Just back from 10 days in the north of England and Scotland and totally exhausted!
As was expected the weather played a big role with the first couple of days seeing snow and a cold seemingly made worse by the 'English damp'! The scenery though was, as always, spectacular: snow covered moors dotted with beautiful old farmhouses with their old hand built, dry stacked stone walls and an abundance of sheep...
Arriving at Edinburgh saw a slight improvement in temperatures and the sun arrived...what a difference it can make! Scotland, and Edinburgh in general, is one of my favorite places, though It's been quite some time since my last visit but a few hours walking around the old city reinforced its position as a 'must visit' destination. The combination of historic castle always dominating, with historic buildings and traditional shopping along the Royal Mile, counterbalanced by the up market and specialty shops on Princess, Rose and George streets make for great days of exploration. Add in the traditional Scottish hospitality with some amazing food being enjoyed and everyone was having a great time! Grilled Orkney kipper with poached eggs were my favorite breakfast, or how about Haggis and chips for lunch in a traditional old pub on Rose street in the heart of the city?
A drive through the mountains of the Trossachs National Park and Loch Lomond, to the port at Oban; sitting on the front watching the ferries in and out to the Isle of Mull. The spectacular scenery made for a wonderful day of stunning scenery and indulgence in some amazing local home made foods.
A beautiful drive through Stirling to Deanston distillery in Doune, where Daniela did a wonderful job of taking us around the entire distillery and explaining how their single malt whisky is made....this is a must do tour, culminating in a generous tasting and what a revelation...so different to run of the mill whisky's....and I fell in love with an aged 20 year portwood finished single malt ...so just had to treat myself to a bottle! Something to share with a few special friends at home and a reminder of wonderful Scotland!
Just a couple of the many highlights of our 10 days spent in one of the most spectacular destinations in the world....do let me know when you are ready to come with us next time!
I just have a couple of spaces on the first England trip in July: don't leave it too long if you are considering coming along!
Robert
Wonderful single malts...