Scotland - Day 4 – The race to get back

After a lovely evening overnight in Fort Augustus we had to make our way back to Aberdeen for our flight. We knew we had to make at least one more Scotch Distillery tour so we planned our route through the Speyside region. A few days back we drove past the idyllic Glenlivet Distillery and it was on this we set our sights. We passed back up through along the west side of the Loch and of course did a few select caches. It was again another beautifully clear day and made the loch drive all the more memorable. We passed through Inverness, picked up a teacup and dish, and made tracks for the winding roads of the Speyside and Cairngorms. We truly loved driving through this area. You can tell it has fallen victim to heavy logging over the decades due to the abrupt line of dense forest against barren hill face. We passed through a tiny valley with a single house sitting in the corner of two pine forest covered hills. There were two kids playing in the backyard of this house with the pine forest covered hills starting not more than 50 feet away. A perfect playground. Not far away from Glenlivet we saw a sign for a 15th century castle and we were obliged to stop. It turns out this castle is on the Glenlivet smugglers trail. Yes, the trail is a smugglers trail, for smuggling scotch whiskey specifically. The castle is called Drumin Castle and was owned by Alexander Stewart, the “Wolf of Badenoch.” We noticed how the immediate area was easily defendable- situated in a remote valley on a steep but short hill and surrounded by two rivers. Historians think there were fortifications there since the Iron Age, but The Wolf’s son built the current crumbling castle in the 1400s.
Only 5 minutes away was the Glenlivet Distillery and we of course took the tour. Before the tour we tried some of the Glenlivet infused vanilla ice cream; very delicious with sweet bits of malted barley and perfect for a milkshake. Glenlivet’s tour and facility is more polished than Cardhu and unlike Cardhu, the tour covered a lot about the smuggling of whiskey throughout Scotland in the 1800’s. Glenlivet Distillery was perfectly situated in the remotest part of the Cairgorms, especially in the winter, so it was easy to distill without law enforcement intervening. Glenlivet took its name from the river that supplied the water for the distillery, the Livet. We got out of the tour at 5pm and we only had 3 hours left till our flight and we were a ways away from Aberdeen. Leaving this part of Scotland behind, we hoped we would be back and for much longer.

Scotland

Scotland - Day 3 – I know Nessy’s out there. I just know it.

We made good on our promise and drove back to Braemar. The weather was quite unique-extremely windy, random blankets of blown rain and teasing moments of sun. A double rainbow greeted us upon entry into Ballater. Matt picked up a lovely brown wool hat. Our adventure continued on to Inverness, Fort Augustus, and of course, Loch Ness. No trip up north is complete without an attempt at seeing Nessy; water horses grant wishes if they let you see them, you know! We stopped quickly in Inverness and it was quite like other minor metropolitans-thriving pedestrian centric shopping laden downtown. Some Subway in the car and off we went. Once through Inverness you can tell the North Sea is just stone’s throw away. Inverness sits at the top of Loch Ness so it took no time to drive down the west coast of the Loch and stop at the Loch Ness Exhibition and Information Center. It would seem that any visitor center or learning experience about Loch Ness would be a tourist trap but this place wasn’t particularly so. Yes, the gift shop was about 2000 square feet of chachkis but the educational part was, believe it or not, educational. A group of people were escorted through various rooms that explained, through Disneyland means, the different stories and facts of the Loch Ness hunt. Remembering some of those facts this far past it is proving difficult so we suggest you just visit yourself. However, I do like the idea that the Nessy tale was started by a sighting of a North Sea sturgeon who in the early 1900’s made it’s way, by accident, into the Loch during mating season. Beckie particularly liked the idea about the mirage effects the high wind and atmosphere can have on the wind whipped waves. After taking some opportune photos at the center (see photos) we moved onto to Urquhart Castle for some caching and Scottish rebellion lessons. Urquhart Castle sits on a bluff overlooking Loch Ness and played an active role in the Scottish uprising against the English crown. There are just ruins now but are a magnificent tapestry of regional strife against a mystical legend. We left Urquhart in our rear view mirror and continued down the west coast of Loch Ness with the intent to finish in Fort Augustus. We HAD to do some caching along the way and of particular note we found a cache that was a man made tree fungus. Beautiful! We made the mistake of going off path for another cache through some bracken. Well, don’t do that in the autumn because ticks of all sorts are out in force, we emerged from the trail COVERED in them. It took us 45 minutes of tedious clothes shaking and picking at each other like monkeys to be confident we removed them all.
Fort Augustus is the entry point of the Caledonian Canal into the southern Loch Ness. The town is quite small and quaint. It took a while to find our B&B but we finally did-a nice house in the woods. Love it. Dinner found us traversing through Fort Augustus during sunset; we watched the sun slip behind the five locks and stars ignite in the sky. A lovely and leisurely dinner and off to slumberville—just like me after posting this.

