Glencoe, Loch Lomond and Gretna Green

Our final stay in Scotland was just north of Glasgow on the banks of Loch Lomond. This meant a journey through another glen .... Glencoe.

We travelled south along the banks of Loch Linnhe, a cloudy day, however the views were still beautiful, especially when there was a cloud burst. The Corran car ferry was making its way across the narrowest point of the loch; this on/off boat was very busy as the alternative is a 45 mile journey round Loch Linmhe and Loch Eil.

A cloud burst over Loch Linnhe

Corran Lighthouse

Corden Carferry

Travelling through Glencoe was superb, a road twisting and bending along the valley of the Coe river. It's high peaks are volcanic and the rock formations are so beautiful. High peaks, steep valleys, gorse cover moors, waterfalls: 30 miles of nature at it's best.

Glencoe is a very popular place with walkers and mountaineers, there is a Visitor Centre giving historic details of the many climbers who have accepted the challenge of these mountains.

The Ladies Scottish Climbing Club took its first property lease in 1947 on Black Rock Cottage near Glencoe; this meant women now had somewhere to use as a base when on expeditions and enabled them to climb many more Scottish mountains. Annie Hirst was the first woman to climb all the 'Munros' - the 282 Scottish peaks higher than 3,000 feet.

Sadly Glencoe is also known for the tragic murder of the MacDonald clan on 13th February 1692. A regiment of soldiers, who had been welcomed into the clan's homes, on orders from the Government murdered 38 men, women and children. The Glencoe Massacre is remembered each year with visitors travelling from all over the world for its annual poignant wreath layer ceremony.

The valley

The mountains 

The waterfalls 

Loch Lomond was the last loch we travelled along, pausing half way for our final picnic lunch in Scotland. Our last Scottish hotel was in Balloch, a very small place with a few hotels and restaurants. The River Leven flows through Balloch  joining Loch Lomond and the River Clyde, as it's a navigatable river it was full of small boats and is a starting point for Loch Lomond Cruises.

Loch Lomond

River Leven at Balloch

Our first trip to Scotland has been filled with castles, lochs, mountains, moors, rugged coastline, viaducts, canals, locks and of course whisky.

Hubby and I have had a great time discovering many new things but we couldn't leave without stopping at Gretna Green on our way home. We didn't renew our vows as these days you need to book in, we did however manage a cheeky photo.

Gretna Green

We've been married 29 years and 11 months 

Loch Ness, Ben Nevis and Mallaig

Loch Ness was beautiful and full of 'Nessie' memorabilia. We did discover the reason she may not have been seen for many years .... very sad!

The Loch Ness monster trophy!

The legend of the Loch Ness monster began in 1933 with a sighting of a large creature in the loch. The story is now very famous and many people travel from all over the world to try to see Nessie. All the shops, bars and cafes along Loch Ness have souvenirs of this much loved monster.

Did we see her ... well I think so, look closely at the water disturbance on the left of my photo..... by the way it's a stunning view isn't it

Loch Ness - looking from its southern edge towards Inverness

Here's a better picture in case you missed her!

We toured all the way round the loch which is 23 miles long. The main A road on the west side is greener with tall pine trees so the loch is not always visible, but travelling up the east side the views change. At a higher altitude we discovered a vast area of moorland hills, a very different but equally as stunning view.

High above Loch Ness

Beautiful drive through the moor

Leaving Drumnadrochit we travelled through Fort Augustus which is a small village at the southern point of Loch Ness, the first loch along the Great Glen, a natural fault in the earth almost splitting Scotland in half. Thomas Telford in the 18th century built the Caledonian Canal joining the lochs to enable boats to travel through this fault from the east to west coast saving many sailing hours as previously the only route was to sail around the top of Scotland. 

Fort Augutus is where the canal starts its journey south, no mean journey in such mountainous country. The flight of locks in the centre of the village shows just how clever Telford's idea was, it must have caused wonder when built.

The river Lossie as it leaves Loch Ness
at Fort Augustus 

Staircase lochs at Fort Augustus 

A large steam house boat travelled up the locks whilst
we were there .... it shows how big the transport boats
would have been, quite a sight

Of course Nessie was there to say
goodbye!

Our drive down the Great Glen weaved through lovely countryside glimpsing the water through the trees. The whole area is full of interest especially with the swing bridges for the road to cross the canal.

The second loch is Loch Oich, just off the modern road is an old bridge. In 1849 floods swept through the Great Glen beaching the canal and destroying the bridge. It took 5 years to rebuild. It's a cantilever bridge so does move slightly and has a weight limit of 50 people.

