The last 6 days have been a rollercoaster of driving, emotions, sights & whiskey.
On the 14th we picked up our van from the airport. Turns out we chose the most distant airport (Prestwick) to pick up the van, so it took Julia & I 3.5 hours to get there, pick it up and return to Glasgow to get Dan.
The van was a brand new VW Transporter with 58 miles on the clock. After scouring Glazzy to pick up blankets & some old sofa cushions from the back alley of our hostel we shot off and made it all the way to Glencoe to set up for our first sleep in the van.
Dan looked a little unsure & quiet once we'd set up the cushions & blankets but once we had the first night ironed out it wasn't so bad from then on.
The 15th we climbed up the Lost Valley walk just outside Glencoe which was reasonably steep but quite short and offered some amazing views and pristine water that looked as clear as glass. From there we drove all the way through to Broadford on the Isle of Skye.
The next day Dan described as 'a long day of doing nothing'. We got to Portree where Laura & I had booked accom and proceeded to drive around the entirety of the North point of Skye, stopping at a few nice points for views, peat mines, dianomite quarries and the occasional hairy cow. Quickly visited Julia's ancestral seat in Dunvegan before driving back to Portree to check-in to our accommodation (The Portree Independant Hostel).
5 seconds after entering, we were having an argument with the desk clerk (rhymes with jerk) because we had booked a female in a male-only dorm. There are many arguments to be made against this stupid rule, however we chose to argue that their website was shit because it allowed us to book a female in. Plus, we heard two other couples make the same mistake on the same day, which only helped justify our case. If it wasn't for this one guy being a prick, the hostel would have been amazing.
17th: We went north to a walk called 'The Old Man of Storr'. A touristy slog up a rocky track to see a great big rock sitting precariously on its tip. Definitely worth the climb. We extended this by attempting to navigate around the Old Man and his mates until the track started to disappear and we were alone with no other tourists in sight! Needless to say, we turned and backtracked the way we had come for fear of getting lost. To give you an idea of how high we were, Julia was succumbing to some serious vertigo on the way back down and had to push through it slowly, but eventually we made it.
It was now time to leave Skye, but I really wanted to visit the Talisker Distillery before we left so we drove to Carbost & took some pictures. The tours were fully booked so we could only peek from the outside.
On the same day, we drove all the way to a roadside stop near Laggan in central Scotland. This place was midgy central, little flying bugs, thousands of them, all up in your face and biting you, leaving you red & itchy for an hour or so. These bugs are the pits, forcing you to stay locked up in the van even if its still light outside. This didnt help our need for some space from each other but we drank lots of whiskey and all was well. Oh, Dan also bought a ham hock for breakfast and by dinner time it was so juicy & smelly that he was sickened just looking at it so left it on a log for the night. It did not deter the midges...
18th: The reason we drove so far yesterday was to make it to Dalwhinnie Distillery on this day. We got there spot on midday. Julia & I both ordered the 3 whiskey deal (9.95 pound) & Dan went the 6 whiskey deal (14.95 pound). Both deals come with a chocolate matched to each drink and a free dram glass!
The 3-drink deal was all different Dalwhinnie malts, while the 6-drink was all different brands. It was pretty good & the chocolates were the best ive ever eaten but in hindsight it was more expensive than other distilleries (so far!).
We'd originally planned to get all the way to Dufftown but ended up stopping at Aviemore for a bit too long, so stayed on a beautiful loch there. Tried a deepfried haggis puddin which Dan ladly finished for me! taste: a bit dry & mincey while being slightly offal-like in texture and really sticky inside the mouth. Someting I may never try a second time! Worth mentioning that all the lochs we saw around Aviemore were just awesome. small but gorgeous.
Lets not foret about Ruthven Barracks which were a nice sight of an 1850's barracks that was well signed :)
Paid 2 pound to stay in a carpark by a loch..
19th: Got up at 9am & headed straight to Glenlivet Distillery. We didn't expect much but were pleasently suprised. This was the best distillery we visited in Scotland.
Free tour plus free tastings PLUS cheap drams (2.50ish pound) of some other offerings (a reserve usually 9 pound, Scarpa & I think an Oban 18).
Our final destination for the 19th was a small town on the east side of of The Cairngorms called Aboyne. Julia booked a nights accom at The Huntly Arms Hotel when we werent sure what to do next.
Before we got there though we looked at Braemar Castle (dont bother, boring) & Braemar Village which was more like a retirement home than a town. Some of the smelliest toilets Julia had used apparently! She blamed the stinky old folk.
Huntly Arms: Good stay, great building. Should have got a picture... Had to take about 8 turns & two staircases to find our room.
Got a tip from a seedy looking bloke outside of our hotel that we should try The Boat Inn for dinner. good tip, big & delish meals at a pub that allows their patrons to bring their dogs inside!
