The Contrasts of Scotland

 Scotland is a country of contrasts, well it was for us today. We had to change our plans for the weekend, we were going to Fort William, where the highest mountain in the Scotland is, but would you believe it, the Mountain Bike World Cup was on there. Accommodation was impossible to find and as it turned out access to the mountain was limited and the weather was crap. 

We left the cloud covered mountains of the west and travelled east to the other side of the country. There were a couple things we had on our "maybe list" that we thought we may as well do. One was visiting a shop/mill in Elgin where they make beautiful cashmere & woollen clothing and blankets. Unfortunately everything was a little expensive (eg $50 for a pair of socks) for me to justify parting with any cash and I didn't think to take any photos.

I mentioned the contrasts of Scotland these two photos above are a good example. The Scots have no problem putting the modern architecture of this bridge within viewing distance of a derelict abbey.

The afternoon activity was going to be a "distillery crawl" but we settled for a guided tour of the best instead. Glenfiddich means deer in the valley.

Brenda was the photographer for the tour (I left my camera in the car, dah). The whiskey is still made the same way it was originally. The stills are exactly the same size and design as they always have been.

It was a very personal tour with just the four of us with this lovely gentleman, a wealth of knowledge. And, of course, when in Rome you have to taste the end product, yes even me (Brenda was dezzie, not that she minded). It wasn't too bad, in fact, it was quite pleasant after the first taste, which cleared the sinuses. With a "couple" of samples bought we hit the road for Inverurie near Aberdeen.

With Brenda driving the boys got moved to the back seat so I was able to take some photos while we drove along. Here you see the contrast to the first photo, beautiful green pasture in the sunshine and how fabulous is that sky?

The Scots don't seem to have a problem dotting their landscape with wind farms, they are everywhere.

Hope you have enjoyed a little bit of Scotland, more tomorrow.

TOODLES