Bridge of Oich

Just before Fort William is Neptune's Staircase built by Thomas Telford between 1803 and 1822. It's a staircase lock comprising of 8 locks each 180 feet long. It takes a boat 90 minutes to pass through changing altitude by 64 feet. At the southern end of the blocks boats have to then pass through a road and a rail swing bridge.

Road bridge opening

Road bridge closed 

Ben Nevis stands tall above Fort William, the tallest mountain in the UK at 1345 metres above sea level. Although in cloud on the day we arrived it still looked amazing.

Ben Nevis 

Glen Nevis winds it's way around the mountain and you can drive some of the way up this valley all be it on very narrow roads with passing places. Superb scenery including a fast flowing waterfall.

As part of our stay in Fort William we decided to take a road trip to Mallaig on the Scottish coast,  a trip there and back as the only other destination is the Isle of Skye by ferry. This is also the route of the Jacobite Steam train, very popular with tourists especially as it crosses the Glenfinnan viaduct, famously used in the Harry Potter films. We only caught a glimpse of it as the small carparks were full but we did see many other superb bridges on the way.

The scenery on the coast was amazing, turquoise blue water, white sandy beaches, huge islands rising out of the sea. The weather was very mixed but we avoided any rain, it actually added to the spectacular landscape.

One of the many viaducts on the way 

The Island of Eigg

The island of Rùm

Clear blue waters

Video from west to east looking over the Isle of Skye
the change in weather is quite dramatic

Scotland has such varied scenery, changeable within a few miles and certainly changeable with the weather. Our journey to Mallaig was filled with beautiful views, none more amazing than Ben Nevis in the sun on our return to Fort William.

Ben Nevis 

Elgin to Drumnadrochit

After a great time in Pitlochry we travelled north to Elgin visiting Cairngorm Brewery en route to pick up a selection of beers to try once we're home. We also visited the Speyside Cooperage detailed in my previous post. I will be writing a dedicated post on all the distilleries we have visited so this post focuses on the other exciting places we've discovered.

But first I must mention our Elgin hotel, Mansion House. As you can see it's a grand building and was once a grand hotel. Sadly now it has seen better days; its pool is closed, its pool table has split velvet and its overall decor is in need of some tlc.

Msnsion House Hotel 

That said our room was great; old, quirky but a real treat. Twin beds is not our usual choice but who would say no to a room with two four poster beds! Being on the ground floor gave us a French door leading to the terrace, perfect for enjoying the warm sunny evenings and enjoying a glass of wine.

Our twin four poster beds

Just outside our hotel was Ladyhill, the site of Elgin Castle. Built in the 12th Century there are still a few walls of this ancient stronghold, however it is the 80 foot monument built in 1839 to the 5th Duke of Gordon that now stands high above the town. Climbing the numerous steps to reach the top was worth it for the view across the town and almost to the sea at Lossiemouth.

Monument to 5th Duke of Gordon

At the opposite end of the town stands the ruins of Elgin Cathedral. Alexandra II granted the town royal charter in 1224 and giving land for the cathedral to be built for the Bishop of Moray. Completed less than twenties years later the Cathedral was destroyed by fire in 1270 and sihas been repaired, destroyed, repaired and finally left to crumble. Elgin has played a big part in Scottish history from Macbeth in 1040 to the Duke of Cumberland (who defeated the Jacobites at Culloden) in 1746.

Elgin Cathedral 

It's imposing towers, now in ruins

After two nights in Elgin we travelled on to Drumnadrochit visiting two National Trust for Scotland properties en route. The first was Brodie Castle, a building that has been in the Brodie family for over 400 years. It's had many changes and additions all explained by our guide. The Library was amazing with its wooden panelling and over 6,000 books. The stone staircase caused me a little trouble as it was very worn, having once been an external stairway each step was also quite weathered.

Brodie Castle

Driving on from the castle we were surprised and delighted to see Culloden Viaduct. Its 29 spans cross the River Nairn valley. Covering 549m in length this railway viaduct is the longest masonry viaduct in Scotland.

Culloden Viaduct

Our second National Trust of Scotland property was not a building but a battlefield. The Battle of Culloden is significant in Scottish history, its popularity increased by the Outlander TV series. The battle took place on 16th April 1746 between the Red Coats (British Government) and the Jacobites (those wanting to restore the House of Stuart). The Duke of Cumberland's army won the battle with 300 wounded or killed soldiers; the Jaobite loss was far greater, 2000 killed in a battle that lasted just a few hours.

Battlefield of Culloden 

It was quite moving to see the size of the battlefield, and some has already been built on. Not all the land has been excavated, it is a cemetry for many who fell in battle. The National Trust for Scotland has built a cottage to show how it was at the time, inside is a display showing how they are working to stop more of this important site being developed.

