Along the West Coast

Monday, 28 June, 2010

Ullapool to Ratagan

A comparatively easy day today after yesterday’s drive, there were still several single track roads to negotiate but not as many hills and bends, so the 120 miles was not as tiring.

Our window at the Ullapool Hostel looks out over the water and this morning a seal was swimming among the fishing boats, maybe hoping for some leftovers.

The road to Inverewe Gardens from Ullapool doubles back on itself but it couldn’t do any thing else as a few rivers and mountains get in the way. Just after we turned off the Inverness road we stopped to look at the Falls of Measach, we crossed a gorge; over 30 m. deep on a suspension bridge which has a tendency to sway as we walked over it, the falls cascading to just below the bridge. Further along the track it a viewing platform which project out over the gorge but providing an excellent view of the falls. Returning to our car we had to wait to cross the bridge as a coach load of people were coming across and only six at a time are allowed on the bridge. While waiting we were assailed by a swarm of Midges, the call had gone out “fresh meat for morning tea”. The coach driver kindly gave us some wipes that helped remove those that had landed and deterred the others from attacking. From the falls it was another forty miles to the gardens.

In 1865 a twenty year old, Osgood McKenzie purchased 50 acres of barren rocky land on the edge of Loch Ewe and over many years, with the help of his servant collected seaweed in wicker baskets and carried them back to mulch the ground. When he had built up the soil he then stated to plant exotic plants which include plant from Australia, South Africa, Japan, China and many other countries, including hundreds of species of Rhododendron, he also built a large walled garden to supply himself with fruit and vegetables. All these the plant have now matured and it is strange to see eucalypts and bottle brush trees growing in a location further north than Moscow, however the warm Gulf Stream runs down the coast protecting the area from extreme conditions. It is many years since we last visited and we were disappointed that nearly all the azaleas and rhododendrons had finished flowing and they weren’t as pretty as our last visit.

Leaving the gardens to drive to Ratagan a very small village on the edge of Loch Duich we made many stops to take in the grandeur of the many lochs and mountains on the way. We also stopped at the Beinn Eighe Nature Reserve visitor’s centre, which provides an overview of the reserve and lots of interactive displays for children explaining about the animal and insects to be found in the reserve. The reserve is the oldest in Britain and was purchased originally to restore the Scottish Pine which was almost eliminated during WW2 by the Canadians cutting them down to make ammunition boxes.

The last time we visited the reserve was in 1975 with our sons and we camped in a motor home on a single track gravel road high in the mountains, in the morning we were driving through an open area with signs warning that sheep and deer may be on the road, imagine our surprise when a sign warning of elephants appeared, on closer investigation we found some one had altered a sheep to an elephant.

A little further on we stopped to view Eilean Donan Castle, situated on an island and connected to the mainland by a four arched stone bridge; this island has been inhabited from the 900s when St Donnan lived there. In 1220 a castle was built to fend off Viking attacks and in 1306 Robert the Bruce sheltered there. Over the years many castles had been built on the island and the last one was destroyed during the Jacobite uprising. Between 1913 and 1932 the castle was rebuilt to its old plans and since then has featured in many movies and TV shows and if you have a spare £1,000 you can have your wedding there but will have to go to a local hotel for your reception.

From the castle it was only a short drive to the hostel at Ratagen as the crow flies it is only 8 miles from the Isle of Skye but we decided this trip not to visit the Isle. We have been given the only room downstairs and with a bathroom right outside our door it almost as good as an en-suite and as an added bonus, the warden has made a large dish of apple crumble and invited us to help ourselves.

We've just looke out the window and there is a small porpoise in the loch and I'm to;d there are often otters at the front of the hostel

Heading North and West

Thursday, 24 June, 2010

Around Loch Ness

I’m writing this sitting in the Loch Ness youth hostel looking out the window at the waters of Loch Ness which is about 10 m. away, the hostel is located on the west shore about midway between Fort Augustus and Dromnadrochit.

We left Inverness and decided to drive down the east side of the Loch on a small single lane road which provided views of the Loch for most of the way until we climbed up into the mountains a little inland. Our first stop was to view the Falls of Foyers which in the late 1700s was rated as one of the three best scenic views in Scotland. Robbie Burns was so impressed when he saw it that he sat on a rock and wrote a poem, along the path to the falls are verses of his poem engraved on slabs of slate. Now days the falls are not quite as impressive as the Hydro Electricity Board has dammed the river and controls the release of water.

A few miles further along the road after a slow climb, 12% incline, we were treated to a beautiful view of the surrounding mountains but not the Loch, while we were enjoying the view two cyclist arrived having peddled their bikes 5 miles, all uphill, from Fort Augustus but were looking forward to the next 25 miles to Inverness, after they have descended from the mountain the road follow the Loch edge and there are only a few hills to negotiate.

Arriving at Fort Augustus we had to wait for ten minutes at the swing bridge was open to allow a boat to leave the Loch and enter the Caledonian Canal, from the road we could see about six locks going uphill from the Loch.

