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Pitlochry
Looking down main street in PitlochryToday we were awake, packed, and ready to go on our Highland Fling bus tour at least an hour early. The tour is offered by MacBackpackers and runs from Monday morning through Friday evening. In 2015, we paid about 200 Pounds each, and I would have said ahead of time that I think it will be worth it, but by the end of day one I can say it will be. Our granddaughter Alexis took the tour last year and after reading about it and seeing her photos, we decided we'd give it a try, even though we figured we'd be the oldest folks on the tour. The mid-sized bus pulled up in front of our hostel right on time. We'd read in the tour notes that we should only bring smaller luggage such as backpacks since space on the bus would be limited, but apparently some folks either didn't read that, didn't understand what they meant, or just didn't care, because several of our 18 fellow travelers brought larger luggage. Oh well, we could have brought our larger bags and had some room to spare, but we'll make due. Our tour comprised of our driver/guide Neil, and 18 travelers all
The Scottish Deli
The Scottish Deli where we bought lunch in their late teens or twenties, except for my wife and I and one young lady's mother who was younger than us but old enough to make us feel less ... strange. It turned out we made friends with her and her daughter early on, so that was a bonus.
After we all got on the bus, which can hold about 26 people, Neil (wearing a real kilt) gave us the run-down on the tour, the rules of the bus, and threw in a good bit of humor. We headed out of Edinburgh and after less than two hours of pretty constant humorous banter by Neil we arrived at our first stop, Pitlochry. We only stopped for about 30 minutes so we could buy some lunch to eat on the road. Pitlochry was small, but quite touristy, so we probably didn't miss much. Manoli and I both took the driver's advice and bought sandwiches at The Scottish Deli, along with a cheese and onion quiche. The sandwiches were delicious and inexpensive at about 3 Pounds each, and the quiche was quite tasty too. I also picked up a bottle of Irn Bru, the main soda in Scotland, competing well
Shops at the Highland Folk Museum
Tailor's shop, Tweed store, Clockworks, and Carpenter at the Highland Folk Museum with Coke. I'd already had one in Edinburgh and found it quite tasty, something like a cream soda with some tang to it. We all got back on the bus and continued heading North towards Inverness, our first night's stay.
Our next stop was at Newtonmore where we visited the Highland Folk Museum. This is a very neat, mostly outdoors museum. First, there were several buildings containing crafts like a tailor, clock maker, and carpenter. Next, we walked down a path into a secluded area to visit a recreated village from the 1700s that was used in the Outlander series. This 1700s Scottish village has 6 buildings, all realistic and "occupied" by period folk who were quite willing to explain whatever we wanted to know. Quite informative. Unfortunately, they didn't have any thimbles to add to my collection. From there, we continue towards Inverness, stopping at the famous Culloden Battlefield, where Scotland's future was decided in a battle between the current Protestant government and the Jacobites who wanted to continue to be free and Catholic. They lost there battle and Scotland is still part of the United Kingdom. It was quite windy and cold, so we only took a
Baile Gean village
Baile Gean village, recreated 1700s Scottish village. brief look around, then headed into the gift shop/cafeteria planning to browse the gift shop and have a nice warm coffee. Unfortunately, we spent too much time in the gift shop and left without our coffee. Fortunately, I did find a thimble.
Although by this time we were getting quite close to Inverness (8 kms), Neil decided we might appreciate a nearby ancient site call the Clava Cairns, so off we went down a very narrow, one-lane, two-way road. The cairns were pretty cool, with four burial mounds surrounded by standing stones. Although the burial mounds had been disturbed and no longer had roofs, the stones were mostly intact and provided some discussion of why there were 12 stones placed so precisely around each mound. After a 15 minute tour, we re-boarded the bus and headed towards our final stop for the day, Loch Ness. Yes, the Loch Ness of "monster" fame. We were on the wrong side to visit the more famous Loch Ness town of Drumnadrochit, so we stopped at Dores where they had a small beach, and a Loch Ness creature searcher who had visited 24 years ago and stayed ever since, watching for the elusive
Around Baile Gean village
One of the buildings, inside, a kitchen, and implements in the village. creature. We bought a cute, hand-made, Nessie on a rock from him, then debated whether to go into the lake. After seeing a couple of young ladies strip down to bathing suits to go all the way in, I decided the least I could do was wade in. So, I took off my shoes and socks, rolled up my pants legs and braved the frigid waters, and I do mean frigid. Oh well, it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and besides the two young ladies, the two guys on our tour from Israel actually stripped down to their shorts and topped the girls by swimming... briefly. Before re-boarding the bus for the final leg to our hostel in Inverness, we had a couple of well-deserved coffees at a nearby pub.
We then made the short trip to our hostel for the night in Inverness, Inverness Student Hostel. It was quite quaint, but a bit cramped in common spaces, plus we discovered the first down side to being on the tour, 18 people trying to check into the hostel at the same time! We ended up sharing a room with our two friends, the mother from India (originally, but now a
Hand-carved hedge hogs
Hand-carved hedge hogs near Baile Gean village U.S. citizen) and her daughter. After quickly depositing our bags and sorting stuff out for later, we headed down into the town to look for dinner and do a bit of shopping. The restaurant our driver had recommended for real Scottish food, Hootenany, turned out to be fully booked for some reason or another, so we ended up eating at The Room. Even they were crowded, so I think maybe they need another restaurant or two in this town. Manoli wasn't all that hungry, so ordered the soup of the day, a green pea and spinach soup, which she said was quite delicious. I decided to try Fish and Chips again, where were also quite good, coming with a small tasty salad and cole slaw. The whole meal, with a Coke, was less than 15 Pounds. After dinner, we checked out the nearby supermarket, where I picked up a couple of bottles of Dr. Pepper, then headed back to the hostel. By this time it was about 8pm and since it doesn't get dark until almost 10pm, we decided to take a stroll along the river. After that, it was close to bed time and time for me to do
Hand-carved owl
Hand-carved owl near Baile Gean village this blog.
Tomorrow we will either check out the more famous side of Loch Ness, then stop at the famous Eilean Donan Castle, prominent in the movie The Highlander, or travel more to the North to see what our driver describes as a very scenic part of Scotland. I'd prefer the first, especially since it is supposed to rain tomorrow afternoon, but I think the driver prefers the later. After seeing the castle, we will cross over to the famous Isle of Skye for a two-night stay there.
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Alexis
non-member comment
I've been waiting to hear about the tour all day! Glad you are enjoying it! It is an awesome tour and Neil is a great guide!