After the windy and rainy night, we wondered what weather we would find in the morning. It was certainly grey, but there was not much rain, and no rain at all by the time we finished our Full Scottish Breakfast. We once again loaded the car and headed down the road.
First stop, Culloden Battlefield. Culloden is where the Jacobite army, led by Bonnie Prince Charlie, faced the Government troops led by William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, in 1746. The Jacobites (Latin for James) sought to return the Stuart line to the throne. It was the final confrontation between the two sides and resulted in a complete rout of the Jacobite troops.

Don trying out the weapons

The site had a very well presented museum alongside the field where the battle actually took place. In the museum, there were presenters in period costume, realistic reproductions of period weapons that you could try out, and a large visual display that showed the detailed movements of all the troops throughout the battle. It seemed to show the troops down to the man, and it was possible to see how each battalion moved and reacted throughout the battle. Fascinating. There were more displays that showed the whole background to the conflict and events leading up the the battle. We then walked out to the battlefield area and it was so much easier to imagine what actually happened.

Our next stop was Cawdor Castle, which is a 17th century castle that was built around a 15th century tower house. It is still inhabited by the Dowager Countess, but she lives in a nearby cottage during the summer while the house is open for public viewing. We were there just days before it was due to be closed for the season. The Countess, however, apparently hangs out around the grounds pretty much all day every day.

Cawdor Castle

She had just been through the castle a half hour before we went through and was still around somewhere because her car was parked out front. One of the guides was quite chatty and told us quite a bit about the family. The Countess sounds like a character!
At this point we came to the unfortunate conclusion that we were not going to have time to make it to the Speyside distilleries. That was a sad decision, but there is just so much to see and do in Scotland. Clearly we should have scheduled weeks, not days!
We therefore took a shortcut down to Grantown on Spey, where we had lunch and shopped in a “country wear” store. There were lots of wonderful Scottish hunting jackets, etc., at quite steep prices. We did not splurge. Tami enjoyed seeing a fellow with his dog. They both went into the local butcher shop, and when they came out the little dog had a large fresh bone, wrapped in plastic, in his mouth ready to take home.

A dog and his bone

After lunch we headed back out and drove through some of the Scottish Highlands. This is the kind of countryside you so often see in pictures — rounded hills covered in heather (many other areas we had been in were heavily forested). Tami would have liked to stop and go for a hike, but we just did not have time. We wanted to get to Pitlochry in time to find a place to stay.
We were lucky we got to Pitlochry when we did — the town was almost all booked. The nice people at the tourist office did manage to find a couple rooms for us, however. The Fasganeoin Hotel turned out to be a wonderful place. No, we can’t pronounce it either. It was truly a great find. It was built by a local wealthy business man who spent much of his time in Japan but built this house in Pitlochry to entertain his friends in the summer. It was a gorgeous old house with many bedrooms for all those friends. It was of the era to have bell ringers in all the rooms for summoning help. It was decorated in period decor but was quite comfortable and the grounds were beautiful.
After settling into our rooms and greeting the local cat who was stretched in front of the fire, we headed back into Pitlochry to find dinner. Pitlochry is very picturesque with a winding main street lined with shops, restaurants and bars. They have a local theater that puts on shows all summer and their current offering was some sort of light and sound festival in the forest that seemed to be quite a big deal. That explained the lack of rooms! There were lines of buses along the street of this little town, filled with theater-goers. We were happy not to be getting on a bus. We found a delicious dinner, ate too much, and stumbled back down to our hill at the end of the street. After a nice stop in the lounge to relax and chat, we headed to our beautiful rooms for a nice quiet night. On to Edinburgh tomorrow!

Pitlochry main street

Kilmartin Hotel is situated across the street from the local church and churchyard, which is also next to the a museum dedicated to the archaeological sites that surround the area. There are over 800 sites, including cairns, standing stones, and pictographs within 6 miles of Kilmartin. Tami was in heaven.

Kilmartin churchyard

Starting with the local churchyard, there were many headstones of varying ages, including terraces of them going down the hillside. Within the churchyard there was also a display of stone slabs that dated from the 1200’s through the 1700’s. At the museum, there were great explanatory displays of life during the stone through bronze ages when the standing stones and cairns were presumably built.

