13 June – Wednesday
The day did not start at all well; our hire car had been booked nearly nine months ago (and been paid for!) to be picked up at 9.00am. Our plan was to collect the car, return to our hotel for the luggage and check out, then proceed north to Inverness via Balmoral Castle. Europcar did their best to make sure that didn’t happen – our car was in the process of being brought in from the airport and would be available in 40 minutes. TWO HOURS later, we took delivery of our car – a Smart Car which absolutely reeked of cigarette smoke. Not happy Jan!!! Europcar customer service centre will definitely be contacted tomorrow!
Anyway, it was off to Balmoral Castle via Perth and Scone, a lovely little village. Braemar was also quaint and obviously a centre for hikers, as we saw plenty in this area – all aged about 60 and most suitably dresses, the men wearing deerstalkers! We had some Scottish sunshine (mizzle) at Balmoral and it was freezing cold, about 8 degrees – didn’t get above 10 all day. Balmoral was lovely, the grounds were beautiful and we were allowed into the ballroom. The River Dee looked like it was just waiting for a fly fisherman!
Then it was over the Craigorm Mountains to Inverness. These mountains were typical of what we think of Scottish mountains, heather covered and no trees. The heather is just starting to flower in sheltered places and will look marvellous in a couple of weeks. Lots of sheep with shaggy wool, black faces and horns. I got so excited at seeing some heiland coos (Scottish for highland cows) that Les thought something was wrong and nearly ran off the road. The poor little car really struggled over the hills.
We found a lovely bed and breakfast in Inverness – very clean, smells wonderful (not like Edinburgh!) and a very friendly couple of owners. We have decided to stay two nights here. Went for a walk after dinner and there were a couple of fishermen standing in the middle of the Ness River, and it was bitterly cold even though the sun was shining. The sun sets about 10.15pm and rises 4.15am.
The day did not start at all well; our hire car had been booked nearly nine months ago (and been paid for!) to be picked up at 9.00am. Our plan was to collect the car, return to our hotel for the luggage and check out, then proceed north to Inverness via Balmoral Castle. Europcar did their best to make sure that didn’t happen – our car was in the process of being brought in from the airport and would be available in 40 minutes. TWO HOURS later, we took delivery of our car – a Smart Car which absolutely reeked of cigarette smoke. Not happy Jan!!! Europcar customer service centre will definitely be contacted tomorrow!
Anyway, it was off to Balmoral Castle via Perth and Scone, a lovely little village. Braemar was also quaint and obviously a centre for hikers, as we saw plenty in this area – all aged about 60 and most suitably dresses, the men wearing deerstalkers! We had some Scottish sunshine (mizzle) at Balmoral and it was freezing cold, about 8 degrees – didn’t get above 10 all day. Balmoral was lovely, the grounds were beautiful and we were allowed into the ballroom. The River Dee looked like it was just waiting for a fly fisherman!
Then it was over the Craigorm Mountains to Inverness. These mountains were typical of what we think of Scottish mountains, heather covered and no trees. The heather is just starting to flower in sheltered places and will look marvellous in a couple of weeks. Lots of sheep with shaggy wool, black faces and horns. I got so excited at seeing some heiland coos (Scottish for highland cows) that Les thought something was wrong and nearly ran off the road. The poor little car really struggled over the hills.
We found a lovely bed and breakfast in Inverness – very clean, smells wonderful (not like Edinburgh!) and a very friendly couple of owners. We have decided to stay two nights here. Went for a walk after dinner and there were a couple of fishermen standing in the middle of the Ness River, and it was bitterly cold even though the sun was shining. The sun sets about 10.15pm and rises 4.15am.
2 comments:
justin , simon and us stayed at the Bramear Lodge for a couple of nights, just lovely, great scotch, lovely log fire and an old dog to keep us company. sally
Hello,
I mostly visits this website[url=http://www.weightrapidloss.com/lose-10-pounds-in-2-weeks-quick-weight-loss-tips].[/url]You have really contiributed very good info here lesandpauline.blogspot.com. Do you pay attention towards your health?. Here is a fact for you. Research points that nearly 60% of all USA adults are either obese or weighty[url=http://www.weightrapidloss.com/lose-10-pounds-in-2-weeks-quick-weight-loss-tips].[/url] So if you're one of these people, you're not alone. Its true that we all can't be like Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Megan Fox, and have sexy and perfect six pack abs. Now next question is how you can achive quick weight loss? [url=http://www.weightrapidloss.com/lose-10-pounds-in-2-weeks-quick-weight-loss-tips]Quick weight loss[/url] is really not as tough as you think. You need to improve some of you daily habbits to achive weight loss in short span of time.
About me: I am writer of [url=http://www.weightrapidloss.com/lose-10-pounds-in-2-weeks-quick-weight-loss-tips]Quick weight loss tips[/url]. I am also health expert who can help you lose weight quickly. If you do not want to go under difficult training program than you may also try [url=http://www.weightrapidloss.com/acai-berry-for-quick-weight-loss]Acai Berry[/url] or [url=http://www.weightrapidloss.com/colon-cleanse-for-weight-loss]Colon Cleansing[/url] for quick weight loss.
Post a Comment