Kev

Here are my pics from Scotland.

Driving in Scotland was entertaining… ok, being a passenger in Scotland was entertaining. The roads were winding and all roller coaster like. mck drove, I was there for the ride. Whee!

Clips are here and here. No sound, stupid Olympus cameras turning it off by default.

So.

I’m sitting at the gate waiting to board the first leg of my trip home. The flight starts to board in about twenty minutes, and I’ve paid close to $22.00 for wireless access for the day here and in Heathrow, where I’ll be spending around six hours total. Strangely enough, it seems worth it. I’m sure that thought will change when I get the Visa bill next month.

I’ll write a little more later, but this is the start of the journey home. I’ve had an amazing time, and am beginning to understand this whole “vacation” thing. I may have to do it again, as it was better than I could have possibly expected it to be. I’ll miss the rocks, lichens, wind, water, and mck.

What a great way to spend a week.

Hey, they both start with “a”, right?

*sigh*

Small wonder my friends make fun of me from time to time.

April Fool’s was our last day of our tour around North Eastern Scotland. After an incredible dinner and stay at the Kildrummy Castle hotel, we were off to Inverness (Inbhir Nis is Gaelic) to do a little more sightseeing , drop off the car, and catch our train back to Glasgow. We had about a sixty mile drive, and had planned on getting a relatively early start.

I had planned on touring the Kildrummy Castle ruins by way of a morning run in the wee hours of the morning, which I had been totally neglecting so far this week. Unfortunately, I was fighting something, and slept very poorly, not getting to sleep until after 4am. Karen is convinced it was the 10 or so ounces of coffee, I’m not so sure. In any event, I woke up much later than planned, so missed the run and delayed our start to the day by about 45 minutes. Oops.

Breakfast was very similar to dinner the previous night. We were seated in the dining room, and everything was brought to us with the food prepared exactly as we requested. It’s nice to be treated so well first thing in the morning, and it got out day off to a really good start. Following our feast, it was time to hit the road one last time.

The plan for the day was to see Fort George, then take in Loch Ness, return the car and-if time permitted-stroll around downtown Inverness until our train left. Our train was scheduled to leave at 16:55 (good thing we checked, as we had both thought it left at or after 17:00), which left us with about four hours to do all of the above so you knew something was going to give.

The drive North took us through the start of the highlands, with some more roller-coaster roads that looked hella fun to drive on. I will drive them… someday… just not this trip out. We stopped at the top of a couple peaks to take in the scenery, and were just about knocked over by how strong the wind was and how much the temperature had dropped. After driving through the hills for a little while, we got onto the A9 which took us straight into Inverness.

Fort George is about 5 miles west of Inverness out by the airport, and is situated on a tip of land overlooking the bay. The fort is a perfectly preserved example of an 18th century military installation, and is in remarkable shape. The price of admission included a comprehensive audio tour, and we spent a couple hours walking the walls and taking in some great views of the bay. Alas, we did not see any dolphins.

After our visit to the fort, we realised we really didn’t have time to spare to get down to see Loch Ness, especially since we had to find the car rental return and fill the car with gas (89p per litre – ouch). It worked out for the best, as Karen’s parents are going to be visiting in June, and Loch Ness is one of the destinations planned, so saving it for another day was not a difficult decision to make, and we didn’t have to stress about timetables.

After navigating (successfully!) six roundabouts in a row, we found ourselves at a filling station, and then through to the other side of the River Ness where the rental agency was. We dropped the car off, and headed to the train station to drop our bags off and do a little exploring. The sun had come out, and it was a nice spring day, with real blue sky and everything. We crossed a footbridge to the city centre, and made our way to the station.

By this time it was about 2pm, and we found the bag lockers. Being tired, and not really wanting to spend £4/$10, we decided to pass on touring downtown and went foraging for food instead. We found a pub that offered food and drink nearby (£4.50 for lunch, £2.55 for pints of Guinness, Extra Cold). Karen had a burger, I had a mac and cheese, and we both enjoyed hanging in a locals pub with a couple pints watching everyone inside interact.

We caught our train at the station across the street, and were treated to a very scenic, three hour ride back to Glasgow, and then on to Karen’s flat.

The rest of the evening was spent in front of the TV with a dram, some dark chocolate, and an episode of 24.

What a great tour of Aberdeenshire and the Highlands. I can’t recommend renting a car and touring Scotland enough.

After a very restful night at the Croft Elgin (recommended), our day needed to get us to Kildrummy by nightfall for dinner at the castle. The original intent was to check out another couple distilleries, but the two we saw the day before were really all that was needed.