Medieval stone slabs

Standing stones

After yet another Full Scottish Breakfast, we grabbed our cameras and headed out to explore the churchyard in full daylight, a brief stop at the excellent museum to learn some background, and then off to find the standing stones. They were just a mile down the road and down a short path into a sometimes sheep field. Sheep patties everywhere, but there were the stones standing in the sunshine. (Yes, it was once again a sunny day.) The first set of five stones are arrayed in a rough, elongated X formation, the significance of which it seems archaeologists are still debating. We just thought they were cool. We then walked over to the next area which was a circle of stones.

Stone circle

These were more the size and shape of extra-large headstones and then later had a cairn type layer of stones place around them. Good stuff.
On we went down the road, heading for Oban. Oban seemed like a very cute town on a beautiful harbor. We stopped just long enough for Don to buy a bottle of Oban whisky to remember his former dog Oban with, and to look around in a woolens and kilt shop.
Back on the road, we suddenly noticed a very picturesque castle out on a small island. We stopped to check it out and get some pictures. It turned out it is called Stalker Castle. There was a great viewpoint, complete with a lunch cafe, so we got lunch after taking our pictures. We have been very pleasantly surprised with the quality of the food in Scotland so far. Not what you expect in Great Britain. More on that later.

Stalker Castle

As we continued our long day of driving, we drove the length of Loch Ness. We looked and looked, but no sightings of Nessie. Just past Loch Ness we entered Inverness. We just missed the 5:00 closing of the tourist center, so Don and Mike were sent out on foot to hunt down a place to stay. Fortunately within a few minutes they stumbled up a street lined with them. Knocking on doors they quickly located one with two rooms available, and knowing they would be asked, even remembered to look at the rooms before booking them. Tami and Peggy were quite happy at the return of the successful hunters.
A brief walk over to Inverness Castle (which seems to be taken over by municipal offices) under some foreboding skies was followed by another pub dinner, and then we all went back and crashed, listening to some wild winds as the storm blew through the area.

Clouds at sunset hint at the impending storm

We have to say again what a nice place the Bowmore House was. Breakfast was salmon and eggs, and after we finished eating, Andrew, the innkeeper, offered us a wee dram! We did not turn it down. We’ve never been served whisky with our breakfast before. Somehow it seemed just right. After we ate, Andrew gave us some pointers for the day.

Mike going for a wee dram

Since we were in Bowmore, it made sense to visit Bowmore Distillery (Bowmore Darkest is on Mike’s favorites list). Our rule here, since we can’t bring very much back, is to not buy anything we think we can find at home. At Bowmore they had a special offer – fill your own bottle directly from a cask. Mike knew THAT would give him something he wouldn’t be able to find in Seattle! We got taken down into one of the cask warehouses where they had a 15 year old hogshead set aside. Mike got to draw out the whiskey with an old fashioned copper siphon, put it in the bottle, and paste on the label. The rest of us were snapping pictures of every step. Mike seemed to be in his own special heaven. That will be a special treat when we get home.

New hats!

We also stopped at the Islay woolen mill down the road. They weave their own wool cloth there with hundred year old machines. As we approached the building we could hear the load clatter of the looms in operation and we were able to get a tour of the building. Much of the machinery dates from the early 1900’s. They sell some items made from their cloth, so all four of us had to buy flat caps made from Islay wool cloth. Tami got one in the Islay tartan pattern, and Mike got one in the Bowmore distillery pattern.
We stopped for one more distillery visit on the way to the ferry. Caol Ila is a less well known Islay distillery. As we walked up to the distillery we enjoyed one of the special parts of visiting the distilleries that we unfortunately can’t adequately share with readers. That is the wonderful smell as you approach the distillery. It envelopes you in a wonderful cloud of whisky essence. You breathe deep and know that you’re in a special place! At Caol Ila, we all agreed that our favorite was a distiller’s special that was finished in muscato barrels. They had another special festival bottling, but we thought it was overly medicinal.

