Day Two found us enjoying our first of many "full Scottish breakfasts". Our days always started early with breakfast being served between 8:00 and 9:00 a.m. A full Scottish breakfast usually consists of juice, cereal, yogurt and fruit (usually canned) to start if you want. The main breakfast is your choice of eggs, fried tomatoes, fried mushrooms, baked beans, sausage, bacon, toast (either white or brown, i.e., white or wheat) and black pudding. I usually skipped the mushrooms and baked beans...and I'm not about to eat something where the first ingredient is pork blood (black pudding)! Actually, in the US it's commonly called blood sausage. My mother absolutely loved it, but it's not something I even want to imagine eating! The bacon in the UK is incredibly delicious! It's almost like thinly sliced ham. It's the meaty part of the bacon we have in the US without the fat. After breakfast we thanked our hostess and hopped back in The Bubble for our drive into the Highlands. And what an awesome drive it was. The scenery is breathtaking. We drove through thick forests and open areas where the hills were covered with heather. It wasn't long before I was officially in love with the Scottish Highlands!
Our first stop of the day was Blair Castle. The blackwork instructor I took a class from at the MN Needlework Guild retreat highly recommended it so Aimee and I put it on our agenda. I'm so glad we did. It has become my 2nd favorite castle in Scotland. The day was beautiful...blue sky, warm and not a cloud in sight. Because Blair Castle is still lived in, we weren't able to take photos inside but, believe me, it's beautiful. I love all the extremely high ceilings and elaborate woodwork. The highlight was the collection of antique stitched samplers along the hallways. They are so beautiful and so well preserved. I even gave Aimee a brief history of Scottish samplers and what made the unique. I wish I could have photographed the other needlework at the castle. I'm not even going to attempt to describe it, other than to say I've never seen such exquisite needlework in my life. I recommend anyone interested do an internet search for Lady Evelyn's needlework at Blair Castle.
The grounds at Blair Castle were amazing. Like Scone Palace they have a Pinetum called Diana's Grove (after the Roman Goddess of hunting, fertility and the moon) with giant Douglas Firs. It was originally laid out in 1737 and has been added to over the years. We were surprised to find California's Giant Redwoods growing there. We also had our first visit to a proper walled garden -- Hercules Garden. I can only dream of ever having a garden as lush as this! I think you can see how thick and lush the grass is, almost like a carpet. The little building in the photo is for swans. There are rows of fruit trees as well as beautifully tended gardens. We learned that in the late 1800s the pond within the garden would freeze and there would be curling matches on it. Beyond the bridge in the backgroud is a "warming house" called McGregor's Folly.
After leaving Blair Castle we stopped in a small town to fill The Bubble and ended up making an unplanned stop. It's an old military barracks called Ruthven Barracks. It's really just a shell so there isn't much left to see (although Aimee and I do love figuring out what each room was and, in the process, discovering how the barracks probably operated. It was used in the 1700 to keep the Highlanders in line. It is on top of a very steep plateau (that path you see is what you walk up to get to it) and the view from up there is amazing! You can literally see for miles in all directions.
Our next stop was Ballindalloch Castle. Again, this castle is lived in. Amazingly, it has been lived in by the same family (Macpherson-Grant) since it was built, which was in the 1500s. The current Laird (Lord) is a woman..the first female Laird in history. When her father died, passing the home to her, she petitioned the government to keep her father's name rather than taking her husband's name. Her son has taken the Macpherson-Grant name in order to carry on the tradition. There are handwritten signs and stories written by her throughout the Castle.
I don't know how many of you know that Aimee is clairvoyant....she "sees" ghosts. While we were on a staircase looking at an old mirror, Aimee turned to me and said that a "ghostie" had just walked past us down the stairs. She said it was an older female wearing pink. She couldn't tell what era she was from, but she felt that the woman had definitely lived in the castle at some point, loved the castle and considered it home. We were extremely surprised when a few rooms later we were reading about the room and it said that the ghost of a woman is often seen by spiritualists and mediums. I also got goosebumps myself when I read that! I told Aimee that she had to mention it to the woman at the entrance when we left. Aimee doesn't often like to share the fact that she can "see" ghosts with people, but I encouraged her to do it. When she did mention it, the woman was extremely excited and asked quite a few questions. They seem to like to hear the impressions of people who have experiences in the house and she said she would be sure to let the family know.
By that time it was getting to be quite late so we had to skip our stop at Glenlivet Distillery because it was already closed. We continued our trip to Urquhart, the little town about 6 miles from the northern coast of Scotland, where we checked into The Old Church, our "home" for 4 days. What a beautiful old building in a breathtaking area! I would stay there again in a heartbeat. After checking in we went to a town on the North Sea called Lossiemouth for pizza. By that time we were starved!! After eating we walked along the sea wall...with Aimee far too close to the edge for my comfort...and watched people surfing! Yes...surfing in the icy cold North Sea! The drive back to The Old Church was interesting -- in the pitch black on a road not big enough for 2 cars, lined with forest. We definitely slept the sleep of the dead that night!
