Scotland. God's Country. (Part 2)

A week had passed in bonnie (beautiful) Scotland and it was time for Liz and I to take a one day driving tour across the country to see as many sights as possible. We woke at the crack of dawn and picked up our car for the trip (very nicely borrowed from my close friend Sean).  We had a route mapped out leaving Inverurie and heading down the Royal Deeside through Ballater, Balmoral, Tomintoul, up through the gorgeous highlands, then through Inverness, stopping at Loch Ness and Urquhart Castle, with our last stop in Aviemore. Little did we know that we'd get in the car and not stop driving for 10 straight hours.

We headed out from Inverurie and joined Royal Deeside in Peterculter where Mark and Suz, used to live. We had a very foggy beginning to the adventure as the first photos will show. The forecast stated that the weather would turn and boy did it ever.

Here's Kris sporting the carriage for our adventure.

First stop, amazingly enough, was a castle. On our drive home from the airport Liz spotted her first sign posting for a castle and asked if we could come back that way to check it out later. Mark informed her that there would be sign postings for castles every few miles, which she couldn't believe. So we decided to start out our day at Drum Castle, which was about 20 mins into our journey and looked very picturesque with the foggy backdrop.

We arrived before the castle was open and the tours had begun, so we just took it upon ourselves to meander around the property. We were so early that we met the dustbin (trash) men and Liz was able to witness the back doorstep of the castle which had just been graced by the milkman.

Almost every view of Drum shows a different castle. Because of its distinct blend of architectural styles – a medieval tower, a mansion and additions from the Victorian era's – the character of Drum changes as you move around the outside.

Another 15 mins down the Deeside road, we stopped off at Crathies Castle. It shows a complete change from the first castle. Fairytale-like turrets, gargoyles of fantastic design and the ancient Horn of Leys given in 1323 by Robert the Bruce are just a few of the features of this historic castle. We again were making record time on our trip and arrived too early to take a walk through the famous garden grounds of Crathies. Next time though.

  

 Next stop on the Taylor Scottish adventure was the Falls of Feught. A place I've seen a hundred times, but always takes my breath away. At certain times of the year (unfortunately not right now), this is a prime spot to see the famous Scottish Salmon jumping for their lives up through the rocks and onwards to there spawning grounds up in the highlands.

(East view from bridge, back to Aberdeen)

After  we stopped for a bacon buttie and Liz managed to fumble a cup of coffee as she was taking it from the store clerk, we made our way up to Potach Bridge. A very fond place to the Taylor's childhood memories. We used have family BBQ's and football matches in the park, we spent lots of time jumping from the bridge and it was also one of Mark and Suzy's hangout spots (just that patch of grass on the left).

(West view from the bridge up to the highlands)

(The old one armed camera man) As you can see by the time we made it to Potach the weather had just broke and the beautiful Scottish sunshine laced the colors of the countryside.

Liz posing infront of the huge granite rock that welcomes you to the Scottish Highlands.

Another way to tell if you're in the highlands is when the cows start to look like this...

We were fortunate enough to catch the local wildlife, some Highland Cows (or coos). This was a wee one, but you can spot his camera shy family in the woods behind.

We drove all the way to Balmoral (where the Royal family resides most of the time). Unfortunately, the castle was closed because the Royal Family happened to be there. We never did catch a glimpse of William and Kate, so we cruised past the castle entrance and spent some time driving around the grounds of the area. This bridge is famed for being where Princess Di and Prince Charles took there engagement photos. There's many of these bridges that cross the River Dee from the royal grounds to the fields commoner's side of Balmoral.

Couldn't resist putting the old Ballater sign post in and the beautiful hill in the background.

Part of the Royal grounds.

 4 miles from the main gate, we stumbled upon a drinking fountain, donated by Queen Victoria. This was for all persons who pass and drink fresh water directly from the highland rivers.

A view down the River Dee too Ballater bridge.

Crossing Ballater Bridge, to the quaint little village. Just over the hill in the background is where we were heading next.

On our way through the highlands we crossed many different bridges all from different era's, but this one really stood out and the light hit it just right as we passed.

These next 4 photos were taken as a selection of the hundreds that were shot as we stopped at the side of the road and basked in the pure beauty of the highlands. I must admit that in all my time spent in Scotland, I have only witnessed a few days like this one with blue skies and 75 degree weather. We had an absolutely perfect day to enjoy the gorgeous scenery. The pictures hardly do it justice!

It's difficult to tell the depth in the photo, but this road was on an extremely steep incline overlooking the rolling hills in every direction.

Notice the red and white pole on the left side to measure the snowfall in the winter.

People literally just stopped their cars randomly on the side of the road and got out their fold-up chairs to enjoy the view for long periods of time.

We stopped for a quick lunch break at a small bar in Tomintoul.

Out of the highlands and onwards to another of Scotland's landmarks, Inverness.

Can't remember exactly what this building is, but I'm sure my uncle Mike will be able to pull my Scottish card and never let me forget it ever again.

We took a drive down the coast of the great Loch and sat next to the water for a while. Loch Ness is of course known for its Loch Ness Monster. All Scottish people will testify that it's  probably one of the eeriest places to see on a grey day or when its raining. The feeling that something else is living in that lake is undeniable. We have first hand accounts from my Grandad who was a copper head diver at Loch Ness many years.

Above you will see Urquhart Castle on the banks of Loch Ness, which is just past Drumnadrochit (my favorite town name in Scotland). The castle has been used in many films and is the 2nd most visited castle in Scotland. In its day it was one of the largest strongholds of medieval Scotland. It is not known precisely when the castle was built, but records show the existence of a castle on this site from the early 13th century.

