What I Did on my Holiday
I'm baaaack....
Here's a little account of what we did on our holiday up north...
On our first day, we got up bright and early because I needed to see the U.S. consulate in Edinburgh about a new passport. We got there a little bit later than the intended 9 am, but it turned out OK anyway as there were only a few people there ahead of us... mostly people with new babies... Scottish guys and American girls registering the existence of their accidental half-breed sprogs. Then it was off to Harvey Nichols for more make-up for Linda. She should just buy the stuff in bulk and be done with it, but no, we paid yet another visit to their Laura Mercier counter before setting off for the Kingdom of Fife. It was the first time I had ever crossed the Forth Road Bridge into that bit of Scotland... We did the Fife Coastal Tourist Route to the villages of East Neuk (as I think they're called). The weather was absolutely fabulous that day. Sunshine all the way up the coast. We stopped in at Anstruther and got an ice cream cone at the famous fish and chip place and also looked at one or two shops. Then it was up to St. Andrews where we had a walk around the ruins of the Cathedral there. Also stopped in at the Old Course and had a coffee... places I had never been and have been wanting to go to... Next, we hit Dundee right at rush hour...lots of traffic, didn't realise how big and busy Dundee was... and a few wrong turns were made before finally finding my way to the right road towards the county of Angus. Anyway, we made it to our destination of Kirriemuir and found a suitable place to eat, which turned out pretty good. The people serving there were really nice. Outside of town, we found our B & B, and the lady running that was REALLY very nice. We seemed to get along with her great. Very friendly, and the room was great too. It was on a working farm, and outside we had a walk around and saw some of the baby lambs that had recently been born.
On day two of our holiday, we started out with a great breakfast at the B & B, and decided to go to Glamis Castle first thing. Don't know why it's spelled Glamis, as it's pronounced Glams... Anyway, the visit there was really beyond expectation. It's a beautiful place (and so was the weather, again). We took the tour... Glamis Castle is the one where the Queen Mother was from... and it was really something. In fact, the current Countess of Strathmore was there puttering around... we recognised her from pictures in the castle. As I said, the weather was again nice and sunny and warm, so we had a good walk around the grounds... They have a herd of highland cattle there and an Italian Garden, a few little forested areas, rivers and bridges, etc... the estate is huge and well-maintained... and everyone there was, again, so nice and friendly. We spent a while in the gift shop and a few little cabinets we saw ended up getting in our car with us. We then went back to Kirriemuir and visited J. M. Barrie's birthplace and walked up to see his grave as well... Way up a hill, which was quite a hike as it turned out... but we made it. It was just a normal run of the mill grave stone shared with other members of his family... Pah, at least he could've had something more elaborate waiting for us up on that hill. Humph.... The rest of the day was spent driving up to Loch Cluanie. We had to take a detour at one point because there were a couple fires around in the hills... it was so dry... the firemen were having a busy day. We got to Cluanie Inn just in time to have dinner. And afterwards had a taste or three of some of the various single malts in the whisky bar.
The third day was not so Ab Fab weatherywise. A bit clouded over but not overly dreadful. From Cluanie, we drove to Balmacara and walked around this woodland walk looking for a National Trust of Scotland house, but finally decided the main attraction was the woodland walk itself instead of the house. We drove a bit north to Loch Carron and ended up buying a print and a painting at this place up there. The small painting was by a local woman who had recently died. It's of two rabbits... and the print is a nice one of another local artist... showing a forest scene... Then it was over to Plockton. The scenery over in that area is especially scenic-y. We walked a little bit and drove a bit more but ended up driving back to Cluanie in plenty of time to do a little reading and relaxing in the room before dinner. We got a DVD at night and took it easy.
Day 4 ended up being a pretty good day in the weather department despite rain at the start and at the end. We drove up into Skye and took the tour of the Talisker whisky distillery. Then it was up to Dunvegan Castle, the stronghold of the McLeod Clan. Glamis was a bit nicer, to be honest, but it was interesting nonetheless. The garden was really very nice, tho, with waterfalls and woodland trails, etc. Not many flowers this time of year however... Driving to and from and through Skye, of course revealed some really, really spectacular scenery. Nearly got killed twice, tho, with crazy people taking crazy chances passing other people at crazy times. Managed not to get killed, as luck would have it, so that was good.
Today, we drove home and stopped along the way at Glenfinnan and Oban. The weather today was really good, which made the scenery extra good. We visited the monument to Bonnie Prince Charlie at Glenfinnan, which was the first time I had seen it except from the train over the viaduct a few summers ago. I climbed up to the top, and so did Linda, but getting up and out at the top was a bit awkward so Linda only really stuck her head out the top before going back down. We visited the Sea Life and Seal Sanctuary outside of Oban, which was pretty good. Saw the otters and seals getting fed and viewed their aquarium fish and crustaceans, including some pretty big lobsters. Linda's back to not wanting to eat fish again...
Anyway, so now we're back. It was a really good holiday, I thought. Really enjoyed it.