Because we had no set plans other than final destinations for the days, we decided to mix it up a little. Elgin is close to the Northern coast, and there is a coastal trail which follows the shoreline. We decided to take a couple hours and check out the villages that fronted the North Sea, and it turned out to be one of the best moves of the trip.

The villages, not surprisingly, are active fishing ports. We even drove through Cullen, home of the famed Cullen Skink. The towns were picturesque, and the scenery was breathtaking.

The roads we were on were tertiary or worse, meaning they were narrow, windy, and bordered by dropoffs. Karen had way too much fun driving, although I will begrudgingly admit they were pretty darn fun as a passenger, too. A movie will follow.

We stopped at the Northeasternmost point of Aberdeenshire for lunch, and headed South back into castle country.

Castle Fraser was our next stop along the castle trail. Castle Fraser was originally built in the 15th century (possibly earlier) as a keep, and had been modified over the years until it was a full castle and residence. It’s in remarkable condition, and is open to the public, inside and out. The interior is huge, and is fully furnished, as it was used as a residence until the late sixties of this century. We had the fortune of talking to Bryce, one of the many National Trust of Scotland volunteers, who gave us a tour of the library, and showed us books from the 16th century and Fraser’s wooden riding leg from after the Crimean war.

It’s nice to meet people like Bryce, who are passionate about their work, and the history of their country. Highly, highly recommended.

By the end of our tour, it was time to head to our final overnight stop, the Kildrummy Castle Hotel. Situated on the grounds of the Kildrummy Castle, the hotel is a luxurious blend of 19th century furnishings and architecture blended nicely with modern creature comforts.

Our stay included a five course dinner that required me to follow the “work from the outside in” cutlery rule. Dinner consisted of a vensions sausage with mash starter, lime and butter crab claw with prawns, and a main course of crusted salmon and hollandaise. Dinner was followed by creme brulee and coffee. It was luxurious without being decadent, and was a great way to finish the day.

The hotel was simply amazing. It overlooks the ruins of the castle, and the room had a great view. There were no room numbers, only room names, and the service was first-rate, with friendly staff, bed turn-downs while we were supping, and attention to detail that was so fine you almost didn’t notice it.

A phenomenal day. The view from our drive and accompanying scenery captured the feel of Scotland, the castle Fraser the history, and the hotel the hospitality.

A truly amazing day.

Today was whisky day, and the plan was to hit a few distilleries since we were in heart of the whisky trail. While directing Karen everywhere in Aberlour except our hotel the previous night, we had ended up in the Aberlour distillery parking lot a couple of times. Karen suggested trying it first, and it was a great pick.

Aberlour runs only two tours a day, and we lucked out and showed up fifteen minutes before the first of the day started. We further lucked out by being the only people there for the tour, resulting in a highly personalised overview of the distillery, a history of whisky, and the competitive scene of Scottish whisky. The tour was finished with a tasting of whisky stratight from the still, from the cask, and as a finished product. Gavin was our guide, and spent close to three hours with us.

We then headed back to Dufftown, the whisky capital of the world, to see the Glenfiddich, the most-consumed single malt in the world. The distillery is also one of the only independant, family-owned distilleries remaining in Scotland. Glenfiddich maintains control over every step of the process from the springwater (they own the land the spring is on) through storage (they have on-site coopers) and bottling. A huge operation, and everything about the tour gave the impression of how seriously they took the product and how important it is to them.

From there we headed up to Elgin, located a mile or so south of the North Sea. We navigated a whack of roundabouts, and found ourselves at the ruins of the Elgin Cathedral. The ruins are huge, and give a very good idea just how big it was in the 16th century – the last time it stood active.

We climbed both towers and were rewarderd with a spectacular view of Elgin and some of the surrounding countryside. We then discovered we were only a minute or so away from the B and B, so checked in and grabbed some dinner, and some after dinner snacks.

Tomorrow we’re off to maybe see a fishing villiage or two, and then head back down to the castle trail. The hotel is gorgeous (I’m running out of acronyms adjectives), and whisky and dark chocolate are an excellent combination.

After drying out from a very wet day and following it up with a good night’s sleep and a very hearty breakfast, it was off to the train station to catch a ride to Aberdeen. Our journey took us back West a little, across the Firth of Tay and up the East coast.

Aberdeen is known as the “Granite City”. Granite is grey. The sky was grey. The buildings were grey. The people weren’t grey, but there wasn’t a whole lotta colour. So – grey, grey, grey. Depressing as hell, hence the title.

