarding my bag, even though it was at GLA (hopefully). I spoke to the Premier Luggage Courier
desk, who sent me to the Flybe ticketing desk, who sent me to the Servisair
ticketing desk, who sent me to the Servisair luggage service. She almost dismissed me instantly, but I
convinced her to have a look at the file.
She said the file was closed, as they had delivered the one bag they
had (D’s). She was able to look at
the record and left a message for the GLA office, as she got the same
maddening recording I did. She
mentioned that since the file was closed the office didn’t return my calls
– very annoying when the file shouldn’t have been closed yet!
On the
way out of the short term parking lot, the gate stopped working. While we were waiting for an attendant,
there was a car behind us that just kept inching forward closer and closer,
while we waved him to go around to the other gate. He refused to budge, and was therefore
blocking anyone else from going around as well. When we mentioned this to the attendant,
he said ‘Well, that’s their problem now, isn’t it?’ – this kept us laughing
(rather hysterically at this point) for quite a bit.
We
searched for gas, as we got the cars with a ¼ tank – the first place we
went (Sainsburys) had no gas due to a 4 day Shell strike that just
ended. The second place (Shell)
wanted £1.66 per litre, and since we had seen it at £1.22 everywhere else,
we passed. We finally gave up for
the nonce and headed to Roslyn Chapel.
Everything you’ve heard about this place is true – the carvings are
amazing and incredible. It’s a small
place, and yes, the outside is covered in scaffolding. But the carvings are mostly on the inside
anyhow, and will take your breath away.
There were little angels cavorting on the columns, devils carved
upside down, seashells and sheaves of corn.
I could care little about the connection with The DaVinci Code, but
it was wonderful to be there and see all the artistic work. Outside there were some wonderful
memorials as well. However, it
started sprinkling, so we decided it was time for some lunch at the Roslin
Hotel. Fish and chips and steak
& ale pie were the favorites, and they were adequate – nothing special.
The batter was the thick breadcrumb style.
The dining room did rather remind of a great auntie’s parlor –
rather stuffy and formal, too quiet for comfort.
Roslyn Chapel
After
lunch we drove past Edinburgh and over the
Firth of Forth on the Forth bridge, towards Perth.
We stopped at the Hermitage to explore this primeval forest and
waterfall – if you are in the area, definitely stop by! There are really three waterfalls in one,
and the best spot to see it is a little terrace in Ossian’s Hall, a small
temple-like structure over the falls.
The bridge is a delight as well, though the muddy rocks kept me from
exploring too much with my Croc sandals.
I tried to fiddle with my camera to get a longer exposure time to
make the waterfalls into velvet streams, but I couldn’t figure out how to
do it. This whole area made me feel
as if I was on a journey to the Shire, and could see hobbits and elves
poking their heads out behind each moss-covered tree. The sounds of the forest were restful and
sweet, and the green-dappled light made everything sylvan and silvery.
Triple waterfall at The Hermitage
After a
brief mishap with a falling laptop, we were on our way (officially) into
the highlands. I’d been through here
before, but it was just as stunning and beautiful the second time
around. The browns, golds, purples
and greys jumped out at every sunspot, and whispered back into the earth
when the clouds came. It was like
the subconscious mind of an oil painter covering the landscape. Half-shorn sheep were jumping over
streams, little crofter cottages were nestled in deep glens. Shaggy Hieland Coos looked at us as we
drove by, and we saw black sheep lambs cavorting around (yes, cavorting,
really!). We stopped a couple times
and just stood, stunned, looking at the alien landscape that surrounded
us. Of course, we didn’t stand long
– the wind threatened to blow us away, especially with our hastily-donned
shawls and sweaters. It was also
starting to rain, so we hastened back to our trusty carriages and hied on
to a place for dinner.
Path through The Hermitage
We found
a supremely ugly square castle (Corgarff
Castle), which looked
like a white box on a smaller white box.
We opined that it was probably the home of some lawn-mover-driving
psycho killer that terrorized the countryside, so we watched out for such a
character, intending to run him over.
We found a pub serving dinner called Allargue Arms – a peaceful
place despite the name. The food was
decent, but I think the poor lad serving us was brand new at the job. K was brave and tried the sweet &
sour pork, while D tried the stir fry.
I had the soup and sandwich, it was filling and warm.
The Grampians (“The Highlands”,
officially)
We made
it to Grantown-on-Spey with little trouble, and luckily our B&B was on
the first street we came to. Jane
was our host at the Kinross House B&B (http://www.kinrosshouse.co.uk/),
and she was delightfully warm and helpful.