Here's a little account of what we did on our holiday up north...
On our first day, we got up bright and early because I needed to see the U.S. consulate in Edinburgh about a new passport. We got there a little bit later than the intended 9 am, but it turned out OK anyway as there were only a few people there ahead of us... mostly people with new babies... Scottish guys and American girls registering the existence of their accidental half-breed sprogs. Then it was off to Harvey Nichols for more make-up for Linda. She should just buy the stuff in bulk and be done with it, but no, we paid yet another visit to their Laura Mercier counter before setting off for the Kingdom of Fife. It was the first time I had ever crossed the Forth Road Bridge into that bit of Scotland... We did the Fife Coastal Tourist Route to the villages of East Neuk (as I think they're called). The weather was absolutely fabulous that day. Sunshine all the way up the coast. We stopped in at Anstruther and got an ice cream cone at the famous fish and chip place and also looked at one or two shops. Then it was up to St. Andrews where we had a walk around the ruins of the Cathedral there. Also stopped in at the Old Course and had a coffee... places I had never been and have been wanting to go to... Next, we hit Dundee right at rush hour...lots of traffic, didn't realise how big and busy Dundee was... and a few wrong turns were made before finally finding my way to the right road towards the county of Angus. Anyway, we made it to our destination of Kirriemuir and found a suitable place to eat, which turned out pretty good. The people serving there were really nice. Outside of town, we found our B & B, and the lady running that was REALLY very nice. We seemed to get along with her great. Very friendly, and the room was great too. It was on a working farm, and outside we had a walk around and saw some of the baby lambs that had recently been born.
On day two of our holiday, we started out with a great breakfast at the B & B, and decided to go to Glamis Castle first thing. Don't know why it's spelled Glamis, as it's pronounced Glams... Anyway, the visit there was really beyond expectation. It's a beautiful place (and so was the weather, again). We took the tour... Glamis Castle is the one where the Queen Mother was from... and it was really something. In fact, the current Countess of Strathmore was there puttering around... we recognised her from pictures in the castle. As I said, the weather was again nice and sunny and warm, so we had a good walk around the grounds... They have a herd of highland cattle there and an Italian Garden, a few little forested areas, rivers and bridges, etc... the estate is huge and well-maintained... and everyone there was, again, so nice and friendly. We spent a while in the gift shop and a few little cabinets we saw ended up getting in our car with us. We then went back to Kirriemuir and visited J. M. Barrie's birthplace and walked up to see his grave as well... Way up a hill, which was quite a hike as it turned out... but we made it. It was just a normal run of the mill grave stone shared with other members of his family... Pah, at least he could've had something more elaborate waiting for us up on that hill. Humph.... The rest of the day was spent driving up to Loch Cluanie. We had to take a detour at one point because there were a couple fires around in the hills... it was so dry... the firemen were having a busy day. We got to Cluanie Inn just in time to have dinner. And afterwards had a taste or three of some of the various single malts in the whisky bar.
The third day was not so Ab Fab weatherywise. A bit clouded over but not overly dreadful. From Cluanie, we drove to Balmacara and walked around this woodland walk looking for a National Trust of Scotland house, but finally decided the main attraction was the woodland walk itself instead of the house. We drove a bit north to Loch Carron and ended up buying a print and a painting at this place up there. The small painting was by a local woman who had recently died. It's of two rabbits... and the print is a nice one of another local artist... showing a forest scene... Then it was over to Plockton. The scenery over in that area is especially scenic-y. We walked a little bit and drove a bit more but ended up driving back to Cluanie in plenty of time to do a little reading and relaxing in the room before dinner. We got a DVD at night and took it easy.
Day 4 ended up being a pretty good day in the weather department despite rain at the start and at the end. We drove up into Skye and took the tour of the Talisker whisky distillery. Then it was up to Dunvegan Castle, the stronghold of the McLeod Clan. Glamis was a bit nicer, to be honest, but it was interesting nonetheless. The garden was really very nice, tho, with waterfalls and woodland trails, etc. Not many flowers this time of year however... Driving to and from and through Skye, of course revealed some really, really spectacular scenery. Nearly got killed twice, tho, with crazy people taking crazy chances passing other people at crazy times. Managed not to get killed, as luck would have it, so that was good.
Today, we drove home and stopped along the way at Glenfinnan and Oban. The weather today was really good, which made the scenery extra good. We visited the monument to Bonnie Prince Charlie at Glenfinnan, which was the first time I had seen it except from the train over the viaduct a few summers ago. I climbed up to the top, and so did Linda, but getting up and out at the top was a bit awkward so Linda only really stuck her head out the top before going back down. We visited the Sea Life and Seal Sanctuary outside of Oban, which was pretty good. Saw the otters and seals getting fed and viewed their aquarium fish and crustaceans, including some pretty big lobsters. Linda's back to not wanting to eat fish again...
Anyway, so now we're back. It was a really good holiday, I thought. Really enjoyed it.