Happy Monday, friends! I hope everyone had a delightful weekend. It was pretty overcast here the whole time, but it was nice to get a bunch of things done around the house. And now, back for round 3 of our Scotland adventure!
I last left you with a sneak peek photo of about 50 barrels of… scotch! I am sure everyone was able to guess what gold was in those barrels. We left Dunkeld bright and early that morning and headed out for a day full of fun. Well, two days full of fun, really. Heading south back towards towards Perth, we made a quick trip to the beautiful Scone Palace, site of the crowning of the King of Scots. Another site where I was unable to take photos inside, I don’t have much to show you on the palace. Although, I did have a friendly encounter with a peacock while I was there!
A few more touristy photos, and it was back on the road, making a quick jump west to Crieff for our first official distillery tour at
Famous Grouse. There, we ate a delicious lunch and got a tour of the distillery, learning the intricacies of how single malts and blends are made. At the distillery, Glenturret is the single malt made, which is one of several that ultimately go into the blend that is Famous Grouse. At the end, we got to taste a few of the different varieties available. Needless to say, it was quite a fun afternoon!
Largest bottle in the world – real glass and all!
The Famous Grouse Family –
viaCheers!
Heading north to Inverness, we made it to our digs for the next two nights- the beautiful
Culloden House. After a delicious meal and some good wine, it was off to bed to rest up for our busiest day yet. The following morning, we made a quick trip to the Culloden Battlefield, site of the 1745
Battle of Culloden. I always find visitor’s centers incredibly cheesy, but the one at the battlefield was incredibly educational and entertaining! Then it was on to the Mackintosh estate at
Moy Hall, a real treat as it is not really open to the public. A family friend of my parents’ is a Mackintosh and was able to set it all up for us.
Culloden House
You’d go hungry long before going thirsty!
Hunting and fishing tallies
Hunting and fishing tallies from 1880 and 1881. So neat.
Whew! Already a busy day… And then it got better. We drove way on up north to Golspie to visit the ridiculously beautiful
Dunrobin Castle. Oh hello, amazing castle and grounds set right on the coast of the North Sea, don’t mind me if I just move on in! I kid you not, I could have made a home just in the gardens, it was so pretty. We even arrived just in time to see a falconry display in a corner of the gardens situated overlooking the water. It was so much fun to watch, and then wander around taking it all in. Lucky for us, we also spotted two more distilleries on the drive up, so we made it a point to stop by on the way back to Culloden. Quick tastings at the
Glenmorangie and
Dalmore distilleries, and I would say we had a pretty successful day!
Dunrobin – more than worth the drive!
The clan
Beautiful view of the North Sea
He flew so low over the top of us, I could feel his wings on my hair
Harry Potter fans? An eagle owl!
Golden eagle – photo does not do justice to his size
Incredible gardens with hundreds of thousands of flowers
Giant rhubarb
The height of the still determines the outcome of the single malt’s taste
Dalmore Distillery
Needless to say, it was a busy and exciting day! We ate dinner that night at the cutest place just a mile or two away from the Culloden House in Inverness called The Snow Goose, and had some fantastic traditional Scottish fare. I highly recommend it if you’re ever in the area! A good night’s sleep was in order, particularly with the days coming up. More on our travels tomorrow!
