Cairngorams National Park

Our next stop was Nethybridge. Eben's friend Ian connected us with his friends Eric and Carole. We were slightly nervous upon arrival since when Eben had communicated with them, he never mentioned that Mica would be with us. Then when we saw Ian on Monday, Eben asked if Eric and Carole had any pets. Ian said no and that they didn't like pets at all. That same day, Micah had told us that we were going to have his dog Moss with us on our trip. Needless to say, Eben and I got very nervous! We promptly emailed Eric and Carole to let them know that we would be traveling with another person and a dog and that we would happily camp outside, or elsewhere if they were uncomfortable with us having the dog. They replied and told us not to worry, that there was plenty of room for all of us. So off to the Cairngorms we went!

Our first day in the highlands we began with a hike in the Cairngorams National Park.

The rock face in the distance was our first destination.

Midway to the first peak.

Mica and me before the assent.

We reached the top of the first peak just as the clouds started to roll in.

It was extremely windy and cold once we reached the cliff face. Have a listen.


We crossed the sheer rock face on our way to the next peak.

We had two more peaks to climb. The last is the farthest with the little bumps on it (cairns).

My new FABULOUS Gregory backpack in action! (Eben got me my pack for my birthday.)

The third peak Cairn Gorm, after which the national park is named, is topped with one large and several small cairns so that in the event of a storm or heavy cloud cover people on the peak can find their way down.

I took this photo literally 3 minutes after the previous one and it became very clear why they would need the cairns! Clouds come in very quickly.

The four of us in the clouds after our long hike next to the largest cairn.

On our decent we had a view of some of the peaks we climbed. Going down the mountain was MUCH harder than going up. It may not look it, but it was very steep, and our legs were basically on fire.

To follow a 9 mile hike with a proper fish and chip dinner next to the loch was a great treat!

As we gobbled the delicious greasy goodness we were able look at the path we had taken over the course of the day.

This was my favorite road sign in Scotland! I picture trees lifting their skirts and tip-toeing across the street. (In actuality it refers to large equipment crossing and entering!??)

Our second day in the highlands Eben and I walked the Speyside Way a wooded, flat (my hamstrings thanked me) hiking trail from Boat of Garten to Nethybridge. That's where we saw lots of the creatures I previously blogged about. I wanted to share some more of the mushrooms we saw along the way.

These ones were hiding in the heather.

one more.

When we got back into Nethy we decided to walk along the river that passes through town.

This is a nettle. Nettles are horrible. The tiny little white flecks on the leaves are stingers that detach from the plant and get stuck in your skin, and in my case, break out in hives. In case you hadn't guessed, it isn't fun!

This is Castle Roy a fortress/castle built in the 1200s. You can't get closer than this though because it's not structurally sound. The wall at the doorway in the center is over a meter thick!

Eben and I had planned to take the bus and/or train to get to our next destination, which would have taken us pretty much the entire day due to the route we would have to take, but our good fortune came through again! Carole and Eric offered to drive us to the coastal town of Banff where we had our reservations at a small B&B.

They were such wonderful hosts! They were both welcoming and laid back, and they didn't have any issues with Moss. They gave us great breakfasts every morning with lots of yummy toasts, muesli, and yogurts (boysenberry, elderberry and rhubarb!). Carole made us two amazing three course dinners while we stayed with them, and we had the entire second floor of the house to ourselves. Our last night we taught them how to play spades. I think I had my best game ever! There wasn't a hand where I didn't get at least 5 tricks! Eric and I were the victors, but we all had a fun time.

We originally told them we'd be leaving on Monday, but made the reservations at the B&B for Tuesday (oops), so we stayed the extra day. I was worried that we were imposing, but in the end, Carole was really sad to see us to go. I think she really enjoyed being the hostess and she was a great one! We were so lucky!!!!

Highland Games and Castles

Eben and I had given Micah a list of things we'd like to do while in Scotland. On that list was to see a true highland games and more specifically, the caber toss. Most of the highland games take place in August, so like seeing the puffins, I didn't think this would happen. As luck would have it though, when we were driving from Aberfeldy to Nethybridge we noticed a sign for the Pitlochry highland games happening that day. We hopped off the A9 and parked just outside of town. Now you must know that Eben and I have been pretty much the luckiest tourist to ever hit Scotland.

We walked into town and litterally the moment we reached the sidewalk of the main street a parade of 20 pipe bands began their march into the games.

Some bands were a bit more serious in their costumes than others.

These sporans belonged to the pipe band from St. Andrews, and they were my favorite with the thissle on them.

We followed the bands through town to the games where I got to see the caber toss. I always thought that the toss was for distance like the other heavy events, but in actuality it is for accuracy. What he must do is toss the huge log such that it goes end over end and lands with the end which he was holding pointing directly away from him ideally in the twelve o'clock position. The angle at which the caber points determines how successful the toss was.

