Aviemore
Cairngorm Hotel and Restaurant
Grampian Rd.
http://www.cairngorm.com/
This an excellent restaurant, with both comfort food and top quality dinners in a casual setting. They also have a pub with a bar and separate tables.
Bathgate
Fairway Hotel
2 Edinburgh Rd.
www.fairwayhotel.biz
We have eaten here a number of times, it's a well decorated restaurant with excellent service. The food is creative with great quality and reasonably priced for a restaurant of this caliber. Some of the items that we liked are: Beastie of the Moor, haggis rolled in oatmeal and fried, with a Drambuie cream sauce, Steak Balmoral, a rib eye with haggis and a creamy black peppercorn sauce.
Edinburgh
Haddrian's Brasserie
Located on 1 Princes St.
This is a fine dinning setting with excellent views out to the street and very good food and service.
Falkland
Kind Kyttock's Kitchen
Located on Cross Wynd
This lovely little tearoom has arts and crafts displayed around the restaurant giving it a cosy setting. Some of their specialities for lunch are Scotch broth, cheese and chutney, gamekeeper's platter, scones, clootie dumpling and assorted sandwiches.
The Hayloft
Located on Back Wynd
They serve a selection of soups, sandwiches, cakes ans scones.
Fort William
Crannog Seafood Restaurant
Located on The Town Centre Pier
The Waterfront
http://www.crannog.net/
The restaurant is actually a permanently docked boat. The atmosphere is casual, the service top notch and food excellent. Great views out onto the water.
Glasgow
City Cafe
Finnieston Quay
A contemporary restaurant with a small bar, has excellent food. I especially like their breakfast. They have a cold buffet with salami, cheese, cold smoked fish, rolls, pastry and juice, which is included with your hot item that you order off the menu. We always enjoy the Loch Fyne smoked kippers for breakfast along with the black pudding, sausages and Scottish bacon.
Killin
Falls of Dochart Inn
Gray St.
This a charming stone building with a great view of the Falls. Their breakfast menu has a good selection of traditional Scottish fare, including my favorite, Stornoway black pudding. The lunch menu has items like: Cullin Skink, highland game terrine with chutney, fish and chips, lamb pie and a good assortment of Scottish cheese.
Kinross
Jolly Beggar
3 New Rd.
Located in the quaint little town of Kinross, it's a hotel, bar & restaurant. The restaurant is small , but as good food at reasonable prices and excellent service. We stopped for lunch and got the steak pie, which came with chip, cauliflower and peas for 4.70 lbs. ( 9.40 US at the time ). Hard to beat that price wise, and excellent quality to boot.
Moffat
Annandale Arms Hotel and Restaurant
High St.
http://www.annandalearmshotel.co.uk/
We have eaten here a number of times, the food is excellent and always has something that is a little on the creative side. This is one of my favorite places to stop for lunch. The restaurant has the fine dining look, but you can dress casual to eat here.
Oban
Nevis Bakery
12 Stevenson St
They have an excellent assortment of pies for breakfast, sausage rolls, bridies etc.
Oban Fish and Chip Shop
116 George St.
They carry the full assortment of what just about every fish shop does, but i think their food is better than most of the fish shops the we have been to over the last 25 years. We return here year after year for the last 10 years ( approx. ).
The Wide Mouthed Frog
Located at the Dunstaffnage Marina
We have stopped here a few times, the food is always great and has lovely views of the marina and boats and the castle across the water.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Monday, June 15, 2009
Links: Scottish retail stores
Vacations in Scotland & Ireland
http://www.highlandtrails.com/
Scotland Goes To Sea
annual cruise - 1/9 to 1/19/2010
http://www.eokebrides.com/
House of Bagpipes
sales, supplies,& repairs
http://www.houseofbagpipes.com/
International Art and Gift Market
5306 East Dr., Baltimore, Md. , 21227
410-242-8399
Scottish, Irish & English foods and teas.
Photographs, lithographs and oils.
Celtic crosses, greeting cards & CD's
Scottish silk scarves, Celtic jewelry
Cruise Scotland
by the Caledonian Waterway
www.expeditions.com/scotland
posted 6/15/09
http://www.highlandtrails.com/
Scotland Goes To Sea
annual cruise - 1/9 to 1/19/2010
http://www.eokebrides.com/
House of Bagpipes
sales, supplies,& repairs
http://www.houseofbagpipes.com/
International Art and Gift Market
5306 East Dr., Baltimore, Md. , 21227
410-242-8399
Scottish, Irish & English foods and teas.
Photographs, lithographs and oils.
Celtic crosses, greeting cards & CD's
Scottish silk scarves, Celtic jewelry
Cruise Scotland
by the Caledonian Waterway
www.expeditions.com/scotland
posted 6/15/09
Monday, May 11, 2009
Highland games and festivals
April
Celtic Festival of Southern Marland
St. Leonard, Md.
