Scotland Day 5

By now you know the routine...full Scottish breakfast at 8:00 and then off in the Bubble on a new adventure. Our first stop of the day was at Suendo's Stone in the town of Forres. I was quite impressed with Forres itself. As we entered the town, I saw that there was a new very modern "business park" which was extremely unusual in the Highlands. It was apparent that there had been a lot of growth in Forres as we drove through what could only be called a modern suburb with new housing developments and wide streets. It was nice to see that there was an attempt to make the new housing fit into the style of the Scottish Highlands.

And, in the middle of this modern suburb stands Suendo's (Sven's) Stone, a Pictish carved standing stone that was probably created in the 9th century. It's an amazing stone standing over 20 feet tall and encased in a glass structure to protect it from the elements. On one side is a large Celtic cross and on the other are over 100 figures depicting a battle. There are scenes of fighting, decapitation and piles of dead. On the narrow sides are typical interwoven vines. I decided it was time to leave when Aimee thought she should find a way to pick the lock and get inside the glass!

Our next stop was the nearby Dallas Dhu Distillery. This distillery was built around 1898. It was closed from 1929 to 1936 and again during WWII. In the early 1980s the Glasgow company that owned Dallas Dhu decided to close some of their smaller and older distilleries, among them Dallas Dhu. At the same time, Historical Scotland was looking for a distillery to preserve for tourism purposes. Dallas Dhu fit the bill and it opened as a visitor attraction in 1988. There is a self-guided tour with an audio "wand" that gives you a running commentary. It was fun to wander at our own pace. After touring Glenfiddich, we already had an idea on how a distillery works, but at Dallas Dhu we were able to see things we couldn't see in a working distillery, such as the inside of a still and where the peat fires burn under the stills. It was an interesting place (and we did get our dram of Roderick Dhu at the end!) One thing that was missing from Dallas Dhu was the wonderful fragrance of roasting barley, but surprisingly we could still smell the whisky in the mash room.

It was then back in the Bubble and on to Cawdor Castle, which is more properly called a fortified house. It is family owned and the family continues to reside in it. It was actually a very cozy castle and gave off a nice warm welcoming feeling. One of the interesting rooms in the castle is called the Thorn Tree Room. It was originally the ground floor guardroom and protected the drawbridge. There was a secret dungeon concealed in the wall. From items found in the dungeon, it was determined that even women and children had been held in there. In the middle of the guardroom stands a tree!! The legend is that the Thane of Cawdor lived about a mile away and he decided to build a new, strong tower house. He had a dream that told him to load a donkey with a coffer of gold on his back and let it roam for a day; wherever it lay down to rest in the evening would be where the tower house should be built and it would prosper forever. Legend has it that the donkey lay down under the thorn tree in this room. The tree has been carbon dated to approximately 1372. However, it is a holly tree, not a thorn tree.

This is the drawbridge you cross to enter Cawdor Castle. You can see the mechanism that lifted the drawbridge.

Cawdor also has a breathtaking walled garden with oodles and oodles of gorgeous roses...and some VERY tall thistles!
After leaving Cawdor we made our way to Moniak Castle which dates to 1580. This is Fraser country and the Frasers still live there. (If any of you have read the "Outlander" books, this is the area where Jamie Fraser lived.) The castle itself is not open to the public. We were headed there not for the castle, but for the MEAD!! It's a very, very tiny operation and we arrived about the same time as a tour bus full of mainly German tourists. We paid the fee for a tour, watched a video on the history and operation of the winery, and then toured it. It is so small that we walked single file through the storeroom to get to a tiny room where a man was putting corks in bottles one at a time, and a woman was applying labels...all by hand! We were there late in the day so we couldn't get into the kitchen to watch the cooking of the preserves. Back in the gift shop we were able to sample all 9 of the wines they make from wildflowers, fruits and tree (white birch) sap as well as several of the marmalades and preserves. Needless to say, we both walked out of there with a bottle of the best mead ever made!

We had then finished all our planned stops for the day but had time to spare so we decided to stop at Culloden Battlefield, which I suppose could be compared to our Gettysburg Battlefield. The battle fought was basically a civil war between the English and Scots that took place on April 16, 1754. It was very humbling to stand in the middle of the battlefield, walk the lines where each army stood, and consider the harshness of the location and the horrendous battle that took the lives of so many. When we were there, the wind was blowing so hard we could lean backwards and the wind would keep us upright; it was incredibly cold, much as it could have been the fateful day of the battle. There are trenches and mounds where the individual clans were laid to rest. The battlefield is covered with heather, but legend says no heather will ever grow on the graves.

Here's Aimee among the heather at Culloden Battlefield.

Since it was still light, we decided to stop at Clava Cairns stone circles. When we got there we saw that the gates were locked, which seemed strange for an unmanned Historic Scotland site. Since it was raining lightly, we thought we'd stop the next day when we would again be traveling in that direction. It was almost 7:00 anyway and we hadn't eaten since that full Scottish breakfast so we were starving. On the way back to the Old Church, we stopped at a roadside fish and chips restaurant that we'd seen earlier. I swear it is the ONLY place in the Highlands that is open past 5:30! It was actually open until 10:00. It reminded me of a diner that catered to truckers and motorists. Of course, I had fish and chips; Aimee had pizza with corn topping and a side of chips. Then it was back to the Old Church for a hot shower and a good night sleep.