Whisky Tasting

Another great thing about Glasgow are the day tours which take you out of Glasgow. I decided to do a whisky tasting day-trip to the highlands, just out of Glasgow. I went with a small tour group (there were 11 of us plus the bus driver, Billy). Billy took us north out of Glasgow and our first stop was Aberfoyle, where we stopped for a light refreshment and quick look around. There was a wool centre here where I had a cup of tea. Out the front of the wool centre was a falconry where there were about 10 birds of prey tied up to small posts. Apparently they are all hand-reared birds and you can get your photo taken with them for a small fee, the proceeds of which go to help in the rehabilitation of birds of prey which have been injured and can be re-released.

I know that they have never been wild birds and that it really isn't any different from keeping a budgie in a cage, but even still, I found it a bit sad to see all of them tethered to their tree stumps.

From Aberfoyle, we drove along The Duke's Pass to Loch Lomond, alongside of which is an old Victorian hotel. The Loch was made famous by Sir Walter Scott's story Lady of The Lake, and there were so many visitors to the Loch after that that they had to build the hotel to cater for them.
Our next stop on the tour was to Strathyre, where in a graveyard by a small church, Rob Roy MacGregor is buried.

We had a quick stop to view Rob Roy's grave (where the inscription on the head stone declares: MacGregor Despite Them), before heading to Crief and Scotland's oldest whisky distillery. We had lunch first, and as Billy had talked up the Haggis so much along the way, I decided to give it another try. It was quite tasty, a little less peppery than the one I had in Edinburgh, and I think a little more fatty. The taste did grow on me a little more, but still not something that I will rave about.

After lunch, we had a tour of the Glenturret distillery, where they have been making whisky (legally) since 1775. On the tour, the process of making single-malt whisky was described, then the process of how a blended whisky (such as The Famous Grouse) was explained. Glenturret produces one of the whiskies which goes into The Famous Grouse.

Then came the important part: The tasting. Actually, I'm yet to aquire a taste for whisky. Especially the straight stuff! We were given a "nosing" card, on which there were 4 smells which contribute to the final whisky product: citrus, smoke (peat), vanilla and chocolate. After guessing which each smell was, we were then permitted to taste the whisky. After our first dram, we then went onto "The Famous Grouse Experience", which was an interactive video introducing us to Gilbert the Grouse, and basically brainwashing us to drink The Famous Grouse! Then we got to taste another whisky, and that was the end of the whisky tasting tour.

We got back on the bus after that, and headed to Doune Castle which was the setting for Monty Python and The Holy Grail. We didn't go inside though, just stopped long enough to take a photo.

Back on the bus, we headed to our final destination, Stirling Castle. Here there were fantastic views of The William Wallace Monument. There is also a statue of Robert The Bruce. Again, we didn't go inside the castle, although we did have longer to walk around and admire the castle from the outside.

We then got back on the bus and Billy drove us back to Glasgow.

I hate Glasgow (or the Glasgow Top Five)

Ok, so perhaps the above title is not quite accurate. Unfortunately, "I didn't like Glasgow as much as I liked Edinburgh" or "It rained a lot and was a bit miserable in Glasgow" just aren't as catchy as "I hate Glasgow". Another alternative title, I guess, could be "Glasgow: it ain't Edinburgh".

Now, it may have been the weather that could be affecting my judgement of Glasgow. But I do think that Glasgow is just that little bit gloomier than Edinburgh. Afterall, it did rain in Edinburgh as well.

So I think the best thing I can do so as not to totally talk down Glasgow, is to give you a list of the top 5 things I found in Glasgow:

1. The City Chambers.
A beautiful building, dating back to 1888, and decorated with a very fine attention to detail. When it opened, it had exceeded the budget by about three and a half thousand pounds, but the result is money well spent. There's even a room decorated in Tasmanian timber, and another which features satinwood from Queensland (what taste!). On top of that, entry and a guided tour is free!

I got to pretend to be Lord Provost and sit in his chair!

This Lord Provost very cleverly guaranteed that his picture will remain on display even though there is limited displaying room available and some of the portraits are rotated- He got a famous, up and coming artist to paint this very mordern portrait of him.