afternoon’s entertainment

We arrived at the ferry terminal a bit early so wandered around a bit, took lots more pictures, and then found a picnic table to sit at (it was actually sunny today). While sitting there, a group of 5 guys who had been distillery touring together walked by with their farewell beers and all five climbed on a nearby cannon for a group picture. Tami started snapping pictures of them as they one-by-one crammed themselves onto the cannon. They spotted that they were being observed so they came down and asked us where we were from. When we said we were from Seattle they said they had to sing for us. Not sure of the connection there, but they serenaded us with a very special (and off key) rendition of “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling”. One of them then did his comedy routine for us, though he had to be reminded of some of the lines by his friends. Many times, many lines. They were quite amusing and obviously had been having a great time. For quite a while, we would say.

Westies supervising the visitors

As we waited for the ferry we also noticed some sweet West Highland Terriers who obviously lived at the pub next to the ferry dock. They sat next to each other on a little rise observing everything and everyone who happened by. They were far too photogenic to ignore, so here are Bonnie and Rory.
The approaching ferry ended the comedy routine of our new friends and we were soon back on a ferry. This ferry was far different from the previous ferry. The interior was quite fancy, almost like a cruise ship. The first ferry was quite minimalist and functional. As we pulled away from the dock we had some great views of both Islay and Jura in the warm sunshine. Not a bad way to spend the day.

After we exited the ferry, we just had a short 40 minute drive up to Kilmartin where we had booked rooms.  As we approached the final turn into town, we knew it was going to be a special place when we saw the old church with rows of terraced gravesites advancing down the hill.  There are a also a number of standing stones and other archeological sites (800 within a 6 mile radius) in the area.  Tami is in heaven.  We had a few minutes to poke around the church yard before losing our light.  A number of interesting older grave stones and stone grave covers had been set aside in special enclosures, going back into the 1200’s.

We stumbled out of bed to meet up in the hotel lobby by 5:45. It was totally dark, but also sparsely populated as we worked our way through the streets of Glasgow towards the M8, which would to take us to the road to the ferry. It took about 2 1/2 hours to drive out to the ferry at Kennecraig.  As the light came up, the scenery got better and better. One particularly interesting looking village we passed through was Invernary. Unfortunately we could not risk stopping as we knew we had to get to the ferry in time. We had thought

Kennecraig would also be a village we could walk around and maybe find something to eat while waiting for the ferry. Unfortunately, it is just a ferry dock out in the middle of nowhere.

Our ride to Islay

At last the ferry approached down the loch and we stood and discussed amongst ourselves how it was going to take on the cars and lorries as it maneuvered towards the dock. Then we saw the bow begin to open upwards to reveal a single-wide opening and the ferry was soon unloading a few cars followed by a line of lorries and heavy machinery.  Soon we were waved on and directed in between some other large lorries. Since we could not return to our cars for the duration of the trip, we had to try and take everything needed for the ride. Computers, cameras, books, jackets- all the necessities for a 2 and a quarter hour ferry ride. Sheesh, you’d think we were embarking for a week!

The lorries emerge

We headed to the cafeteria as soon as we boarded and lined up behind all the lorry drivers, most of who were ordering the ubiquitous Full Scottish Breakfast. We all refueled and settled in for the picturesque ride out to our prime destination of the trip- the island of Islay, where the most peaty single malt scotches are made. But don’t call it scotch around here. Here it is called whisky, and if it’s single malt you’re after (which we are), then it is simply malt.

alarming car

The scenery was beautiful but when we went out on deck and look down at the car, we could see the flashers going and the hear the sound of the car alarm. You can’t return to your car, so we checked with staff but they were totally unconcerned and said, ah, it will turn off eventually. I went back out to check on it and could hear at least one other alarm going off. What a racket! The ride got rougher as we got in more exposed waters, too, so I’m sure it’s a very noisy ride if you’re working the car deck.