Although in ruins these days, you can still make out the living quarters and other workings of the castle.

A very insightful sign we found on our travels. 

Liz making friends with Nessie

On the way to Aviemore we were over taken by Super Gran and her supercharged wheelchair. As you can see she's road legal, because of her break and indicator lights. Quite the sight on a road that has a 70 mph speed limit.

Last stop for the day was the town of Aviemore where we ended our road tour for the night. Here we were treated to luxury eating at The Roo's Leap which is owned by Paul, one of my best friends and a groomsman at our wedding. We also spent the night sampling all forms of alcoholic beverages at the historic Cairngorms Hotel.

During dinner, Liz and I were serenaded by a local bagpiper.  For 9 months of the year he plays multiple times a night standing outside the Cairngorms Arms Pub.

On the way home, after a very long lie and a few tylenol, we came across this entrance to someone's  private grounds. A bonnie wee gate house, with intricate stone work. Scotland is full of amazing little finds like this all over the country.

When driving through many small towns as you make your way through Scotland, one minute your on a freeway, the next your squeezing by trucks and parked cars in towns you can't even pronounce.

Liz caught this photo as we were stuck in traffic, he was the "The Great British Food Cycle" in a little town called Fochabers.

That concluded part 2 of the Scotland trip.
Hope you enjoyed the first edition all written by me (Kris). I had a sick day and wanted to finally add to the blog.

Scotland. God's Country. (Part 1)

We arrived in Aberdeen, Scotland on July 30th. It seemed almost surreal since we'd been talking about making the trip for almost 3 years now and it was finally coming to fruition. My first immediate observation of Scotland was that it felt like home. All those comparisons Kris had made when he first moved to Pennsylvania of the rolling hills and the beautiful green fields, it was easy to see why our two birthplaces felt so much like home to eachother. One major difference I noticed as we stepped off the plane was the cool, crisp air. After a summer in Doha and then spending a week in Coatesville with 95 degree heat and humidity, we welcomed the cooler temps and the crisp, fresh air. And although we were completely prepared for the standard Scottish rainfall, we were lucky enough to experience the country at it's finest with sunshine during the majority of our stay.

My second round of observations was the undeniable charm displayed in both the countryside and the towns. Driving through the villages, you feel like you've taken a step back in time. Every village is scattered with stone and granite homes, churches and shops. You get an immediate sense of family and community and pride for one's home and country. The endless fields are dotted with sheep, cows and horses. There are stone dykes claiming the farmers territory and outlining fields which have been there for hundreds of years. Every which way you turn could be a postcard. The greens are greener. The air is fresher. And the water runs clearer. Scotland is truly God's Country!

We stayed with Kris's brother and sister-in-law, Mark and Suzy, just West of Aberdeen in Inverurie. We were anxious to finally meet the new addition to the Taylor family,our gorgeous new newphew, Kole Alexander George Taylor!

Proud Uncle Kris with Kole.

Beautiful view of Bennachie, a well know and prominent range of hills that's situated behind Mark and Suzy's home. The view never gets old!

Kris thought it would be funny to catch me snoozing in the sunshine. My excuse is jet lag, and recovering from pneumonia! Take note of my one shoe on, one shoe off :) I woke up thinking I had a 5 minute nap, only to find out I'd been out like a light for about an hour.

Our first venture out of Inverurie was with Ken and Kate to visit Kris's Grandma and Granddad on the coast of Northern Scotland in Cornhill. This was the first time I met his Grandparents and Kris's first visit with them in over 3 years. They greeted us with open arms (and I only shed a few tears walking through the front door). After spending some time catching up, we went for a small tour of a few fishing villages on the coast.

After driving through the village of Port Soy, our first stop was Sandend. It's been a tradition for the family to come here and search the beaches for a tiny sea shell called John O' Groats.

The last stop of our tour was in White Hills. Granddad and Grandma spent a large part of their marriage living here. The village is well known for their fish and chips at a small restaurant called Rockfish. This was definitely one of the highlights of the trip for me! It was by far the best fish and chips I've ever had! 

Later that week, Mark and Suzy very graciously hosted a BBQ at their home to get the family together while we were all there. I was able to meet a few more of the family members and friends that I'd previously only met on Skype or Facebook. We weren't quite as lucky with the weather as we had been the past few days, but I got to experience a true Scottish BBQ...umbrella (or brolly) and all.

The next day, we took a driving tour of Aberdeen. We drove through all of Kris's old neighborhoods so I could see where they grew up and went to school. It was so nice to finally experience a piece of Kris's childhood and to hear Kris, Mark and Suzy reminisce about the past and all the mischief they used to get into. 

We stopped at Aberdeen Beach and took Kole for a short stroll along the boardwalk. 

I was introduced to the famous "99" which is a Mr. Whippy (soft serve ice cream cone) with a Flake (delicious chocolate candy bar) stuck in the side! Mmmm.... seconds, please!

I also got a tour of Footdee, or as the locals would call it, "Fittie". It's an old fishing village at the east end of the harbour in Aberdeen. The area has had a settlement as far back as the Medieval times and the first recorded reference to the area of Fittie was in the year 1398. 

Just my size!

A tour of Aberdeen (or Scotland for that matter) is not complete without a stop to pay respects to the statue of Sir William Wallace! I could just hear the famous speech ringing in my ears, "...they may take our lives, but they will never take our freedom!"

Stay tuned for our tour through the countryside and the beautiful highlands in Part 2!