We then turned north and continued up the west side of the Loch past the hostel to Drumnadrochit which is the main Loch Ness tourist town, where we booked a one hour boat trip on the Loch. The boat owner was a very knowledgeable about the Loch and “Nessie” and has been involved in many research projects searching for it. He pointed out that they don’t refer to it as the monster but by its Gaelic name which means Water Horse. While we were travelling along the Loch he had the Sonar running which showed the bottom to be flat and 230 m. deep which is three times deeper than the North Sea. The nearest water this deep around Britain is 75 miles out from the coast in the Atlantic.

The Loch is 37 km long and almost 1.6 km wide for its length except near Drumnadrochit where it widens to 2.4 km, the depth is consistent at 230 m. except for one hole on the floor 30 m. deep and 30 m. in diameter, this hole was discovered by the boat owner when he was on “Coast Guard” duties. Yes, the Loch does have a Coast Guard as the waves can reach 2 m. high and the winds nearly 100 kph.

As we turned to return, the owner took the boat to within 5 m. of the Loch shore and the Sonar showed the water was still 30 m. deep and very quickly returns to 230 m. You would have to be careful if you decided to have a paddle at the water’s edge as the first step would be a big one, not that you would want to as the water temperature is 5C.

After we finished our cruise we drove back to the hostel which was opened in 1943, prior to that it was a half way house for travellers between Fort Augustus and Inverness. The hostel sits on the edge of the Loch four miles from the nearest village and with a million dollar view as the dining area and lounge have windows the full length of the room looking out over the Loch, as does our room and we have to pay the princely sum of £30 for a double room, I’m sure a hotel chain would love to take over the building and they would charge three or four times that amount.

Friday, 25 June, 2010

Loch Ness to Culrain

A very easy day today, as we had done the “tourist thing” for Loch Ness yesterday we drove north along the side of the Loch and then along side the Firth of Moray past several gas/oil rigs before heading north on some small roads to Culrain where the Carbisdale Castle Youth Hostel is situated. In all our years of hostelling this would have to be the most “over the top” hostel we have stayed in. From the entrance and reception we entered a large gallery lined with many painting and several full size marble statues with a large ornate wooden staircase which passes four large stained glass windows on the way to the first floor and several of the residential rooms. On the ground and first floors are two large lounge rooms around 10 m. x 25 m. with fire places with marble surrounds and partly carpeted, as is a large part of the castle, with a green and blue tartan carpet.

The castle was built between 1906 and 1917 for the Dowager Duchess of Sutherland by the son of her second husband the Duke of Sutherland. The dowager Duchess was left all the Duke’s estate in his will, which his son challenged and won and the settlement agreement required that he build her a home fit for her station in life.

During WW2 the King and Crown Prince of Norway lived here during the Nazi occupation of Norway and a conference of the Allies was held here when Russia agreed that should they enter Norwegian territory during the war that they would not remain there after the war.

The castle its contents and the estate and a large sum of money was gifted to the Scottish Youth Hostels Association by the son of the last owner and for many years has been the “Jewel in the Crown” for the Association.

Carbisdale is also the site of a battle in 1650 during the Civil War in Britain; just over a year after King Charles I had been executed. The Marquess of Montrose, who Charles had appointed as military leader in Scotland was defeated by Cromwell’s forces and later executed in Edinburgh. And you thought you had finished with British history when you left school.

Tomorrow we go to John O’ Groats – Why? Because it’s there!

Saturday, 26 June, 2010

John O’ Groats to Ullapool

We were up early to beat the school group into the kitchen as it isn’t designed for large groups, as a result we were on the road by 8:30 so could take our time driving to John O’ Groats.

We followed the north east coast road which is designated an “A” road but at times was like a small country lane, passing through lovely wooded area, small villages and farmland, quite a contrast to the mountains we have driven through in the last five days.

Our first stop was at Wick probably the largest town in the north east but still small enough to drive through in five minutes. From Wick instead of driving straight through to John O’ Groats, about 20 miles away, we branched off on a “B” road which finished on the North coast road near Dunnet Head which is actually further north than John O” Groats but doesn’t have a village. Driving from the head we arrived at the small village of Mey where the Castle of Mey is situated.

The castle was built by the Earl of Caithness in the late 16^th Century and the family lived there until the end of the 1800s when the 15^th Earle of Caithness died without a successor and the castle was bequeathed away from the Sinclair family. The new owners didn’t maintain it and it was in a poor state of repair when the Queen Mother saw it in 1952 when she had come to stay with friends shortly after the death of the King. As she was looking for somewhere to escape from the public eye she purchased the estate and restored the Castle and created a holiday home which she loved and continued to spend summers here for the rest of her life. In 1996 she created the Queen Elizabeth Castle of Mey Trust and transferred ownership of the estate to the Trust but continued to use it. Prince Charles is President of the Trust and since the Queen Mother’s death has stayed in the Castle in August every year. The Castle and estate was the only property the Queen Mother owned in her own name.