443-404-7319
http://www.cssm.org/
May
Frederick Celtic Festival
Frederick, Md.
301-695-3391
http://www.sasmm.com/
May 16, 2009
Fair Hill Colonial Highland Gathering
Fair Hill, Md.
302-731-5101
http://www.fairhillscottishgames.org/
June 5,6 & 7 2009
McHenry Highland Festival
McHenry, Md.
301-501-6315
http://www.highlandfest.info/
Sept. 12, 2009
Ligonier Highland Games
Idlewild Park
Ligonier, Pa.
www.ligoniergames.org
Oct. 3 & 4 2009
Chesapeake Celtic Festival
Snow Hill, Md.
410-632-2032
http://www.celticfest.net/
Oct 10, 2009
Anne Arundel Scottish Festival & Highland Games
Annapolis, Md.
410-451-4343
Celtic Festival of Southern Marland
St. Leonard, Md.
443-404-7319
http://www.cssm.org/
May
Frederick Celtic Festival
Frederick, Md.
301-695-3391
http://www.sasmm.com/
May 16, 2009
Fair Hill Colonial Highland Gathering
Fair Hill, Md.
302-731-5101
http://www.fairhillscottishgames.org/
June 5,6 & 7 2009
McHenry Highland Festival
McHenry, Md.
301-501-6315
http://www.highlandfest.info/
Sept. 12, 2009
Ligonier Highland Games
Idlewild Park
Ligonier, Pa.
www.ligoniergames.org
Oct. 3 & 4 2009
Chesapeake Celtic Festival
Snow Hill, Md.
410-632-2032
http://www.celticfest.net/
Oct 10, 2009
Anne Arundel Scottish Festival & Highland Games
Annapolis, Md.
410-451-4343
Friday, May 8, 2009
Castles, Abbeys and other historic buildings
Aberdour Castle
The castle over looks the harbor at Aberdour, parts of the castle were built in the 14th century.
Ardchattan Priory
Located NE of Oban. Founded in 1230 by Vauliscaulian monks. Robert the Bruce used it as one of his meeting places for his parliament. Burned by Cromwell in 1654. Now only partial reminds are left and some carved stones and the gardens.
Balgonie Castle
The tower house was built in the 14th century on the S. side of Loch Leven. Additional parts were built on in the 16th and 17th centuries. In 1776 it was set on fire by Rob Roy MacGregor.
Barcaldine Castle
Located about 9 miles north of Oban. Also known as the Black Castle because of the color of it's stones. Built in 1590 by Sir Duncan Campbell known as Black Duncan. It's now a B & B.
Burleigh Castle
Two miles N.E. of Kinross you will find the ruins of a tower house from about 1500's.
Craignethan Castle
Located a few miles west of Lanark. The castle was built in 1532 and destroyed in 1579. Although in ruins, a lot remains of the castle to see and well worth spending some time here.
Culross Palace
The palace was built between 1597-1611 and well worth seeing the interior.
Dirleton Castle
Located in the village of Dirleton, west of North Berwick. The earliest part of the castle was built in the 1200;s, with additions in the 15th c. and the 17th c. Destroyed in 1650. The ruins are well worth seeing and has many photo opportunities.
Doune Castle
Built in the late 14th or early 15th century. This is an impressive castle even though it's in ruins. Take a walk around and inside, it also has roof top walkway.
Drumlanrig Castle
Built between 1676 and 1689 with local pink sandstone. Sits amid hugh woodland which contains the ruins of Tibber Castle, destroyed in 1311.
Dunkeld Cathedral
Founded in the 9th century on the edge of the Tay River. Additions were added on in the 15th century. After the Battle of Dunkeld, when the town was rebuild in 1689, they build the little houses. Today they are residential homes, so you can only see the outside. They are worth the stop here, they are picturesque and unique.
Dunstaffnage Castle
Located 5 miles north of Oban. Most of the ruins that are there today were built in the 1200's. But there has been a fortress here since the 600's for the kings of Dalriada. The people of Dalriada were known as the Scoti, from northeast Ireland. Their kingdom occupied part of Argyll, Arran & northern Ireland.
Dunfermline Abbey
This is the burial grounds of Robert the Bruce, he is buried under the choir. This Benedictine Abbey was founded by Queen Margaret in the 11th century, additional parts were build on in 13th century and in the 1800's .
