Day 4 – to Aviemore

The road up the western edge of the Cairngorms National Park from Pitlochry was spectacular.

Some of the journey was along the A9. Stopping for a rest Jane needed to relieve herself and because there wasn’t much shelter, dropped her pants in full view on the motorists speeding by. We’re wating to see if there’s any dash can footage on YouTube.

Before reaching Aviemore there were quite a few sights to see, we took the funicular train at the Cairngorms Mountain Railway to the lookout station. Unfortunately, the visibility was poor, and we couldn’t witness those promised views. We had lunch in the cafe and waited hopefully for the scotch mist to clear. It didn’t improve and we made our way back down the mountain.

Nearby was Loch Morlich, a beautiful small Loch. We stopped for some photos. In the photo below you can see the mountain railway in hill in the background and the blanket of mist preventing us from seeing the view back towards the Loch.

Also nearby was a Reindeer Park. The visitor’s centre offered two “tour options”. One was the “Hill Trip” that took you out in the forest to find and interact with a wild Reindeer herd. This looked inviting but the only available slot for that day didn’t fit in with our schedule. We opted for the second tour: the “Paddocks”. This was a bit of a disappointment as there was only one paddock with about five deer sleeping. It looked a bit sad. Keith and Lynn booked themselves for the Hill Trip for the next day. Alison, Vic, Jane and I had other plans for the next day, so we had to make do with just seeing the sad Reindeers.

We pushed on to Loch An Eilein, another small Loch with a nice 5km walk around its perimeter. Jane donned her new hiking shoes, and we walked around the Loch the beautiful forest. Hiking machines Keith, Lynn and Vic set a mean pace, while Alison, Jane and I lagged behind, taking in the natural beauty of the forest. (yeah ok – slow).

We reached our accommodation before their 6pm deadline and checked in. The Cairngorm Guest House was a nice B&B on the main road in Aviemore. It was nice, but not a patch on the Poplars in Pitlochry.

We were told to book dinner, as restaurants get very busy in the town. Keith managed to get us into the Cairngorms Hotel. It was a short walk down the main road. It was a nice dinner, and we were served by an Aussie waitress.

Day 5 –  Aviemore

Alison is a mega-fan of the TV series Outlander. The series is centred around the Battle of Culloden, a famous battle in 1746 between the English Government and the Jacobite army. The Clans were outnumbered but fought bravely and were overwhelmed by a better equipped opponent. Visiting the site was on Alison’s “must-do” list.

The battlefield was about one hour’s drive north of Aviemore. This provided a nice day’s itinerary for Alison, Vic, Jane and I, exploring around Inverness. Keith and Lynn went on their Reindeer tour.

The Culloden Battlefield has a visitor’s centre and offers guided tours of the site. We opted to roam the fields ourselves. There was plenty of information along the trails that outlined the bloody events. It was a great experience to see that famous part of Scottish history.

Nearby were some “Druid Stones”, the Clava Cairns. There are three cairns (pile of rocks) dating back to the bronze age (circa 2000 BC). Jane and Alison wanted to touch the stones and hopefully travel back in time to reverse the result of Culloden. Seeing as we’re not wearing kilts now, I guess it didn’t work.

Time for lunch. We made our way into the “Capital of the Scottish Highlands“, Inverness. Inverness is a large town and as usual, it was difficult to find parking. We found a restaurant on the outskirts of town for lunch. Street parking was available along the River Ness. The Uile-bheist Restaurant looked promising but was disappointing. The service was slow and the beef brisket baguette was ruined by a sweet barbeque sauce.

We drove through the town and down the west side of Loch Ness to visit Urquhart Castle. Visiting the world-famous Loch Ness was a bucket list item for me. The views driving down to the castle were spectacular. The first glimpse of Urquhart Castle was also an awesome sight.

Urquhart Castle is one of those picture-perfect tourism shots you see that immediately identifies Scotland. It’s a 15th century medieval fortress beautifully situated on the banks of Loch Ness. It’s largely in ruin but there’s enough intact to imagine what the site would have looked like in its heyday. We spent a couple of hours exploring the site and when the rain came, we decided to make our way back.

Travelling all the way in the highlands I was keeping an eye out for Highland Cows (or more correctly pronounced “Coos”). We saw plenty of regular coos, but none of the famous long horned woolly variety. Alison and Vic had spotted a sign on the way into Urquhart Castle for a place (Drumbuie Farm) that offered a coo-meet-and-greet. This might be our only chance to see a Highland Coo so we checked it out. For £5 (10 AUD) they gave you a cup of carrots and bread to feed the hairy beasts over the fence. It sounded like a kid’s activity, but it was actually a pretty cool experience. The Coos were greedy but gentle – and they appeared to have a genuine personality.

We returned to Aviemore and reunited with Keith and Lynn. They raved about the Reindeer experience and showed us their photos and videos. It did look amazing.

Yesterday we booked the Winking Owl for our dinner tonight. There were a number of dining options on offer. We decided to have pizzas in the pub. Pizzas were supplied by a van in the carpark – El Diego Pizzeria, and the pub allowed you to bring them inside. The pizza, beers and company were perfect to round out a wonderful day.

We’re off to Fort Willian tomorrow.