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Published: September 5th 2019
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Sheep Dog demonstration
The puppy he’s holding has yet to be trained but can perform reasonably well on instinct alone!! We’re off to Grantown on Spey in Moray with our first stop at Scone Palace (actually pronounce Scoon for reasons unknown) which is the home of the Earl of Mansfield and was the original location of the “stone of destiny”, on which numerous early Scottish Kings were crowned including Robert the Bruce. The Palace and grounds are beautifully maintained and contain many pieces of antique furniture from centuries ago.
After a brief stop at Pitlochry to view the Salmon ladders at the power station, we rushed off to catch a sheep dog demonstration late in the afternoon. This was an amazing performance!! The trainer had 6 dogs each with their own set of commands and under full control of their master. Hearing what appeared to be the slightest of sounds, the dogs maneuvered the sheep with precision and pre-determined control. At the end, the shepard fielded a number of questions and provided some insight on dog training, i.e ”don’t pet your dog too much”
Over the next 3 days, Grantown-on-Spey was our base for touring the Whisky Trail (not a misspell as the Scotts don’t use an e) and exploring the north coast. Sitting on the coast, Fort George
Walkers Shortbread factory outlet
The company quite similar to Ganong. Still family owned, located in a small town. The family lives in the community and the company is managed by family members. is one of the largest military installations in Scotland and is still partially used by the military today. It was constructed in the mid-18 century with the purpose of preventing any further uprising from the Jacobites (those who support King James of Scotland, a Catholic King). In that regard, a few miles away the last Jacobite battle took place in Culloden field. Those that follow the Netflix series ”Outlanders” will recognize the name. The Battle of Culloden is an integral part of Scottish History. Bonnie Prince Charlie‘s army, made up of Highlanders, was defeated and he escaped back to France. You might remember in our last Blog we mentioned touring Traquair House in the Borders region. In the 18th century the owner was a Jacobite (the name is a derivative of the Latin word for James) and supporter of Prince Charles. At the time, he locked the gates leading to the house declaring they would only be unlocked once a Catholic King was back on the Scottish throne. To this day, the gates are still locked!!
We did manage a couple of distilleries tours on the Whisky trail . MacAllan is a uniquely designed, ultra modern distillery dug into
Elgin Cathedral
In it’s day quite a building had it’s origins in the 13th century a hilltop. The distillery is an entirely different experience from Strathisla (maker of Chevis Regal) which is an older more traditional facility. The tour guide at Strathisla (who had recently retired as a local journalist after 44 years) told of his wife who worked as a receptionist when Sam Bronfman visited the location back in the 60’s. The distillery was owned by Seagrams. He also made other connections to Canada. Jonathan Sinclair who is Justin Trudeau’s grandfather, was born in the area. So our Prime Minister has French and Scottish ancestors. Hopefully the Prime Minister will rely more on his Scottish background when making spending decisions!!!
The weather has been very co-operative although the day we left for Gairloch on West Coast, we were given a flavour of a Scottish rain.
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Harry
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Craigellachie
The other Canadian connection. As well as the home of The Macallan distillery in Scotland, there is a Craigellachie in British Columbia, famous as the site of the Last Spike linking the two ends of the Canadian Pacific Railway.