The Scottish Highlands
Jun. 15th, 2015 02:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
aloysius_bearThe humans and I took a fantastic trip to the Scottish Highlands a couple of weekends ago. Our itinerary was based on recommendations from http://www.secret-scotland.com/ and it was all wonderful.
We started out at Linlithgow Palace, a very impressive castle with quite a forbidding frontage:
This also rather forbidding lady was there to greet us:
The castle was situated on a hill, with water nearly all the way around, so there were spectacular views from every window:
Next, we made our way to The Queen's View. The humans, of course, were not allowed to join me on this bench:
The view itself was well worth the trip, and I also met a friendly chap who makes his home there:
Our first overnight stay was in Pitlochry. We went for a walk around the town before bed, and crossed the dam, also viewing the fish ladder that ran along one side:
Craigatin House proved an extremely comfortable B&B:
The next day, we took a long walk through the forest to Loch an Eilean:
Our castle for the day was Cawdor Castle, a very different prospect to Linlithgow. It is actually inhabited for half the year, and was full of very impressive 17th century furniture:
The grounds were also pleasant, though one of the humans got a bit carried away...
...and summoned The Double Horn-ed Bear!
Our second overnight stay was in Fortrose and, again, we took a walk around the village before turning in for the night. We discovered this ruined cathedral:
Water's Edge provided us with stunning views from our balcony, and very friendly proprietors who were keen to see to our every comfort:
Day three brought us to Eilean Donan Castle, which appears in the first Highlander film and proved a very interesting place to look round:
Then we made our way to what became our favourite stop on the trip - Plockton! This was the view from the top of the hill, and the village itself was extremely picturesque.
Then, it was over the bridge to Skye, where the Ardvasar Hotel provided more great views and a very yummy dinner.
We rose early on the last day of our trip, to catch the ferry back to the mainland. One of the humans braved the outside viewing deck, but the view was just as good from inside - and a lot less windy!
We had failed to make it to the Falls of Dochart on our first day, so we stopped off on the way back to Edinburgh and it was definitely worth it:
All in all, it was a very enjoyable trip - lots to see and do, and the scenery did not disappoint.
Thanks, Secret Scotland!
We started out at Linlithgow Palace, a very impressive castle with quite a forbidding frontage:
This also rather forbidding lady was there to greet us:
The castle was situated on a hill, with water nearly all the way around, so there were spectacular views from every window:
Next, we made our way to The Queen's View. The humans, of course, were not allowed to join me on this bench:
The view itself was well worth the trip, and I also met a friendly chap who makes his home there:
Our first overnight stay was in Pitlochry. We went for a walk around the town before bed, and crossed the dam, also viewing the fish ladder that ran along one side:
Craigatin House proved an extremely comfortable B&B:
The next day, we took a long walk through the forest to Loch an Eilean:
Our castle for the day was Cawdor Castle, a very different prospect to Linlithgow. It is actually inhabited for half the year, and was full of very impressive 17th century furniture:
The grounds were also pleasant, though one of the humans got a bit carried away...
...and summoned The Double Horn-ed Bear!
Our second overnight stay was in Fortrose and, again, we took a walk around the village before turning in for the night. We discovered this ruined cathedral:
Water's Edge provided us with stunning views from our balcony, and very friendly proprietors who were keen to see to our every comfort:
Day three brought us to Eilean Donan Castle, which appears in the first Highlander film and proved a very interesting place to look round:
Then we made our way to what became our favourite stop on the trip - Plockton! This was the view from the top of the hill, and the village itself was extremely picturesque.
Then, it was over the bridge to Skye, where the Ardvasar Hotel provided more great views and a very yummy dinner.
We rose early on the last day of our trip, to catch the ferry back to the mainland. One of the humans braved the outside viewing deck, but the view was just as good from inside - and a lot less windy!
We had failed to make it to the Falls of Dochart on our first day, so we stopped off on the way back to Edinburgh and it was definitely worth it:
All in all, it was a very enjoyable trip - lots to see and do, and the scenery did not disappoint.
Thanks, Secret Scotland!