The Castle is the same as when she lived there, with her clothes, personal effects and family photos still in the Castle, her notepaper, Wellingtons (gumboots), raincoat and other items are where she left them on her last visit before she died. The kitchen still has all the old appliances that she purchased in the 1950s when she restored the palace, except for the stove which was replaced in the 90s. The refrigerators could almost be classified as antiques but still work, her philosophy was, “if it still works why replace it?” This kitchen is still used by Prince Charles chef when the Prince stays there; the Prince also brings a cook who prepares the meals for the staff. How the other half live!

I think of all the palaces, castles and homes we have visited over the years, this was the most interesting as it provided an insight into the day to day living of the Queen Mother, even to a small table covered in shells that she picked up on her walks along the beach.

From the Castle we drove to Canisbay Kirk which the Queen Mother attended, a tradition carried on by Prince Charles, it was built in the early 1600s and was also the Church of the Earls of Caithness, and several members of the family are buried there. The Church also has the distinction of being the most northerly one in the UK.

From the Church it was a short drive to John O’ Groats which was established in the 1500s when a Dutchman arrived to start a ferry service to the Orkney Islands, a ferry still runs to the islands. I think the village now only survives because of the numbers of tourist who visit.

We drove from the village for about two miles to Duncansby Head, the most north easterly point in the UK with one of the many lighthouses around the coast; however the lighthouse is only 11 m. high, as it sits 67 m. above sea level and doesn’t need to be tall to be seen far out to sea. I don’t know if it is the location but the wind went straight through us, not around, so we decided only to walk to the hill top to view the Duncansby Stacks, two large pyramid shaped rocks jutting out of the sea, not to the cliff top, even though there are many colonies of water birds nesting on the cliffs.

Tomorrow we drive along the coast from the north east of the country to the north west.

Sunday, 27 June, 2010

John O’ Groats to Ullapool

Today we have probably the longest drive on any day, 180 miles to Ullapool right across the north coast of Scotland to the north west and then down the west coast. This would have to be Scotland’s answer to the Great Ocean Road, except with hundreds more bends and hills, some with 15% inclines and a large part of it only a single lane road with passing bays to allow cars to pass, this wasn’t too bad but the big motor homes were a worry and a lot were left hand drives.

Our first stop was at Dunnet Head, the most northerly point in the UK with views across to the Orkney Islands with Scapa Flow tucked in behind the closest island. From there we drove sedately due to the conditions and at times touching 50 mph. The first part of the road, the country side was open and reasonably flat but it wasn’t long before we entered the mountainous winding part, the scenery was beautiful with hundreds of lochs tucked in amongst the mountains, some as small as 50 m. and others so big that you couldn’t see the other end.

All along the road were little cottages, some sitting by themselves and others in clusters of up to ten, these were classed as villages, we don’t know where they would obtain their supplies and what the employment would be, but we presume many were employed in the sheep industry as hundreds of sheep graze every where and mostly unfenced so the road is their thoroughfare as well. In the inlets coming in from the sea were many floating structures which we presume supported cages for growing Atlantic salmon. The other thing that surprised us was that nearly every cottage had electricity supplied, no matter how remote and along the road were public phone boxes and letter boxes, often miles from any cottage. “Postman Pat” must have an onerous job collecting and delivering mail in this area.

Just before turning south we saw a sign saying Smoo Cave and after walking down many steps to sea level we arrived at a huge cave with a series of smaller caves running into it. The cave is about 200 m. from the sea with a very narrow inlet running up to it and was formed by erosion by the sea, the smaller ones were formed by rain water eroding the limestone as it filtered through. From middens and other items found in the cave it is estimated that it was around 7,000 years ago when the first people used it. Since then it has been used by smugglers and fishermen dragging their boats in to the cave to use it as a workshop.

All along the roadside there were wild flowers growing and some lochs were almost covered with miniature cream water lilies and at one parking spot there were about ten heather bushes in full bloom, these were the first we have seen because they don’t normally flower till July/August and there weren’t any more all the way to Ullapool, we can’t explain what caused this small patch to flower early.

About 25 miles from Ullapool we found the ruins of Ardveck Castle, reading the display we found that Marquess of Montrose was imprisoned there. After losing the Battle of Carbisdale he disguised himself and fled the scene but was recognised and imprisoned in the castle. As we had travelled several hundred miles since leaving Carbisdale we couldn’t understand how he came to be in this area but looking at the map it is only 25 miles cross country.

Our last stop was at Knockan Crag which is the area that amateur geologist discovered that many of the lower rock layers were much younger than those the top and they were then able to work out that rock layers lift and fold and helped explain many of the rock formation in the area and all around the world. There were many panels explaining the formation and walks that would take you past many examples of folding and layering but as it started to rain we headed back to the car to drive the last ten miles.

Ullapool is mainly a small fishing port with the ferry terminal to the islands of Harris and Lewis, the youth hostel is on the street along the harbour and from our window we can see many boats moored.

Tomorrow we re-visit the Inverewe Gardens.