At our destination- Laphroaig

As we finally approached the island, we saw our destinations gleaming in white on the shore. Ardbeg, Lagavulin, and Laphroaig are all situated just outside Port Ellen, where we were to dock. It was very exciting to see them after so many months of anticipation!
There were not very many cars on the ferry, but as we pulled into the first distillery, Laphroaig, we were followed by several other cars. It is clearly about the only thing visitors to the island do. We visited all three distilleries, but only took the tour at Laphroaig. The tour was well worth it. Our guide, Stevie, was a character and gave a highly informative and entertaining description of the entire process as we went from building to building following the entire process. At Laphroaig, this includes the digging of the peat, smoking it, drying the barley, fermentation, and distillation. And a bunch of steps in between, of course. We have many pictures, which we will try and include.
And at the end, the final reward, a dram of malt to taste. It was truly a wonderful experience.

Bowmore

On to find our lodgings for the night, Bowmore Hotel. Or was it Bowmore House? Going by Tami’s memory, which is perhaps not always a good idea, we tracked down the Bowmore Hotel after driving around a bit, then resorting to asking at the Visitor Centre. Even found parking right out front. Hmm, looked not at all as it looked in the pictures. Pull out the folder of trip info and realized the it was actually the Bowmore House we were due at. At least we had seen that on our wanderings through town so we drove right up and discovered what a delightful place it is. It overlooks the water and is a wonderful B&B. Andrew, the innkeeper, met us with a dram of an exquisite Bowmore malt and we had a fun discussion about the town, restaurants, and local distilleries. He then booked us for a table at our choice of restaurant and showed us to our rooms. We did ask him where we should park since we were parked across the street in a space marked with a 30 minute limit. He said don’t worry, Islay doesn’t even have a traffic warden, so you’re fine! All we can say is wow, what a great place to stay. We have large, comfortable well-appointed rooms that have wonderful views.
After a short stop in the local supermarket to check out, well, food, we headed to a delicious dinner and stopped in the local whisky shop before heading back to our rooms. And what did we find but TUCs! Tami looked for them in Glasgow and found none, but here they are on Islay! So TUCs in hand we headed back to the room where Tami also found a UEFA football (soccer) game on the TV and Mike set up to blog. A truly successful day.
Well, until we started blogging… We are having a few technical issues, which is why the second post was so bereft of pictures. We hope to sort it soon as we have LOTS more pictures to share!

Peggy and Don

I forgot to mention yesterday the odd electrical arrangement in our room at the hotel. When we got to the room, we discovered we had no electricity. That made using our windowless bathroom interesting!  We spent quite a while pushing switches on and off in different combinations. I finally noticed a slot near the front door that looked like it would accept a card of some kind. Fearlessly I inserted our room key card, and the lights came on! I also discovered that if I pulled the card out, the lights went back out in about 30 seconds, so you just have to leave your key card in the slot while in your room. I guess this is to keep you from wasting electricity when out of the room (because of course you take your key with you when you leave).

We got up early to have breakfast and make sure we would be there when Peggy and Don arrived from the airport. Breakfast was the full monty – a Full Scottish Breakfast. It consisted of a poached egg, bacon (ham), banger, sauted mushrooms, baked beans, and a potato scone (sort of like a slice of thick fried lefse).

Despite flying all night, Peggy and Don had their second wind, so we decided to take a walk into town. Mike had scouted things out the evening before, so he knew where there was a soccer shoe store for Tami and a bike store for himself. We tried not to bore P&D too much, but Tami did find a bright neon green pair of soccer shoes. Women’s turf shoes are harder to find at home, but the last time we were in the UK we found a good selection. The pair that she needed to replace was purchased when we were in Cork. Mike meanwhile managed to find a tartan bike jersey!

For lunch Mike decided NOT to have fish and chips for the third meal in a row (excluding breakfast). He DID decide to try some haggis, the Scottish national dish. Having heard lots of stories about how haggis is made up of various animal organs chopped up and mixed with oats, everyone waited to watch Mike’s face as he took his first bite and to hear what it might taste like. Mike took a bite, looked thoughtful, and said “meatloaf”. With that reassurance, everyone else tried some as well and thought it just fine, especially with some whiskey sauce on top.

P&D were fading quickly after lunch, so we went back to the hotel. After a bit of a nap we headed out for a walk in the park. The park near Glasgow University really is an impressively nice place, with many paths and a river running through the middle.

