Whiskey Off My Feet

Tues 21

To escape the rain which was imminent and unending, mom and I drove down to Inverness and Urquhart Castle. They had the history of the castle in a video presentation, very similar to that of other castles. First mentioned in 1296, when Edward I of England took over Scotland, it switched hands throughout the Scottish Wars of Independence and then in the Jacobite Revolution it was held by the Hanoverian forces against a siege, after which it was blown up, just in case someone else wanted to use it. While we were on the shores of Loch Ness, we unfortunately didn't see the mythical water beast. Nessie was first referenced in a 7th century manuscript, wherein St. Columba preforms a miracle and prevents it from killing a man. 

Mom had been constantly mishearing me, when I informed her that she needed to work on her listening skills, her response was 'Vince Gills?' 

We had an amazing meal of meat and haggis at a pub beside a beautiful mountain and river scene. Honestly, I love haggis, just block its ingredients from your mind and it tastes amazing. Before heading back to the Cowshed, we walked up to the Fairy Falls, another landscape that feels otherworldly and ancient. It was late and it had been raining, so it was mainly just us and the sheep. Tourist tip: they don't like it when you 'baa' at them -they run away. On the way back up the island, we tried to get a look at Dunvegan Castle but it was closed and not visible from the road. Wasn't a total loss though, got a nice picture of a cow. 

Wed 22 

Somehow mom and I missed the giant distillery on the side of the lake and drove around lost for a bit before noticing the very obvious white building. We toured through the Tallisker Whiskey distillery (sorry, no pictures allowed) and a lot of the process looked like something out of Willy Wonka. Some of the rooms smelt so sweet I wanted a bottle of the air -others, less so. The sheer volume and persnickety little details and measurements they have to balance to make it right is crazy.  We had a tasting of the Tallisker Storm, and while I prefer the more 'delicate' whiskies to 'smokey' ones, at least I know the difference now. 

We drove back to Inverness to stay at a 'castle' for the night. The hotel is called Mansfield Castle, and the quotations are because it's a Victorian castle (so not a real one), the Victorians being the best fabricators of history. Blame the viking horned helmets on them- all their fault. We averaged out the fanciness of this place by sleeping in chairs at Gatwick airport the following night. Had supper at a pub in town, haggis again, and had an early night. The wifi at the place was really spotty so I wandered the halls of this old, ornate castle with my Iphone in front of my face like I was a cheap cable tv ghost hunter trying to make contact.

 What else are you supposed to do in fancy places. #mutuallyassuredhumiliation

Thurs 23

Mom's comfort with driving on the wrong side and roundabouts lessened as we got onto busier highways heading back down to Edinburgh. We returned the car to the dealership, which included clearing out the mountain of maps that had collected at my feet, and breathed a sigh of relief that we had survived. 1700 miles in one week. One stop Charmyn had recommended to us was the Gilmore Caves, just outside the city, a small network of rock rooms beneath the town which no one knows for certain why. But that doesn't prevent the existence of tons of theories for the tour guides to talk about - everything from monk to miners to royal escape routes or one guy just decided to live down there.  Worth a look. We had a little more time to walk around the Prince's Street and appreciate it's cobblestone quaintness before heading to the airport. 

Not much to add to this adventure. Our flight back to Gatwick was delayed by 4 hours so it was a bit touch and go but everything worked out fine. Sleeping in the airport and then waking up to the news of Brexit and getting to hear all the conversations swirling around me about what this meant for Britain on my rides back to Canterbury. Thanks for coming out mom! Love you!