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Published: April 3rd 2018
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Heeland Coos
Met these happy fellas just out of Perth. Today was such a mixed weather bag. Beautiful sunshine in the morning to mini hail in the afternoon. There was heaps of snow and some rain.
I left Perth at around 9 after scraping the ice off the car. I had brekky at Maccas as the cook didn't show up at the Hotel...lol. The toffee latte was yummy Grady!!! I went to a store and bought a double plug for my GPS and dash cam so they could operate together and headed north. The day was a balmy 2 degrees when I left Perth. Lucky I have a warm little car. First stop was the Tomnaverie Stone Circle. It was about a 40 minute drive from Perth through some very pretty countryside, When I finally found the carpark I had to walk about 10 minutes up a hill to the top. Wow the walk was so worth it. It was freezing cold but the panorama was amazing. The stone circle was built around 4500 years ago and these type are only found in Scotland. They feature a large stone on its side and two upright stones at each end. These stone are always at the southern end of the circle.
I drove a bit further on the same loop and came to a Culsh House. Built around 2000 years ago from the bronze age, it is actually not a house but a storage area. I wander down and wriggled my way in about two metres. It was dark and muddy and a bit creepy so I didn't go all the way inside. The roof level was only about 800mm and the passageway only a metre wide... urk.
I then drove around the rest of the loop (about another 30 minutes or so and stopped at the Peel Ring. After driving here I realised that this not prehistoric and was the remains of a 12th century moated house. Still interesting though I could have done with some wellies everything was soggy.
Back onto the main roads and I was driving over the Cairngorms. The temperature had dropped to a chilly -1 and it had come over cloudy. Snow started falling but it wasn't nice snow. It was small and swirly. The Cairngorms are beautiful at any time but when there is snow on them they are majestic. The ski fields were still open and there were lots of
Cairngorms
Some sun peeping through people on the slopes. I stopped and watched for a while but no urge to get out and do the same!
Eventually, I found my way back onto the A93 and headed toward Inverness. There was one more place on the list that I wanted to visit: The Clava Cairns are just near the Culloden Battlefield outside of Inverness. It is really an ancient cemetery built some 4000 years ago. At the main site there are 4 cairns. One smaller one only about 4 metres across and one about 10 metres that is a total ring with no entrance. The remaining two are ring cairns with an opening. There is no roof on them so you can walk in. These are about 10 metres across also. There are also ancient trackways connecting all 4 cairns. 600 metres down the road there are two more. I drove because it was looking a bit rainy. Just as well because just as I arrived down the track about 400 metres from the car the hail started ... oh joy! It was not big but quite stingy. Lucky I had my beanie on and my down jacket. I really need to start wearing
my hiking boots. My runners got decidedly wet. By now it was 0 degrees. There is a remarkable Culloden Viaduct bridge that trains use on the northern line. It was built in 1898 and spans 550 metres with 29 arches and is the longest viaduct bridge in Scotland.
I found my way to my accommodations in Inverness, popped down to TESCO and bought some fresh salmon and cream cheese, sat up in bed and watched some TV. By 8:15, I was had it, still suffering from jetlag and had a reasonable sleep. Just working on the blog before I begin to travel toward Fort William for my stay tonight.
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