Applecross is a small community on the far western shores of Scotland. It’s “claim to fame” is the road in and out.
This road to Applecross takes you through some of the most desolate parts of Scotland, on one of those single-track roads I wrote of before. That would be a challenge on its own, but this road is riddled with steep inclines and multiple switch-backs (a.k.a hair-pin bends), making the road quite a challenge to do.

There were warning signs at the beginning of the drive alerting drivers to what to expect and actually recommending against attempting the drive if you are a learner-driver or have a fear of heights.
My sister had informed us of this road and my not-always-sound sense of adventure screamed “I NEED TO DO THAT”.

And so it was we did “the road to Applecross”.

Steep, narrow and desolate

The road is everything that you can imagine reading the previous paragraph. Desolate. Steep. Switchbacks. VERY Narrow roads (with oncoming traffic) yet hauntingly beautiful.
I should mention here that our rental car has a manual transmission and has the steering wheel on the “wrong side”. So I was kinda glad I we endeavored on this adventure more than a week after arriving in Scotland, so I had “somewhat” gotten used to driving on the left and changing gears using my left hand.

Spectacular views

We had picked a day without rain (the thought of driving this road in the rain was just not even a consideration).
The weather actually turned out to be better than we had hoped for. Sunny and clear.
As a result, the views were spectacular. We could see all the way to the Isle of Skye, Scotland’s largest island. We could clearly see the Cuillin mountains, the main mountain range on Skye, which are normally shrouded in low-hanging mist.

After an exhilarating drive we eventually reached the town of Applecross only to find most of it closed. We really felt like having a nice coffee or tea, but the local Inn and Cafe were both closed (and, yes, that was all there was. Did I mention this place was remote?)

So, after walking around, lusting after a hot drink, we decided to continue on. We had the choice of returning the way we came, or to continue via the coast, a longer, but easier drive. Linda made the suggestion to do the coast road arguing it may be our one-and-only opportunity to see that section. I am so happy she made that suggestion as more spectacular views and scenery were to be seen.

Beautiful farms (complete with the famous Highland Cows), remote communities that make you wonder “why here” and generally beautiful vistas of islands and seashore.

We eventually made it back to our AirBnB just outside of Plockton, where we finally had that, well deserved, cup of tea, and a “wee dram”.

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A fine Scottish Whiskey

On occasion, Linda and I both enjoy a glass of Single Malt Scotch Whiskey so we were determined to visit at least one distillery when in Scotland.
A natural choice was the Dewar’s distillery as it was close to the AirBnB we were sharing with my sister.
Alas, it was closed so we started to look for others that were not too far away to drive to. As it turned out, The Glenturret Distillery, Scotland’s oldest whiskey distillery was less than one hour away! We booked for the tour and off we went.

The tour was awesome!

The tour guide explained that the Glenturret distillery still operates with the original equipment and “only” produces 200,000 liters of whiskey per year, way less than some of the larger, better known, brands. They like it that way though, as it allows them to maintain a more, “hand crafted” approach, honoring the traditional distilling methods that are hundreds of years old. They even measure their alcohol content without any modern devices, instead using a method with water and glass tubes. Many of the other (perhaps better known) distilleries have had to automate these processes in order to speed-up and increase their production.

The Glenturret Distillery also, quite proudly, announced that just earlier this year several of their whiskeys had won awards. In March 2023 The Glenturret Triple Wood received the International Wine and Spirit Competition’s (IWSC) highest accolade with a score of 99. Then, in April 2023, two of their other whiskeys were awarded the Grand Gold Award at the International Trophy Awards. The winning whiskeys were The Glenturret 10 Years Old and the The Glenturret 15 Years Old, very prestigious labels they have achieved multiple times.

Traditional methods

When touring the plant, it was very evident this was a traditional and small distillery. There was only a single still and the roasting machine (for barley) was 126 years old and still in use. They made the comment that the original manufacturer had gone out of business, simply because their machines never broke down – not surprising, but quite amazing.

They get their water for the distillation process from Loch Turret, not the river Turret that runs right past the plant. The main reason they don’t uses that water is the amount of sheep in the pastures that the creek runs through.

By the way, “Glen” is the Scottish word for “Valley” so the distillery’s name literally means “Valley of Turret” and the distillery lies at the entrance to the valley.

Needless to say, the tour ended with a tasting. We got to sample two different whiskeys, their “10 year old” version and one with a hint of “Peat”, a smokey flavor that comes from toasting the barley with heat from burning Peat, the locally sourced organic material that, when dried and turned into briquettes, burns nicely, very similar to coal.

We really liked the peated version, so much so, we ordered a bottle online, it will be delivered to my sister’s house in Gouda, the Netherlands where it will be waiting for us when we get there.

As a small side note, the Glenturret distillery used to have a cat, to get ride of the mice that inevitably will enter the rooms where the barrels are left to age. This cat, named Towser, was entered in the Guinness Book of Records for having caught the largest number of mice ever caught by a cat. No idea how they counted this cat’s conquests, but the book of records state it was a massive 28,899 mice in her lifetime. She lived until the grand old age of 24! There is a statue with a plaque of her in their courtyard.

