Scotland Autumn Dispatch - Sunday, 12th October 2014

Dear Everyone, when I left you on Thursday morning we were planning a walk to Killiecrankie, site of a famous battle won by King James II, and walk it we did. It had rained overnight, but the sun was out as we set off on what was to be a 3 mile walk. We think we walked 6 miles in total, and certainly it took us 2¼ hours to find the Visitor Centre, passing Soldier’s Leap, a burial spot and an old viaduct on the way. We met quite a few people on this walk, but most only said hello and went on their way. Although we had planned to walk back to Pitlochry, we had to abandon that idea and ring for a taxi, as there wasn’t enough time to get us back to our 2pm Matinee of Mr Bolfry.

White swans, such a treat, on the way from the Golf Course

We popped into home, Claymore B&B, to change clothes, down a cuppa & biscuit and relax very briefly before walking back to the Pitlochry Festival Theatre along the dam and by the fish ladder. The play was quite different from the others we have seen, and although it seemed somewhat dated to begin with, we felt that its premise – it’s as easy to follow the Devil as it is to follow God, is quite relevant in today’s world. Dougal Lee, the actor playing the Devil, Mr Bolfry, is the most accomplished of the troupe here and he played this role with aplomb. When we came outside at the end, it was raining heavily, so we rang for a taxi again, and discovered a 94-year-old man waiting for one as well. We persuaded our driver to take him with us and deliver him to the Green Hotel, and were thrilled when the driver not only opened the cab door for him, but escorted him to the front of the hotel and opened that door as well.

Our driver then took us to the Pitlochry Golf Club, where we settled down to a lovely two course meal of tomato & lentil soup, followed by grilled Shetland salmon, both accompanied by our waiter’s favourite wine, a French cabernet sauvignon, which was very smooth, not quite as flavoursome as our Australian palates crave, but enjoyable. We watched golfers carrying their bags up and down dale and decided this was a much prettier golf course than the famous St Andrew’s and probably much more affordable.

Claymore – we were in the bay window room

We walked home in the mist afterwards and spent a quiet evening reading with cups of tea and biscuits to keep us going. Our room here is very spacious and comfortable with an excellent bed and a pair of very inviting chairs in the bay window. Like most places, it doesn’t offer nearly enough hanging space or drawers and nowhere near enough power points. Our guest bedroom at home has 14 power points; there are 4 in the bathroom, and 2 in the passage outside the room, which should be enough for the most electronic minded guest. Here we have 4 power points in total and are forever plugging and unplugging things to charge our phones or the laptop or to use the hairdryer or iron. The bathroom is the size of 1.5 toilets and has been inserted into this lovely old room, as is often the case. The shower is right-angled in design and quite tiny, and it takes forever for the water to heat up. We still fill buckets at home with the cold water while we wait for our shower to get warm, and here we could easily fill three bucket loads each morning. The light switch which activates the tiny exhaust fan is outside the room and there is a small fluorescent light over the mirror once you are inside. We do have heated towel racks, which are operated from a switch on the floor outside the bathroom and quite tricky to work, but a godsend for drying underwear and socks. All this we can cope with, but we are very frustrated with the inadequate reading lights, which are dull, too low and too shaded to offer much in the way of illumination.

However, our hosts, Graeme & Dianne, are excellent and rarely could you stay in a B&B for eight days straight and not get sick of the breakfasts. We wanted to book a self-contained cottage, but could only have one for 7 days – Saturday to Saturday and we needed the extra Friday beforehand, which no-one was prepared to do for us. The Claymore is voted no 1 on Trip Advisor, so I think we have done well.

Wes had planned for us to walk Ben-y-Vrackie on Friday, and I had gone along with that, not really knowing what we were letting ourselves in for. We had our usually yummy breakfast and set off to walk along the West Moulin Road in search of the start of the walk, which was at a little car park, about 20 minutes from our B&B.

Now that it is over, we think it is probably the hardest thing we have ever done in our lives – climbing the rock at Sigiriya, Sri Lanka, in 1979 & again in 2011, is the most dangerous thing we have ever done, but climbing a Munro that reaches 841 metres at its summit is pretty hairy. Most of the path is rocks in haphazard fashion, with very occasional straight patches. It wasn’t easy and we were tempted to give up but Wes really wanted to do it, so we soldiered on. I took Cliff Young as my hero and adapted my walk to his shuffle. By halving the size of my steps I conserved energy and was never breathless. Wes preferred to walk 100 steps then rest, so we were always close to each other on the path. Getting there was such a thrill!

