Our first stop was to see the Kelpies and the Falkirk
wheel (used to move boats instead of a lock system). We really enjoyed both.
We then headed to Stirling, only 35 miles from EDI, to
our hotel (we didn’t want to go far on day one because of jet lag and learning
to drive on the opposite side of the road). After dropping our luggage off we decided to eat lunch at our hotel. We had our first sticky toffee pudding and our first haggis. The haggis was okay- but the sticky toffee pudding was the first of many sticky toffee puddings.
After lunch we walked up to Stirling Castle. It is a
really great castle. There was so much
to see on the walk up and back from the castle.
The next morning we left Stirling. The plan had been to drive to Mallaig and get
the ferry (bought advance tickets), but one week before this trip, I was contacted by
our hotel near the ferry, that they were closing for renovations. There were no other hotels available (needed
3 rooms) so I cancelled the ferry and re-did the plan to go across to The Isle of Skye using The Skye Bridge . I had to pick out a new hotel -- I chose this one on Loch Lochy. . It
was our favorite hotel of the trip- stunning views and great food! It is funny how you stress when plans have to change- but this plan was for the better!
On the way to Loch Lochy- we stopped at Glencoe Mountain
resort. We rode the chairlift up and went for a really nice little hike. (Make sure you don't get your backpack caught on the chairlift as you get off, or they will have to stop the chairlift- ask how I know??- yes it was ME)
Then onto see the Glenfinnan Railway Viaduct of Harry Potter fame. We were
not there for the train crossing - but the Viaduct by itself was worth the
stop.
Backtracking we went to Inverlochy Castle Ruins (there
was a great Highland Soap Company store right next to this ruin)
The next morning, we were headed to the Isle of Skye. Our first stop before the Skye Bridge was the
Eileen Donan Castle. We just bought the
tickets to walk around the base of it.
There were so many people there, I think if we had just taken some pics
from the parking lot we would have been fine.
I rented a house
in Broadford for 3 nights. We did a quick drive-by because check-in wasn’t
until the afternoon.
So onward we drove
to the Fairy Pools. It was pretty
crowded, but the area is immense with many many pools, so the people wanting to take a dip in the
frigid waters could pick a place and
have it to themselves- which you see we did!
The next morning we headed out to Neist Point Lighthouse.
I had planned that we would just go and look at the lighthouse from afar and then head to Dunvegan Castle and
Gardens. But the lighthouse trail lured
us out. It was stunningly beautiful walk
all downhill and then all uphill on the way back😊. So worth the time and effort. We were going to see so many castles, so we just skipped it.
We were hungry after this so we grabbed a snack at a quaint bakery roadside refrigerator
EVERYONE
needs to try this!!
We made it to Portree and had a seafood lunch- we called them lobster butts- they weren't langostinos and they weren't crawfish and they weren't shrimp...so lobster butts they were named! They were delicious.
Heading back to Portree, we had a sailing adventure with a
guy called Jasper. Unfortunately the
winds were nil, so we were underpower the whole way. We had a nice snack of salmon and cheese and
prosecco as we sailed along! It was wonderful to see the
Skye coastline.
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| all aboard- we took a dingy out to the sail boat |
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our friend pretty much captained the boat the whole time
which makes sense because she captained an airplane for almost 30 years |
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| the scenery was beautiful and so are my friends |
Our next day adventures took us to our FAVORITE walk on
Skye, The Fairy Glen.
Stunning
formations made by glacial retreat.
Then onto The Quaring Hike- not advisable for people with
fear of heights, or small children due to the really big drop-offs and narrow
trail conditions. I loved this hike!
We drove to and stopped at Kilt Rock and Mealt Falls and took a few
pics
and the headed to do the Old Man of Storr hike. About 100 yards into our hike the wind died
and the MIDGES attacked- we donned our net head coverings, rolled down our
sleeves, put on DEET- but these pests were relentless- so we gave up and headed
to the van. Sorry Old Man- we will have to see you next time. (This was the
only time we ran into midges!)
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| This is what I wanted to see (Photo taken from the internet- lol) |
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| This is what we saw before we got attacked by midges |
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| this is how cool you can look with head netting! |
The next morning we drove off of Skye and up the west
side of Loch Ness hoping to stop at Urquhart Castle. We are glad we hadn’t bought advance tickets
because the parking lot was full and they were making ticket holders take a shuttle
bus in. So on to Inverness. Actually the
whole area around Loch Ness was a bit too touristy- so we just continued on to
Culloden Battlefield…this was very interesting. We didn’t pay to go into the museum but just
walked the battlefield and read all the signs and the info we had googled on
our phones.
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The Old Leanach Cottage since 1745
This place was where "Jamie" from Outlander took refuge |
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| The Memorial Cairn, erected in 1881 by Duncan Forbes of Culloden, is c. 5m in diameter and 5m high, constructed of large boulders laid in mortar. One of the stones is inscribed and two plaques are attached. The top of the beehive-shaped cairn is overgrown with vegetation. |
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The Jacobite uprising to return the Stuarts to the throne
was thwarted by the British at this battlefield |
Next stop was Clava Cairns with the “go see Jamie" Outlander
time travel rock (not the official Durnish Stone of Outlander fame.- but we had fun with it.
