This is the next in my series on our travels in Scotland. If you haven’t read the earlier posts, check them out here and here and here.
As much as we loved Edinburgh, my husband Mart and I wanted to get into the countryside of Scotland to see all the sights on our itinerary. The rain had given way to sunlight, at least for the time being, and we set out about mid-morning.
Pitlochry
First up? Pitlochry, a smallish town known as the gateway to the Highlands. We drove through some wooded hills to reach this “Highland Victorian town” with its Victorian shops and houses. Mart’s cousin, Debbie and her husband, Aaron, had been in Scotland just two weeks before and recommended to us a little tea shop in Pitlochry. So, after a quick stop in a gift shop, we headed down the street in search of it.
Before long, we found Hettie’s. It was a charming, bustling tea shop and café. We were relieved that they had room for us—at a table in the corner, below a colorful painting and beside the window that displayed towering layer cakes. When we ordered, we told the owner that her shop is world-famous, or at least in the American South, because now she has fans in Alabama and Atlanta. She laughed, and we told her we would be sure to tell all our friends. I think we might have gotten extra-large helpings of clotted cream and jam.
After we ate every bit of our scones, we said goodbye to Hettie’s and headed back toward the car. But first, we made a stop at the necessary—in this case, a used book store. And there I found just what I wanted: a historical novel set in Scotland by a Scottish novelist. Between the Tides, written by Sarah Mains, cost 2£ or roughly $2.26. Mart bought Robert Burns: Selected Poems for 2£. What a bargain!
Blair Castle (pictured at the top)
Back on the road through the Highland countryside, we headed to Blair Castle, the ancient seat of Duke and Earls of Atholl for 19 generations (19?!). It’s also home to Europe’s last remaining private army, the Atholl Highlanders. This is a very big deal, although I wouldn’t have known that if I hadn’t done a little reading beforehand. Click here for more info and photos of the men decked out in their kilt uniforms.
The two-storey entrance hall, taken from the second floor. An intimidating welcome, to say the least.
Blair Castle is located in Perthshire, where it was visited by royals Mary Queen of Scots and Bonnie Prince Charles (Charlie). It also had ties to the Jacobite uprising and the bloody and brutal Battle of Culloden, which was on our itinerary for the following day.
What I remember most about Blair Castle are
1) the entrance hall (shown above) where the walls were covered in weapons of every type arranged in intricate displays;
2) the long hallway, which was lined with dozens of antlers of stags hunted on the property;
3) the surprisingly light and airy mint-green dining room with elaborately detailed plasterwork;
4) the fashion exhibits on display throughout the rooms;
Oh, and 5) the exterior of the castle. All that white made the castle a stunning sight.
After the castle, we went to House of Bruar, which is a large conglomeration of shops and stores that sell Scottish goods: cashmere and tweeds made into traditional and modern clothing and accessories; Scottish gifts, foods, drink, sweets, gardening supplies, a café, and more. It was busy, crowded with locals and tourists alike, and the shopping choices were a bit overwhelming, so I exercised restraint and bought only a handful of small gifts. It’s definitely worth a visit.
Late in the afternoon, we rode through Cairngorms National Park on the way to the hotel. From the website: “The largest of the UK’s national parks, located in the heart of Scotland, the Cairngorms is made up of over 4,500sq km of un-spoilt countryside, five of the UK’s six highest mountains, 43 munros, 9 nature reserves, an abundance of majestic wildlife, glistening lochs, fast flowing rivers and huge swathes of forests containing ancient Caledonian Pine trees.” We saw only a fraction of the Park, but everywhere we looked as we drove through, there was a spectacular view.
I can’t recommend the beauty of the Scottish countryside enough—in Cairngorms and the other parks we saw. It’s wild and green (at least in the summer) and untamed. Buildings and houses are all placed in villages, not spread throughout the countryside, so the landscape looks like it did centuries ago. Much of it is walkable/hikable in warmer weather, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be treated with respect. The weather can change quickly, with chilling rain and biting winds that will fly right through your clothes, as we experienced. I will have many more photos of the countryside in my next posts.
Taken from inside the car, traveling on a two-lane highway with no place to stop
To add to my awe that day in Cairngorms, we spotted a rainbow, inexplicably, it seemed to us, since there was no rain in the area. We were so excited, we took a dozen photos of it from inside the car as we drove down the two-lane highway (with nowhere to stop). Little did we know, it was the first of what would be four rainbows that we would see in four days’ time.
Every one of those rainbows was a surprise and a gift, and they made the trip even more memorable. Over and over again, I found myself whispering, “Thank You, God!” For the beauty around us, for the country of Scotland, for the opportunity to see it all with my own eyes, and to share it here with you.
Next time: Inverness