Culloden cottage

Two great visits, there is just do much to see. Drumnadrochit is on the banks of Loch Ness, famous for the sea monster Nessie. The Caladonian Canal starts in Inverness, joins Loch Ness and continues as the canal south of the loch towards Fort William, we'll be travelling this way after our few days here.

Caladonian Canal

Our first view of Loch Ness

We've had beautiful weather so far, perfect for a stroll to the local pub for fish and chips sitting outside in the evening sun ..... and yes we did find Nessie !

Fish and chip supper

We did find Nessie! 

Whisky and cask

Wandering through Pitlochry we noticed a whisky shop that offered tastings .... drawn in like bees to nectar we entered Robertson's of Pitlochry. Neither Hubby or myself know very much about whisky, one reason for this Scottish holiday was to learn more.

The shop was full of whisky bottles from blends to very expensive malts. We were greeted by Ewan who explained the tasting would be a flight of four whiskies that would all be described and presented by Jeff. It seemed the ideal way to start our whisky journey and so we settled into the Bothy Bar with our four Glencairn glasses ready and waiting on their wooden stave. 

Robertson's of Pitlochry

The Bothy Bar - our tasting table waiting

I'm so pleased we met Jeff, his whisky knowledge delivered with such humour and expertise open up a new world to us. I have learnt so much .... most importantly where I have been going wrong in the past.

Firstly malt whisky is never served with ice; the Glencairn glasses are shaped like a tulip to purposefully sit in your hand as whisky should be enjoyed at blood temperature and the best way to reach this is to cradle your glass in your hand. I know now why I have many pictures of my Dad hugging his whisky glass.

Secondly you should not add mixers to cask whisky, save those for whisky blends. Using a pipette you should add a drop of water at a time, an Angel's Tear, until the drink is smooth enough for your palette.

Neither Hubby or myself like peaty whiskies, we find they taste too much like antiseptic so our four tastings were not that style. These are the four whiskies we tasted:

Tomartin - this has been distilled in 2 casks, a bourbon cask and sherry cask. It is the casks that give the whiskies their distinctive flavour. This was a 12 year old whisky with a smooth toffee and vanilla flavour which was from the bourbon barrels and a hint of fruit and spice from the sherry ones.

Dalmore - a 12 year old single malt whisky made using sherry barrels. I needed 3 drops of water added to this whisky, but of the four it was my favourite.

Robertson's Glen Ord - Robertson's buy single cask whisky from specially chosen distillers, develop it to produce their own label whisky. These are limited supply, it depends on the production from the single cask bought, this particular whisky was a supply of 195 bottles. Both Hubby and I liked this immediately, aromas of coconut and chocolate which continued in the mouth, a really smooth whisky even at 56% alcohol.

Robertson's Craigellachie - again a single cask purchased and developed, this whisky had Orange and honey tones with a hint of smokiness. At 57.8% it was too harsh for me, even with 6 Angel Tears.

Jeff with our four tasting whiskies

Thank you Ewan and Jeff for a superb afternoon and for introducing us to the world of whiskies ... a dangerous place looking at some whiskies, I never knew they could be so expensive, or addictive!

Leaving Pitlochry this morning we travelled north to our next hotel at Elgin. On the way we paused at Craigellachie to visit Speyside Cooperage. What an amazing place, I have seen barrels in France containing wine and at Copper Rivet Distillery for their whisky but I had not appreciated how skilled the coopers are. 

After a short film showing how the wood for the barrels is from Kentucky, as these oaks grow taller and straighter so more wood is usable, we moved on to an enclosed viewing platform to watch the coopers at work.

It takes four years apprenticeship to become a cooper, all the work is done by hand and eye. Here the coopers were working on old barrels that distillers want refurbishing. A barrel once made has the insides charred, it is this charring that has an effect on the whisky to give it its flavour and colour. 

To refurbish a barrel each has it's metal hoops removed bar the top one and is then inspected. Any damaged or broken panels are replaced and the hoops put back. The barrel is then recharred before the top and bottom are put back on ... that all sounds simple but watching the coopers work it really is a very skillful job. They work so quickly too, mainly because they are still paid piece work ... by the number of barrels completed, on average 20 barrels a day. 

The Cooperage

A barrel being worked on

The completed barrels ready for the distillery

It was fascinating to watch, I was quite mesmerised. There are many styles of barrels, and as each distiller has it's own requirements it's quite a varied job.

The sizes of barrels 

After learning so much about whiskies at Robertson's and how the casks/barrels have an effect on the flavour and colour was great to see the coopers at work. There are many elements to making whisky, it isn't just the distiller but the farmer growing the barley and the cooper making the right barrel all go to make what I am learning to appreciate is a nice wee dram!

Me and the Barrelman!