Edinburgh
One of the most famous castles and also one of the most magnificent. It has a commanding few of the city. To get the true view of how hard this place would be to attach, take the trip like i did, from the bottom of the hill from princess street, my wife wasn't too thrilled, i didn't thing to tell her how hard this was going to be. I walk 5 miles a day and i was struggling to get up this hill, about half way, my wife was asking me, why didn't we use the road like the rest of the people. Anybody can do it that way. We made it though and I've got to tell you that would be a trip in armour and people shooting at you. Once you get there the view is beyond words and the interior of the castle is worth seeing, but use the road instead of climbing the hill. The oldest part was built in the 11th century. Also in Edinburgh on High St, the Royal Mile is the John Knox house built around 1490, John Knox lived her somewhere between 1566 to his death in 1572. Also on The Royal Mile, which runs from the Edinburgh castle at the top, is the Palace of Holyroodhouse ( 13th c. ) at the bottom, sitting below Arthur's seat. Holyroodhouse is the official residence of the Queen of Scotland. All along the Royal Mile are store, restaurants, pubs etc. If your looking to do some serious shopping walk to Princess St, which runs parallel to the Royal Mile. Princess St is the main shopping street for tourist, but a bit expensive, if walk to the side street from there you might mind the same thing a bit cheaper.
Falkland Palace
A royal palace in the renaissance style, built from 1501-1541 in the town of Falkland.
Fortingall
Lies on the River Lyon. It's a bit of a drive on a narrow road to get to this quaint little town. They have the oldest yew tree in Britain and possibly the oldest in Europe. It's between 3,000 and 5,000 years old. The little town also has some picturesque thatched cottages. The town is believed to be the birth place of Pontius Pilate.
Killin
You enter this picturesque village across a stone bridge ( built in 1760 ) over the River Dochart and you have a great view of the Falls of Dochart. The town has shops, restaurants and accommodations. You can climb town to the falls and set on the rocks and eat your lunch or just enjoy the view.
Kingussie
Just a little south are the Ruthven Barracks, which stands on hill where the Wolf of Badenoch once had a fortress. The barracks where built around 1716 to keep the Highlanders under control.
Linlithgow
The ruins if this palace are splendid, it was build after 1424, when the previous building burned down. The chapel and great hall were built in the late 1400's. Mary Queen of Scots was born here in 1542. In 1746 the palace was burned down, a second time. Never the less, it's still a magnificent building with a great cemetery, if your into cemeteries like we are. I've been here several times and it's well worth repeat visits. On the east side of Linlithgow you will find The House of the Binns, a gorgeous building dated from the early 1600's and has been occupied for 350 years. The building has incredible plaster ceilings.
Loch Leven
Located near Kinross, on an island in Loch Leven. The tower was built in the late 14th century. Mary Queen of Scots was imprisoned here in 1567. The Wolf of Badenoch was also a prisoner
here in the late 14th century.
Moffat
A quaint little town with lots of shops,bakeries, restaurants and accommodations. A good place to stay if you want to do hiking. About 10 miles N E of Moffat is the Grey Mare's Tail a waterfall that has a 200 foot drop, it was carved by glaciers during the ice age.
Morton Castle
Stands on a bluff that slopes down sharply to Morton Loch. The road to the castle is narrow with very few pull overs and it's a curvy road, so backing up is tough. The original castle on this site was built in 1307, but torn down sometime after 1357. The remains that you see today are from 1440.
Neidpath Castle
Located just outside of Peebles. Built in the 13 th century ( approx. 1310 ). The walls are 11 feet thick. It sits on a hill on the N. bank of the River Tweed.
Peebles
The settlements in this area goes back thousands of years. The English burned the town in 1403 and again in 1548. A mile to the west is Neidpath Castle, built in 1370, survived, but most of what you see today dates from the 1500's and 1600's. The main street running thru Peebles is High St., this is the shopping area with stores, bakeries, restaurants etc. You can see the ruins of the old Cross Kirk, built in 1261.
Ravenscraig Castle
An imposing castle but in ruins, built around 1460, located between Dysart and Kirkcaldy.
Scone Palace
Located 2 miles N. of Perth. The present castle built in 1803, also incorporates the earlier castles into one structure. The ancient Abbey, built in 1114, was destroyed in 1559.
Stalker Castle
Located approx. 25 miles north of Oban. Built by Duncan Stewart in 1540, sits on a Rocky islet at the mouth of Loch Laich by Loch Linnhe. It fell into ruins after 1780 and was restored in the 1960's.
Traquair House
Located S E of Peebles. It is the oldest inhabited house, built in 10th century. Originally a hunting lodge for the kings and queens of Scotland. Most of the mansion was rebuilt in 1642.