After seeing several heavy events, some dancing, foot races (which the public is welcome to join in), and some piping competitions, we were on our way to Blair Castle in Blair Atholl. Also on the to do list was to see the inside of a castle. This one is home to the Dukes and Earls of Atholl. We toured 30 rooms with lots of antique furiture, dishes, weapons, and dead animal heads most of which were older than our country.

The gounds were quite impressive as well with woodland paths and gardens.

I've already shared the hairy cows and the stag but here he is again with his ladies.

Scottish Critters

I haven't talked about many of these locations yet, but I want to share some animals for a nice change of pace!

Crannog spider in Kenmore.

Moss swimming in Loch Tay

Red deer stag in Blair Atholl outside Blair Castle

Two nuzzling 'heeland coos' also outside Blair Castle. One cow was actually licking the other's head. The highland cattle spotting has unfortunately been at a minimum, but there's hope today of visiting some.....

GIANT pig in Boat of Garten. There were also ponies in the next paddock and the pig was larger!

I know this isn't really a critter, but the mushrooms were so spectacular in Nethy. This one was on the Speyside Way trail.

Little toad on the Speyside Way.

A pretty blue beetle crossing the Speyside.

We saw lots of big black slugs in Scotland. This one was on Speyside.

A chatty horse in Nethybridge.

A sheep munching in Nethybridge.

More sheep.

Curious young cows.

Banff snail, which we spotted just as Eben almost bit it down a wet hillside slope.

We saw lots of birds in Banff, but they were too far off and blended with the rocks too well to take any photos, so this is me looking at shags, curlews, redshanks (which I called orange legs), cormorants, little terns, arctic terns, common terns, oystercatchers (my favorite!!!), turnstones, and lots of different gulls. We also spotted some ducks, but I have yet to sort out what type they were.

Butterfly in Whitehills.

Another Whitehills butterfly.

This little guy visited Eben's knee during our snack break on a hill in MacDuff.

There were thousands (if not more) of these spiders with webs built in the bushes of gorse all over the hill in MacDuff. The bridge in the background is associated with the Duff house the seat of the Earls of Fife in Banff built in the 1700s.

Feaman/Kenmore/Aberfeldy

Leaving the city behind, we ventured into the foothills of the Highlands. We even had a rainbow to welcome us!

I think we made out better in the house swap with Micah's dad who drove to Edinburgh to spend a few days in the city, and we took the car into the country for some quiet relaxation. Mr. Stanbridge's cottage is an old traditional stone house with lovely gardens all around (he is a professional gardener/landscaper).


From the cottage looking past some of the gardens and the little apple orchard, you can see Loch Tay down the hill. They own several acres including a section of waterfront beach on the Tay.

Eben, Moss, and I climbed Blair Drummon which is a hill that overlooks Loch Tay and the surrounding area. When we set out, it was sunny and warm but you could see the clouds gathering in the distance. Most people would be upset about this, but we were unphased since we had our waterproof gear. It was very neat to watch the storm approach over the loch.

Once the rain was upon us, just as we watched it roll in, we watched the sun break through and work its way back to us.

By the time we were walking back, everything was sunny and bright green again.

Moss loves their old stone pier on the loch. He could run and jump after sticks all day! It was really fun to have a dog for about a week, and he loved every minute of our adventuring.

We visited the Scottish Crannog Centre which is a full scale model of a traditional, Iron Age Scottish dwelling. It's built on the loch and you can have a tour inside and learn about what life was like for Iron Age Scots. The scale of the place is amazing and they made every attempt to rebuild the structure as accurately as possible. Since no true crannog exsists today, they've learned everything they know from underwater archeology.

They also taught us Iron Age methods of creating round wooden disks using a foot pedal, some rope and a flexible branch (don't forget the lovely Iron Age safety goggles).

We learned (in theory) how to make fire, although none of us were successful.

After my exhausting go at fire making, I opted to grind some wheat into flour. This was a remarkably 'easy' task as compared to the strain and coordination required for making a tiny ember of fire. Although to be fair, I did only make about a teaspoon of flour.

If Eben, Micah, and I had to survive on the skills we learned that day, we'd be cold and hungry, but have lots of round wooden disks and rocks with holes in them (a skill we were all able to master).

Next we climbed Taymouth Hill which offered views of Taymouth Castle and the surrounding valley.

At the top of most large peaks, there are cairns consisting of large piles of rocks and sometimes wood.

You can't help but feel accomplished reaching your destination and spotting the cairn.

Hikers will contribute a stone to the pile when they visit the peak to add to the structure.

Cairns also serve as shelter from the high winds on the exposed hills.

Once at the cairn, you sit back, have a snack and some water, and enjoy the view.

Good times!