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Ladies
and gentlemen,
I'd
like to tell you about a tour of Scotland I made with my wife in 1997.
We
live in a town called Seligenstadt not far away from Frankfurt/ Germany.
So we took a plane from Frankfurt Airport to Edinburgh where we hired a
car and started to visit "the best in Scotland".
We
first went to Bridge of Allan near Stirling where we stayed at the "Royal
Hotel" (we stayed there for three days). We visited "Wallace Monument"
which is of some interest if you know the "Braveheart"-movie.
Afterwards we went to the "Old Town Jail" of Stirling where we enjoyed a
really entertaining guided tour.
On day 2 we felt "A touch of the Trossachs": In the "Trossachs Visitor
Centre" in Calander we got some information on the life of Rob Roy Mac
Gregor, then we went to Loch Lommond and Loch Katrine (steam boat trips!).
Day 3
was our "Edinburgh day": Of course we had a tour of the wonderful castle,
later we walked down the "Royal Mile" which was especially interesting
because it was the time of the "Edinburgh Festival" (many artists and
musicians everywhere). On our way back to Bridge of Allan we stopped at
Linlithgow Palace which can be really called a "princely palace", and at
Blackness Castle, one of Scotland's most important strongholds.
On day
4 we left the "Royal Hotel" and went westwards. We stopped in Dundee in
order to visit "Discovery Point" which tells the exciting story of Scott
of the Antarctic and his ship, the "Discoery". Unfortunately it rained
cats and dogs on this day, so it wasn't too much fun walking around in
Dundee. Next we stopped at Glamis Castle, well known because e.g.
Shakespeare's Macbeth is said to be a former "Thane of Glamis". By the way
it is one of the most impressive places we visited on our tour of
Scotland.
Very
picturesque is Dunnottar Castle on the east coast because it is built on a
rock in the sea. Next, we passed Aberdeen and drove to Huntly where we
found our next place to sleep: "The Castle Hotel" which has a very
pleasant atmosphere and is a good place to stay. We can especially
recommend the "Steak and Kidney Pie" they offer in the restaurant.
On day
5 we followed North East Scotland's Coastal Trail, starting at Tolquhon
Castle, then visiting Slains Castle (Bram Stoker was inspired to write
"Dracula" when he visited this place) and Kinnaird Head Castle (lighthouse
exhibition). Afterwards we enjoyed some sunny moments at the "Cliffs of
Pennan" before finishing our day with a visit of the "Glenfiddich
Distillery" (no admission fee!).
Day 6
was one of the highlights of our tour, because it was the day of the "
156th Lonach Gathering", really great and very traditional Highland Games.
Over night we stayed at the "Boat Hotel" in Boat of Garten (in the
Cairngorm Mountains).
The
next day, we went north to watch wild salmon in their natural habitat near
the Falls of Shin, but we weren't lucky: all the salmon seemed to have
vanished. Another extraordinary place we went to was Dunrobin Castle, one
of the "Great Houses of Scotland". We continued our journey north and
found the very nice (and very small) "Dunbeath Hotel" in Caithness.
On day
8 we reached the most northern point of our journey: "Duncansby Head" near
John o'Groates (steep cliffs, rough sea, bad weather...). And it's really
true: In this part of the country you can go (nearly) all day without
meeting a soul on the road (if you use the right road). Returning to the
north east coast we found a very good and expensive hotel in Brora ("The
Links Hotel").
The
next day we travelled from north east to north west Scotland; passing the
Corrieshalloch Canyon we came to our next hotel in Achnasheen, the "Lledgowan
Lodge" which was built as a shooting lodge in 1904 and converted into a
country house hotel keeping most of its original charm (friendly
atmosphere, good food).
The
Isle of Skye was our destination on day 10. We had a look at Dunvegan
Castle and were fascinated by Skye's wonderful landscape. On our way back
to Achnasheen we visited the "Highlander" (Eilean Donan Castle, where a
part of the "Highlander"-movie was filmed).
On day
11 which was a very warm and sunny day we first went to Inverewe Gardens
and later on to Gruinard Bay where we had some fun on the beach.
Leaving Achnasheen on day 12 we returned to central Scotland: We saw
monsters and more around Inverness and Loch Ness, passed Fort Augustus and
finally arrived in Aviemore (Cairngorm Mountains again) where we decided
to stay for two nights.
"Back
to nature" was our motto for the next day: We visited the "Highland
Wildlife Park" not far away from Aviemore.
On day
14 our journey led us south: We stopped at two other "Great Houses of
Scotland", namely Blair Castle and Scone Palace where Scottish kings used
to be crowned on the "Stone of Scone".
We
found a little hotel in Kinross for our last night in Scotland.
On the
last day we discovered Scotland's National Aquarium "Deep Sea World" and
used the Forth (Road) Bridge to get back to Edinburgh Airport.
We
liked this tour of Scotland very much and can only recommend it to all of
you who want to see plenty of Scotland in only two weeks.
Michael and Stefanie Knedlik,
Seligenstadt, Germany. |