Now we can’t wait until we get that bottle when we next see my sister. 

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The Eileen Dolan Castle is arguably the most iconic castle of Scotland and certainly the most photographed.
It sits on a tiny island in Loch Duich, which opens out to sea and is therefore tidal. You can see from some of these pictures that, when the tide is out, you can practically walk over to the island.
The main way into and out of the castle was this narrow stone bridge. Interestingly, it had little turnouts for pedestrians to stand, presumably to allow horse drawn carriages to pass.

The castle was blown up in 1719 and remained in ruin for over 200 years before it was reconstructed in the early 1900s. It is therefore in quite good shape today.
I had been here before, but could never go inside, so we jumped at the opportunity to do so when we learned that was now possible.

It’s a self guided tour that takes you through the weapons room, main dining room, bedrooms and kitchen. Some of walls are 7 ft thick and the spiral staircases are massive and tight, almost requiring you to go up sideways. The whole setup makes you feel like you stepped back in time and it is not hard to imagine what it would have been like in those days. Large oil paintings on the wall, depicting past owners, Earls and other nobility. All in full Scottish attire. Tapestries, not just for decoration of the massive walls, but also to add some level of insulation as you could feel the chill radiating from the walls, this despite the (modern) fireplace insert in the massive fireplaces.

Most castles were of course strongholds, to be protected from enemy clans and roving hordes. The signs of those fortifications are all still there. Thick walls, high turrets from which you could see for miles and, of course, the weapons. Stacks of powder kegs, armored suits, and just about anything that could be “swung” at an enemy that could do damage.
In my mind’s eye, I can visualize the brutal hand-to-hand combat, with opponents swinging swords and other sharp weapons doing unimaginable damage to body parts.

Maybe I’ve seen too many movies, but also easy to visualize were the balls that would be held in these places. Young men and women moving around to the sound of bagpipes, squealing out some rhythmic tune. Yes, one could get lost in the imaginary world of days gone by.

Unfortunately, no photography was allowed inside, but we did get shots of the inner courtyard.

Each of the rooms we entered has an attendant to answer questions and to make sure visitors stuck to the rules.
Linda asked one of them if she could have a picture with him as he wore a kilt and was fully dressed in typical Scottish fashion. To her delight, he said “of course”. Here is that shot. You can see her beaming with delight, first ever association with someone in a kilt! And, before you ask, NO, I do own a kilt, nor have I ever worn one.

The area around the castle

The surrounding scenery is stunning and, needless to say, the views from the castle were amazing, so typically Scottish. The hills and mountains have a special “look” that I have only ever seen in Scotland. Later in the year, those hillsides you see will be colored purple due the blooming Heather, which grows profusely in Scotland.

Throughout the castle, they had placed life-sized wax figurines, depicting how life would have looked like in the olden days. This really added to the whole atmosphere of the place, adding that human context to the staged setup. As stated earlier, we weren’t allowed to take pictures, but Linda managed to get a shot of the kitchen when no one was looking

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Now, for some context, these are not necessarily “straight” roads. They are windy and go up-and-down, leaving the driver with MANY blind turns and or hills. Those are the places where you simply CANNOT see any oncoming traffic until they are right in front of you.

Needless to say, navigating these roads puts you on high alert where concentration is essential and high speed is a HUGE “NO NO”.

Check out the video below, showing my sister’s car backing up into the passing place to allow the oncoming car to go through. You really need to look ahead and pick the closest passing bay to avoid situations requiring backing out. The opposite driver does the same, so most of the time, things work out just fine. You wave a quick “thank you” to each other and continue. We joked that we were making lots of “new friends” on these roads.

On the upside, some of Scotland’s most beautiful scenery can be found along those roads, unspoiled by heavy tourism, they not only represent the Scotland I remember, but also shows off the country in ways that most visitors would never experience.

It also never ceases to amaze me that, after miles of driving such roads, in the middle of nowhere, you’ll come across a small town made up of half a dozen quaint, white-washed, stone cottages. Many of them with gorgeous gardens, little stone walls instead of fences and …. a greenhouse.

Other things regularly seen along these back roads are farm animals. There do not seem to be many fences, so these animals have complete freedom to wander around the countryside, INCLUDING the roads.

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A Kelpie is a Mythical Beast in Scottish folklore that lives in lochs and other Scottish waterways. While it is a “shape-shifter” it usually presents itself to humans in the form of a beautiful horse to lure them away to their doom, similar to the “sirens” of the old sailor’s myth.

When the town of Falkirk wanted a monument to commemorate the history of the Forth and Clyde Canal, with their horse-pulled barges used in the past to transport goods to and from the area, the “horse” was chosen as the visual icon. Naming the monument after a Scottish mythological beast, made it uniquely Scottish.