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| Glad we didn't lose our driver to the time travel stone |
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| Is Jamie here yet?? |
Next Stop was Cawdor Castle and Gardens- where we took a
hike in the gardens and got lost-lol
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| first we toured the castle |
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| then we toured the gardens |
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| They had a variety of apple trees- yummy |
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Then we went for a walk in their huge woods-
but we forgot to get a trail map
an hour and a half later we scrambled up a ravine to find the parking lot! |
We checked into our cool/quirky/old hotel (which we
loved) in Elgin where we would stay for 2 nights.
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| old and quirky...loved this hotel |
The morning brought a quick drive to The Elgin Cathedral
Ruins which are spectacular and not to be missed if in this area. The docent-
who was just a young ticket taker- at the Cathedral was a wealth of knowledge. He was so happy to share a ton of history
about the ruins.
Next to the cathedral is the Biblical Garden- it is worth
a walk through.
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| monkey puzzle poodle pom tree |
Our next stop was to be Spynie Palace ruins-but I saw it
was closed. However the docent at Elgin Cathedral told us to go anyway and just
park in “the passing place” pullout right outside the gate and walk in. So we did just that and had the whole place
to ourselves. I had seen INSTAGRAM pics
taken at this palace ruins- so us” old ladies” did our own photo shoot!
Vanity shots completed it was on to Cove Sea light
house. Luck was with us that day because
we happened onto a lighthouse tour that was taking place! It was great fun learning the history and
climbing the million stairs up to the top.
(This place also rents out lighthouse 1-3 bedrooms apts with great
views!)
Our day was not over yet… we had a whisky and chocolate
tasting at Glen Moray. None of us are
whisky drinkers but most of us love chocolate- it was fun and educational.
We ate dinner at the Drouthy Cobbler which had tasty food
and then headed back to the hotel where most of us played snooker on a huge table and partied
with other hotel guests until quiet hours kicked in. (we got up early to help
clean up the lobby/music room which was littered with empty bottles and glasses
left by about 12 people- (the hotel was
short staffed- the least we could do was clean up our own mess!)
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| biggest snooker table I have ever seen |
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there were so many people in the wee bar that
we moved the party into the music lounge. |
Upon check-out we found one of the guests had paid our
bar bill! We did have fun!
We had a quick drive to Aviemore, so we stopped at the
Glenlivet Distillery for a tasting and to buy some gifts.
We still had time to kill so we decided to visit Ballindalloch
Castle and Gardens, and boy are we glad we did!
Upon registering to go in we stated we were from Ft Worth, Texas…
suddenly the owners of the castle popped out of their private room and stated
that they had friends in Ft Worth- The Bass Family (the most prominent family
in Ft Worth). Next thing you know we are hanging out with this lovely couple as
they tell us all about the adventures of owning a castle.
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| now this is a castle and a home! |
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| The castle canines |
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| Wonderful hosts- Clare and Oliver MacPherson-Grant |
After checking into our Aviemore hotel, we needed to find a dinner restaurant. I should have made reservations- as Aviemore
was crowded, but the wait at the Cairngorm Hotel was reasonable and the food
was good!
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The fish pie was amazing!
Of course cheese always helps
The steamed veggies counteracted the calories! |
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The Cairngorm Hotel- we just ate here
We stayed down the street
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Today we went to do our walk with the reindeer. We were really looking forward to this experience. After a 20
minute hike we came to the pasture where the herd hangs out. We walked slowly
through the herd and then were given reindeer feed, which they ate out of our hands.
Heading to our next rental house in Straloch for 3 nights,
we went stopped to see the Highland Folk
Outdoor Museum, where we saw Outlander filming spots, had a handwriting class
in the one room schoolhouse and saw some Hairy Coos. The museum is about 80 acres with 30 buildings
to visit.
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I think this was the place where Jamie
of Outlander fame paid his taxes |
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| Who doesn't like a Hairy Coo? |
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My handwriting test at the old time school- I scored better than average
I wanted a 90 but my ink kept blobbing |
Then we stopped at the House of Bruar – it had high
quality goods- mostly clothing, with price tags to match. The shops were fun to
stroll through and there was a fall market in the main courtyard. However, not being much of a shopper, I should have been dropped
off to do the Bruar Falls hike! There
were actually a bunch of things to do in the area of Pitlochry but we were just
passing through!
We needed to stop at the grocery because our next rental
house located in Straloch was pretty remote.
It was located on an estate. I had booked it because it had a washer/dryer…however
when we got there it was broken! The owners
of the cottage lived in the big estate house a mile down the road, so they had
us come do our 7 loads of laundry at their estate house. Thank goodness they had multiple washers and
dryers! They were such kind hosts- even gave us a few bottles of wine!
