London and Scotland Day 13

Shopping, and bike riding In Inverness

Today was our “free” day in Inverness. It was wonderful to have a relatively late breakfast, get caught up on clothes organization, and have time to write our blog. Late morning into early afternoon was spent mostly shopping, particularly for a small suitcase to add to our collection to have enough room to bring back heavy and larger things…whisky for example! Mission accomplished!

We stopped at the iconic Leakey bookstore, famously ensconced in back of one of the unused churches in the area. Books, some common, some extremely rare, almost all used,in every nook and cranny, plus some antique art prints, and other paraphernalia. Prices were high, but it is quite a sight. Lunch today was a bit unusual, at a small restaurant called “Wild Pancakes”. You got it! Breakfast for lunch. A bit decadent too, but you only live once. Much of the later afternoon was spent on a six mile bike tour (Inverness Bike Tours) which we had booked a while back.

After getting adjusted to the bikes, ( there were only four of us plus our guide Allison), we rode along the Ness Bridge and the River Ness away from town. We drove mostly on bike paths that led us through “ the islands”, a series of small islets where various species of trees and plants were transplanted from all over the world mainly to see if they would thrive here. They even had a few redwoods!

A local carver used fallen logs to make benches and other fanciful creatures. Our next stop was at the Royal Botanic Gardens, a small area, but nicely laid out with tropical and local flowers as well as cacti and exotic bushes and trees. It made a nice rest stop and was the halfway point. The return trip led us beside a section of the Caledonian Canal. The 60 mile long Canal connects the Scottish east coast at Inverness with the west coast at Corpach near Fort William in Scotland. The canal was constructed in the early nineteenth century by Scottish engineer Thomas Telford and cut the time by days that it took to get between the coasts. It also brought tourism and leisurely boating to this area. There are many locks on the canal, the last four ( out of about 20) are in Inverness. We arrived at the end of the canal which led to the bay, and ultimately the North Sea. In this area were large nesting gray herons as well as many other birds who thrive on fishing in this protected area. The weather changed quickly, bringing in wind,rain and chilly, dare I say cold air. The rest of the ride home was faster out of necessity with some very tricky maneuvers through red and white stakes. We passed many churches as we neared the river again. At one time there were 14 in a very short stretch. Today, many have been repurposed into apartments, meeting halls and performance centers. There are only six left.

After a long hot shower and rest, our final dinner in Inverness was at”The Fig and Thistle”. We had a shared goat tart,( delicious), and adventurous Wendy enjoyed a venison and haggis burger while Jim played it safe with steak.

#published #evernote

London and Scotland Day 12

Dunrobin Castle, Falconry, and a wee Scotch tasting

We started our ride early at 8:45 out to the famous ( and intact!) castle of Dunrobin, passing some decommissioned oil rigs on the way along the Moray Firth. Scotland has done pretty well in oil drilling. Dunrobin Castle is the historic home of the Dukes and Earls of Sutherland. Although the earliest parts of the building date from 1275, most of it is later extensions added between 1835 and 1850. It has been remarkably well preserved and kept up, and contains most of the original furnishings, decoration, and intact paraphernalia used at the time this very wealthy family lived here.

The Earls and Dukes of Sutherland are part of the Highland clan of Sutherland, and as such, have quite a lineage that continues today. You can find prolific examples of portraits on the walls of each and every room. The artists made a good livelihood! We went through a fair number of it’s 189 rooms including the billiard , dining, music, breakfast and drawing rooms, nursery area and many more too numerous to mention.

Many of them look out on the exquisite gardens below which we saw close up on our way out to the end area where we experienced a falconry exhibition. The falconer, Alan, planned an adventure with a young lady in the audience. We were lucky enough to get front row seats and got up close and personal with the birds. First up was a Harris hawk who went through its paces “ catching” a rabbit that was pulled by the girl, and flying to eat the chicken meat left on the perches by Alan. All the while he was teaching us about the birds. Then, we met the Saker falcon, hooded at the start to allow it to get acclimated to the audience and surroundings. It moves three times as fast as the hawk, and can catch larger animals. Birds of prey were used not only for sport hunting, but to bring meat to the clansman’s homes. It took a bit of luck and skill to capture one and then train it. This was a unique and wonderful presentation and we got to get up close and personal with the birds. We returned home with a stop at the distillery Glenmorangie. Although a full tasting is usually included in the tour, because of the totally changed schedule, we got a short one with two tastings. Plenty enough! The giraffe is their logo because it is as tall as their stills!

Dinner was at a local restaurant, good Cullen Skink, fish and chips, and Wendy had a yen for Mac ’n cheese. Here is a map of our adventures in the Scottish Highlands.

#published #evernote