A Canadian couple took this photo in return for us taking theirs

Getting down again was not so good – we decided to come down the path on the other side, which we had trouble finding, but it didn’t have any rocks and I wasn’t sure that we would be able to negotiate the rocks as neither of us had sticks to help us. So off we trotted and eventually realised we were going further and further away from Pitlochry, so plunged into the heather, down the side of the outcrops and eventually found a 4-wheel drive path, and even more eventually ended up at Killiecrankie Visitor Centre. I rang a taxi but they were all doing the school run, as were the buses, so we walked the 4 miles home to Pitlochry and arrived back at 4.45pm, 7 hours after we set out that morning.

We were exhausted but exhilarated, and after a short rest and showers and a change of clothing from top to toe, we set off for the Festival Theatre for our final play – The Yellow on the Broom. We had decided to grab a sandwich and drink at the café there rather than try and eat a full meal, and that was perfect, as we managed to chat with two of the actors on their way past the bar. They were thrilled with our compliments, delighted we had come all the way from Australia and were looking forward to short breaks after the season finishes at the end of next weekend.

We didn’t much enjoy the play, which is about Scottish travellers, so at interval we decided to go home as we felt an extra hour’s sleep was more necessary than seeing the end of the show. We fell into bed and slept soundly, before waking yesterday morning in plenty of time for breakfast, packing, and a walk to the Catholic Church, a final check on the Fish Ladder, and then the two hour train trip to Edinburgh. We were lucky enough to get seats with a table attached and not too many other travellers fighting over it.

We booked into the Princes Street Suites, which are in Princes Street within walking distance of absolutely everything. First thing we did was unpack, and then while I mastered the washing machine/dryer combination, Wes made the wifi work and then went foraging for food. We had already decided we would spend the afternoon and evening relaxing as our tired limbs didn’t need any more walking.

Wes climbing a ladder over a dry stone wall

We didn’t sleep as well as we would have liked – back in a double bed, after the luxury of an excellent King Size and the dryer is yet to actually dry anything, so we have had that noise to content with during the night as we both need underwear and socks in preference to wearing yesterday’s stuff. However, the shower works well and after a small breakfast we are going to head off into Edinburgh and see where we find ourselves. As it is Sunday, we will avoid the most popular places and wait to do them during the week. 

Beautiful views of Pitlochry that we will miss – the Loch with the trees turning colour and the stunning vine growing up over the house

Scotland Autumn Dispatch - Thursday, 9th October 2014

 Dear Everyone, when I left you on Tuesday morning we were planning a walk to Edradour Distillery, the smallest in Scotland, but rain intervened, so it wasn’t until 10.30 that we were able to set off. We headed into town first as I wanted to post a gift to Leanne, and then we followed the signposts to Edradour, about 5 kms away. We had driven as far as the car park last year, but a tour had just started and rather than wait an hour for the next one (the times of tours are not advertised) we decided to leave it for another day, and that day finally came.

We paid our entrance fee of about $15 and went to a tasting room while we waited for our guide, James. Wes tried one of their whiskies, and some of the other visitors were sampling whiskies or drinking coffees. Eventually we went on our 1 hour tour and it was fascinating. At one point we were invited to taste two different whiskies – I declined as I really don’t like the taste, and was given their equivalent of Bailey’s Irish Cream made from whisky and fresh local cream. We then watched a short film and discovered that the brewing is done by three men, who perform all the tasks together and start work at 5am each day.

Then onto a close up look at the various pieces of machinery, all very old and in perfect working order. This place is a delight to visit and you walk away with a whisky glass worth about $10, and in our case, a bottle of the 10-year old whisky. If you are interested in reading more about them, here is the link - http://www.edradour.com/

After we were finished there we walked to The Black Spout, which makes the Blowhole look like a poor cousin, even Trentham Falls would be struggling to match its grandeur. We then walked through beautiful woodlands by the side of the burn all the way back to Pitlochry, where we enjoyed a late lunch at a local café – toasted pannini with salad - and arrived back here just as the rain started down in earnest again.

