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Published: August 8th 2011
HIGHLANDS HERE WE COME
Today we left Edinburgh behind and headed north to the Highlands, on the way we stopped at St Andrews, Pitlochry, Blair Castle and Dalwhinnie Whiskey Distillery.
The weather was pretty terrible all day. We stopped at the famous St Andrews Golf Course for about an hour. Normally we would have had a stroll around the area and the town, but the rain was so heavy we were limited to the view from the clubrooms and also a quick photo stop at the historic ruins of St Andrews Church. St Andrews is where Prince William and Kate Middleton went to University and met.
The view of the course, adjacent beach and ocean was pretty spectacular and despite the weather there were a still plenty of crazy people teeing off (I guess they had to book their tee off time well in advance and had little option but to play).
From there it was up to Dundee and a quick photo opportunity with Discovery, the ship that Scott took to the Antarctic on his ill fated expedition. Dundee was its home port during its sailing days.
We stopped for lunch at a very nice country village, Pitlochry, we
great little Pub
Another top Pub Lunchhad lunch in a small pub and a found a really nice Davidson Coat of Arms in one of the gift shops which we bought. After lunch we headed out to Blair Castle,
BLAIR CASTLE
In its prime it was the centre of a 145,000 acre estate, and the building is a bit of a mish-mash of styles. Many of the Dukes held important political positions in Scotland. The Castle itself was white (rather than natural stone) which was a bit of a surprise regardless it was a very impressive building.
We had a guided tour through the main rooms, all of the hallways were lined with trophy stag antlers, as was the dining hall. This is definitely hunting and fishing country. Jeanette was most impressed with the amazing embroidery which had been either worked or collected by Lady Evelyn Stewart-Murray the youngest daughter of the 7th Duke.
Blair Castle has the distinction (if that’s the right word) of having the only private army in Europe. The Duke at the time was granted the right by Queen Victoria and the 100 strong army has existed since – its current role is strictly ceremonial, and it is made up of
Blair Castle
A very impressive estate volunteers from the surrounding area. More like a Territorial Force.
DALWHINNIE WHISKEY DISTILLERY
About 20 minutes from our hotel for tonight, in the middle of nowhere is the Dalwhinnie Whiskey Distillery. The tour which took us through the process was okish. We had a wee dram of Whiskey – ‘as you should’ in Scotland to finish the tour. This is an option we probably wouldn’t do again.
From there we continued our drive deep into the Highland countryside to out accommodation the Laggan Hotel. Significantly for us it is in the area where our ancestors walked during their time on earth. Unfortunately the weather is pretty bleak so we are confined indoors. Still got to watch the Man U v Man City game (first football I’ve watched in what seems like ages) and had a good chat with the barman (on and off throughout the evening) on various football related subjects.
We had a very nice dinner, I had wild duck - getting into the whole country lodge thing. As appears to be the custom here, there was also a Haggis ceremony following dinner and we were all given another small plate. This time with the added bonus of a wee dram of whiskey to wash it down.
We had booked the whole Hotel out for our group and after dinner most people stayed around the Bar for a few drinks, it was a nice relaxing place to mix and mingle.
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Melissa
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Davidson coat of arms! Awesome! Did Mum take some pictures of the embroidery? Does the sign on the little white pub say "The Auld Smuddy Inn?" :D Auld Smuddy! Lots of love to you guys xo