Around Inverness

Tuesday, 23 June, 2010

A quick trip to the car park to pay for a £1 parking ticket and then back to the hostel for breakfast. In all the years we have been using hostels this is the first one we have encountered that doesn’t unlock the kitchen till 8:00 am, back luck for those leaving early as they couldn’t have any breakfast.

We thought today we would visit a historic site near Inverness, this site probably arouses more emotion in the Scots than any other, it is Culloden the site of the defeat of Charles Stuart, “Bonny Prince Charlie” who was trying to restore the Stuarts to the throne. Up until Culloden the Jacobites had won every battle and had captured Edinburgh and other towns in England but their troops were getting weary and food and money was short and Charlie wouldn’t listen to his advisors to withdraw to the mountains. His forces comprised Clansmen, French Jacobite soldiers and Irish troops.

The Duke of Cumberland’s forces were camped at Nairn and were celebrating his 25^th birthday so Charles Stuart decided to march his men through the night and launch a surprise attack on the British, however the Jacobites were tired, hungry and the weather closed in so the withdrew to Culloden, not Inverness as he was advised, where there was food and fortifications.

After several defeats Cumberland changed his defensive tactics to counter the Jacobites who fired a volley from their muskets and then threw them away charging the British lines armed with broadswords and shields and slashed their way through their ranks, these tactics won some battles in minutes rather than hours.

Cumberland’s troops marched for Culloden at 5:00 am and by 11:00 the forces lined up at Culloden, as the Jabobites advanced the British fired several volley with muskets and cannon and when the Jacobites charged each soldier defended the soldier next to him with his bayonet, this new tactic resulted in 700 Jacobites being killed in the first charge. The British continued with musket and cannon volleys and their cavalry attacked the fleeing Jacobites who fled the field. At the end of the day the Jacobites had lost 1500 men and the British only 50, the dead of both armies were buried in mass graves, the men from each clan were buried together.

Two years ago the National Trust of Scotland opened a new display at Culloden which provides details of the whole campaign together with memorabilia and a 360 degree moviere-enactment of the battle, with a warning at the door to the theatre that the scenes may be too violent for children. When we had completed viewing the display we were given an audio device fitted with a GPS so as we walked around the Culloden Moor we received a commentary about the battle based on where we were standing. Just outside the visitors' centre is a small stone cottage which is believed to be used by the British as a hospital, it was occupied until 1909 when the last resident died.

Culloden was the last battle to take place on British soil.

From Culloden we drove about four miles to the site of several Bronze Age stone burial mounds, these are estimated to be from between two and three thousand BC and apart from the roofs having collapsed they were in remarkable condition.

From here we drove to Fort George which is built on a spit of land protecting the entrance to Moray Firth. Fort George is the finest example of 18th-century military engineering to be found anywhere in the British Isles. This vast garrison fortress was begun in the aftermath of the Battle of Culloden (1746), which crushed the final Jacobite Rising. It took over 20 years to complete and in the event it was never attacked. It remains virtually unaltered today, and still serves as an important military base. When we arrived it was only half an hour to closing time, so we didn’t go in.

Tomorrow we go in search of “Nessie”.

Heading North

Friday, 18 June, 2010

Edinburgh to Stirling

This morning we collected a car and commenced our trip to the Highlands, we plan to cover small distances each day to allow time for sight seeing. Our first stop was at the Falkirk Wheel which is a rotating boat lift near the town of Falkirk and connects the Forth and Clyde Canal with the Union Canal. The two canals were previously connected by a series of 11 locks, but by the 1930s these had fallen into disuse, were filled in and the land built on.

A plan to regenerate the canals to reconnect Glasgow with Edinburgh was led by British Waterways with support and funding from several local authorities and other organizations. It was decided early on that instead of simply recreating the historic lock flight, a competition would be held to create a dramatic 21st century landmark structure to reconnect the canals and the design for the Falkirk Wheel won the competition.

The difference in the levels of the two canals at the wheel is 24 metres (79 ft), roughly equivalent to the height of an eight- storey building. The Union Canal, however, is 11m higher than the aqueduct which meets the wheel, so boats must pass through a pair of locks to descend from this canal onto the aqueduct at the top of the wheel. The aqueduct could not have been positioned higher due to conflicts with the historic Roman built Antonine Wall and a 180 m. tunnel has been constructed to run under the wall near the Roman Rough Castle Fort.

The wheel is the only rotating boat lift of its kind in the world, and is regarded as an engineering landmark for Scotland. The wheel has an overall diameter of 35 m. and consists of two opposing arms which extend 15 m. beyond the central axle and take the shape of a Celtic-inspired, double-headed axe. Two sets of these axe-shaped arms are attached about 25 m. apart to a large diameter axle. Two water-filled caissons, each with a capacity of 360,000 l, are fitted between the ends of the arms and these lift or lower boats 25 m. from the top aqueduct to the basin at the bottom.