2. The statue of The Duke of Wellington on his horse outside The Museum of Modern Art, wearing a traffic cone on his head.
Apparently he always wears the traffic cone on his head,despite the fact that the city council removes it daily! I don't blame him really, at least it keeps the pigeon poo off of his head.

3. This teddy bear wearing my old Norwood Primary School uniform.
I was tempted to buy her, but she cost thirty-four pounds!

4. The city coat of arms, featuring Saint Mungo, the fish with the ring in it's mouth, a bird, a tree, and a bell.
The coat of arms and symbols from it are all over the city. I quite like the pride that Glaswegians take in their city and their history, even though it's not Edinburgh.
5. Merchant City.
Well, obviously somewhere you can buy food is going to be a highlight of any city for me! Merchant City gives you a large number of restaurants to choose from in a small area. I like the sign and archway at the entrance too.

Northern Scotland

Hi Everyone!

Sorry I haven't had a chance to update my blog recently, but as you guys have been rather slack with comments and emails recently, I don't actually feel guilty at all!

As it's been a while since I was actually in Scotland, I might have to rely on my photos to do much of the storytelling (or at least to jog my own memory)...

I left Edinburgh on Thursday 4th of September, for my intended destination of Stromness, on the Orkney Islands. This meant catching a train to Inverness, then a coach to the ferry terminal at Scrabster, then a ferry to the Orkney Mainland Island. All this traveling and waiting for transport took all of the day, so there wasn't really anytime for sightseeing by the time I got to Stromness (it was too dark to see anything).

The next morning was actually my one and only day that I had allowed myself of sightseeing (being booked on the ferry back to Scrabster on the Saturday morning). I started the day by catching a bus to Maeshowe, a neolithic passage tomb, not unlike the one I saw at Newgrange in Ireland. Besides the neolithic origins of the tomb, another point of interest of this tomb was the viking graffiti (runes) inside on the wall. I had no idea what they said, but the guide did interpret them for us (although really, he could have made it all up and I would have been none the wiser).

After this tour, I walked to The standing stones of Stenness, where there are 3 stones still standing out of a group of 12 stones (also dating from the neolithic period). From there, I walked further up the road to The Ring of Brodgar, where there are about 26 stones still standing in a ring which was thought to have included 60 stones.

Standing Stones of Stenness

Ring of Brodgar

Ring of Brodgar

I was able to catch a bus from here to Kirkwall. The bus driver just so happened to be a Tasmanian also! From Launceston, would you believe? What a small world. From Kirkwall, I caught another bus back to Stromness, then another to Skara Brae- a special site where a neolithic village has been uncovered which is about 5000 years old. Here, there are about 10 buildings, all linked together by passageways, and very similar in design- with stone dressers for displaying precious items, and beds, all sitting around a central hearth. After visiting Skara Brae I then went to Skaill House which is where the man who discovered Skara Brae lived. This was also quite interesting as it had the dinner plates used by Captain Cook on his final voyage on display.

The site of Skara Brae

Looking out to the North Sea from Skara Brae

From here I caught yet another bus back to Stromness, where I got an icecream and had a bit of a wander around the streets.I had then intended to catch another bus back to Kirkwall, but unfortunately I had read Saturday's timetable and so was 5 minutes late and missed it! The buses are not very regular in the Orkneys, so I decided that I just wasn't meant to see any of Kirkwall besides the bus terminal!

The next morning I caught the ferry back to Scrabster, then a coach back to Inverness.

View from the ferry towards Stromness

View from the ferry towards Hoy


View from the ferry of Old Man Hoy

After finding my hostel in Inverness, I decided to make use of the afternoon by walking down the River Ness and visiting the Ness Islands. I also called in at the tourist office and booked a cruise on the Loch Ness for the next morning.

A man fly-fishing in the River Ness

Our bus driver's name for the tour the next morning was Kenny. He drove us to our boat- the Jacobite Spirit- and gave us some commentary about the history of the area and what we were going to see along the way.

The boat trip lasted half an hour and took us down the Loch to the remains of Urquhart Castle, which was blown up in 1692 by the English to prevent it from being captured by Jacobite forces. We were given time to explore the remains and visit the information centre, before Kenny drove us back to Inverness.