Urquhart Castle
Located on the edge of Loch Ness. Once one of the largest castles in Scotland, is now extensive ruins. The castle was blown up in 1692 to prevent the Jacobites from occupying it. The loch is over 700 feet deep in some places. Urquhart is believed to originally be a Pictish site in 597. Stories of the Loch Ness monster go back to the 7th century when the Abbot of Iona wrote about it in his biography.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Scottish trip 1
Day 1
We went to Falkland, Scotland on our first day. It's a charming and picturesque village with the Falkland Palace right in the town. Parts of the castle is in ruins, but a lot is in good condition. It's difficult to get a good photo because of trees, hedges, fences etc., but well worth walking around trying. The interior is worth paying to go in and see the various decorated rooms. If your hungry while your there, try Kind Kyttock's Tearoom or The Hayloft Tearoom, their both nice to get a small meal like Welsh Rarebit or a Toasty and the Cloothie Dumpling is excellent. The town also had some great little boutique stores. From Falkland we drove to Kirkcaldy and stopped at the Ravenscraig Castle, this castle is in total ruins, but well worth walking thru and numerous chances for photo opportunities. After several hours of taking photos we drove to Easter Aberdour and visited the Aberdour Castle, which parts of this castle date from the 1200's. When we finished photographing this castle we headed back to our room in Whitburn and we freshened up and than walked in town to get a fish supper.
Day 2
Today we drove from Whitburn to the little town of Culross and walked thru the town and photographed the Culross Abbey and the palace, which was very hard to get a good shot because it was closed, so you had to shoot over the wall. The town in general has some interesting small homes to photograph. We left Culross and drove to Dumfermline where we photographed the palace and abbey. Than we walked thru the town to look for someplace to eat lunch, but we gave up as it was too Americanized, every place was selling nachos, buffalo wings and burgers. We are more interested in eating traditional food when we travel, the other stuff we can get at home, so we hit the road. From there we drove to Inverkeifing and stopped at Burgh Arms. I got fish and chips and Sandy got scampi, which is different than American scampi. In this restaurant their scampi was chopped up fish in a batter and deep fried, kind of like fish balls or fritters. After lunch we headed for Queensferry, but i kind of made a wrong turn and ended up in Edinburgh and took an unplanned tour until i could get turned around. Queensferry is a quaint little town right on the Firth of Forth with a great view of the Forth Bridge. When we had completed all of our photo opportunities we continued on to E. Linlithgow to see The House of the Binns, but they were closed, so we only got to take a few photos from the outside. It was getting late, but we took a chance and drove to the Linlithgow Palace and Abbey, but they were also closed for the day. We took a few shots from the outside and than headed back to the apartment.
Day 3
We got a late start today,because we decided to have a leisurely breakfast. Our destination today is Moffit, a lovely little town with shops, restaurants and a gourmet cheese store. By the time we got to Moffit, it was almost 2:00, which is when lunch stops, so we ran right away to the Annadale Arms Hotel and into their restaurant. They hesitated for a minute as to whether or not we could get lunch and finally seated us, but the couple that came in a minute after us were were told lunch was over and that they were closed. They are very strict about the eating times in Scotland, more than once because we're someplace shooting photographs, we've had to grab a snack someplace to tide us over for dinner. For our lunch Sandy got a pea soup as her starter ( always good, but too ordinary for me ), i got Stilton cheese and bacon fritters with a Cumberland sauce. Sandy's entree was a beef and ale pie with chips, my choice was a cottage pie ( venison, pheasant, pigeon and hare ). All of the food was excellent, we've eaten here before and the food has always been better than just good. After lunch we walked thru the stores and bought a bunch of stuff and finally stopped because it was not that long before it would be getting dark and the road signs are hard to see in the dark in Scotland, specialty in the small rural areas, they don't have a lot of lights like in America. For dinner tonight we just walked a couple of blocks into the town and got fish and chips, which is always great for me. I could eat that everyday of my life, which would considerably shorten my life, because of fried food. Luckily for me i don't think the fish and chips taste as good here in America, so my cholesterol is normal.
Day 4
Today is a day off from traveling, it's a day of taking Sandy's Mom to the Bathgate flea market. After the market we went to lunch and had a really bad meal at a bad restaurant. Fortunately i don't remember the name.
Day 5
Today the weather was pretty nasty and i decided that i didn't think it was wise to be driving, so we decided to catch the bus into Edinburgh ( only an hour drive ). We walked Princes Street and looked in a lot of shops and walked into some, this street is quite expensive. Along the way we found a nice place to eat at, Haddrian's Bistro. Sandy and I both got langastino bisque for our starter. Sandy's main course was lamb shanks with parsnips and a whiskey sauce. I got haggis with neeps and tatties. After the food, since we're not driving, but on the bus, we got drinks to end the meal. Sandy got Gayva and i got Drambuie. Our next stop was the Royal Mile, this street runs from the Edinburgh Castle at the top of the street to Holyrood at the bottom near Arthur's seat. From one end of the street to the other you will find shops, restaurants, pubs, historical buildings, bakeries etc. Finally we had to make a mad dash for the bus stop, we just made the last one, but there's always the railroad to Bathgate and than the bus or taxi from there to her Mom's house.
