Today, we awoke for our last full day in Scotland. Unfortunately, after evading the rain so long, it was not built to last. As soon as we finished breakfast, the all day rain began. Stubborn to complete our nature photo tour, we headed out to the Blair Estates.
However, despite being told it was where to go, our photo tour guide had nothing to do with Blair estates. The castle looked amazing, and we almost stayed to tour, but headed out from the drive, we noticed a huge backup created from a truck ill-parked on the roadside. It would have taken us a long time to return.
After multiple games of phone-tag, we ended up at a man's house just outside of town. His name was David, and he took us totally willing up into the country at the base of the Highlands, which looked similar to many parts we'd seen in Ireland. Driving through a field of confused sheep, we realized the rain and wind was just too much, and though he had been willing to show us a hike up the hills to see the view, we were ill prepared. Even if we had left, most animals were smart enough to seek shelter, and the view from the top would have been obscured by the heavy fog, leaving us only to soak in the rain without an umbrella, in windbreakers and wellies. We turned the car around and drove through the country a bit before returning to his house, listening to a fascinating story where David had hosted the King of Qatar for a day's deer hunt in the country. He'd been treated to lunch with the King after a muddy hunt, along with the King's son, and several bodyguards taking over a small cafe we'd passed in the town. He even decided to stay in a small B&B after brunch there, buying helicopter transportation on a whim to make sure his entourage from his previous hotel could make it into the country. Meanwhile, the staff of the B&B had been about to close down the next day for a brief hotel-wide vacation, but had stayed open for the King for a night or two, since it seemed financially beneficial for such a small place to host an exciting group of guests.
We left David with our sorrows and thanks, and a few pictures of some highland deer babies. Deciding to head back into the town Pitlochry, we walked into a few shops here and there, and were glad we at least got to explore a cute local town we wouldn't have stopped in otherwise. We discovered a fantastic Twill and Tartan store, where I hit it big with a nice sweater, some hats, and a small purse.
Leaving town in the rain, I dozed in the car on the way home. I spent the rest of the afternoon at the poolside (indoors of course, though did swim in the outdoor pool) before dinner. We ate our last dinner at the chill Italian place once more, and shared another absurdly large bowl of Tiramisu.
Just now, I am sitting here writing this and listening to live bagpipes, just having watched a large group of Tartan-clad men march down the front drive of the hotel, and stop and play in the front. Had I not already been in sleep clothes, I would have rushed down to take pictures or video. It took us until our last few hours here to hear live bagpipes at all - a fact Mum constantly was stunned by. However, listening to this is a fantastic way to cap off the trip.
No comments:
Post a Comment