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
No comments:
Post a Comment