These caissons always weigh the same whether or not they are carrying their combined capacity of 600 tonnes of floating canal barges as, according to Archimedes principle, floating objects displace their own weight in water, so when the boat enters, the amount of water leaving the caisson weighs exactly the same as the boat. This keeps the wheel balanced and so, despite its enormous mass, it rotates through 180° in four minutes while using very little power. It takes just 22.5 kilowatts to power the electric motors, which consume just 1.5 kilowatt-hours of energy in four minutes, roughly the same as boiling eight kettles of water.

So much for the boring technical stuff and to add something to your vast store of useless information, the engineers who designed the wheel used Lego to build a model and test their design.

Having read so much about the wheel we were still amazed at its size when we arrived and booked a ride on a canal boat to experience its operation. The boat sailed into the caisson and we weren’t aware we were moving until we looked out the window and saw the visitors centre down below, at the top we sailed out and through the Rough Castle tunnel to the basin below the two locks on the Union Canal, where we reversed and sailed back to the wheel. When we entered the caisson to descend a small canal boat entered with us and the two boats descended together, from the wheel the small boat entered a hand operated lock to descend around 3 m. to the Forth and Clyde Canal.

After sitting and watching several more lifts we left to drive to Stirling and on the way saw a sign for Wallace’s Monument and decided a detour was in order. Wallace’s monument was built on The Abbey Craig a large hill near Stirling in the 1860s to commemorate Sir William Wallace victory of the British at the Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297 and it is visible from many kilometres away. When we arrived at the base of the hill we were surprised to see a visitors’ centre had been built since our last visit and the interior floors in the monument have been converted to display areas telling the story of Wallace and many other Scottish heroes and how the monument was built. From the top of the hill today, another sunny day, two in a row! We could see the River Forth, Stirling, the Pentland Hills and many other landmarks and with birds singing in the trees around it was a very pleasant and relaxing visit.

From the monument we drove to Stirling and checked into the Youth Hostel, which is next door to the Old Jail and less than half a kilometre from the Castle, an ideal location.

Saturday, 19 June, 2010

Stirling to Braemar

Another sunny day which must be a record for Scotland, we drove up the hill from the hostel to view Stirling Castle to remind us of a previous visit but didn’t go inside but instead found the A9 and drove towards Perth. (No we aren’t lost, this Perth is in Scotland.) The visit to Perth was purely for shopping as there is a branch of Lakeland Stores in town, the store with thousands of items that no housewife can live without, you’ve heard of Big Boys Toys this is a store full of Big Girls Toys.

From Perth it was a short drive, if we’d taken the correct road the first time, to Scone and the Palace of Scone. Old Scone was situated on the River Tay and was recognised by the Romans for its importance on their advance into Scotland. Scone has been an important part of Scottish history and was first mentioned as an important centre of royal and ecclesiastical power in AD 906. As Scone developed a great Augustine abbey was established in the 12^th Century and the palace, originally a Bishop’s palace was created around 1600. Following the reformation supporters of John Knox burnt the abbey down but left the palace.

However Scone’s great importance was as the crowning place of Kings of Scots, this tradition commenced from the time of Kenneth MacAlpin, who created the Kingdom of Scone in the 9^th Century and all the Kings of Scots were crowned on Moot Hill seated upon the Stone of Scone. Even after the stones removal to Westminster Abbey by Edward I in1296, Moot Hill continued to be used as the crowning place of Kings of Scots, the last coronation was that of King Charles II as King of Scots in 1651, some nine years before he was restored to the English throne. Some of the Kings crowned on Moot Hill include Robert the Bruce and Macbeth.

Moot Hill is an artificially created mound, in ancient times the various Kings in Scotland had to swear allegiance before the King of Scots on their own ground but due to the dangers of travelling, the Kings came to Scone carrying boots filled with soil from their kingdom which they poured on the ground and stood on it to declare their allegiance, over the centuries this soil has formed Moot Hill or as it also called Boot Hill.

From Scone we headed towards Braemar thinking an hour of quiet driving was all that was needed to cover the 48 miles, forgetting that in the UK, particularly Scotland, many of the so called major roads are little lanes winding up and down hills and through woods, so our “hour” took two hours particularly as we had to drive over the Cairngorms a very rugged part of Scotland, on the mountains there are still many patches of snow, probably ice, still visible. We were talking about the time in 1975 when we were here with the boys and stopped to take them up the mountain to see their first snow when we rounded a bend and there in front of us was the same chair lift. We stopped the car to photograph a statue on the side of the road and on getting out found the wind to be as icy as the last time we visited. We think it was a statue and not a couple who stopped to take in the view and froze.

Driving on through rugged scenery we arrived on the outskirts of Braemar to be greeted with a beautifully manicured golf course, such a contrast to the Cairngorms. Arriving at the hostel we found that it still followed the tradition of old and didn’t open till 5:00 pm so we sat on a bench in the sun and read until the warden opened. Another tradition is that we are in separate dormitories as they only have two private rooms, we are here for two nights so may drive to Balmoral tomorrow.

Sunday, 20 June, 2010

Braemar and around

Today looked as if it may rain when we drove into the village of Braemar but we only spent a short while looking around and then drove out on the road to Aberdeen.