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| view from our patio |
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This 3 bedroom- 2.5 bathroom house had Scottish Views
It was a really nice house inside as well- cozy yet modern |
Finally the day I had been waiting for…The Braemar
Highland Games- getting to see men in kilts throwing things! We hired a private driver to take us there
and back so we didn’t have to hassle with parking or the hour drive…and our friend , who has been driving this whole vacation, could relax and have a few drinks!
The games were great. We loved the piping bands and all the heavy events as
well as the dancing, foot races and the tug-o-war. Prince Charles (now King),
Camilla and Princess Anne were in
attendance.
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| so much going on all the time- caber tossing- my fav |
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| I am posting these so you can see how many events |
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| This is truly a whole day of competition |
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| why do I have 2 beers?? |
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| some cutie patootie kids we met |
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| thinking he's my long lost relative |
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| Prince Charles and Camilla in the Royal Box Seats |
We all slept in a took it easy in the morning and then
headed out to see Blair Castle and its gardens.
It was impressive- but after our great experience at Ballindalloch Castle, Blair Castle was kind
of ho-hum!
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| they rent this hall for weddings |
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| the formal gardens were lovely |
We returned to our rental house and strolled around the estate’s
lake. We took some fun pics on the
island. We met the original owner of the
estate- the mom of our host. She had a
beautiful home and gardens. We spent an
hour visiting with her. She gave us her
blessing to enter the Estate’s Secret Garden, which we did the next morning as
we were heading out.
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| The entrance to the secret garden |
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| meeting the Grand Lady of the estate (center) |
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| The walk around the lake |
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| The views of the lake |
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The entrance to the island on the estate
It was Rainbow Bridge
I hoped the island wasn't a pet cemetery- thank goodness it wasn't |
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the island in the lake (wine-peek-a-boo)
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Still not done with Scotland we headed over to St. Andrew’s.
We checked out the town, some church ruins and the golf courses before
continuing on to
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| one of the St Andrew's Golf Courses |
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| Just a bit windy on the St Andrew's jetty |
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| ruins of St Andrew's Cathedral |
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| What's left of the church towers |
Our next overnight stop was Anstruther, a
small fishing village located on the Fife hiking route. This town is noted for
its fish and chips and seaside charm. We
also found it was top of class for sea glass, pottery and china shards that have
been tumbled in the North Sea. It was
great just to wander the coast.
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| we found pottery and china shards and tons of sea glass (not pictured) |
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| Anstruther sunset |
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| a walk along the Fife Coastal Path |
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| always hunting sea treasures |
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| The cute town of Anstruther in the background |
Last stop for us was Edinburgh. BUT FIRST we took the van all the way to the south of
the city to see Rosslyn Chapel (made famous by the daVinci Code). Worth the effort to get there.
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| the whisper door |
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| intricate carvings |
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| faces all over the place |
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beautiful chapel where you sit and a docent tells you the history
(with humor) |
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| The outside of Rosslyn Chapel |
We dropped off our luggage at the hotel, then the rental
van was then returned. You do not need a car in Edinburgh. I think our friend was glad to stop driving (she drove us about 1200 miles)
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we had a lot of luggage and hats to drop off
at the hotel before we surrendered the van |
During our 3 nights in Edinburgh we went to
Edinburgh Castle
Cold Town Brewery for my birthday- it had been raining, so my reservation for the rooftop (that I made 3 months ago) was canceled- I was so disappointed. We had to eat in the downstairs dining room. But the rain let up and I asked the manager if we could please see the rooftop- he agreed. The next thing you know they were setting it up- they brought us drinks and dessert. I honestly felt like a celebrity!
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| Outside Cold Town Brewery |
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| my birthday rooftop celebration |
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| This rooftop is beautiful |
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| vans filled with blankets and pillows |
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| even gondolas that go nowhere-lol |
St. Giles Cathedral (we visited just a day before the
Queen Mother died- this was where the church service was held) This cathedral is gorgeous and not to be missed.
Holyrood House (where the Queen’s body lay in State) The Queen died 1 night after we were here
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portrait gallery - one painter painted all of the family tree and gave
them all the same nose so they would look related- lol |
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| This is the room is where the Queen's body laid in state |
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courtyard at Holyrood
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The Royal Mile- I actually forgot to take pictures of all the alleyways (closes)
We ate dinner at The Witchery’s Secret Garden
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| entrance |
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| our favorite scallops |
Hiked to the top of Arthur’s Seat and came down the other side so we could eat lunch at an old pub
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| This hike was not for the faint of heart |
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| holding on for dear life at the top |
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| we made it! |
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| beautiful day for a hike |
Had lunch at Sheep’s Heid pub (600 years old) and played
skittles (like bowling) in their back room
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| if you knock them down you set up your own pins |
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| lunch fit for queens |
Shopped on Victoria Street
And drank in other pubs as we wound our way through
alleys (closes) and found our fried Mars Bar
Here are a few leftover random pics of Edinburgh
There was still a ton more to do in this city- gotta save
some things for a return trip one day!!
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Rain or Shine- Scotland is great!
I only popped my umbrella up twice in
18 days- and neither was for more than an hour!! |