Day 6
On the road early today, leaving Mom's house to head for Aviemore. We'll be staying overnight and attending a trade show, for me to buy products for my gift store. We arrived and checked in at the Aviemore Inn and than walked up the street to the Hilton Inn to eat lunch at the Hilton Bistro. We both got the cream of vegetable soup, with garlic bread. After lunch we spent the rest of the day walking thru the trade show buying stuff for my store. After that we went back to the hotel to freshen up and than walked to Hilton Inn bar for happy hour. We stayed for a couple of drinks , than walked about a block or so to the Cairngorm restaurant. The Cairngorm i s a very nice casual restaurant that serves excellent food and they also have a nice bar area. For dinner my wife got grilled pears with stilton cheese and a port wine sauce, i got a game terrine with toast and salsa. The main course for my wife was local broiled salmon with a cream sauce and i got venison and pheasant medallions with a raspberry sauce and wild berries. For our end of the meal beverage we got hot Scottish tea with Glenmorangie scotch. We took a leisurely stroll thru the town and than called it a night.
Day 7
We got up early and walked a block or so into town and went to the bakery and bought a cheese scone and a sausage roll and a cup of tea of course, walked back to the room and split everything. After checking out we started toward Kingussie and cut off the main road to photograph the Ruthvens Barracks, which are in ruins, but still impressive. After getting our fill of photos, we got on the road again heading toward Fort William. Once there we walked thru the stores and along the water taking more photos, until we wanted lunch. We decided on Crannog restaurant, it was a boat docked at the waters edge ( permanently ). We decided to order several things and split them. We got Cullin Skink ( a haddock soup named for the town of Cullin ), a trio of smoked salmon ( one was oak smoked, one was gravlox and one was regular smoke, what ever that is ) and also a cheese board with 4 kinds of cheese and gooseberries. After lunch we stayed in the area until late afternoon, than headed for the coastal town of Oban. We didn't have reservations and couldn't get a room in town, so we had to go back out to the edge of town and got a room at the King Knolls. It was a nice place, a little small, which is not unusual for Scottish accommodations, because their all quite old, but they had a rule that you had to leave your room key with them when you went out, which i didn't like. I don't like the idea of people having access to my stuff, because the keys are all hanging in a place were anyone can grab them, so i always sort of left when they weren't looking. But of course they kept saying something to me when i got back ( sorry i forgot ). It was about a 4 to 5 block walk to town, so we walked in and checked everything out and we saw a really neat place in the distance, so we walked down and it turned out to be a pub, so we decided to stop in for a drink. There were two doors and Sandy was wondering, which one should we go in, i told her that i think they both go to the same place. When we got in, the bar was only half the size and she was right they didn't go to the same place. We got a seat and i was about to go up and order and i noticed the bartender walk thru an opening in the wall and disappear, so i walked down to that spot and waited for him to come thru, but i could see another whole bar with people on the other side. This seemed a little strange to me, so i asked, and he told me this side was for Protestants and the other side for Catholics. Somewhat amazed, i walked back to my table with my drinks and told my wife and we both agreed that we would finish our drink and go, that kind of prejudice is unacceptable to us. W e walked around some more and found another bar and we could see that it was just one big place for everybody, so we went in and got another drink. We talked to the bartender about that and he said that on the west side of Scotland they still had a lot of places that kept separate sections. After we finished our drink, we walked to the fish shop and got fish and chips to go ( Sandy got haddock and i got cod ). We took our food and walked down to the dock area and sat on a bench and ate our food while battling off seagulls, who apparently like fish and chips as much as i do. We walked back to our room and called it a night.
