From Rolling Country Hills to the City of Aberdeen

Wedesday, October 26, 2016 ~ by Amy

Rolling hills of Scotland

I've never been a big fan of city driving and today's destination would have me driving through one of the biggest cities in Scotland. Thus, it was with great reluctance that I let the cozy wood fire burn down at the Bothy and packed up my bags. Our drive to Aberdeen was supposed to take less than two hours so we had some time to kill before we checked in at the Northlink ferry terminal. The cottage had a plethora of maps and literature about the area so before we pulled out of the narrow drive, we put a nearby castle ruin in our gps.

Our sweet-voiced navigator sent us down one narrow road after another, some ending in ancient, tumbledown farmyards, until we gave up. We pulled out our paper map and redirected back to the main “A” road, leading to Aberdeen. One thing I've come to realize about this trip...it will never be about how many amazing castles we tour or how much history we absorb. It will be about our personal experience with our day-to-day challenges, about the people we meet and about appreciation of the beauty of God's creation wherever we go.

The high hills around us have been dotted here and there with a variety of windmills and wind turbines. All along the narrow roads there are pull-offs so that you can let faster traffic safely pass. At one such pull-off, we found a sign detailing the nearby wind farm.

Foudland Wind Farm

A few of the thousands of wind turbines scattered over Scotland's hills

We tried unsuccessfully several times to find a little pub for lunch in one of the towns off the beaten path, but finally gave up and let ourselves be drawn (through a million roundabouts) into the city of Aberdeen. As we pulled into town in our way-too-fancy for us car, I must have bumped a lever while fumbling for the windshield wipers. My car suddenly was governed at 20 mph. It was fine while we were driving through a university area and the speed limit was 20, but when we moved into a 30 zone, I almost panicked when I couldn't go faster. Finally we pulled into a gas station to figure it out. There was a lit button by the radio dial that Alyssa pushed off. When we pulled back out of the station, we were governed again, but later it seemed to go off by itself. I nearly lost it then and had a good cry right there in the busy traffic but didn't dare. Later we discovered that there was a little hand signal down below the wiper switch that I had bumped when I turned on the wipers. It could be set to hold down your speed at 20, 30 or 40 mph. A handy feature when you know it's there.

The outskirts, between the university and downtown, seemed to be mostly Chinatown. We were surprised then, to see a Papa Johns Pizza.

Papa Johns, downtown Aberdeen, Scotland

Once we started seeing a few places that might work for lunch, we began looking for parking. Seeing few option, we tried to find a lot with the car gps. It took us through some pretty sketchy areas, including down a back alley. 

Back alley, Aberdeen, Scotland

 When we finally got to a lot, the max time we could buy was one hour. That wasn't even enough to walk and eat lunch, let alone wait for our ferry time. I asked a woman walking by and she suggested Union Center. After a few wrong turns we found it, a very nice mall area with a huge parking lot. Better yet, it was right across the street from the harbor!

Ferry terminal ~ Aberdeen harbor

We had a late lunch of butternut squash soup in a department store cafe and then browsed around the shops. Each of us bought a pair of cozy slippers to wear in the many apartments that request we don't wear shoes inside.

NorthLink Ferry ~ MJ Hjaltland

The earliest that we could board the ferry for our 7:00 pm departure for the Shetland Islands was 5:00. At 4:45 we drove to the terminal and got into the queue of cars. At 5:00, we were let through a gate one at a time. We had paid for valet parking so that we could just leave the keys and walk up the ramp with pedestrians instead of parking and waiting to go up later. We found our room, at the end of a long hall, to be both roomy and cozy. There was a nice en-suite bathroom with a shower and fluffy white towels. In the main room there was a tiny vanity that doubled as a coffee bar.

Room #256, MJ Hjaltland

I had paid in advance for a half portion of a three course meal so we went and ate in the dining room. I wasn't expecting a cruise ship type experience but it was a little disappointing. The room was pretty shabby, empty of people, and very cold. It was dark out by then so we couldn't watch the rather wild water outside the window. To be fair, it is now winter here and it's probably mainly locals using the ferry so it's understandable that it was largely unoccupied.

There was a storm warning given in advance so we knew the decks were all closed for the duration of the sail. We were thankful that we had a such cozy room to go and read and talk in.   