This was, however, where we were picking up the car, so we kinda had to be there. The car rental was about a half hour walk, and we picked up a Renault something or other (it’s blue, and funny looking, and has electronic everything), and we were off.

First stop was Dunnotar Castle South of Aberdeen on the coast. Dunnotar was amazing – it’s a huge ruin perched on a rock outcropping surrounded by water on three sides, with a fairly narrow path connected to the mainland. The tide was coming in, so the sound of the surf and the gulls created a close-to-perfect feel for what Scotland was all about. The castle has some nasty history, but was a great side trip.

We then headed west to Craigevar castle 20 miles west of Aberdeen. This castle was lived in up until 1964, and is in close to perfect shape. The outside wasn’t much to look at, but the interior, with it’s detailed plaster, period furniture, and the Queen’s room, was well worth the trip.

By that time it was getting a little late in the afternoon, so we decided to make our way to the next hotel – the Dowan’s in Aberlour. Our route took us through some of the countryside you see in any movie showing Scotland, with rolling hills, narrow winding roads, mist/fog, sheep, and rock walls that look the several centuries old the are. Karen was driving like a local, and for the most part I got us where we were going in a direct route. A beautiful drive through some of the most breathtaking scenery I’ve ever experienced.

The hotel we were staying in was a great older building with a nice bar and restaurant, which we took in for a drink and dinner. Dinner for me was a chicken breast stuffed with haggis in a whiskey cream sauce. It was followed with a lemon meringue roulade, a couple pints, and a good night’s sleep.

So Aberdeen was grey, and Aberdeenshire was gorgeous. Another great day.

So, my first impression of Edinburgh is “wet”. Not damp, not moist, not misty, wet. It pissed rain all day, but it added a nice effect to the experience.

We caught a train this morning from Glasgow this to Edinburgh. Fast, clean, quiet, on-time (Via, take some lessons, would you… please?). Our hotel was about a five minute walk from the station, so of course I took us on a walk in the wrong direction and we were soaked to the skin 30 minutes later when we checked in (oops).

Following that, we headed down to the Royal Mile/Edinburgh Castle area. We took the hard way up the side of the old volcano the castle is perched on, and went for a tour, visiting ramparts, batteries, and great halls (oh my). We also toured the War Museum of Scotland, and viewed the Honours of Scotland (an experience similar to visiting the statue of Liberty, but cool).

The castle is mostly outside, so we got even more wet. We finished our visit, and hit a pub for a beverage and a hot meal (mac and cheese for me, veggie lasagna for Karen). Good, hot, plentiful food, and a nice sit in warmth instead of standing in all that is drippy.

We then headed to the history of whisky, which was quite excellent. The tour was well done, if a little cheesy (in a good way), and we had a few wee drams after and became members of the Whisky Appreciation Society (’cause god knows, we appreciate it!). Highly recommended.

After the tour we walked the Royal Mile, and I copied Karen whenever she took a pic. Edinburgh is a bootiful city, with great architecture and some gorgeous buildings, bridges and views.

The Royal Mile was a little disappointing – all tourist shops – but was great to walk around in. We crossed back over to Princes St., which is a big shopping area, and found Dirty Dick’s pub for dinner. Our bartender was Ottawa-born, and the food, drink, staff, and atmosphere was awesome.

‘Twas a great day, and tomorrow we head to Aberdeen to start the castle and distillery tour. Karen’s been an awesome host, and so far its been a blast. Onward to the land where prii would be way too happy!

More later…

After a bit of a work crunch before leaving, I made it to the red-eye and had an agreeable flight from Ottawa to London. The person next to me was nice enough, but was a bit of a flailer while sleeping. We arrived in London on time, and got a great approach in which took us over the Thames, Big Ben, the Palace, and downtown London. BMI was right on schedule, and Air Canada should take a couple notes on how to run a value-priced flight that keeps customers happy.

I got into Glasgow at 14:30 local, and Karen met me at the airport. She had everything taken care of for getting home, and it was only a 15-20 minute ride by bus and train to her flat. Ee met up with a bunch of folks for beverages and dinner at Waxy’s, and Ian, Steve, Javier, and Anne are super nice folks. The last couple days we’ve seen downtown including shopping districts, the uni’s, the botanical gardens, and government houses.Very nice city.

We head out tomorrow morning for Edinburgh, and I’m really looking forward to it.

I’ll try and update a little bit over the next few days, but don’t expect a lot of detail til later. Having a great time, and I’m glad I’m here.