IRELAND and SCOTLAND - Day 20 - October 20, 2023

LEANING INTO THE SHOULDER SEASON - Day 20 - October 20, 2023

The UK Met Office issued a rare ‘red’ alert for severe rain and flooding in areas of England and Scotland as a result of Storm Babet. The worst of it, for this part of Scotland, seems to be in Brechin, about 75 miles north of Edinburgh.

This morning, we walked in the rain  about a quarter mile from our hotel to a city bus stop at the entrance to the sprawling Dalmahoy estate. 

Thirty minutes later, we were standing in Edinburgh’s City Centre wondering which way to walk to catch our hop-on-hop-off bus. A helpful employee from a nearby pharmacy pointed us in the right direction.

The weather was pretty dreadful, and it was certainly not ideal for riding on the top deck of a tourist bus. We found seats just under the canopy and took off. We had the short tour route between Edinburgh Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

As we rounded the corner along Princes Street Gardens, near St. John’s Church and St. Cuthbert’s Church, the pre-recorded audio tour guide talked about grave robbers. It seems that in the old days, as medical science was in its infancy, good quality cadavers were in short supply for research. This led to a lucrative trade in corpses.

Looking down into the gloomy graveyards with dark shadows of people moving among the misty old trees, it was easy to imagine how creepy it must have been a couple hundred years ago at night in this very spot.

We got off the bus somewhere along the Royal Mile and popped into a cafe to warm up with breakfast. All the other tourists were bundled up in warm clothes and rain gear. Most of them (and I guess this also included us) had a look on their faces that was somewhere between wonderment and mild discomfort. The wind was cold and the rain was coming in horizontally.

After a short walk down High Street, we hopped back on the bus until we got back to Waterloo Place and caught the city bus back to our hotel.

While the others were warming up at the hotel, I took a little walk around the grounds on a nature trail. The rain and wind were increasing, but it wasn’t too bad in the wooded areas.

I was walking along a path and I could hear a reedy sounding series of notes carried on the wind. When I rounded a corner I saw an old stone church and graveyard. Standing just outside the church was a bagpiper. As he played, a wedding party marched into the church. The men dressed in kilts, and the women wearing fascinators, seemed unfazed by the weather. I had a chance to speak briefly with the young piper, who said he was grateful that the weather was so favorable today! He said it’s just another Scottish autumn day.

Well, we’ve pushed the end of the tourist season to the max. The last couple of days have been the only times we’ve had to modify our plans. Now it’s time to pack up and head back home. We’ve had a wonderful time, but I think all of us are ready for some warmer days and the comforts of home.

NEXT: Long hours on airplanes.

IRELAND and SCOTLAND - Day 19 - October 19, 2023

THE RAIN IS UPON US, WRAPPING UP 1800 MILES OF DRIVING - Day 19 - October 19, 2023

The road from Pitlochry down to Kirknewton is mostly wide high speed highway. All we could really see during our drive was the spray flying up from the ever increasing traffic ahead of us.

There was a high wind and rain advisory in effect and all the usual speed limits were reduced by 10-20mph as a result. When we got to the modern Queensferry Bridge, crossing The Firth of Forth near Edinburgh, all we could see was the faint outline of the bright white-painted suspension cables rising into the rain and clouds above us.

Our home for the next two nights is the Dalmahoy Hotel and Country Club, just outside Edinburgh. It features a world class golf course (in 1992, the European women’s team defeated the U.S. team in the Solheim Cup here) and a nice hotel.

The weather won’t let us golf, but we’ll find a way to survive tonight’s stormy weather.

We turned in our rental car today, and we’ll use public transit from now on.  We drove over 1100 miles in Ireland, and nearly 700 in Scotland - all on the ‘wrong’ side of some of the most picturesque roads we’ve ever seen. It will feel a little strange hopping behind the wheel of my own car after three weeks of reprogramming my reflexes.

Despite tomorrow’s forecast for more rain, we bought some ‘hop-on-hop-off’ bus tickets for a trip into the city.

NEXT:  Adventure in Edinburgh

IRELAND and SCOTLAND - Day 18 - October 18, 2023

WINDY COLD DRIVE TO PITLOCHRY - Day 18 - October 18, 2023

Yesterday’s clear skies were gone this morning as we drove south through the fields and glens of whiskey country.

We chose the A95/A9 route that runs southwest along the River Spey in the northwestern corner of Cairngorms National Park. The open fields and rolling hills of the  Speyside area are a little bit like the Napa or Sonoma valleys, with distilleries (rather than wineries) dotting the countryside. And, the occasional castle.

As the road turns southeast, it begins to climb up into the Grampian Mountains. At one of our quick rest stops, the wind was blowing so hard you could barely stand up straight.

We descended into woodlands along the River Garry (the same river we saw back near Fort William) and along the River Tummel. The trees here are beginning their change into fall colors.