Day 8
When we got up and got ready, we walked in town to the Nevis Bakery and got a Scotch pancake ( small compared to American, but thicker and more cake like ), which a lot people eat cold with either a little butter, clotted cream or jam or both and we also got breakfast pie ( quiche ) and we split that for our breakfast. After checking out of the hotel we drove north to the Dunstaffnage Castle and photographed the exterior which is mostly in ruins and also photographed the boats docked at the water near the castle. After that we headed down a long narrow road to the Ardchattan Priory and took a few photos, than headed to Barcaldine Castle on a road that was even more narrow. From there we drove to Stalker Castle, it's on an island out in the harbor, looking very mysterious and we were lucky enough to have sheep in the foreground of the pasture where we were taking the photos. By this time it was almost lunch, so we drove back toward Oban and stopped at a place called the Frog restaurant, hotel and marina, it actually looked out over the harbor to the Dunstaffnage Castle. For our lunch Sandy got char grilled trout with chips and i got beef stew with puff pastry and it came with a got sized portion of grilled vegetables. After our lunch we drove back into Oban and walked to the gourmet food store and got some Orkney ice cream ( this is the best ice cream that either one of us ever had ). When we finished our ice cream we walked back to the gourmet store and bought some stuff to put in the cooler to take back to Mom's for our dinner. We got some Guinness and stilton pate, several kinds of cheese, one was Orkney cheddar and the the other was lochlober ( or something like that ), some crusty bread and some crackers. We left later than i wanted because it wasn't too long before the light would be going down and we have a 4 hour drive thru secluded woods and mountain roads that are narrow. As fate would have it, it started raining and i mean heavy. I had a hard time seeing, but luckily Sandy is an excellent navigator. We got in late, i was exhausted and tense from the drive, we got a got shot of Glenmorangie and than broke out the pate, cheese and tried to unwind.
Day 9
Today we're heading to the east side of Scotland. We drove thru Paddington, but didn't stop and continued to Aberlady, were we stopped to take photos of the church. From there we headed to Dirleton to see the Dirleton castle, we walked around the castle and inside taking a lot of photos of the ruins. After we had explored every angle, we got back in the car and headed to Tantallon to photograph their castle, but unfortunately there were scaffolds around the castle doing restorations, so we headed for North Berwick. After parking the car we walked to the harbor and took a few photos, than decided to walk into town and look for a place to eat lunch. We stopped at a nice little place called the Grange, the interior was decorated and very inviting. Our appetizers we decided to split, we ordered a soup, celery and Stilton and a mackeral salad. The soup was just ok, but the salad was very good. The entrees were a venison stew for Sandy and for me salmon with a sweet and sour sauce, both were good. After lunch we continued exploring North Berwick for more photo opportunities, than checked out a few of the stores. We headed back to the house a bit early, because were taking Mom to dinner tonight. We decided on Croft Mollich Lodge, it's a short distance from the house and it's also a very nice restaurant. I ordered garlic bread, which i shared with Mom ans Sandy ordered a pear and prawn salad. For the main courses, Mom got a fillet Mignon with a baked potato, Sandy ordered lamb chops, which came with a very rich sauce and a baked potato and i ordered the steak Orkney, a rib eye with a creamy mushroom and Orkney cheese. Everything was very good. After dinner we headed back to the house for a night cap.
We went to Falkland, Scotland on our first day. It's a charming and picturesque village with the Falkland Palace right in the town. Parts of the castle is in ruins, but a lot is in good condition. It's difficult to get a good photo because of trees, hedges, fences etc., but well worth walking around trying. The interior is worth paying to go in and see the various decorated rooms. If your hungry while your there, try Kind Kyttock's Tearoom or The Hayloft Tearoom, their both nice to get a small meal like Welsh Rarebit or a Toasty and the Cloothie Dumpling is excellent. The town also had some great little boutique stores. From Falkland we drove to Kirkcaldy and stopped at the Ravenscraig Castle, this castle is in total ruins, but well worth walking thru and numerous chances for photo opportunities. After several hours of taking photos we drove to Easter Aberdour and visited the Aberdour Castle, which parts of this castle date from the 1200's. When we finished photographing this castle we headed back to our room in Whitburn and we freshened up and than walked in town to get a fish supper.
Day 2
Today we drove from Whitburn to the little town of Culross and walked thru the town and photographed the Culross Abbey and the palace, which was very hard to get a good shot because it was closed, so you had to shoot over the wall. The town in general has some interesting small homes to photograph. We left Culross and drove to Dumfermline where we photographed the palace and abbey. Than we walked thru the town to look for someplace to eat lunch, but we gave up as it was too Americanized, every place was selling nachos, buffalo wings and burgers. We are more interested in eating traditional food when we travel, the other stuff we can get at home, so we hit the road. From there we drove to Inverkeifing and stopped at Burgh Arms. I got fish and chips and Sandy got scampi, which is different than American scampi. In this restaurant their scampi was chopped up fish in a batter and deep fried, kind of like fish balls or fritters. After lunch we headed for Queensferry, but i kind of made a wrong turn and ended up in Edinburgh and took an unplanned tour until i could get turned around. Queensferry is a quaint little town right on the Firth of Forth with a great view of the Forth Bridge. When we had completed all of our photo opportunities we continued on to E. Linlithgow to see The House of the Binns, but they were closed, so we only got to take a few photos from the outside. It was getting late, but we took a chance and drove to the Linlithgow Palace and Abbey, but they were also closed for the day. We took a few shots from the outside and than headed back to the apartment.
