Day 3: Culross
After leaving Edinburgh, our first stop was the town of Culross to visit Culross Palace.
According to our guide, in Scotland, a palace simply needed to be a dwelling that was built on at least three sides of the square. Thanks to some additions to the once very small home, Culross Palace is just that - a palace, even though it is still quite modest. Culross Palace was built during the 16th and 17th centuries by a merchant. Today, it still gives visitors great insight into life during these times. Our guide offered a lot of very interesting facts about life during that time period. My favorite was that the green paint being used in several rooms indicated that the family were supporters of King George - loyal to the British crown. The palace also has nice gardens that we had a little time to explore. |
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Fun Fact: The town of Culross and Culross Palace were filming locations for the first season of the show Outlander on Starz. I am a fan of the books and the show, so it was pretty cool to be at one of the filming locations. After the tour, I went home and rewatched the first season to see the scenes filmed in these locations.
Day 3: St. Andrews
After the Cathedral, we decided to get some gelato - cause why not? We went to Janetta's Gelato. There was a pretty good line, but it was definitely worth the wait! I had Fife Raspberry Sorbet and Sea Salt Chocolate. Super Delicious! Definitely go here!
We followed our gelato with a proper lunch at a pub. I was actually the one to get fish and chips for a change. After lunch, we stopped by a grocery store to pick up some snacks for the hotel before heading back to the bus. |
Our second stop out of Edinburgh was St Andrews.
We didn't stop long enough for a round of golf, but I did get my picture at the famous bridge on the Old Course. Helen took some of the tour members on a little guided tour of the town. We visited St Andrews University - where William and Kate first met, We then walked past St Andrews Castle before visiting St Andrews Cathedral. Sean and I left the tour at this point to explore the Cathedral on our own. |
Day 3: Staying in Dunkeld
Finally, we made our way to our hotel in the little town of Dunkeld. The hotel was along the river with very beautiful grounds. There were a large number of pine, cedar, and redwood trees along a walking path. It turns out that Scotland is a good place to see redwoods, much like the Sierra Nevada Region of California. During the 19th century, many trees were planted in Scotland and now grow in this part of the country.
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Day 4: Crannogs
Day4 was a great day for exploring several aspects of the history of Scottish life. We began way back in the time machine with a visit to the Scottish Crannog Centre on Loch Tay.
At the Crannog Centre, we got to visit a replica Crannog and learn about life in Scotland during the Iron Age. They also had other areas set up to learn about other aspects of life, such as gardening, milling, wood working, and smelting. The Centre is working to expand and build more crannogs. They all do a lot of good work educating the public, so do try to visit if you are in Scotland. |
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Day 4: Aberfeldy
Our next visit was in the town of Aberfeldy at the Dewar's Aberfeldy Distillery.
It would be an odd trip to Scotland that doesn't at some point learn about the history of Scotch Whisky. Even if you don't drink the stuff, the economic impact of whisky on Scotland has been a part of life blood of the country since it was first taxed in 1644. Today according to the Scotch Whisky Association, the industry supports an estimated 40,00 jobs and accounted for 4.37 billion British pounds in exports in 2017 (Wikipedia). The Aberfeldy Distillery was opened by the Dewar family and is the only distillery built by the family. They already had a successful blended whisky, but needed a place to make more of the single malt to use in the blend. The distillery still produces the Aberfeldy Single Malt at this distillery, which is also used in the Dewar's blends. As part of our tour, we were able to sample the Dewar's White Label Blended Whisky and the Aberfeldy 12 year Single Malt Whisky. |
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Day 4: The Hermitage and Black Linn Falls
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Following our time at Dewar's, we headed into the town of Aberfeldy for quick lunch before our next stop.
Our next stop was to learn a bit more about the follies of the rich. We stopped to see the Hermitage and Black Linn Falls. Now part of the National Trust, the park that surrounds Black Linn Falls used to be private property. The elite members of society would host their guests on their land. At this particular location, the land owner built a folly known as Ossian's Hill at the falls, where their guests could enjoy the falls and refreshments. The guests could then walk the grounds enjoying nature. Little did they know, their host had a special surprise in store for them. Hiding in the woods, waiting for them was a Hermit. He would jump out to scare the guests of the land owner. This, of course, had all been arranged by the owner. If you were willing to live in the woods, you could have had a lovely little Hermitage too. |
Day 4: Dunkeld
Our final stop for the day was in the town of Dunkeld to visit the cathedral.
The cathedral in Dunkeld was build in the 14th century and was partially destroyed during the Reformation. The part that is not still in ruin, is an active church today. |
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Day 4: Bagpipes
After dinner, we had our last Scottish experience of the day - the bagpipes!
Gillie McNab from The Vale of Atholl Pipe Band came to give us a Bagpipe demonstration. After playing a few songs and teaching us about the pipes, we were given a chance to try to play. I decided to give it a go - cause when else will I have a chance to play 18th century bagpipes? 1. It is very hard to make noise. 2. I am not actually playing the notes, I'm just blowing hot air. At least I tried, but I'm going to leave it to the professionals. |
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