I have been advised that not everyone has heard of bamboo socks – they are certainly very popular where we live – lightweight, yet warm and easy to wear. You can even buy bamboo underwear, but we haven’t indulged in that yet. The only drawback is that they take ages to dry, but the socks I bought for myself for this trip are not quite as thick and cushioned on the sole and heel only, so dry much more quickly.

Yesterday we awoke to find sunshine everywhere – most unexpectedly, so after breakfast we headed off for a walk up to the Pitlochry Golf Club, which enjoys stunning views and is beautifully looked after. We had thought of eating there in the late afternoon, but the sandwich board advertised a Curry Smorgasbord, so we decided to postpone the pleasure of dining there for another day. We walked on to the Church of Scotland, which honours Alexander Duff, a prominent missionary, but it was locked and bolted, so meandered back down to the Pitlochry Festival Theatre for our 11am backstage tour. We did this last year and found it was a wonderful mine of information and made us feel as though we knew some of the secrets of the theatre. Our guide, Chris, was slow and deliberate, and obviously enjoyed showing off this amazing place, so our tour lasted 90 minutes.

The main reason we have come back to Pitlochry, apart from its beauty, is to see all 6 plays, which is their Summer Season. Visitors flock to this little town, about the size of Daylesford, for the theatre, the Explorers’  Garden, Edradour Distillery, and the amazing walks you can take, both by the river and in the forest. We have noticed an improvement in the shops since last year – many were in need of new management & ideas, and it seems that has happened, and although there are a couple of very ordinary souvenir shops, for the most part, Pitlochry offers quality clothing, eateries, bottle shops and specialty shops.

We sat over a glass of Chateau Cardboard while we waited for our 2pm matinee and shared a table with a couple of hoteliers from Stirling, who were driving back home after the play. We praised Scotland to them, as we always do, and they confessed to having been to Sydney and had far too much good wine to drink there.

The play, Whisky Kisses, is a musical involving all 18 members of the repertoire company. It was good fun, with some lovely numbers, some inspired dancing and a chanming story based around a distillery just like Edradour. Afterwards we wandered back to the Old Mill, where Wes had his steak & ale pie again, and I enjoyed breaded haddock, then home to read and relax.

We are hoping to walk to Killiecrankie this morning after breakfast – wish us luck! 

Scotland Autumn Dispatch - Tuesday, 7th October 2014

Dear Everyone, I left you on Saturday heading off for a walk into Pitlochry with a couple of tasks to fulfil. I had bought Wes new bamboo socks for this trip, but we discovered they were dress socks, not walking in boots socks, and totally unsuitable, so we found ourselves visiting every shop on Atholl Road in the hope we could replace them. Eventually we did and he is much more comfortable walking around. We also visited the second-hand bookstore at the railway station, where we managed to find 4 books we couldn’t live without, had a cup of tea and slice of fruit cake at a very friendly little café, and finally walked along the river to the Festival Theatre to see Perfect Days.

I don’t know if I have explained that this season of plays is Scottish (not including The Scottish Play however), so we are occasionally challenged by very quick dialogue, but usually able to work out the gist of what is being said. This play is a brilliant slice of life with the main character a 39-year old career woman keen to have a baby before it is too late. It is funny, sad, insightful, provocative and ultimately uplifting. The author, Liz Lochhead, is a poet and novelist and currently holds the title of Makar or National Poet of Scotland.

After the play we wandered to the Old Mill for a very yummy dinner – steak pie for Wes and fish cakes for me with an Australian shiraz to wash them down. We had the best seat in the house right next to the watermill, and although this restaurant hadn’t been highly recommended by our host, we enjoyed it very much. Our B&B is a very short stroll into the heart of town, so we were home by a very reasonable hour and able to read before bed.

The next morning, after another lovely breakfast, we headed off for a walk along the dam and by the Fish Ladder, which I utterly love and completely don’t understand at all! Wes keeps explaining, but it’s a bit like locks, a mystery to me. We arrived at the Explorers’ Garden, which is owned by the Festival Theatre and celebrates the achievements of early Scottish explorers, doctors and botanists, who travelled the globe to bring back rare and exotic species of plant life. Our guide, Pat, was very knowledgeable about all things Scottish, but not so knowledgeable about why some of the imported plants and trees weren’t thriving – you have never seen such pathetic, spindly gums, thoughtfully planted under the shade of spreading trees and overwatered into the bargain.