Day 3
We got a late start today,because we decided to have a leisurely breakfast. Our destination today is Moffit, a lovely little town with shops, restaurants and a gourmet cheese store. By the time we got to Moffit, it was almost 2:00, which is when lunch stops, so we ran right away to the Annadale Arms Hotel and into their restaurant. They hesitated for a minute as to whether or not we could get lunch and finally seated us, but the couple that came in a minute after us were were told lunch was over and that they were closed. They are very strict about the eating times in Scotland, more than once because we're someplace shooting photographs, we've had to grab a snack someplace to tide us over for dinner. For our lunch Sandy got a pea soup as her starter ( always good, but too ordinary for me ), i got Stilton cheese and bacon fritters with a Cumberland sauce. Sandy's entree was a beef and ale pie with chips, my choice was a cottage pie ( venison, pheasant, pigeon and hare ). All of the food was excellent, we've eaten here before and the food has always been better than just good. After lunch we walked thru the stores and bought a bunch of stuff and finally stopped because it was not that long before it would be getting dark and the road signs are hard to see in the dark in Scotland, specialty in the small rural areas, they don't have a lot of lights like in America. For dinner tonight we just walked a couple of blocks into the town and got fish and chips, which is always great for me. I could eat that everyday of my life, which would considerably shorten my life, because of fried food. Luckily for me i don't think the fish and chips taste as good here in America, so my cholesterol is normal.
Day 4
Today is a day off from traveling, it's a day of taking Sandy's Mom to the Bathgate flea market. After the market we went to lunch and had a really bad meal at a bad restaurant. Fortunately i don't remember the name.
Day 5
Today the weather was pretty nasty and i decided that i didn't think it was wise to be driving, so we decided to catch the bus into Edinburgh ( only an hour drive ). We walked Princes Street and looked in a lot of shops and walked into some, this street is quite expensive. Along the way we found a nice place to eat at, Haddrian's Bistro. Sandy and I both got langastino bisque for our starter. Sandy's main course was lamb shanks with parsnips and a whiskey sauce. I got haggis with neeps and tatties. After the food, since we're not driving, but on the bus, we got drinks to end the meal. Sandy got Gayva and i got Drambuie. Our next stop was the Royal Mile, this street runs from the Edinburgh Castle at the top of the street to Holyrood at the bottom near Arthur's seat. From one end of the street to the other you will find shops, restaurants, pubs, historical buildings, bakeries etc. Finally we had to make a mad dash for the bus stop, we just made the last one, but there's always the railroad to Bathgate and than the bus or taxi from there to her Mom's house.
Day 6
On the road early today, leaving Mom's house to head for Aviemore. We'll be staying overnight and attending a trade show, for me to buy products for my gift store. We arrived and checked in at the Aviemore Inn and than walked up the street to the Hilton Inn to eat lunch at the Hilton Bistro. We both got the cream of vegetable soup, with garlic bread. After lunch we spent the rest of the day walking thru the trade show buying stuff for my store. After that we went back to the hotel to freshen up and than walked to Hilton Inn bar for happy hour. We stayed for a couple of drinks , than walked about a block or so to the Cairngorm restaurant. The Cairngorm i s a very nice casual restaurant that serves excellent food and they also have a nice bar area. For dinner my wife got grilled pears with stilton cheese and a port wine sauce, i got a game terrine with toast and salsa. The main course for my wife was local broiled salmon with a cream sauce and i got venison and pheasant medallions with a raspberry sauce and wild berries. For our end of the meal beverage we got hot Scottish tea with Glenmorangie scotch. We took a leisurely stroll thru the town and than called it a night.