Our first stop was at Ballater to visit the old railway station used by Queen Victoria and subsequent monarchs when they came to stay at Balmoral. The rail line reached Ballater from Aberdeen in 1866 and the directors proposed extending it to Balmoral for the Queen but Victoria was against the proposal as she didn’t want the pristine Deeside landscape spoilt by train lines, she preferred to travel to Balmoral by horse and carriage. The passenger service continued until 1966 when the line was closed and the track is now used as a bike path beside the Dee River.

Driving another 27 miles we arrived at Crathes Castle. In the UK distances are still measured in miles and speed limits in MPH, by European law goods in shops must be sold by metric measure and packaging is in grams, kg and litres but supermarkets display the cost as per kg or lb and milk is packaged in half, one, two or four pints and the quantity shown as litres with pints underneath. When we were here last time stall holder at markets were fined for selling vegetables by pound weight not kg.

Crathes Castle is built on land gifted to the Burnett family by Robert the Bruce and the castle was built in the late 1500s and the family continued to live there until the 1960s when the more modern wing burnt down, they now live about two minutes from the castle. In the 1950s the Lord gifted the castle and 600 acres to the Scottish National Trust but retained the right to live there, and the family also retained ownership of many of the treasures but allows the SNT to display them.

The old part of the castle contains four floors accessed by two turnpike (spiral) stone staircases and although some rooms have been modernised many of the rooms have exposed beams with timber panel between and all the beams have biblical and other sayings painted along them in colour and the panels in between are painted with medieval people, some of the stone alcove ceilings are also painted.

The castle’s old walled kitchen garden covering several acres was converted in the late 1800s early 1900s into several formal and informal gardens with yew tree hedges dividing it into various themed areas and pathways lined with spring flowering plants and we spent a pleasant hour strolling along the paths.

We decided that we wouldn’t drive on to Aberdeen even though it was only eight miles away and headed back to Braemar, stopping to look at an old suspension bridge over the River Dee at Cambus o’ May which when the railway was operating had a small station on the river’s edge, the building is now a private house.

Continuing on to Braemar we passed Balmoral but it was too late in the day to pay a visit. On our way to Tomintoul tomorrow we may drop in for morning tea. Arriving back at the hostel we found that there aren’t any women booked in tonight so Ann and I can share a dormitory.

Monday, 21 June, 2010

Braemar to Tomintoul

After leaving the hostel we drove into Braemar to buy some food and afterwards drove around six miles to the Linn of Dee, apparently a “Linn” is a waterfall and there may have been a larger one upstream but where the road crossed the river over a little stone bridge built in the 1850s there was quite a deep gorge gouged through the rocks and the several falls had a 2 – 3 m. drop. Driving back into Braemar we stopped at a viewing area over the River Dee and saw around 35 Red deer fording the river and they stood on a sand bank for quite a while before moving onto the grass the contrast between the sand and the deer allowed us a good view of the herd.

Our next stop was at Royal Lochnager Distillery which received the “Royal” appendage during the reign of Queen Victoria when the owner sent a note to Balmoral inviting Prince Albert to visit to view the whisky making process. To his surprise next day the Queen, the Prince and their three eldest children arrived to be shown over the distillery and they all sample the end product, two days later they received the first of many orders from Balmoral.

Following in the Royal tradition we received a tour to witness the process, though these days the barley is delivered already malted and not done in the malting loft but the rest of the process has remained the same and at the conclusion of the tour we received a dram of the end product.

The boundary of the Balmoral Estate is about 100 m. from the distillery but Queen Elizabeth has climbed the fence for a taste but they’re still hoping.

From the distillery we drove along a single lane road for about 8 miles towards Tomintoul before it widened to allow cars to pass without having to pull into a small passing bay. At one stage an approaching delivery van decided it was big enough not to worry about pulling into a passing bay or to slow down enough to let us reach one and forced us onto the grass edge, not a pleasant experience. Driving along through the Cairngorm National Park, Ann commented about all the different colours on the mountain and she could see where the army got its idea for the camouflage colours.

Arriving at Tomintoul a little village reputed to be the highest in the Highlands at a height of 350 m. The village was built in the latter part of the 1700s by the Duke of Gordon to encourage the scattered community to move to a central location. The village partly owes its location to the line of the Military Road built through the area following the Jacobite rebellion in 1745 and the site was also used as an army garrison. The village grew from a population of 37 in 1794 to a peak of around 530 in 1825 and is now stabilised at about 250 people.

The Crown Estate of Glenlivet’s office is situated in the village and the 23,000 hectare estate forms part of the Crown Estate and was acquired in 1937, though now days all the income goes direct to the Government in lieu of the Queen paying income tax.

The hostel in the village is an old school house and like many small hostels doesn’t open till 5:00 so to fill in time we went for a walk along a public footpath past farmer’s fields and enjoyed the view of the Avon River from a hill at the edge of the woods. Returning to the hostel we were pleasantly surprised to find we were the only booking so instead of being in separate dormitories we were given a female dormitory with an en-suite to share. Tonight is the longest day and here in Scotland it will be well after midnight before it gets dark, but that won’t stop us sleeping.