After our tour, we invited another couple, Malcolm & Marian, from England, to join us in a cuppa at the Theatre café and enjoyed swapping stories with them. He nearly became a £10 Pom in the early 50s and was attracted to Melbourne, where there were jobs advertised as tram conductors. Now he feels too European to even consider travelling to Oz. They belong to a very active and educational U3A and, like us, had come to Pitlochry for the plays.

After we left them, we set off to walk along the river to Killiecrankie, site of a famous battle and much-recommended by one and all. We found the lack of signposts very frustrating, ended up in Faskally Wood, (where preparations were in order for the night’s Enchanted Forest performance), and finally found a sign which told us we were ¼ mile further from Killiecrankie than when we started! We walked the mile or so back in the other direction to Pitlochry in Scottish mist and vowed to try again the next day.

We came back to dry our wet clothes, have a cup of tea and rest before it was time to go back into town and find an early meal. We chanced upon another very good restaurant, where we enjoyed lightly fried calamari followed by a pork chop & crunchy vegetables for Wes and smoked haddock linguini for me. This time we had a Spanish tempranillo as our drink of choice.

Then off to the meeting point, queue to join the queue to join the next queue, until we were all safely on buses and taken to Faskally Wood for the Enchanted Forest. Buses arrived and departed at 5 minute intervals, which made sightseeing easy, and we did two rounds of the circuit before catching a bus back here around 8pm. Wes took some wonderful photos, but nothing does justice to the magic of the transformation of the woods and water.

Yesterday morning we awoke to find real Scottish weather had set in and our plans for a walk to Edradour Distillery had to be shelved. We had breakfast then came back to our room to catch up on computer work and read and wait for the rain to ease a little. By the afternoon it was dry enough for me to walk into town as I needed to visit the chemist, buy tickets for our train journey to Edinburgh next Saturday and buy a box of yummy Scottish shortbreads to accompany our frequent teas and coffees.

We went back to Strathgarry for dinner and discovered that without our lovely Swedish waitress, things were quite different. Three gay guys patrolled the floors, chatting to themselves more than to the guests and totalling ignoring service until insistent bells from the kitchen sprang them into action. As well as that, the potatoes had been salted at least twice and everyone was complaining. Our waiters insisted it was a matter of taste, but we pointed out that everyone was having the same taste issues, so hopefully that was sorted by the next round of meals. Boy, will they pay on Trip Advisor by the time Wes has finished with them!

On our walk to Killiecrankie

Our play last night was called Passing Places and comprised a journey from bottom to top of Scotland, channelling the lives of two young men as they coped with life’s slings & arrows – or at least that is how I saw it. We enjoyed it very much, lots of great lines and as we have driven to, or plan to drive to most of the places mentioned, we weren’t lost by the allusions.

This morning, after a good sleep, I’ve had a lovely long phone call with Leanne, who is doing very well. After breakfast we hope to do the walk to Edradour Distillery – although it is very Scottish outside, the rain has stopped and we have a completely free day, with no plays and nowhere we have to be at any time – bliss! 

Scotland Autumn Dispatch - Saturday, 4th October 2014

Dear Everyone, we had a busy day on Thursday – after catching up on footy news early, Wes rang Barbara to get some Daylesford news and she confirmed that our much loved Mitre 10 run by Jenkin & Thomas would be closing at the end of the month, but the electrical/electronic side of the business would continue at present. I don’t know how we will survive if they close as well – John, Keith & Tim are friends and can solve every problem we throw up at them!

After breakfast we walked to the Kelvingrove Museum & Art Gallery, which took about an hour and was worth every step. We were blown away by the history of Glasgow, the art, the building (although it is not as decorative as Melbourne’s lovely Exhibition Buildings) and the organ. We spent two hours there and our heads were spinning. Highlight for Wes was seeing Dali’s Christ of St John of the Cross, which was a very controversial purchase some years ago, and I enjoyed seeing some French art we had not previously encountered.

Couldn’t resist this sign!