Day 7
We got up early and walked a block or so into town and went to the bakery and bought a cheese scone and a sausage roll and a cup of tea of course, walked back to the room and split everything. After checking out we started toward Kingussie and cut off the main road to photograph the Ruthvens Barracks, which are in ruins, but still impressive. After getting our fill of photos, we got on the road again heading toward Fort William. Once there we walked thru the stores and along the water taking more photos, until we wanted lunch. We decided on Crannog restaurant, it was a boat docked at the waters edge ( permanently ). We decided to order several things and split them. We got Cullin Skink ( a haddock soup named for the town of Cullin ), a trio of smoked salmon ( one was oak smoked, one was gravlox and one was regular smoke, what ever that is ) and also a cheese board with 4 kinds of cheese and gooseberries. After lunch we stayed in the area until late afternoon, than headed for the coastal town of Oban. We didn't have reservations and couldn't get a room in town, so we had to go back out to the edge of town and got a room at the King Knolls. It was a nice place, a little small, which is not unusual for Scottish accommodations, because their all quite old, but they had a rule that you had to leave your room key with them when you went out, which i didn't like. I don't like the idea of people having access to my stuff, because the keys are all hanging in a place were anyone can grab them, so i always sort of left when they weren't looking. But of course they kept saying something to me when i got back ( sorry i forgot ). It was about a 4 to 5 block walk to town, so we walked in and checked everything out and we saw a really neat place in the distance, so we walked down and it turned out to be a pub, so we decided to stop in for a drink. There were two doors and Sandy was wondering, which one should we go in, i told her that i think they both go to the same place. When we got in, the bar was only half the size and she was right they didn't go to the same place. We got a seat and i was about to go up and order and i noticed the bartender walk thru an opening in the wall and disappear, so i walked down to that spot and waited for him to come thru, but i could see another whole bar with people on the other side. This seemed a little strange to me, so i asked, and he told me this side was for Protestants and the other side for Catholics. Somewhat amazed, i walked back to my table with my drinks and told my wife and we both agreed that we would finish our drink and go, that kind of prejudice is unacceptable to us. W e walked around some more and found another bar and we could see that it was just one big place for everybody, so we went in and got another drink. We talked to the bartender about that and he said that on the west side of Scotland they still had a lot of places that kept separate sections. After we finished our drink, we walked to the fish shop and got fish and chips to go ( Sandy got haddock and i got cod ). We took our food and walked down to the dock area and sat on a bench and ate our food while battling off seagulls, who apparently like fish and chips as much as i do. We walked back to our room and called it a night.
Day 8
When we got up and got ready, we walked in town to the Nevis Bakery and got a Scotch pancake ( small compared to American, but thicker and more cake like ), which a lot people eat cold with either a little butter, clotted cream or jam or both and we also got breakfast pie ( quiche ) and we split that for our breakfast. After checking out of the hotel we drove north to the Dunstaffnage Castle and photographed the exterior which is mostly in ruins and also photographed the boats docked at the water near the castle. After that we headed down a long narrow road to the Ardchattan Priory and took a few photos, than headed to Barcaldine Castle on a road that was even more narrow. From there we drove to Stalker Castle, it's on an island out in the harbor, looking very mysterious and we were lucky enough to have sheep in the foreground of the pasture where we were taking the photos. By this time it was almost lunch, so we drove back toward Oban and stopped at a place called the Frog restaurant, hotel and marina, it actually looked out over the harbor to the Dunstaffnage Castle. For our lunch Sandy got char grilled trout with chips and i got beef stew with puff pastry and it came with a got sized portion of grilled vegetables. After our lunch we drove back into Oban and walked to the gourmet food store and got some Orkney ice cream ( this is the best ice cream that either one of us ever had ). When we finished our ice cream we walked back to the gourmet store and bought some stuff to put in the cooler to take back to Mom's for our dinner. We got some Guinness and stilton pate, several kinds of cheese, one was Orkney cheddar and the the other was lochlober ( or something like that ), some crusty bread and some crackers. We left later than i wanted because it wasn't too long before the light would be going down and we have a 4 hour drive thru secluded woods and mountain roads that are narrow. As fate would have it, it started raining and i mean heavy. I had a hard time seeing, but luckily Sandy is an excellent navigator. We got in late, i was exhausted and tense from the drive, we got a got shot of Glenmorangie and than broke out the pate, cheese and tried to unwind.
Day 9
Today we're heading to the east side of Scotland. We drove thru Paddington, but didn't stop and continued to Aberlady, were we stopped to take photos of the church. From there we headed to Dirleton to see the Dirleton castle, we walked around the castle and inside taking a lot of photos of the ruins. After we had explored every angle, we got back in the car and headed to Tantallon to photograph their castle, but unfortunately there were scaffolds around the castle doing restorations, so we headed for North Berwick. After parking the car we walked to the harbor and took a few photos, than decided to walk into town and look for a place to eat lunch. We stopped at a nice little place called the Grange, the interior was decorated and very inviting. Our appetizers we decided to split, we ordered a soup, celery and Stilton and a mackeral salad. The soup was just ok, but the salad was very good. The entrees were a venison stew for Sandy and for me salmon with a sweet and sour sauce, both were good. After lunch we continued exploring North Berwick for more photo opportunities, than checked out a few of the stores. We headed back to the house a bit early, because were taking Mom to dinner tonight. We decided on Croft Mollich Lodge, it's a short distance from the house and it's also a very nice restaurant. I ordered garlic bread, which i shared with Mom ans Sandy ordered a pear and prawn salad. For the main courses, Mom got a fillet Mignon with a baked potato, Sandy ordered lamb chops, which came with a very rich sauce and a baked potato and i ordered the steak Orkney, a rib eye with a creamy mushroom and Orkney cheese. Everything was very good. After dinner we headed back to the house for a night cap.
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