Monday, 21 June, 2010

Tomintoul to Inverness

As predicted to longest day didn’t interfere with our sleeping, I’m not sure when it got dark but I woke up at 3:00 am and it was light again.

We left the hostel and drove up a dirt track to see the view of the River Avon that apparently appealed to Queen Victoria, driving on we arrived at the Bridge of Avon, a stone bridge over the Avon built in 1754 as part of the Military Road, quite picturesque, there were two fishermen trying their luck along the rapids but they weren’t having a lot of luck.

From the bridge we drove along a narrow road towards Dufftown passing several distilleries, including Glenlivet but as it was rather early to imbibe we drove on to Dufftown where we stopped at Glenfiddich distillery, we last visited Glenfiddich in 1975 so thought we should stop to make a quality check. The tour was rather shorter than yesterday’s but the short tour was more than compensated by providing a 12, 15 and 18 year old single malt to sample together with instructions on how to “nose” and taste and the best part, it was free but as they have 122 million litres in storage I don’t suppose they would miss a few drams. By the car park they have a nice grassed picnic area so we enjoyed lunch in the sunshine before driving on.

Our next stop was at Brodie Castle a 16^th Century building with several additions up to the 19^th Century. The property had been in the possession of the family from the 1300s as there was a letter from Robert the Bruce telling them to clean out their ponds and hinting if they didn’t comply they may no longer be the owners.

The last Laird couldn’t afford to carry out the required maintenance so he sold it to the Scottish National Trust with the provision that he could live in the residence until he died. After the Trust took over he used to assist with ticket selling and acting as a guide until he died. One of the highlights of the castle is the collection of paintings from Old Masters to 20^th Century modern art and water colours. The wife of a previous Laird purchased many in the 1920s and she had a budget of no more than £20 a painting, obviously she knew her art as these paintings are worth many thousands today.

After a very interesting tour led by a man from Adelaide who took early retirement and sold up and moved to Scotland we walked down to the “pond”, past some beautiful Coper Beeches, where there was a family of swans with six cygnets blocking the path so we decided not to incur the wroth of the two adults and returned to the car to drive to Inverness.

Arriving at the outskirts of Inverness we had no idea where the hostel was situated and we only had vague instructions of where it was situated, we found it after half an hour driving around the city centre and horror it’s situated in a pedestrian area, so we had to juggle our luggage and park some distance away. I will have to go to the car park before 8:00 am tomorrow and buy a parking ticket or our accommodation cost will rise sharply, if we have to add on the cost of a fine.

Edinburgh

Thursday, 17 June

The sun was shining when we set out this morning, promising one of the best days since arriving in Europe; we strolled along Princes Street past the Scott Monument and turned off to Charlotte Square a square lined with a series of Georgian Houses around a park. In 1766 a young architect James Craig won a competition to design the street plan for the New Town. The building of New Town took over fifty years to complete and Charlotte Square was one of the best addresses in Edinburgh when completed. Number 7 is a National Trust property and open to the public, the interior has been restored and furnished as it would have been when the original owner, John Lamont, moved in to the house in 1796.

At the start of our visit we watched a fifteen minute video of a re-enactment of life in the late 1700s, filmed in the house and the square and made our visit to each room more interesting as we could visualise the family living there.

From the house we walked back to the Princes Street gardens and sat in the sun surrounded by green lawns, trees and gardens and near the Ross fountain, watched over by the Castle, many other people also had the same idea.

It was only a short walk to the National Gallery of Scotland to view the large collection of paintings, sculptures, clocks and other art works. The collection included amongst others, Da Vinci, Rembrandt, Constable, Van Gough and other impressionists, and many early Italian, Flemish, English and Dutch Masters and as would be expected a large collection of Scottish artists. The gallery is very people friendly with large rooms, carpeted floors and seats for the visitors to contemplate an art work or just rest.

After spending time in relatively flat European countries for five weeks we have been reminded how hilly Edinburgh is and we have seemed to be walking up and down hills since arriving. From the Gallery to the Castle was no exception walking up The Mound, an aptly named street and into Lawnmarket, we looked at the front of the Castle, or would have if all the grand stands for the Tattoo in August hadn’t been erected. It takes three months to put them up and another three to dismantle them but after we walked under the set of stands at the end of the square we could see the main gate leading into the Castle from which all the participants in the Tattoo emerge. As we have visited the Castle before we just walked through the main gate to view the town from the ramparts.

Along Lawnmarket from the Castle is another National Trust Property, Gladstone’s Land, the home of a prosperous merchant in the 17^th Century, who after purchasing the building added two shops to the front and built extra floors on top which he rented out. The old part of the building is furnished as it would have been when Gladstone purchased it and the additions are furnished in the style of the day, quite a difference and no where near as grand as Charlotte Square.