We decided to walk on to the Botanic Gardens and when we arrived it was 1pm, so we headed to the tea rooms and are so pleased we did. We shared a Scottish Seafood Tapas dish of smoked salmon dip, prawns Marie Rose & pickled herrings with rye bread. I had a pot of spicy citrus tea and Wes settled for a strong smoky blend called Belfast Shipyards. Perfection, including our waitress, Iris, who spent her time saying Thaaank Youuu and Sorrrrry as she worked her way between the tables.

We visited the Kibble Palace with all the wonderful tropical plants reaching up to the sky and then the second hothouse, which went for miles it seemed and contained every plant known to man. The gardens are well-maintained with lots of public seating and grassy areas.

Wonderful vintage racing car at the Museum

Into a taxi and off to see The Tenement House, a wonderful late Victorian tenement flat frozen in time. It was home to an unmarried shorthand typist for over 50 years and apart from electric lighting, little has changed since the early 20^th century.

As we walked back to our hotel, we decided to pay The Willow Tearooms a visit, and came away quite underwhelmed. Our meringues looked fabulous but were almost impossible to eat, however Wes had his first enjoyable coffee of the trip, so that was a plus.

After a rest we donned better clothes and walked all the way to the Alston Bar, where gin is the specialty of the house. I tried Botanic, which I have been dying to taste and discovered it is served with freshly-ground black pepper. We both had Hendricks for our second drink and wondered why we had bothered with anything else. This bar and eatery is under the Grand Central Station and is named after a street that has disappeared over time. It has a good atmosphere and was much frequented by working women especially as it is a very safe and welcoming place for an after work get-together.

Yesterday morning we were delighted to find we had managed to sleep through the night without waking at 2am, having cups of tea, catching up on emails and trying to tire ourselves out so we would sleep until 6am at least. Off to our last breakfast at this hotel where we got into conversation with 4 travellers from Norfolk who were on their last day of a 5-week coach trip of Scotland.

Stairs leading to the Glasgow Police Museum…..

We went for a walk in the rain and crossed a couple of the bridges over the Clyde river before finding ourselves at St Andrew’s Catholic Cathedral, which is a very beautiful church and has an interesting cloister garden of mirrored plinths with words of inspiration.

Sadly we had to go to Queen Street station to catch our train to Pitlochry, but we had reserved seats and after working out the complex system of numbering and finding somewhere to put our bags we settled back for a lovely 90 minute trip. Rhonda had warned us that when we arrived we would probably have to lug our bags up the stairs and over the bridge, which we did, before popping into the station second-hand bookstore, where we gave the volunteer there our return tickets, in the hope that one of them would be able to use them. It was cheaper to buy return tickets than single tickets!

We walked to our accommodation, Claymore Guest House, which is on the main road, Atholl Road, and settled into our lovely front room with a bay window looking out onto a beautiful garden. We unpacked and decided to rest until 5pm when we went searching for an early dinner, which we found at the Auld Smiddy Inn. We had eaten there last year and the food had been good but the service officious. This time we enjoyed excellent service and Wes tucked into a salmon steak, while I consumed Scottish mussels, washed down by an Australian shiraz.

We were due to see our first of 6 plays that night, hence the quiet afternoon, and we did enjoy seeing The Admirable Crichton, a dated but interesting play, which was very professionally produced and acted. It was lovely to walk back home here afterwards, reflecting on what we had seen, before falling into bed and sleeping soundly for 7 hours.

Breakfast this morning is in a lovely conservatory strikingly decorated in black and white, with stunning views out to the garden and greenery beyond. We have Scottish weather, with gentle rain falling, and as soon as it dies down, we will head out for a walk and then see our second play, Perfect Days, at 2pm.

Lunch at the Botanic Gardens – Scottish Seafood tapas!

Scotland Autumn Dispatch - Wednesday, 1st October 2014

Dear Everyone, we enjoyed a lovely breakfast last Sunday at the Food Gallery with Judi, Maureen, Margot & Barbara, then went home to do last minute packing, turning off of switches etc and in the early afternoon Wes drove Bilbo to Eureka Kennels in Ballarat, where he settled in nicely, unaware we will be away for 5 weeks.

