Scotland Road Trip Day 2: Pitlochry to Inverness

Our Pitlochry hotel was a bit outside of town and we didn't explore it the previous day. After a quick breakfast, we packed up and headed to the main street for a walk. Only a few shops were open but we did a bit of window shopping and bought a few Christmas presents. The town is adorable with plenty of shops and restaurants that would keep you occupied for a few days. It's also the home of Heather Gems. You can visit the factory store and see how the jewelry is made. I already have a few pieces of their gorgeous creations, but if you are in the area you should definitely check them out. 

We left town around 10:30 and headed north. As you drive toward toward The Highlands, you'll find lots of distilleries. Our first stop of the day was at Dalwhinnie. We've been on several bourbon tours and have a pretty good idea of how whisky is made so we skipped the tour and headed straight for the gift shop. Dalwhinnie is a favorite of our son-in-law so, in the name of research, we bought a couple of small bottles to be sampled later.

We arrived at Culloden around noon. Again, there was a choice to park for free and walk to the visitor's center or to pay and park at the visitor's center. We chose the latter. We, first, walked through the exhibit which contained many artifacts from the battle and surrounding areas. I was moved by the sympathetic way in which the curators had decided to tell the story of the fight; Jacobite prospective on the right wall and the "government" story on the left wall. 

After taking in a kilt demonstration, we headed out to the battlefield. We had no intention of walking the entire field but also couldn't manage to turn ourselves around. The various informational displays throughout the walk tell the sorrowful tale of the hungry and exhausted Jacobites who were overrun by a bigger and well-rested British force. The skies threatened rain but none came. The clouds, however, were a perfect accompaniment to the somber feel of the place.

As you make the turn to head back to the visitor's center, the clan markers stand on either side of the pathway. Markers bear the names of clan members who were buried in that area. Some markers say only "mixed clans." One notable marker is that of Clan Fraser. I know that Outlander fans have made pilgrimages to the stone in honor of James Fraser and to lay flowers. Apparently, the numbers of visitors has increased to the point that the Fraser stone has been surrounded by a chain fence. Ya'll, really? He's a fictional character, don't make it weird!

The Clan Fraser marker

A memorial cairn built in 1881

Leanach Cottage

We headed back to the visitor's center and spent a few minutes at the rooftop viewing area. It provides a fantastic view of the battlefield and is a perfect spot for reflection and remembrance.

We grabbed a quick bite at the cafe and then headed to our next destination, Clava Cairns. The cairns are only a few minutes' drive from Culloden and are, basically, a 4,000 year old cemetery. There were only a few cars, a tour van, and less than 20 people at the site. 

The alignment of the cairns suggests a link to the solar calendar and, not surprisingly, the first person we encountered was doing a version of sun salutations at one of the stones. You do you boo. 

We had a leisurely walk through the cairns and various standing stones. One little girl tried repeatedly to use the time travel portal but was not successful.

Spoiler alert: she did not engage the time travel portal

The Split Stone

We left the cairns and headed to Findhorn; a small town on Findhorn Bay. After paying for parking, we headed toward the bay and enjoyed a beautiful walk along the water. On the way back, we stopped for a pint at The Captain's Table. We sat outside and watched the kids play near the water's edge and were lulled into serenity as we watched the boats bob in the harbor.

We left Findhorn around 3:45 and headed to Inverness, our resting place for the night. We checked into the hotel about an hour later and headed toward the river in search of food. Encore was able to seat us without a reservation if we promised to limit our time to an hour. We agreed and enjoyed fresh, steamed mussels as a starter. I had fish and chips for my main (again). You may be tempted to judge me but, for various reasons, I generally can't eat fish and chips in the states so I attempt to get my fill while in the UK.

Sign outside an Inverness pub

After dinner, we followed the Ness Walk along the river and captured some great views of the castle. It's currently closed for renovations and is surrounded by scaffolding on all but one side. Our best view of it was from the Infirmary Bridge. If you have a fear of bridges that sway while you are on them, your best bet might be to swim across the river.

Me trying to act cool on a wobbly bridge

Inverness Castle as seen from Infirmary Bridge

After crossing the bridge we walked a few blocks and encountered a beautiful park that would take us back to our hotel. The only problem was that it involved walking up an incredibly steep hill. We stopped twice to give my burning calves a break and then carried on. When we reached our hotel, we noted a large party outside so we decided to have a dram of whisky at the pub across the street. 

That's my whisky with our hotel in the background

Our hotel/pub: The Corriegarth

The hotel/pub next door: The Heathmount

We finished our drinks and crossed the street to our hotel. We found a couple of seats inside at the bar and watched darts. This is where I learned that darts' players aren't always aiming for the bullseye. I also learned that there is a lot of math required for the game (counting backwards from 501?!) and that the players do that math in their heads. I feel certain that I will never, ever play darts.

While we watched the math game on tv, we plotted out the next day. Our plan had always been to do laundry along the way and we decided that tomorrow would be the day. Drew had scouted out a franchise called Wash-Me with several locations in town. We decided that the following morning we would eat breakfast and then head to a gas station parking lot (I'm totally serious) where the machines were located.

We headed upstairs for the night only to realize that the birthday outside was just beginning to ramp up and that our front-facing room put us right in the middle of the action. We were treated to several rounds of "Happy Birthday" before drifting off to sleep.

This photo was taken at 10:00 p.m. It wasn't fully dark until after 11:00.