Scotland

Scotland - Day 2 – The Games

The host at our B&B was hopefully to serve a full Scottish Breakfast in a kilt. Well, he didn’t. Oh well. He was fantastically welcoming, however, and ran a great operation. This was the day of the Lonach Highland Games at Bellabeg (home of acting personality Billy Connelly). Bellabeg was close. For locals, this meant a Land Rover ride through white water rapids, spearing Highland Elk and drinking 60 drams of scotch. Bellabeg is a tiny town in a small valley of the Highlands and this was the place to be in a 50-mile radius. The Highland Games had a slight county fair feel due to the many truck vendors stationed throughout the grounds. Not knowing what to expect and wanting to ensure good views of the caber-tossing, we bought our tickets ahead. Although very enticing the “Meat on a Stick” truck did not quite whet our appetite. We took our seats and watched the games. The games had multiple events happening at the same time on the same field. There was Scottish dancing, piping, hammer tossing, a fun run, tug-o-war, weight toss, caber-toss, long jump and sprints. Notice: lots of tossing. Of course, no good Scottish warrior would be without whiskey on the day of a battle. So in the morning, the Lonach Highlanders set off marching through Bellabeg, enticing the residents to give them drams of whiskey as they made their way to the field. Around 1pm the games welcome the marchers into the arena and to our bewilderment at least 200 men in kilts and bearing spears enter the field to the accompaniment of their bagpipe escorts. Needless to say, they are a little full up on drams, especially one elderly gentleman who passed out directly in front of us. The oldest marcher was a 97-year-old. After two circuits around the field, the Highlanders dispersed and the games carried on. Overall, the games had a deep community spirit and emphasized the importance of familial ties (see picture of little boy in kilt). The rain came and went and supplied a stereotypical backdrop for what to us seemed to be a very successful visit to our first Highland games. The games ended in the afternoon and we decided to drive over to Balmoral but unfortunately the Queen was in residence so it was impossible to get close. The town next to Balmoral is Braemar- a small town but definitely catering to the tourist. We stopped in a hotel pub and reminisced upon the day’s events, making the decision to come back here in the morning. Beckie is always on the lookout for additions to our tea service and there were a few shops here that would be open then.

Scotland

Scotland - Day 1 - Look at all the lonely scotch barrels.

We’ve been waiting to take a Scottish holiday and finally the time had arrived….via a 7:25am flight out of Heathrow to Aberdeen. However, we would have to wait a little longer since our flight was delayed by an hour and half. It was a perfect day for flying since the approach to Aberdeen presented a spectacular view of green countryside and the Highlands and Heather in the distance. The airport was empty and we breezed to the rental car facility where, once again, I was eager to take on the UK driving adventure. Beckie, as usual, had a whole plan worked out for our visit; we burst out of the rental facility gates on our way to find some Pictish Stones. The first stop was at a shell of a church about 15 minutes into the Aberdeen countryside. The Pictish stone dates back more than 2000 years and was located inside the church shell. Despite being exposed to the elements and a lot of relocating, the stone carvings were still very clear. The church and yard were located on a quiet hill overlooking a serene, subtle river valley. The sun lit the landscape like a painting; it was perfect and very fulfilling. We could’ve stayed there for hours but there was more to see.
Our next stop were some more Pictish Stones in a town we’ll just call the Niles, OH of Scotland. It was a small town and seemed very working class. We opted to stop for an early lunch in a local café where the drink of choice is IronBru. Let’s see, how to describe IronBru… imagine Tang irradiated with Americinium and packaged like Coors Light. EVERYONE in the café was drinking it. Needless to say, we did not try it because Beckie feared for the safety of her unborn children and I don’t drink liquids that would phosphoresce under UV light. The town had a Pictish stone in the middle of a suburban green space and could easily be missed. In the middle of modern tract-like housing there was a millenniums old stone observing the suburbanization of its holy site. We passed through this town with the intent to make our way to Ballater in the Highlands, but our enthusiasm and excitement had us wanting to chase every historical marker sign we saw along our drive. One in particular caught our attention: “The Maiden Stone.” We screeched off the A-road and careened down the B-road a few miles to a tall stone vertically perched on the side of the road. The carvings on it were magnificent; it was only us and a few cows hanging at the site. Oh, and a well hidden geocache. We declared no more stopping because we had some distance to drive but we weren’t sure how long it would take. Well, that was abandoned once we entered Malt Whiskey territory. Instead, we decided to make every attempt to get ourselves to a whiskey tour. Afterall, this is what Jameson hates the most…whiskey made by the Scots (the proper way). Success was met at Cardhu and we managed to get a spot on the last tour of the day. Cardhu is the single malt supplier to Johnny Walker and one of very many distilleries owned by Diageo. Initially, Cardu was illegally distilled and founded in 1824 by Helen Cumming and sold to Johnny Walker and Sons in 1893. With some samples consumed and a bottle of the Reserve purchased we finally made the push to Ballater. Driving through the Highlands was beyond imagination. The weather was perfect, the heather abundant, and the locale dream like. Despite modern advances the area seemed preserved in a cleanliness only known prior to the industrial revolution. I’m sure that’s not the case but purity overwhelmed us. Maybe it was the smell of the fresh rain, the pines, and the purple heather sea but it was truly magical. We passed by the Glenlivet Distillery and quite magnificently they were malting barley. The steam rising from the malting barn filled the entire valley with the smell of scotch. Beyond that a drive full of climbs and brake-torturing declines brought us to Ballater and our B&B: where a completely different experience awaited us.

Scotland