The Bothy: Milton of Tillynaught

Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Something unique about Scotland is that they don’t use street addresses like we do in the United States. Their “addresses” can be as small as a town name and a postal code. Because of this, we had a hard time finding “The Bothy,” which was way out in the middle of nowhere. We passed miles and miles of golden fields full of scattered haybales, and eventually recognized the new metal bridge and the old train bridge that our host referred to, and found their driveway in between the two bridges.

When we pulled into the gravely, grass covered driveway, we looked around the area for a possible place to park our way too large Mercedes rental, and tried to figure out which building was the guesthouse and which one was their own house. We checked our papers to see if our hosts, Janet and Rod, had indicated what we were supposed to do when we arrived, and meanwhile they were standing outside our car waiting for us to open the door. Oops!

They got us settled into the cozy little bothy and lit the wood stove, and told us to feel free to roam wherever we wanted. We liked that. It was also nice to see two eggs for us on their kitchen table, and a small jug of milk in the fridge. We later found out that those two eggs were all they had gotten from their hens for the last two days. Out of 18 birds, they only get 1 egg per day. We felt spoiled getting two eggs!

After bundling up, we walked out and explored their property (and said hi to their chickens) and talked to Rod as he unloaded roof slates from his van. He told us about an old mill he had considered fixing up, but realized it was too much work due to flooding. He also told us about a path he had mowed down by the river right near their house and suggested we take a walk along it. It was a beautiful walk! We didn’t see any deer like he had said we might, but we did get to see the old mill and some ruins nearby. We walked inside the mill and found a small boat and some old bags of fertilizer and not too much else, other than broken floorboards from the second story.

The bothy was all warm and cozy with the fire still burning for us when we got back from our walk. We ate some delicious cheese and crackers for supper (off Janet’s adorable chicken themed dishes) and worked on our blog in the evening, then headed to sleep in the cozy bedroom full of chicken themed decor.

Easter Arr Cottage and a Beautiful Drive to Cornhill

Tuesday, October 25, 2016 ~ by Amy

Morning sunshine flooded through the window, highlighting the deep walls of our ancient cottage.  Looking out, I could see that a layer of white frost covered the ground.

Thick wall on the old stone cottage

Our hostess, Celia, had kindly stocked the tiny refrigerator with milk, orange juice, butter and jam. She also provided bread, croissants, coffee and teas. We had ourselves a nice little breakfast before heading outside for a walk around the lovely grounds.

Well stocked breakfast bar

The first thing we saw as we went out the door was the little wooden settee where we'd sat last night to look up at the stars.  It brought back sweet memories of the night before.

Celia had told us a bit of the history of the house. Originally a sawmill, at some time the long, low, “L” shaped building had been made into three small dwellings. Those had all been abandoned and had fallen into disrepair. The area surrounding the house was pretty much impenetrable with tall tangles of brush and bracken (ferns) when Robin and Celia bought it about eight years ago. They cleared everything and made beautiful ponds and gardens.

Heather lit by morning sun

Robin, Celia said, is a bit artsy and likes do do things right. When they bought the place, he tore down the center cottage and rebuilt it as a two-story. He used concrete block and matched the exterior finishes perfectly, but of course the walls aren't two-feet thick like the original.

Our apartment, the unit on the right.  Entrance around back

Alyssa was trying out the tree swing when a guy in a catering van flew up the driveway at a rapid speed. A gray haired guy got out and cracked some joke to me about raking the leaves. He introduced himself to us as Robin. He told us all about he and his wife doing the catering business together. She does weddings and he does pig roasts and other parties. Earlier, when I had taken my bags to the car I thought I saw out in front of one of the outbuildings, a pig carcass on a spit, with a woman picking meat off of it. I was too grossed out to go any closer.

The day was so splendid, we really hated to leave, but finally rolled out of the narrow driveway around 11:00. We wound back through the rolling hills, dotted everywhere with sheep. Many areas looked to be recently baled fields. Round bales were scattered here and there or lined up in neat rows.

Fluffy sheep dot the countryside

We drove only as far as the little town of Brodie, where we had eaten dinner last night. We'd noticed a big building called, Brodie Country Fare. It turned out to be an amazing shop full of local crafts, clothing and food. We bought a few souvenirs and groceries and also ate lunch at their cafe.  In the UK it seems that they add something green to every meal.  Alyssa was less than please to see the pile of peas on her mac n cheese plate.  I don't mind the salad but it never comes with any kind of dressing.

They had a great coffee and tea counter also where we were able to get good mochas. You'll notice that they have stacks of china dishes. “Take away cups” have to be specially requested.

Coffee counter at Brodie Country Fare

Our home for the evening, The Bothy ~ Milton of Tillynaught, wasn't too far away but their addresses and directions can be quite confusing so it was late afternoon by the time we finally arrived there.

Sunshiny Day, Sobering Battlefield and East to Nairn

Monday, October 24, 2016 ~ by Amy

Long before Alyssa pulled her head out from under the covers, sunlight began to peak around the skylight shade. I went down and made a cup of coffee and enjoyed the sunrise. It was foggy and cool outside and the area over the city was a golden glow.

By the time we really got going we were already hungry for lunch. I guess that's how it goes when you have dry cereal for breakfast. While searching with the car gps for a restaurant nearby (without going back into Inverness), we found a good place that happened to be inside the museum of the Battlefield of Culloden. I've been impressed by the cafeteria style eateries in stores and museums. They usually use really good, locally sourced ingredients and always seem to toss on a side of mixed greens. Our cheese paninis were a little odd in that they were made with a hot dog roll but the salad had pansy, viola and snapdragon blossoms.

The museum itself was excellent. They put so much into the displays, using multi-media to allow you to feel a part of the battle that took place on that site. They also had extensive collections of guns and bullets found on site.

Large painting depicting various stages of the battle

Here, a highlander displayed a battle medic's kit and demonstrated an arm amputation.

Grisly tools of the trade in a medic's kit

Outdoors, we used gps guided audio tours as we walked around key points of the battlefield. I've never had a head for history and know little of Scotland's so I don't understand all that went on. It was sobering to realize how hard the Jacobites (primarily clansmen) fought, under the leadership of Prince Charles Stuart (Bonny Prince Charlie), but how brutally they were cut down by the government troops. Fought on rough, heathery turf, the battle lasted less than an hour with casualties numbering over 1,500 for the Jacobites and only 50 or so for the government troops. Prince Charles Stuart had chosen that location as he thought that it would hamper the ability for his enemies to move their heavy artillery across the boggy ground but instead his men could not move forward. In 2-3 minutes, more than 700 lost their lives.

The clansmen that fell were sort by clan as best could be done and buried in mass graves. Markers were added later to each grave.

Clan mass grave marker

A large stone cairn was erected in 1881 as a memorial.

Stone cairn memorializing the fallen Jacobites

The battle was fought around this small highland house. It is thought that the government leaders may have used it as headquarters. It has been rebuilt on the original foundation.

Old house in the middle of the battlefield

Though sunny, the weather has continued to be very chilly. We've kept bundled up in coats, hats and gloves everywhere we went. After being out on the battlefield for an hour or so, we came in and had coffee and shortbread before driving east toward Nairn.

I find the signage in Scotland to be a little frustrating sometimes but also interesting. We thought this sign for a weak bridge to be a little humorous. They had the traffic take turns so there wouldn't be much weight on the bridge. Of course the bridge was so narrow you wouldn't fit side by side anyway.

Weak, narrow bridge on a country road in Scotland

The countryside was beautiful with the changing leaves and as we got further east, expansive golden fields.

Scottish country lane

At dusk we reached our next Airbnb, “Easter Arr” up in gentle hill country near the tiny village of Aldearn. An ancient, abandoned sawmill, it had been converted by our hosts into a lovely home in the country. Only recently they converted one end into a private apartment to rent out.

"Easter Arr", our Airbnb for the night

After hauling our luggage in, we asked our host, Celia for supper recommendations. She sent us to the Old Mill Inn, a nice pub in the nearby village of Brodie. We went right away before it was so dark we'd get lost. We passed hundreds of sheep in the fields as we drove along the narrow country roads.

Field of sheep ~ North Sea in the distance

Old Mill Inn in Brodie

It was cozy and warm inside with a heater blowing under the bench I was sitting on. They had a lot of local specials like venison, but both of us got burgers. I ordered a side of thick chips, forgetting that to them chips are “crisps” and fries are “chips”. They came with a cranberry chutney to dip in.

Classic pub food

Returning to Easter Arr, we took the time to admire the beautiful room we would sleep in, filled with lovely antiques and special touches.  The walls of the home were many inches deep, as you can see around the window.

Beautiful four-poster bed

We ended the evening by bundling up and going out to gaze at the stars. We both agreed that we've never seen so many stars so vividly sprinkled across the velvety night sky.