Yesterday when we visited Mary King’s Close, in the book shop was a book about Dr Who’s visit to the close. Walking down the Royal Mile to return to the hostel we noticed that he was back in town, for just below St Gile’s Cathedral the Tardus was parked on the footpath but we couldn’t spot the good Doctor in the crowd at the top of Northbridge which was blocked off with police tapes right across the street and also at the Princes St end, obviously he was on official duties.

Tomorrow we collect a car to continue our travels in Scotland and today is probably the last of our seven to eight hour walking tours.

Edinburgh

Tuesday, 15 June

Gothenburg to Edinburgh

We were up a little before 5:30 am so we could be at Landvetter Airport before our 7:30 am check in. A 15 minute tram trip to Central Station and we just missed an airport bus but as they run every 20 minutes between 4.00 am and midnight we didn’t have long to wait. As well as the airport bus stop, Central Station has 20 bus bays for suburban buses as most routes pass through the station at some stage. The bus made stops at three pick up points during its 30 minute trip to the airport and the cost around half that of the Melbourne airport bus.

A quick check in at the airport and a two hour wait to take off, part of which we used to have breakfast as we had decided to eat after we arrived rather than having to get up earlier to eat.

The plane backed out from the terminal two minutes before schedule and we were at the Copenhagen terminal three minutes before listed arrival time after spending 28 minutes in the air. We then had a three hour wait before our flight to Edinburgh.

Again the flight left on time and the plane was even smaller than the last with only three seats in a row, one on one side and two on the other and we arrived at Edinburgh on time, because it was a small plane our luggage was on the carousal by the time we arrived and after collecting it we caught the bus into the city. Travelling into the city we felt very much at home, cars driving on the left, signs in English and the style of architecture that we have become familiar with over our 35 years of visiting the UK, though for me it is 58 years since my first visit.

Edinburgh streets are a nightmare at the moment because they are rebuilding the tram system and all the streets along the proposed routes are either closed off or only one way, I’ll need to study the map before I pick up a car on Friday. The new line will run from the airport through the city centre and down to the waterfront. When I was in Edinburgh in 1952 I rode on the old double decker trams and I think around that time the last tram ran and the rails were ripped out, fifty plus years on the City Fathers have realised that trams are the best form of transport for the city, isn’t hindsight a wonderful thing?

The only problem with all the construction is that the airport bus couldn’t access the bus station so we had an extra 500 m. to walk to the hostel. It is possibly the most expensive hostel we have stayed in but the facilities are good and we even have an en-suite. Bonus!

From the time we got up at Gothenburg to the time we arrived at the Edinburgh hostel it took eleven hours but only 2 ¼ hours actual flying time and as we put our watches back an hour when we arrived and we were up early this morning, an early night is called for as we will probably wake up on Gothenburg time.

Wednesday, 16 June

Edinburgh

As expected we woke early and walked to the tourist information office to pick up some maps and then continued along Princes Street past Scott’s Monument and the Floral Clock which is planted to commemorate 100 years of Guiding started by BP in 1910 and headed up by his wife. The gardens down below street level are a picture and the Castle up high provides that well known silhouette. We notice that the grandstands have been erected for the Tattoo in August; once again we are in Edinburgh at the wrong time.

We continued to the end of Princes St to a branch of the Royal Bank of Scotland, where we closed our two accounts at the Bath Branch we seldom use them now and this gave us some spending money for our time in the UK.

We then walked up to the Royal Mile as it is known, though it changes its name many times between the Castle and Holyrood House Palace. Our first stop was to St Giles Cathedral and a short noon service was underway which was followed by a recital of French organ music by a young Polish musician Michael Bryks who is studying at St Mary’s Music School in Edinburgh and has been awarded three scholarships to study at the Royal College of Music in London.

While we were in the cathedral we took the opportunity to visit the Knights of the Thistle Chapel and view Sir Robert Menzies Coat of Arms above one of the seats. This is the Scottish equivalent of the Knights of the Garter.

Leaving the Cathedral we walked to Greyfriars Church to view the statue of Greyfriar’s Bobby a small dog who guarded his master’s grave for many years until he died, we also saw the memorial to his dead master and to the Church Sexton who fed and looked after Bobby till his death.

Back to the Royal Mile to visit the exhibition, “What Lies Beneath the Royal Mile?” This is in Mary King’s Close which in the 17^th Century housed some 700 people in tiny apartments at street level and two or three floors above. Mary King had been left some money by her late husband so she purchased a small dwelling and set up a coffee shop. In the 1700s the Government built over the top of the Close and it was used for storage until recently when it was opened to the public for tours, the tour features life in the 1600s which includes episodes of the plague and life in general and some rooms are as they were nearly four hundred years ago.

Back on the Royal Mile we strolled to the bottom where Holyrood House Palace is situated, on the way Ann made another new friend stopping to “talk” to Robert Fergusson a 18^th century poet. At the bottom of the hill we passed the ultra modern Scottish Parliament building which is great contrast to all the other buildings in the street. Outside the Palace we noticed a refugee from the movie “Braveheart” at least we think that’s who he was.

From the Palace we walked along Calton Road past Calton Hill a prominent landmark in Edinburgh and back to the hostel.