Later we ended up at a pub, the Islay Inn (foreshadowing our trip the next day). Again Mike was the designated taster, this time for some black pudding. Black pudding is a form of blood sausage. Tami remembered it from a previous trip as tasting like “a swamp”. However, Mike pronounced it fine, so everyone again tried a bite (though small bites to be sure).

While we were eating, we noticed a couple of musicians at a neighboring table pulling out their ukeleles. Soon several more joined. About the time the group had grown to six ukelele players, they started playing, reading the music off of their ipads propped up on the table. We were enjoying listening to them, so ordered a second round of beers to give us an excuse to stay at our table a bit longer. The group continued to grow, with the addition of a few more ukeleles, several guitars, and a number of fiddles. The music continued to get better and better as they played many selections of traditional music. By the time we left (we needed to be on the road in the morning by 6 am to catch the ferry to Islay), we counted 17 musicians in the group. It was very hard to tear ourselves away from the swirling sounds

Mike goes to work

of the music, but it was a very fine and unexpected treat!

An amazing group of musicians

Due to a confluence of events, incuding a friend’s sabatical, we have headed out for a whirlwind tour of Scotland, Germany, and Iceland.  Now, when would be a good time of year to head to such Northern climes?  Why October, of course!

We actually did not start out thinking “October should be good time to visit these places with good weather”.  Our friend Peggy (Margaret to anyone who has not known her for 30 years) managed to get a year off from her professorial duties, but between coordinating our schedules and hers, the first few weeks of October is just what worked.

We’ll be spending a bit over a week in Scotland, then a bit over a week in Germany, and finally about three days in Iceland.

After nearly a year of planning, we finally found ourselves once again trekking to SeaTac by bus and light rail. We had a dilemma, however, since the Sounders played at 1 pm, and our flight was at 4:30. Hmm, not enough time to do both so we had to sell our tickets and head to the airport super early in hopes we could find the game playing somewhere at the airport.

We had many reminders of what we were missing as we headed south on the Link. Every station on the north route had Sounders fans waiting to be taken to the stadium. Alas, the airport has some weird airport satellite service and our plan did not work out. No Sounders, but we were entertained by the massive group heading home to Mexico City after a cruise to Alaska. Not sure there are any souvenirs left in Alaska after watching their carry-on bags stuffed with goodies headed to the plane!

The flights over were nicely on time and uneventful. Kudos again to Icelandair for a relatively pleasant flight experience. Personal TV screens with movies and TV episodes, sufficient legroom, and pleasant staff. After a brief stop on Reykjavik we were soon on our way to Glasgow, and before we knew it we were heading down the motorway on the WRONG SIDE of the road!

A church near our hotel

We didn’t have to go far this first day, though, and we soon found our hotel. Since the room wasn’t ready, we went out in this restaurant-filled neighborhood and found some fish and chips– surprise! Very tasty, and then we cruised around this university area and discovered just how many restaurants and pubs there are around here.

The gentleman who invited us to play- he was very good

After lunch we explored more of the area and found the local lawn bowling center were several people were practicing. Wow, they were good! One guy asked if we wanted to take a hand (at least our best guess of what he was saying) but we decliined. I have to say that the bench we were sitting on was so nice at that moment since we had been up about 24 hours at that point.

A very nice grouping- we think

We also admired the beautiful old buildings of Glasgow University and the Museum and Art Gallery. At this point the room was finally ready so we went to our room and collapsed on the bed for an hour or so, then made ourselves get up and stay up (actually, Mike had to prod Tami multiple times to keep her from falling back asleep) so we could enjoy yet another meal and find yet another pub! Mike had fish and chips again and Tami took advantage of the Sunday Roast and Yorkie tradition. Yum.

Beautiful tower at Glasgow University

Now we are back in the room working on the blog. Mike just found Tami a football game to watch – YAY! Interestingly, a number of the local games we are finding to watch have the commentary in Gaelic.  And Mike has his maps in hand for the coming days. Ah, good to be exploring the world again!

Typical street

Museum and Art Gallery