Then it was bedtime, however Julia [add later]
On the 14th we picked up our van from the airport. Turns out we chose the most distant airport (Prestwick) to pick up the van, so it took Julia & I 3.5 hours to get there, pick it up and return to Glasgow to get Dan.
The van was a brand new VW Transporter with 58 miles on the clock. After scouring Glazzy to pick up blankets & some old sofa cushions from the back alley of our hostel we shot off and made it all the way to Glencoe to set up for our first sleep in the van.
Dan looked a little unsure & quiet once we'd set up the cushions & blankets but once we had the first night ironed out it wasn't so bad from then on.
The 15th we climbed up the Lost Valley walk just outside Glencoe which was reasonably steep but quite short and offered some amazing views and pristine water that looked as clear as glass. From there we drove all the way through to Broadford on the Isle of Skye.
The next day Dan described as 'a long day of doing nothing'. We got to Portree where Laura & I had booked accom and proceeded to drive around the entirety of the North point of Skye, stopping at a few nice points for views, peat mines, dianomite quarries and the occasional hairy cow. Quickly visited Julia's ancestral seat in Dunvegan before driving back to Portree to check-in to our accommodation (The Portree Independant Hostel).
5 seconds after entering, we were having an argument with the desk clerk (rhymes with jerk) because we had booked a female in a male-only dorm. There are many arguments to be made against this stupid rule, however we chose to argue that their website was shit because it allowed us to book a female in. Plus, we heard two other couples make the same mistake on the same day, which only helped justify our case. If it wasn't for this one guy being a prick, the hostel would have been amazing.
17th: We went north to a walk called 'The Old Man of Storr'. A touristy slog up a rocky track to see a great big rock sitting precariously on its tip. Definitely worth the climb. We extended this by attempting to navigate around the Old Man and his mates until the track started to disappear and we were alone with no other tourists in sight! Needless to say, we turned and backtracked the way we had come for fear of getting lost. To give you an idea of how high we were, Julia was succumbing to some serious vertigo on the way back down and had to push through it slowly, but eventually we made it.
It was now time to leave Skye, but I really wanted to visit the Talisker Distillery before we left so we drove to Carbost & took some pictures. The tours were fully booked so we could only peek from the outside.
On the same day, we drove all the way to a roadside stop near Laggan in central Scotland. This place was midgy central, little flying bugs, thousands of them, all up in your face and biting you, leaving you red & itchy for an hour or so. These bugs are the pits, forcing you to stay locked up in the van even if its still light outside. This didnt help our need for some space from each other but we drank lots of whiskey and all was well. Oh, Dan also bought a ham hock for breakfast and by dinner time it was so juicy & smelly that he was sickened just looking at it so left it on a log for the night. It did not deter the midges...
18th: The reason we drove so far yesterday was to make it to Dalwhinnie Distillery on this day. We got there spot on midday. Julia & I both ordered the 3 whiskey deal (9.95 pound) & Dan went the 6 whiskey deal (14.95 pound). Both deals come with a chocolate matched to each drink and a free dram glass!
The 3-drink deal was all different Dalwhinnie malts, while the 6-drink was all different brands. It was pretty good & the chocolates were the best ive ever eaten but in hindsight it was more expensive than other distilleries (so far!).
We'd originally planned to get all the way to Dufftown but ended up stopping at Aviemore for a bit too long, so stayed on a beautiful loch there. Tried a deepfried haggis puddin which Dan ladly finished for me! taste: a bit dry & mincey while being slightly offal-like in texture and really sticky inside the mouth. Someting I may never try a second time! Worth mentioning that all the lochs we saw around Aviemore were just awesome. small but gorgeous.
Lets not foret about Ruthven Barracks which were a nice sight of an 1850's barracks that was well signed :)
Paid 2 pound to stay in a carpark by a loch..
19th: Got up at 9am & headed straight to Glenlivet Distillery. We didn't expect much but were pleasently suprised. This was the best distillery we visited in Scotland.
Free tour plus free tastings PLUS cheap drams (2.50ish pound) of some other offerings (a reserve usually 9 pound, Scarpa & I think an Oban 18).
Our final destination for the 19th was a small town on the east side of of The Cairngorms called Aboyne. Julia booked a nights accom at The Huntly Arms Hotel when we werent sure what to do next.
Before we got there though we looked at Braemar Castle (dont bother, boring) & Braemar Village which was more like a retirement home than a town. Some of the smelliest toilets Julia had used apparently! She blamed the stinky old folk.
Huntly Arms: Good stay, great building. Should have got a picture... Had to take about 8 turns & two staircases to find our room.
Got a tip from a seedy looking bloke outside of our hotel that we should try The Boat Inn for dinner. good tip, big & delish meals at a pub that allows their patrons to bring their dogs inside!
Then it was bedtime, however Julia [add later]
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