I was quite disappointed that I didn't spot Nessie

After lunch that afternoon, I went on another cruise. This one was a wildlife cruise on The Moray Firth. The aim was to see some Moray Firth Dolphins, but unfortunately they didn't want to play with us that day. I didn't really blame them though- it was an overcast day and the water was a little choppy.

Although I was a little disappointed at the lack of wildlife on the cruise, it was quite a good afternoon nonetheless. The commentary on the boat was at least informative and interesting, and I also met some people from Yorkshire who gave me an idea of what I should do the following day.

They told me that the rail journey between Inverness and Kyle of Lochalsh is one of the most scenic in all of Scotland and definitely worth doing. So that is what I decided to do. I was due to stay in Glasgow that night, so did the train journey to Kyle of Lochalsh from Inverness and back again in the morning, and then travelled to Glasgow in the afternoon.

Proof that sometimes it's the Journey that is important...
View from the train


View from the train


View from the train


View from the train (Hamish MacBeth Country!)


View from the train (I'm quite proud of the above 5 photos, as they were taken through glass on a moving train!)

not the destination!
Kyle of Lochalsh

Kyle of Lochalsh

Unfortunately, the train back to Inverness was delayed slightly by a mechanical problem, which was corrected, and we were due back to Inverness about 10 minutes late. This meant that it was going to be very tight catching my connection to Glasgow, but they said that they would hold the train for me and the other passengers who needed to make the connection. This was going to work fine until as we were approaching the station, our train was forced to stop as someone trying to commit suicide had trespassed onto the track. The train to Glasgow wouldn't wait any longer, so there were twelve or so of us who missed it! It was very frustrating, as if the train had waited just waited for 2 minutes past it's scheduled departure time, we would have caught it. It wasn't so bad for me, as I didn't have anything scheduled in Glasgow that I would be late for, but for several other passengers it was a bit more inconvenient, as they had planes etc that they were scheduled to catch.

There was a bus organised for us, which took us to Perth where we all made our connections about an hour later than we had anticipated. I'm not sure if the others made their flights, but I did eventually make it to Glasgow.

Edinburgh

Hi Everyone!

Last week, after arriving back in England, I spent a couple of nights in a hotel in London. On the Saturday, Uncle Scotty arrived from Tassie and I caught up with him for dinner. It was great to see a familiar face so far away from home! He was heading off on a tour of England, Ireland and Scotland early the next morning, so it wasn´t a very late night. The next morning, I had to check out of my hotel and fill in some time before I was to catch the overnight train at 10:40pm to Edinburgh. I managed to pass my time in the Victoria and Albert Museum. There was an exhibit on about The Supremes which entertained me for a good couple of hours. It featured some history about where they came from and the changes that were occurring in America during the time they were growing up and when they were starting out as a group. It also featured many of the clothes they wore, from homemade dresses when they were first starting out, to designer dresses worth thousands of dollars.

After having dinner and picking up my bags from my hotel, I headed to London Euston where I caught the train to Edinburgh. It was certainly an interesting experience, and although it saved money on accommodation and gave me more time to spend in Edinburgh, I felt a bit smelly all through the following day, as I wore the same clothes for about 30 hours (and was also quite tired after an interrupted night of sleep).

I arrived in Edinburgh at 6:30am, and spent the next half hour waiting at the station for the left luggage office to open. After dropping off my big backpack, I headed out onto the streets of Edinburgh- and found that I loved the city immediately.

As it was still early and not much was open yet, and it was a lovely, clear morning, I decided that it would be a good time to climb up to the top of Arthur´s seat. The ascent took about 45 minutes, I then spent about half an hour at the top, and the descent took another half hour. It was a perfect morning for it- the sun had just risen and was shining over the hill and there was a clear panorama of the city and the bay, and over the Firth of Forth to Fife (look it up on a map!).


