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To be honest, I started to lose interest in posting the rest of my Scotland pics. After the last set, it was down to the last couple of days, and I was just trying to plow through the pics, hoping to be done. And then it took me a while to post them on Flickr. That was June 10 through the 17th. Since then I've been kinda busy, and kinda over it. :-( But I want to post abut it, to put down my memories while I still have any, these nine months later.
After the ferry from Orkney landed on the mainland, we drove south to Inverness. It was a long drive, mostly after dark. We were staying at a B&B outside of town. It was not the best place we stayed. The food was... not the best. But it was adequate.
The next morning was grey and rainy, as befits a visit to a battlefield. Culloden. In 1746, a battle was fought between the Scottish Jacobites and the English Government forces. 1500 to 2000 Jacobites dead or wounded, and less than 300 of the Government troops killed. This was the last gasp of Scottish independence.
Then we went into whisky country. The Speyside region. Half of the distilleries in Scotland are in this area. I think the farthest away you can get from one is about five miles. We took some back roads into Elgin. We stopped at Glen Moray distillery. Neither me nor my dad are fans of their whisky, but we thought we might as well stop someplace. We were impressed with their visitor's center, and with their older whiskies, that you can't really get in the states.
Then we stopped for lunch in Keith. We got food at a deli counter at a grocery.
Keith is home to three distilleries, including Strathisla, which is considered one of the prettiest in the country.
Just round the corner is Glen Keith.
Glen Keith had been mothballed by Chivas in 1999, but reopened in 2013, due to the increase in worldwide Scotch whisky exports.
We passed a few more distilleries on our way to Craigellachie.
The Craigellachie Bridge is a cast iron arch bridge located at Craigellachie in Moray, Scotland. It was designed by the renowned civil engineer Thomas Telford and built from 1812–1814. The bridge has a single span of approximately 46 metres (151 ft) and was revolutionary for its time, in that it used an extremely slender arch which was not possible using traditional masonry construction.
A fly fisherman on the River Spey.
This town is home to Craigellachie distillery, but more significantly, Speyside Cooperage. They're one of the biggest cooperages in the country.
You should see these pyramids on Google earth.
Then we went down to Duffton. There are, or were, seven distilleries in this little town. Glenfiddich is one of the biggest in Scotland. Balvenie is one of the best. I tried to make reservations to see Balvenie, three months ahead of time, but they were full. We settled for Glenfiddich. Once you've seen one distillery, you've seen them all, more or less (unless you're a real whisky geek like me), but as long as we had some time, we thought we'd take the tour. It was actually pretty interesting to see this one, because of how big it is.
Also a nice looking place.
Then dinner at a little restaurant that had a fantastic selection of whisky. It was dark by the time we made it to our hotel. I had a little trouble locating it. I guess I didn't start looking for it until we were on the road, and it was right at the corner.
Eclectic, wouldn't you say? It was quite literally Salvation Army decor.
After the ferry from Orkney landed on the mainland, we drove south to Inverness. It was a long drive, mostly after dark. We were staying at a B&B outside of town. It was not the best place we stayed. The food was... not the best. But it was adequate.
The next morning was grey and rainy, as befits a visit to a battlefield. Culloden. In 1746, a battle was fought between the Scottish Jacobites and the English Government forces. 1500 to 2000 Jacobites dead or wounded, and less than 300 of the Government troops killed. This was the last gasp of Scottish independence.
Then we went into whisky country. The Speyside region. Half of the distilleries in Scotland are in this area. I think the farthest away you can get from one is about five miles. We took some back roads into Elgin. We stopped at Glen Moray distillery. Neither me nor my dad are fans of their whisky, but we thought we might as well stop someplace. We were impressed with their visitor's center, and with their older whiskies, that you can't really get in the states.
Then we stopped for lunch in Keith. We got food at a deli counter at a grocery.
Keith is home to three distilleries, including Strathisla, which is considered one of the prettiest in the country.
Just round the corner is Glen Keith.
Glen Keith had been mothballed by Chivas in 1999, but reopened in 2013, due to the increase in worldwide Scotch whisky exports.
We passed a few more distilleries on our way to Craigellachie.
The Craigellachie Bridge is a cast iron arch bridge located at Craigellachie in Moray, Scotland. It was designed by the renowned civil engineer Thomas Telford and built from 1812–1814. The bridge has a single span of approximately 46 metres (151 ft) and was revolutionary for its time, in that it used an extremely slender arch which was not possible using traditional masonry construction.
A fly fisherman on the River Spey.
This town is home to Craigellachie distillery, but more significantly, Speyside Cooperage. They're one of the biggest cooperages in the country.
You should see these pyramids on Google earth.
Then we went down to Duffton. There are, or were, seven distilleries in this little town. Glenfiddich is one of the biggest in Scotland. Balvenie is one of the best. I tried to make reservations to see Balvenie, three months ahead of time, but they were full. We settled for Glenfiddich. Once you've seen one distillery, you've seen them all, more or less (unless you're a real whisky geek like me), but as long as we had some time, we thought we'd take the tour. It was actually pretty interesting to see this one, because of how big it is.
Also a nice looking place.
Then dinner at a little restaurant that had a fantastic selection of whisky. It was dark by the time we made it to our hotel. I had a little trouble locating it. I guess I didn't start looking for it until we were on the road, and it was right at the corner.
Eclectic, wouldn't you say? It was quite literally Salvation Army decor.
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no subject
Date: 2014-07-02 09:15 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2014-07-02 05:28 pm (UTC)From:I forgot to mention that I was impressed with Culloden's visitor's centre. They had quite a nice explanation of events leading up to the battle, presented from both sides, interactive exhibits, and actors doing presentations.
no subject
Date: 2014-07-02 06:28 pm (UTC)From:The bridge is gorgeous.
no subject
Date: 2014-07-03 01:32 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2014-07-03 03:57 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2014-07-03 12:37 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2014-07-03 01:29 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2014-07-03 04:31 pm (UTC)From: