vampyresheep

The most frustrating day of our trip – our first day of rain! We knew it had to happen at some point but why the day when we were driving through the Cairngorms. :-( Not just rain either but a nasty constant, heavy drizzle which didn't stop all day.Regardless, we still took the mountain route, via Tomintoul and Braemar, rather than the A9 via Inverness, as we figured there would at least be some castles for us to visit.

So off we set, through some of the most beautiful scenery in the country, but we couldn't see any of it!
a typical view of the day

pretty but would have been even more stunning should the sun have been out!

Stopped off at Tomintoul, to visit Whisky Castle, a shop renowned for its vast range of the tipple. We were greeted by the eccentric (and possibly slighlty inebriated) owner, who went at great lengths to tell us all about what was good or bad whisky, including giving me several samples to try – and you know what, there really is a difference! Not that I'd know the difference from looking at a label but his explanations of the differences between chill filtered and cask filtered was fascinating, if a tad rambling.

I ended up buying a couple of mintatures for myself (a Ben Nevis and a Tomintoul) but we also needed to get Rob's dad's birthday present – his whisky of choice tends to be Bells or other blended types – so we had to explain that one! Ended up buying a cheaper version of one of the good ones that i sampled, with his assurance that it was very similar. Still not cheap compared to shops we've seen since in Pitlochry but we weren't to know, and it was a fun, quirky experience! :-)

Carried on up the road to Lecht, the second highest road in the UK. I'm sure it would have been wonderful on a good day but today we were up in the clouds!

To add to this, they'd just started relaying the road, so we had to carefully negotiate a mile or so of grit, worried about damage to the car. (this, incidently, carried on in areas throughout our journey, so it must have been road resurfacing season!)

The skies nearly cleared in places and we did get some lovely views of vast mountains and valleys. Saw the rather quirky Corgarff Castle but didn't realise it was open to the public.

A road accident at Milton Bridge meant we couldn't go to Ballater, so ended up on a (rather pleasant) minor road direct to Balmoral.

Decided against stopping there after seeing the crowds, opting to stop at Braemar Castle instead. The next stretch of road, through Balmoral Forest, was stunning, all rocky slopes, pine trees and babbling streams but there was nowhere to stop, or even pull over to grab a photo.
this is kind of what it looked like though! (pinched off the interwebs)

Got to Braemar and found it only opened at weekends – aaargh!

Carried on toward the village but saw a rather cool cemetery, with massive mausoleum, so we pulled in there for a car-picnic. I guess most people would find it odd to choose a cemetery for a picnic spot, of all places, in such beautiful countryside but what else would you expect from us! :-)
I'm sure this oystercatcher was following us around our holiday!

Explored the cemetery, which was fascinating, ancient (included the grave of the last surviving Jacobite) and just two very noisy Oystercatchers for company.

Carried on to Braemar village for a wander but not a great deal to see, just a quaint little highlands visit.

some information on the touching and informative war memorial in the last pic.

Our next stretch of road was to Glenshee, the highest road in Britain! At least this was out of the clouds but still wet and drizzly. However it was interestingly eerie seeing all the Ski lifts closed out of season and we stopped to warm up with hot chocolates in the Ski Centre cafe.

Eventually arrived at Pitlochry. Later than planned thanks to the weather, roadworks and a very slow car in front for the final stretch.

We stayed in Pitlochry Backpackers Hotel – described as Scotland's most luxurious hostel – it was an eccentric revamp of a former hotel right on the high street. Rather fun, if not exactly luxurious!

We planned to cook dinner at the hostel but first went to the Moulin Inn, located just outside the town, for a drink. This was a beautiful 16^th Century Inn with its own brewery.

I was given a sample of all their beers, opting for the darkest, strongest ale, Old Remedial which was flavoured with honey. Mmmm! Made the mistake of checking out the menu, then quickly decided that the groceries we'd bought for dinner would keep!I wanted Haggis Lasagne but sadly that had finished, so had a venison stroganoff instead. Rob's meal however, was once again the best – a Sporran O'Plenty, which consisted of a roll of minute steak, stuffed with haggis and covered with the most gorgeous gravy.

Also couldn't resist desert – Sticky Whisky Fudge Sundae – well it would have been rude not to!

I think this was probably the best pub we'd been to all holiday, Rob only dragging me out before i got too tipsy. The rest of the evening was spent in the hostel lounge, playing pool, updating FB/Blog/emails and chatting to other residents.

A frustrating day but made better by the Best Pub in Scotland.
and all the photos for day 14 are here