By the time I got back to The Royal Mile (the main street in Edinburgh which goes from Holyrood Palace, the official royal residence, to Edinburgh Castle) I was feeling pretty hungry, so stopped at a little café where I had a full Scottish breakfast. Feeling pretty full afterwards, I continued up The Royal Mile to the castle.
There was a grandstand in the forecourt of the castle which was being disassembled after The Edinburgh Tattoo. Inside the castle there is the oldest building in Edinburgh- St Margaret´s Chapel, The National War Museum, and the Crown Jewels of Scotland, plus The Stone of Destiny. I had a look at and in all of these sights and at one o'clock, I stopped to watch and hear the One o'clock gun go off. Now, apparently you can tell a local from a tourist by how they react to the One o'clock gun. The locals are obviously used to the sound at one o'clock and are waiting for it to go off. People who have just arrived in the city are obviously taken unawares when the gun goes off. I was ready and waiting for it to go off, and well, watch the film to see how I reacted...

After visiting the castle, I headed back to the train station to pick up my bag, then checked into my hostel. I had an early night that night, after having a shower and dinner, as I was quite exhausted after the train the night before.

The next morning, I headed to Starbucks on the Royal Mile. Not to indulge in the drinks at this typically Scottish café, but because this is where a free guided walking tour leaves from. This tour took us up the Royal Mile past Mercat Cross, where many people in the past were punished and made an example of, past St Giles Cathedral and to the car park behind it, underneath which there are thousands of bodies buried, some legitimately, as it was previously a cemetery, and some illegally as thousands of bodies of those who died of the plague were dumped here. Under carspot 23 there is a yellow plaque to mark the spot where John Knox, a former minister of the church is buried according to his wishes (not that he wanted to be buried underneath a carpark, but he wanted to be buried next to his church).
We also visited Lady Stairs Close, where the Writers Museum is, and heard stories of Deacon Brodie, a respected man during the day, who became involved with burglary, murder and gambling during the night and was the inspiration for the story of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.

We visited Greyfriar's graveyard, where a tombstone stands for Greyfriar's Bobby, Scotland's most famous dog who actually isn't buried in the graveyard at all. There is also a little statue outside the churchyard of this little skye terrier. Over the wall of the churchyard you can see the school which was JK Rowlings inspiration for Hogwarts. Also inside the graveyard is the Covenanter's Prison, which is locked during the day (but which I visited that night) and where hundreds of men were exposed to the elements and perished fighting for their cause.
Down the road from the church, is The Elephant House, a café where JK Rowling sat and penned most of Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone.
We had lunch at a pub in The Grassmarket, where we could have a pint and burger for five pounds if we wanted. I did. It was a pretty good deal, although the burger did taste like it was part of a five pound lunch deal!

After lunch, we headed to the Princes Street Gardens which used to be underwater, but now is a lush, green area where people can hang out on sunny days. And that was where the tour ended.
I spent the rest of my afternoon in the Camera Obscura, which is just down the road from the castle. The Camera Obscura is a dark room, inside of which is a round table onto which an image is projected of the city. This image comes from a mirror which is angled on the roof, then passes through a series of lenses and is focused onto the table. The mirror is then turned with a rod, by a guide who showed us some points of interest in the city. This viewing went for 15 minutes, after which you can browse at the rest of the exhibits in the building at your own leisure. The other exhibits consisted of holograms, optical illusions and magic eye pictures. It was a very entertaining way to spend an afternoon.
In the evening, I went to the pub just up the road from my hostel and decided it was time to try Haggis. It came with tatties and neeps (mashed potatoes and turnips) in a layered, tower formation. It was round in shape, and had two oat biscuits angled out of the sides, so it actually looked like a sheep's head! So what did it taste like? Well, I'm not sure if this was a typical example of Haggis, but to me it tasted peppery and oatey, and actually I couldn´t taste the animal elements at all. It certainly didn't taste like lamb. It wasn´t bad, but not something that I would get a craving for either.

After dinner, I headed back up The Royal Mile to St Giles Cathedral, outside of which the tour "The City of The Dead" leaves from. This is a ghost tour which had very good reviews. A girl from Dublin, Helen, whom I met on the earlier day tour also turned up with an American girl, Rachael, who was staying at her hostel.

