Scottish Highlands

Where do I start? We took over 500 pictures during our trip to Scotland and Ireland, most of them in the Highlands. This could be a really long post but I'll try to pare it down. After a day of travel, made longer by a glitch in the Lufthansa check-in system, we made it to Perth, Scotland. Since we arrived much later than planned, we ditched our plans to see Stirling Castle and drove up to Urquhart Castle (above) instead the next day. 

I'm so happy things worked out as they did! Urquhart Castle was incredible.  The castle, mostly in ruins now, lies on the banks of Loch Ness and overlooks the mountains beyond.  There's something about the castle's history, coupled with the intrique of Loch Ness, that made the experience exceptional in my mind. 

We were so lucky to have dodged the rain that day.  It rained on the way to Urquhart Castle, then it stopped while we were there.  As we left the castle it started to rain again.  We were headed to Loch Morlich (above) in the Cairngorms National Park.  I really really wanted to hike around the lake but it was pouring down rain.  We pulled into the parking area near the lake and just before we were about to give up on the hike, the rain stopped and it stayed sunny for the rest of the afternooon. 

This is why I wanted to do the this hike!  The views were stunning and it was so peaceful and quiet there.  It's not often during our trips that we take hikes like this, usually because we stay in large cities and / or don't have the time.  After some pre-trip planning, we knew we wanted to see the Highlands and the scenery it had to offer by car or by foot. 

Another good reason to visit the Highlands; the Speyside distilleries!  There is a large concentration of Scotch distilleries along the Spey River.  We started out by taking a tour of The Glenlivet distillery.  We then drove over to see the Aberlour distillery after having just sampled some of it the night before.  We didn't have time for their 2 hour tour and 6 tastings but I think it would have been neat to do if we had more time. 

We'd bought 2 Scotch glasses at The Glenlivet and 2 at Aberlour and thought that 2 more would complete the set so we made our way over to the nearby Glenfiddich distillery.  As we drove, we passed by this massive copperage!  These barrels are empty but it just goes to show how many are needed to keep this area in supply.  (We learned at The Glenlivet that their barrels come from United States, after they have been used to age bourbon and / or sherry.) 

Its remarkable that for as popular as some of these Scotches are (Glenfiddich is the number one selling Scotch in the world, The Glenlivet it number two) to see that these distillieries are located in the middle of nowhere.  


That afternoon, we headed down to Balmoral Castle.  The landscape was still gorgeous.   This stone, inscribed with the phrase "take a moment to behold as still skies or storms unfold" says it all.


 The road, however, became a little crazy.  The lanes narrowed until a two way road became just wide enough for one car.  There were alcoves on the side of the road about every 150 yards designed to let a car pull over to make way for on coming traffic.  There were hills, curves, and turns, and if that wasn't bad enough, at one point the farmers stopped fencing in their livestock.  We had to watch out for sheep in the road, which fortunately we only encountered once.

We were happy to arrive at Balmoral Castle. The castle has been a home to the Royal Family since 1848. It is only open from for 4 months a year since it is still used as a Royal residence. The Queen actually went there after the wedding of William and Kate. What a place to get away from everything! It it located on 150 acres of Highlands with 2000 deer roaming the property. 

We ended our trip in the Highlands in the town of Pitlochry at a great bed and breakfast, complete with it's own bar!  We enjoyed all 3 of the bed and breakfasts we had stayed out, especially the breakfast part!  We had the full Scottish breakfast each morning, which included eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, pudding, beans, even waffles and pancakes.  From now on, we'd be on our own for breakfast.  ::Sigh::  Goodbye Higlands, we'll miss you!  On to Ireland now...