The village of Pitlochry is nestled along the River Tummel and is close to a popular tourist attraction called The Enchanted Forest. It is a woodland area decorated with LED’s and projected laser images at night. In the fall, entrance to the forest is booked well in advance. We’ve already seen nice woodlands for free on this trip, so no problem missing a crowded event.

Speaking of crowds, we are definitely getting closer to more populated areas as we head south. Pitlochry was busy with tourists when we arrived this afternoon. The next two days, we’ll be within the Edinburgh metropolitan area and back in the big city.

Our B&B, The Craigatin House, is an old stone Victorian house formerly owned by a doctor. We’re up on the top floor, reachable by three flights of winding stairs. Nice view of the colorful mountains.

We’re a quarter mile from the village, so this afternoon we walked over to see the ‘famous’ Pitlochry hydro-electric dam and fish ladders (for Atlantic salmon). I think even Huell Howser would have had a real hard time working up enthusiasm for this site. But, that’s water over the dam…

After dinner, Karen and I walked into the village, which was coming alive with large groups of tourists and local families. In the middle of town, there was a long line of people waiting to board large buses to ride over to the Enchanted Forest. On the street corners, vendors were selling rope lights and other trinkets to help complement the forest experience.

NEXT: Kirknewton 

IRELAND and SCOTLAND - Day 17 - October 17, 2023

WATER EVERYWHERE EXCEPT OUR ROOM, SPEY RIVER WALK, FIDDICH RIVER PUB NIGHT - Day 17 - October 17, 2023

No driving today. We stayed in the immediate vicinity of the villages of Craigellachie and Abeloure.

The quality and abundance of water in this region is what makes it a legendary spot for whiskey distillers. That’s why it was disturbing this morning to wake up and find the faucets in our room were absolutely dry. And, it was only our room that had no water.

It seems that something went wrong in the boiler room (a wrong button pushed?) and it took about 45 minutes to sort things out. This is, apparently, one of the events that can happen in a Victorian-era building (1892).

Later this morning, we walked to the neighboring village of Abelour. The walking trail is an old railroad right of way that was used in the 19th century for trains serving the local distilleries. Following the River Spey, we walked about two and a half miles to Abelour.

On the way, Karen, Laura and Paul visited with some local dog walkers, who were out enjoying the exceptionally beautiful weather.

We stopped at the tasting room for the Abelour, Glen Livet and Strathisla whiskeys and had a wee sample.

I took a short side trip to visit Linn Falls, just behind the Abelour Distillery.

We walked through the village and back to Craigellachie for a drink at the Highlander Hotel whiskey pub. Karen ordered a bitters and soda drink and quickly determined that the bartender had mixed bitters beer with soda, instead of Angostura bitters. After pointing this out to her, the slightly embarrassed bartender found the right bitters on a seldom-used shelf behind the bar. 

We all had a good laugh, including a couple of local guys at the bar, and the bartender thanked Karen for showing her something new. She said she’d seen the bitters bottle before, but always assumed it had something to do with the food in the kitchen. She also gave Karen a tour of the extensive whiskey collection in the bar. The hotel owner, a Japanese expatriate who fell in love with whiskey 20 years ago and has been in Scotland ever since, has assembled an impressive array of spirits.

While the others took an afternoon break, I did some exploring in the village of Craigellachie. Earlier, I had taken our group on a bit of a wild goose chase walking up and down the steep streets in search of a local pub we’d heard about.

I was hoping to find the pub and also get a glimpse of the local Highland cattle that graze the hills around here. First, I found the cattle on a hill across the road from the Dewar and Craigellachie Distilleries.

I walked over to check out the historic Craigellachie Bridge, designed by Thomas Telford and built in 1814, that spans the River Spey. 

Then, I found The Fiddichside Inn and Pub. It was, of all places, on the banks of the River Fiddich! When I walked up to it, I could smell aromatic smoke coming from the chimney (they were burning peat logs). The place looked closed, but I could see two women standing at the bar inside. I found the nondescript entrance and went in.

The room is about 8’ x 10’ in size with a bar, a fireplace and a couple of benches lining the wall. It is mainly a locals hangout now. The two women running the bar this afternoon told me it was built in 1846 as a private residence, but then became a stop for the railroad that ran along the river. They said that up until 40 or so years ago, you could ride clear down to London without changing trains. Most of the inn is now a B&B, but this small room still serves as the pub. 

After we had dinner at our hotel tonight I brought our group back to visit the Fiddichside pub. The place quickly filled up with locals, including the owner of the Highlander Hotel, and one of the waiters from our hotel. It didn’t take long for a lively discussion to get started among the 10 or so of us in the room. The bartender told us that there were about 44 people in this small space a few weeks ago on a Friday night (payday)!

I had a seat on a bench in front of the fireplace. The bartender told me to make sure I didn’t get the ‘tinker’s tartan’, which he explained is the red face (and other places?) that comes from a seat close to the fire.

It was an enjoyable end to the day, and another example of the hospitality we’ve seen just about everywhere on this trip.

NEXT: Pitlochry