The tour started outside the church, where we heard some more stories about witch trials and burnings, then we continued onwards back to Greyfriar's Church, where, by coincidence, there was an ambulance. This just played up to our nerves and overactive imaginations, and Dave, our tourguide, just said "Hmmm, strange goings on in the graveyard" (earlier we had also been told of the "attacks" that sometimes occur during his tours and how occasionally people have had to be sent to the hospital). We heard some more stories about murderers and treatment of the inmates of The Covenanter's Prison, before Dave opened the gates and we entered the prison. He told us a bit about the poltergeist who inhabits the prison, before ushering us all into one of the cells. He told us how sometimes people can feel cold and collapse, so that if we started feeling cold, all we had to do was move a bit to the left or the right. He told us about how some people get bitten or scratched or bruised and sometimes they don't notice until the next morning they wake up with the marks on them. At one point Rachael exhaled and for a split second I wondered if a poltergeist had blown on the back of my neck!

Anyway, these stories went on for about 15 minutes or so. So, by the time that the guy dressed in black and wearing a mask jumped out from around the corner and yelled "AAAAUGGGGHHHH!", us females, who Dave had made stand at the front of the cell, screamed!

Now, to be honest, I was half expecting something like this to happen, especially as some of the reviews referred to "The surprise at the end", but even still, it was a shock when it did happen- but also very funny!

After everyone else had left, Rachael, Helen and I quizzed Dave on some of the spooky things that actually have happened, and although not as dramatic as a guy jumping out and yelling "BOO!" they are far more creepy and spine-tingling. We also asked him about the ambulance, and apparently one of the old homeless guys who hangs around the graveyard had collapsed (probably due to alcohol).

We said goodbye to Dave (who by day works in The National Museum) and headed to a pub for a pint, then back to Rachael and Helen's hostel to help Rachael drink some wine she needed to finish. The girls then very kindly walked me back to my hostel, so that I didn't have to walk back down The Royal Mile on my own.

For once, I was the last person back to my hostel dorm, as when I got to my room I found that everyone else was in bed.

The next morning, my room mates were already up and getting ready for the day when I got up and had a shower, inspected myself for bites and bruises, etc. They were Japanese tourists, and as they left, one of the girls asked me if they could have their photo taken with me! So the two girls posed with me while the guy took their photo. I'm not quite sure why they wanted my photo, but I'm assuming it's because I have blond hair and blue eyes. I'm hoping this is the reason anyway, because the alternative is that they thought I was some kind of freak-show (possibly it's a bit of both).

That day, I visited some of the places that we had passed the day before on our tour. I went to The Writer's Museum, which is a tribute to Walter Scott, Robert Burns, and Robert Louis Stevenson. I tried to go to The Elephant House for lunch, but there weren't any tables free for me to sit at, so I went back to The Grassmarket for lunch (to a café though, not the pub this time). I also went to The People's Story, which we hadn't visited the previous day, but which is a small (free!) museum with stories about people from Edinburgh from the 1700's to today.

As I'd spent pretty much all of my time whilst I'd been in Edinburgh in The Old Town, I decided that it was time to check out The New Town, so I ventured beyond Princes Street Gardens and went for a walk down George Street, which is where the Princes (and recently Princess B) go out when they're in town.
I had a great time in Edinburgh, and as I said before, I loved the city straight away, which is very unusual for me. Usually when I'm travelling on my own, it takes a day or two for me to start to appreciate a place. I'm not sure what it is about Edinburgh. It's not the castle, I know that. I think it might be all the lovely Victorian buildings, and the many narrow, steep walkways and steps leading up to The Royal Mile. It may also be it's proximity to the sea, and the lovely views from Arthurs Seat. It may be the simple fact that the sun was shining when I first got off the train (this didn't last!). Whatever the reason, Edinburgh is one of those places that I would gladly return to.

Hope you are all well, and I look forward to all the comments and to having a full email inbox very soon!

Love,
Lis x.

ps. more photos to come on this particular entry very soon, but at the moment I'm in a bar in Glasgow and there's a soccer match on (Scotland currently 2-1 lead over Iceland) and I'm afraid that my computer may get a pint of beer at any moment (and also the battery is starting to run flat). So more pictures and more blogs soon!