Wes then collected me and we drove to Andrew’s Parking, where we left the car and were speedily driven to the International Terminal at Melbourne Airport. We were first in the queue at Emirates and allowed into the Qantas Club, even though we were travelling economy. This was a wonderful surprise and enabled us to relax before our 14+ hours flight to Dubai. We haven’t travelled overseas in Economy for some years and weren’t quite prepared for the lack of space. However we had excellent, thoughtful travellers around us, who asked if it was OK when they reclined their seats.

Enjoying a large glass of bubbles before the flight!

We watched Calvary together and agreed the film didn’t quite know where it was going, then while Wes overdosed on The Vikings, I saw The 100-Year Old Man Who Climbed Out of a Window (which I loved), and finished up with The Grand Piano, which I felt was a brilliant idea executed clumsily. In between we got snatches of sleep, although I realised that the days when I could curl up on the seat were long gone!

We had showers and hot drinks at Dubai in the Emirates Lounge, which prepared us for the nearly 8 hour flight to Glasgow. This wasn’t quite as pleasant, but while Wes continued with The Vikings, I saw two episodes of Wallander (with Krister Henrikssen ) that I hadn’t seen before and enjoyed them immensely. Eventually we arrived at Glasgow, where we were warmly greeted, there was no Duty Free, but we found a very friendly taxi driver to take us to the Grand Central Hotel, which is situated in the Central Railway Station.

Our room is a little tired, and quite dark, but it is fun to be at this Hotel, which is Grand in the way the Windsor in Melbourne is, and we loved the wide carpeted staircases, the lofty ceilings with chandeliers and we especially love walking out into the station concourse each morning. We unpacked as much as we could, then fell asleep on and off for the rest of the afternoon, evening and night.

Yesterday morning we headed off to breakfast which was OK without being memorable – however it is served in a lovely room and the staff is very attentive. There are lots of teapots, so I can start the day with a pot of Jasmine tea, which is lovely.

We had decided to do the bus tour on our first day and caught the 9.30am red bus which made 28 stops and gave us a real feel for Glasgow. After 2.5 hours we hopped off and visited the Modern Art Gallery, which featured installations we didn’t understand, some interesting artwork we thought would go well in Daylesford, and the piece de resistance, a floor of cardboard replicas of all the churches, mosques, etc in Glasgow stripped of their trimmings and presented as examples of architecture. We were interviewed by Scotland TV and asked our opinions, but forgot to watch that night to see if we made the cut!

Then we visited the Police Museum, which has been put together by present and past police, and is staffed by volunteers. We learned that Glasgow had a police force 50 years before Robert Peel invented the concept in England, and were impressed with the wealth of information and stories contained in the display cases.

Wes outside the Tailors’ Window – a sea of old sewing machines behind him

We stopped for lunch at Café Gandolfi, recommended by a tour guide and enjoyed a stunning, simple lunch of Barra scallops, baby leeks and new potatoes. The scallops were the cleanest, plumpest, tastiest we have ever eaten and obviously benefitted from growing in an unspoilt sea. Afterwards we explored the Trongate area, which reminded us of Fitzroy before it became mainstream. Back home for a rest, then off to the Champagne Bar in the hotel to try an interesting whisky and gin. I chose an English/Icelandic gin, which was tasteless compared to Hendricks or our previous favourite, Bombay Sapphire, and Wes had a 15-year old whisky, which was OK, but not as good as the Jameson he has been drinking.

This morning, after I rang Leanne on Skype, we had breakfast then headed out on a long walk to visit the Glasgow Cathedral, which is in beautiful condition and obviously much-loved, then across the bridge to the Necropolis, where we marvelled at the incredible monuments that the Glasgow Merchants erected to their own memories – the best spot was reserved for a giant statue of John Knox, (the enemy as far as we are concerned) and he enjoys stunning 360° views of Glasgow. Back to the Cathedral and into the impressive St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art. Don’t miss it if you visit Glasgow – it is a unique exploration of various religions presented thoughtfully. 

Lunch was a yummy Thai vegetarian meal looking out over Sauchiehall Street, most of which is a mall.

After a visit to the Glasgow School of Art, which is housed in a magnificent building, we walked back to our hotel via a Catholic Church, St Augustine’s, where we lit candles in memory of our parents (a tradition we like to continue whenever we travel).