MORE OF NORTHERN SCOTLAND

22 July 2023, Edinburgh

The intermittent rain and cold continued as we departed the Orkney Islands, but at least this time the fog lifted so we could see and photograph the iconic Old Man of Hoy rock formations as we left the harbor at Stromness.

We had originally planned to take the ferry from Kirkwall all the way to Aberdeen (7 hours), but the ferry was full for several days before and after our desired departure date (even though we inquired several weeks in advance) so we went with Plan B and drove to Inverness, about 2 hours south, allowing us to see more of the beautiful northern Scotland landscape. Do you see the low range of distant mountains in the middle photo below?

I was sure we were seeing east across the North Sea to Norway and thought that was way cool. Gary was pretty sure I was wrong. Well, it turned out that Norway is about 200 miles east of Scotland and the curvature of the earth doesn’t allow us to see that far. What we were looking at were the North Sea and hills to the south, on what I’ll call the Aberdeen Peninsula where we would be staying over the next week. If you look at a map of Scotland, there are lots of indentations along both the west and east coasts. Sigh! So I got an opportunity to use one of our favorite expressions and said to Gary, “You’re right, dear!”

It happened to be my birthday, July 13 (#83!), and Gary treated us to a stay at a very elegant, 5-star “boutique hotel” in Inverness called Ness Walk Hotel. It’s the first time ever that, as we walked in the door, we were asked to sit in a very comfortable chair in a very beautiful small living room and were offered a glass of champagne while they checked us in. As you can imagine, the service was impeccable, the food delicious and it was a wonderful way to celebrate. AND, their breakfast included many choices that were NOT part of the Irish/English/Scottish Breakfast! Thank you, sweetheart!

The next day we were delayed a bit with a flat tire again—love those single-track pot holes! But then we had a wonderful drive to the Speyside area—named for the Spey River that runs through most of it—(on the Aberdeen Peninsula). It is often referred to as The Whisky Capital of the world where there are dozens of distilleries. We stayed outside of Aberlour (home of Walker’s shortbread—closed over that weekend) at the Craigellachie Speyside Hotel—a charming old Victorian structure built in 1892. It was convenient to several side trips, and we enjoyed the warm hospitality.

With this now being “high season” for tourists, several whisky tours were already booked, but we were very pleased to join a factory tour of the Strathisla distillery—the oldest working distillery in Scotland (since 1786) producing 2.4 million liters per year of all their whiskys, including Chivas Regal. Together with nearby Glenlivet, it is now owned by a French ”drinks giant,” Pernod Ricard. Here are some quick facts: (1) whisky is made from barley, water & yeast; (2) The flavor is determined in the stills; and (3) 100% of its color comes from the cask(s) it is aged in. We had lunch in Dufftown at The Whisky Capital Inn. When we came back to our hotel later that day and ate in its Copper Dog pub, there was a sign on the blackboard that said, “Today’s rain is tomorrow’s whisky!” It’s been raining quite a bit so it looks like there’ll be lots of whisky made around these parts, along Speyside’s “Malt Whisky Trail” and beyond!

From Speyside, we headed toward our next stop in Nairn, but on the way we visited 2 other places on the Moray Firth, a triangular inlet of the North Sea. First was The Scottish Dolphin Center where resident bottlenose dolphins are often seen at the mouth of the Spey River, together with seals, occasional orcas and many species of birds. We didn’t see anything, but we love dolphins and it was nice to leave a donation there. We also discovered a cathedral and 2 castles along the way, each with its own unique history and architecture. The ruins of Elgin Cathedral were fascinating, as were those of both Ballindalloch & Dufus Castles.

We then went on to Findhorn, which I’d heard of for a long time. The Findhorn Foundation is “a center of transformational learning—shepherding individual and collective awakening.” I often read from the daily inspirations of Findhorn founders Peter & Eileen Caddy and was looking forward to seeing their facility. What we found was the small, rather funky seaside town of Findhorn and then the trailer park where it all started, with some unique condos and other housing. We never did find its headquarters and retreat facilities, but by then we were getting a bit weary and anxious to get to our next stop. I did find some gardens and a labyrinth, but things were pretty quiet. Oh well!

We were thrilled with our next stop, “one of the best boutique guest houses in The Highlands,” Invernairne Guest House. It is just west of the beautiful little village of Nairn, overlooking the sea. With panoramic views, beautiful gardens and impeccable hospitality, we fully enjoyed our 2-night stay and highly recommend this wondrous place.

On we went to Stirling—one of our longer drives (3.5 hours) –to get to our last stop before Edinburgh. On the way, we made two stops. The first at a special shopping village near Pitlochry recommended by the owner of Invernairne called The House of Bruar. Gary bought me 2 beautiful cashmere sweaters (birthday gifts) and bought himself an awesome, soft leather vest (called a waistcoat in the UK). These were the only things on our shopping list for this trip so we were very happy to find just what we wanted. We also stopped at the public library in Perth hoping to find out more about the McNear family whose roots were said to have started here (I am a McNear on my mother’s side). We didn’t find out much, but it felt good to simply be in this town and acknowledge that ancestors live(d) here. Along the way, we continued to enjoy the beautiful combination of fields and forests so common to this part of Scotland. And, when we made a “wrong” turn, we even found 2 beautiful old stone bridges and a pig farm complete with little metal huts for each adult (and baby piglets!!!).

       

We stayed at a nice Holiday Inn Express in Stirling for 2 nights and rested up for a busy couple of days.  The next day we first went to the famous Falkirk Wheel (which we hadn’t heard of until friends told us it was “a must”). We could have just had lunch overlooking the Wheel and watched how it worked, but we found out we could go on a boat that would take us up on the Wheel and then back down, so of course we chose that option! The Falkirk Wheel is the only rotating boat lift in the world, installed in 2002 to connect renovated canals and waterways between Glasgow and Edinburgh, connecting the western waters to those in the east. As you can hopefully see from the photos below, the wheel is an amazing feat of precision engineering.

Our boat entered a “gondola” filled with water at our starting level, then, in perfect balance, our gondola was lifted up counter-clockwise to the next level of water 79 feet above, while the second gondola gradually rotated around and ended up where our boat had started. Our boat went up the channel a ways, turned around and entered the gondola at the top. The Wheel then rotated around and took us back to where we started. Hope that makes sense! Regardless, it was pretty amazing. It was also fun to watch the next boat go through the same process and get a better view of how it all worked. The Falkirk Wheel is practical but also revered for its aesthetics. It is quite something to see AND ride in! Fun facts: The wheel is 115 feet high, contains 1300 tons of steel work and 50,000 bolts, each of them tightened by hand!  

Just a few miles away, we then drove to “The Kelpies”–the largest equine sculptures in the world created in 90 days by sculptor Andy Scott as a dramatic entrance to the new Scottish Canal. It was hard to miss this amazing metal sculpture of two horse heads, paying homage to the working horses of Scotland. Each is 100 feet tall, made up of 18,000 pieces of metal including 484 steel plates. It was a bit of a walk to get up close to them, but they were even more impressive when we looked at these magnificent works of art from different angles. Amazing!

With only a few more days left to enjoy the wonderful country of Scotland before heading home, we’ll share more soon about our last stops and summarize our Scottish experiences. Thank you again for traveling along with us. Hope you’re having a good summer!