Bonny we Scotland

Scotland Blog

Went to the oldest pub in Scotland and stopped for a coffee, pretty grubby and spooky but being so old still very cool, the coffee was great and the staff too, allbeit one was Australian and one Canadian but they were in kilts all the same. We’ve taken to stopping at pubs for a coffee instead of a beer in the daytime as we are on the bikes and it wouldn’t be good on these roads if trev had a pint in him!! And seeing as he is driving on the wrong side of the road too it could be dodgie.

Met up with Nige and Rose in Scotland, we were late arriving as the GPS (we now call Backroad Betsey ) takes us all over the place and keeps us off the big highways but although thats nice it means it takes longer too! It was great to see them again and catch up and discuss the upcoming adventure forthe next couple of weeks with them.

First impressions of Scotland, people seemed a bit more abrupt and right away we noticed that there are alot more houses built of brick than stone as in Ireland which gives the place a different feel, more like England to me. The prices seem a bit higher here than Ireland and you don’t get the feel that they are struggling like the Irish, the B&Bs are good with the now Scottish breaky which is like the Irish only no black pudding but a slice of Haggis. No Haggis is not a 3 legged animal that has one leg shorter than the other so it can run level on the moores!! Trev likes the Haggis but no thankyou, there is something about the sheeps offal, blood, spices and oatmeal and all boiled in a sheeps stomach that seems to put me off trying it, hmm wonder why, for a variation for dinner its served up with neeps and tatties, thats turnips and potatoes, yum.

Nige and Rose have been here many times before so they took us to some famous spots for great motorcycle rides which were really pretty and fun, even in the pouring rain, got very used to stopping a couple of times a day for tea and scones.

There is so much purple heather growing wild here it goes on forever and takes over, it would be pretty to see it in the fall when it all flowers. We visited Atholl Estates and Blair Castle built in the 1300’s in Pitlochry in Perthshire, the only white castle, which was really cool as it is restored very well and has an amazing collection of guns, swords, antiques, etc from that era, we weren’t allowed to take pics but trev did anyway. Nige got into the dressup box and had trouble doing the kilt up!! The owner lives in South Africa, Duke number 11 I think and he is the only independent left to be able to have his own army, not sure how that works.

Scotland is still very much about status, words like Gentry and Gilly are still used, a Gilly is a person who is responsible for the Stag (big deer) and still arranges the shoots and takes care of the land and animal control for that area, we spotted one who came into the pub with Knickers on (thats long shorts for those who don’t know) he did look the part but I cant believe all this stuff still goes on here. Plus all the rivers are privately owned so don’t even think of setting foot in them without permission or you will be visited by a very gruff Gilly ! Can you imagine not being able to stop and fish or swim or kayak in a river in BC, its so weird. I don’t like the pompousness of it all, it puts one person above another and i don’t like that.

Stopped and took a photo of the famous bridge where the Harry Potter train scenes were filmed, we didn’t however see any flying brooms or Harry, apparently the castle scenes were filmed at Alnwick Northumberland so if youve seen the movies you will be able to see what kind of scenery we have been in, its very pretty.

Loved the Cairngorms area, this is a big area with mountains for skiing, lakes for canoeing and biking around and really pretty outdoor areas. Then there is the distillery trail, when you see a sign that splits the road and says this way, Glenlevit and this way Glenfidich - which way to go. Trev and Nige have sampled oodles of whiskey and so far the Talisker is the favourite for the price. This is also where Walkers shortbread is from, Im glad Trev has Nige to do the whiskey samplers with cause I don’t like the stuff at all!

We decided to spend two days in Edinburgh, its built on a series of volcanic rocks, Edinburgh is Scotlands capital and is classed as one of Europes most beautiful cities, full of stone buildings that look fab still, its also got Edinburgh Castle which dominates the city from every angle and is visible from miles away because it sits on top of this volcanic rock way high up from the streets of the city, it was a very fun city to photograph. We went into the Scottish Parliament building which was completed in 1999 and cost over $434 million dollars, didn’t really fit in Edinburgh but trev enjoyed the architecture and structure of it, very modern. Window shopping in Edinburgh Trev could pick up the whole ensemble of the Scottish outfit for himself for 599.00 pound, really this stuff is still sold all over in the stores, I guess they still really do wear these kilts on a regular basis.

And Yes we went to John O Groates, when we told a Scotsman at the pub we were going he said, “why”, theres nothing there, its a dump and a boring ride and you only want to go to say that you did it”, quite to the point these Scottish. Well we did go and he was right!

Talk about grumpy Scotsman, another time when we stopped for a scone and tea the waitress reamed us out for going up to the counter for service and told us to “sit down, and wait our turn”. Then when we were staying at a B & B and asked for a coffee refill she said sorry kitchens closed now and brought us sachets of Nescafe and said to use these, it was quite a shock seeing as the B & B was charging 120 pounds a room/night . Thats what I mean about the Scottish being abrupt.

I should point out that we did have a blast with a bunch of Scottish bikers who were travelling back from Ireland home to Scotland on the same ferry as us. They were very fun and helped us with our routes and we even stopped by to see one of them later on our trip at their place in Thurso, i guess its the people in the tourist trade that are a bit crabby?

So - Ive decided at the end of each country to do a blurb in point form for those who may travel one day to the same places or are interested:

Our Route: Troon, Glasgow, Loch Lomand, Green Welly shop!, Killin, Glen Coe, Maleigh over to Isle of Skye, Kyle of Lochlash, Loch Carron, over the pass of cattle “Applecross” a famous bike route, Torridon, Ullapool, Thurso, John O Groats, Grantown on Spey, Devils Elbow, Edinburgh, Carlisle.

Costs:Ave B & B cost per night 80.00 pound/ night Pint of Beer 3.00 pound/ gas 1.22 pound litre

Great places we stayed:

General feel of People: The ones in the tourist trade we came across were not that friendly or accommodating, economy seems pretty good here, food yummy, Guinness not as good as Ireland but the whiskey is better, accommodations ie B & B good. dont stay in the travel lodge in edinburgh as its expensive and there is no parking..

Favorite areas : Killin, Grantown on Spey, the Cairngorm Mountains and Edinburgh City, Applecross, Portree with its great food market.

The rain didn’t help the feel of the ride across from Ullapool to Thurso, it seemed bleak and cold all the way to John O Groates, 12 degrees and had to plug in my heated vest, was better after we reached John o groates and came down the other side, prettier more trees and farms etc. Was interesting to see all the Oil Rigs sitting out in the sea on that coast.

Onto Jolly Old England.