Day 8: Cairgorms National Park
We were only in Cairngorms National Park for one day. But, oh my, what a day it was! After coming down from my belltower in Inverness and a tasty breakfast, we hopped on the bus to meet our guide, Ollie, at Rothiemurcus. Unlike our National Parks system in the US, the majority of the Cairngorms is privately owned by individuals or trusts, and we toured the Rothiemurcus estate on our trip. Ollie took us on a wee hike where we got to see some of the Cairngorm mountains, some of which have snow on them year-round. Then, for my favorite part of the day, he took us to feed red deer and hairy coos. We also had lunch on the estate - under a tent. This was my favorite meal of the trip by far! Everything was so fresh, unique, and delicious.
(The images to the left can be enlarged by clicking any of them!) Fun Fact!
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After our incredible lunch, Mark drove us to the Glen Grant Distillery for a whisky tasting and a tour of the distillery. Glen Grant is just one of many distilleries in Speyside. (I don't drink, so this part of the tour was not as interesting to me, but I can say that parts of the distillery were quite hot and noisy!) We settled into our hotel in a tiny little town early that evening for another group dinner.
Travel Tip: Travel Gear
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Laugh a Little!
Our evening stop after Cairgorms was a teeny town known as Boat of Garten (it was not on the water). The only thing we could do to amuse ourselves before dinner was to explore. I found this sign behind our hotel next to the historic railroad station.
Mark also amused us with a tale on the drive in of one of his previous stays in Boat of Garten. The hotel, like the town, is small, so one day upon checking in, Mark was informed that he would be staying in the annex due to the lack of rooms just a ways down the road. He figured the annex sounded grand and he wouldn't mind so much. Well, to his surprise, the "annex" turned out to be a trailer! And, when he was shown into the tiny space, he was informed he might be bunking with another driver. Mark could hardly fit in the trailer, so he was quite relieved when no one else showed up that night to share! Continue onto Dunkeld with me using the button, or check out some extra pics of the Cairngorms in the slideshow below first! |