The bedrooms were well-appointed, clean, and comfy. The beds had just the right pillow combo
for my comfort (one small firm pillow and a larger soft pillow) and it had
a sheet so I wouldn’t roast at night. I tried calling Servisair again once
we got there, and the girl on the phone insisted that she personally gave
the missing bag to the delivery service.
I tried to get her name or ask for a supervisor, but she just hung
up. So, rather than jumping through
the phone and strangling her on the spot, I decided it would be more
prudent to go wash out my outfits once again, and went to sleep.
Wednesday, 6/18: Clan Chiefs and Monsters
This
morning I made another effort to find someone who knew where my luggage
was. I called Premier Courier, and
got hold of an angel by name of Lorraine
(I think that was what she said).
She, finally, was willing to actually make an effort to find out
what happened to my luggage. She
called me back in about 10 minutes, and said she had found the bag! The problem was that Servisair had sent
the paperwork for my bag, but not the bag itself, so it thought it was
done, and closed the file. Premier
had the paperwork but no bag, so couldn’t deliver it. What a mess! Lorraine
was able to assure me that they would deliver my bag tomorrow. This is a good thing, as that means they
wouldn’t have to ship the bag up to Orkney, our destination the next
day. I thanked Lorraine profusely, and will be writing
some complaint and compliment letters.
Old Spanish Chestnut tree at
Castle Leod
In this
joyful frame of mind, we enjoyed a delightfully tasty breakfast cooked by
Jane and served by Dolly. She made
this homemade concoction called muesli that had muesli cereal, yoghurt,
fruit and cream in it – very addicting!
We also had the normal full Scottish Breakfast choices, including
haggis (which was tasty).
We had a
10am appointment at Castle Leod to get a tour of the castle, led by the
Clan McKenzie chief, the Earl of Cromartie.
My great-grandmother was a McKenzie, so it was nice to meet the head
of our clan and see the ancestral seat, so to speak. The castle was from the 14th
or 15th century, was rather small and compact, but nicely
renovated. It was very interesting
to see the paintings of my forebears done by famous painters, to see the
first real ordnance map made of the area (by the English after Culloden in
1746, to keep the Scots in check).
There was an enormous billiard table in one room, and evidently the
room had been custom made to fit it.
The Victorian dining room still had panes of the original 17th
century glass in it. There was a lot
of Jacobite historical items on display and even a little dungeon. The Earl has a remarkable knowledge of
history and family details, and it felt different from other castles I had
been in. Perhaps it was the personal
connection – somewhere, somehow, all McKenzies are related, descended from
the same clan chief hundreds of years ago.
We were all distant relatives.
Castle Leod
After a
pleasant chat with the Earl and the other guests, we headed down to the Clava
Cairns to check out a site that one of my favorite books is set in
(Outlander by Diana Gabaldon). In
the book, the main character (Clair) walks around the circle looking for an
unusual flower, and then accidently falls through a crack in the main stone,
which propels her back 200 years to 1745.
We looked at the crack – it was perhaps two feet wide at the widest,
not exactly enough for a full grown woman to accidently fall through, but
that’s poetic license for you, I suppose. There were several cairns and stone
circles in Clava, and it was a neat place, even in the bright
sunlight. The stones themselves had
many interesting patterns on them – not necessarily carved patterns, but
the stones themselves and the lichen growing on them were lovely. It wasn’t the same feeling I had had at Stonehenge; less reverence and more of a homey feel
to them, I suppose. We chatted with
another tourist who was from Wick, and told him we would be passing through
there on the way up to Orkney in a couple days. He described his town as desolate and
quiet, but I found it rather pleasant the 2 minutes we passed through later
on J
Clava Cairns
After the
Cairns we headed towards the A82 south of Inverness as C had arranged for a Loch Ness boat
cruise at 3pm. We wanted something
to eat, so stopped at the only place that actually placed a sign BEFORE you
had to turn – the Oakwood Restaurant (no website, but their email is oakwoodinverness@aol.com). Surprise,
surprise, we found K and C there already sitting and waiting for their food
(only D, M, J and I went to the castle).
The food there was superb.
The owners are Gaby and Gus – Gaby is French, and cooks with French
style. J had a chicken breast
stuffed with haggis in a blackcurrant reduction. I had the smoked salmon fisherman’s
lunch, K had the deer meat goulash, and D had the venison burger.