We had pre-booked a tour well before we travelled as we had a narrow time-window and did not want to miss the opportunity due to tours being sold out. So, when we showed up, the tour-guide was waiting for us and informed us we were the only ones so it would be a private tour. Awesome! We had wanted to do the tour as it was the only way to see INSIDE the statues. We got the full attention of Allison, the name of the guide, who was delightful and we could not help but feel we got several snippets of information not usually discussed in other tours. We also had the opportunity to ask a ton of questions making the whole tour exceptionally special and very “personal”.

The statues are AMAZING! Built upon a steel tube structure made of approximately 18,000 individual pieces. Each horse head is has 464 steel plates and each one is unique in shape. They were bent and curved into their final shape on location, as they were being installed using a special tool.

We also learned that the artist, Andy Scott, is not only a Scotland’s leading sculptor, he is originally from the town of Falkirk and grew up hearing stories about the horse-pulled barges from his father, thus adding some unique, real-life, back-ground to the design and concept of the monument.

The two horse heads are modeled after two Clydesdale horses, the very same breed of horse originally used to pull the barges. The horses, Duke and Barron, were picked due to their size. At 18.1 and 17.3 hands, they were the largest Clydesdales that could be found in Scotland and were deemed to be perfect for the job of modeling.

Right in front of the visitor’s center were 2 smaller horse heads. They were one of two sets, initially used as a prototype. They were “tested” in a wind tunnel to understand the aerodynamics of the statues and to calculate the requirements of the foundation needed. Those foundations are now bigger and deeper than the statues are tall! 35 feet deep vs. 30 feet tall.
These two sculptures are now the largest equine sculptures in the world and, amazingly, took only 90 days to erect.

After this testing, the smaller statues were used to promote the monument and each set has traveled the world. These smaller versions are identical to the actual statues, but only 1/10 the size. As a small attention to detail, there is a small figurine to show the proportions of a human being against the massive size of the statues.

The following Youtube video has the Artist tell the story of the Kelpies.

The statues are lit up at night, which we did not get to see due to jet-lag, but please checkout the following video on Youtube to see more.
This visit turned out to be the perfect start to our European vacation, which will see us travel to Scotland, Southern England, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany.

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However, just to be on the “safe side” we had booked a hotel for the first two nights, for the sole purpose of adjusting to UK time before starting our real itinerary.
We had picked the Dalmahoy Hotel and Country club, a “castle-like” building with a golf course on the grounds, just 5 minutes from the Edinburgh airport.

And what a great start to our vacation that turned out to be. We had dinner at the local pub, had a nice glass of wine in the lounge and feeling very much immersed in Scottish history from the very start. Yes, we felt we were off to a great start.

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Our very first AirBnB in the Scottish highlands was located along the shores of Loch Tay, about 70 miles North of Edinburgh.
We are meeting my sister and her family there, so this location was picked for its ability to accommodate unto 8 people.
Access was a 7 mile drive along a single track road with turnouts to allow ongoing traffic to pass.

This place is spectacular! Sitting on about 3 acres, with a patio and hot tub and amazing views of the Loch. The place features 4 bedrooms, each with a modern bathroom, a large kitchen, dining area and living room, all open plan.

This place has a considerable sized lawn and one morning we saw this little mower going back and forth. It is similar to a Roomba (vacuum cleaner), but for lawns. It has a docking station it automatically returns to when the batteries need recharging. It randomly wanders around the lawn, turning when it encounters an object. Pretty cool, and it seemed to do a decent job.

Loch Tay

Another reason to pick this AirBnB was it location along Loch Tay. My mother, who was Scottish, can trace her lineage back to the Campbell on Breadalbane clan. The Earl of Breadalbane once owned and live in, Taymouth Castle, a spectacular castle that, over the centuries, has gone through several phases of ownership, including an international hotel, a nunnery and, more recently, a world renowned golf course. Sadly, when we wanted to visit, the grounds were closed to the public due to renovations, so my sister and I missed out on marveling at what our distant ancestors were about.

However, I took a picture of this castle way back in 2008 or 2009. That picture is inserted here. If you look carefully, there is a chain-link fence around the structure as it was being worked on back then too.

A final reason to pick that location was its proximity to the location where our mom and dad’s ashes are scattered. We of course wanted to visit that place again to pay our respects and reflect on the memories of our time with them. It turned out to be a lovely day (albeit cold) and a great opportunity to finally “introduce” Linda to my parents, who sadly passed before Linda and I met.
We finished the day with a lovely picnic, something my parents loved to do in the Scottish highlands.

The town of Aberfeldy

The following day we ventured off to the nearby town of Aberfeldy. Not a “famous” town by any measure, but very typical of most Scottish towns. Narrow streets, lined with bricks of granite houses, churches, stone bridges and . . . a putting green in the town center. Scotland is of course the place where golf was “invented” and you see evidence of that legacy everywhere.

We also visited the old watermill which was now a bookstore and art gallery.

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