Clava Cairns
After
such a wonderful meal, we went to the Jacobite Tour stop and took our 2
hour Freedom Tour, which was a half hour to Urquhart Castle, an hour at the
castle, and a half hour back. The
sun decided to join us for the trip, and it made the trip delightful. The castle was rambling stone walls
draping over gently rolling green hills on the edge of the Loch. Despite
the crowd of Japanese tourists, there were times I could be by myself on
top of a ruined rampart, looking across Loch Ness in search of the
monster. I don’t blame her for
hiding – can you imagine the paparazzi clamor if she were to show
herself? Yikes. When we headed back to base we had much
fewer tourists, we almost had the boat to ourselves. It was also a bit rainier, so we bundled
up. We decided to head to Oakwood
for dessert – whiskey and honey crème brulee, cranachan (a traditional
Scottish dessert with oatmeal, yogurt and raspberries, very yummy) and
chocolate cake. At first, they
didn’t want to serve us just sweets and coffee, she was afraid of not
having enough tables for the dinner crowd, but it turned out fine.
Urquhart Castle
Back at
the B&B, Jane was very helpful in planning our next day out. She recommended Ballindaloch Castle,
Aberlour Distillery, Culloden, Clava Cairns, etc. I had a lunch date with a fodorite named
Sheila in Aberdeen,
so needed to be there around noon. J
was joining me, but the girls wanted to go on to Dunnotter Castle
(I wanted to as well, but had made my plans with Sheila). M and D decided to go around themselves
today. We started chatting with Jane
about the rest of our trip, and she told us she used to work up on Orkney,
and showed us some beautiful Sheila Fleet jewelry she had been gifted while
working there. It was blue and
silver with ogham writing on it - http://www.sheilafleet.co.uk/Skyran1.asp
- very elegant.
Urquhart Castle
She also
recommended a place for dinner – the Craig Bar,
which serves pints and pies. Sounded
good to us! There wasn’t anyplace
that night that had traditional music, so a couple of characters (which the
owners of Craig
Bar certainly are)
were good enough. The owners are
Beryl and her son Robbie, and boy, are they fun! We got pies – I got a Smokey Jo pie, with
potatoes, spinach, cream and mushrooms in it – K got a Minty Lamb pie, and
C had a Heidi pie (goats’ cheese, sweet potato, spinach, garlic and
onion). Alas, Robbie was not the
creator of these wonderful pockets of yum, but he gets them at www.pieminister.com, out of Bristol. Robbie regaled us with stories of
incredible feats and impossible deeds and his dear, dear wife. His mom told us of her upcoming trip to China for the
Olympics – at youth hostels, but flying over business class. We also met a delightful dog another
visitor brought in – a Lurcher, a breed I hadn’t heard of before. He was very sweet and mellow and happy to
be near the fire. We had a grand
time, they made us feel very at home and welcome.
The Hermitage
Thursday, 6/19: Aberdeen
Hell
This
morning Scott was filling in for Dolly in breakfast duties, and our plan
was to Dunnotter, Aberdeen and Aberlour,
possibly followed by Cawdor
Castle, Culloden, and
Clava Cairns. I knew it was ambitious,
but not by how much.
The Cairngorms
We got on
the road, without GPS signal.
Evidently there is a local RAF base, and they block out signal in
town. It was fine once we were in
the mountains, but by then we had taken the south road, which would take us
much longer. The Car from Hell was
giving K trouble, and wouldn’t shift gears easily – completely refused to
shift often, and didn’t have enough oomph to get up hills, even in first
gear. It put us all on edge, as it
was also raining and the roads were tiny through the Cairngorms. We stopped and tried to find the Well of
Lecht, but all we found were sheep cavorting again. I did catch a nice photo of a lamb
leaping over a creek, but no Well.
We figured it was a bit down the path, but it was raining too hard
to be much interested in exploring.
We decided that we’d had about enough of the Cairngorms at this
point, between the rain and the Car from Hell, so we tried to find our
quickest route out of the mountains and into the relative civilization of Aberdeen.
Horse that could easily be a
Unicorn in hiding
We also
thought of visiting Balmoral, but the road and car conditions convinced us
we were running out of time. We
finally got out of the frustrating mountain roads and on to main A roads
towards Aberdeen. We found Sheila’s office without too much
trouble, so J and I got out and went upstairs to meet her, while K and C
went to Dunnottar
Castle. Lunch was at a Scottish Fusion place not
far from Union Street – we had salmon, soup and burgers, with banoffee pie
for dessert (yes, I know that is Irish, not Scottish |
