Very early Wednesday, still dark outside, Tom arrived to pick us up in his gray Mercedes transport to begin our 4-hour trip north toward Inverness and Nairn. We were pleased that our luggage still fit into his vehicle since we had all done some souvenir and gift shopping in St. Andrews! There were four stops on our travel schedule for the day:
- Inverness – Tom (the Edinburgh expert) transfers our luggage and all of us into his cohort Ken’s van (the Highlands’ expert)
- Dunrobin Castle – a little more than an hour north of Inverness
- Glenmorangie Scotch Distillery for a tour, tasting, and shopping – a 20-minute drive south of the castle.
- The Clubhouse Hotel in Nairn – our home for the next four nights – a 90-minute drive from the distillery
So here is how you can fill up a day, and we DID!
1) THE TRIP
It was such a pleasure having reliable transportation with our professional driver nattily dressed in suit and tie who knew how to maneuver the twists and turns of the winding roads and multiple round-about traffic circles. The drive north was beautiful hilly countryside, with suspension bridges that crossed scenic waterways, and views of castle ruins in the distance. The roads became only two lanes, and no question, they seemed to always be narrow! We had left the highways behind for the week until our return from the Highlands. The day was cool, foggy, and a bit drizzly making it a good day for travel.
2) DUNROBIN CASTLE in Southerland
After a morning in the van, what a beautiful sight arriving at this monumental Castle, completed in 1845. It appeared as if the Duke and Duchess, their family and staff still occupied the premises. We wore our jackets and raingear for the walk to get inside and were greeted by a roaring fire in the entry fireplace to this sprawling estate. Erika had secured our tickets in advance, and we first enjoyed a refreshing lunch in the modern café on site. Dunrobin Castle advertises 189 rooms within – and our tour included at least 30 of them. The parlours, dining rooms, music room, library, and bedrooms all were ornately and precisely decorated, with the finest of linens, china, crystal, and silver. There was even a display of clothing and uniforms the Royalty would wear.
As beautiful as the castle is, the grounds are equally stunning. So evenly planned and planted, there were bushes and flowers in combination with fountains – just totally breathtaking!
Erika timed this visit so we would have the opportunity to watch the live Falconry Show on the lower grounds. We finished walking through the gardens in time to get front row spectating of the handlers getting the falcons ready to show off their game catching skills. Despite the cold drizzle, it was so impressive watching the trainer send his falcon to pounce on a fast-moving “rabbit”, and then have it return to the trainer’s arm perch. And to do this several times, each one exactly “on call”! The reason Royalty had falcons, was to supply their kitchens with the rabbit delicacies when other Royalty would visit. There were several other birds displayed in low open stalls, including the largest Owl I have ever seen.
After a few more great photos with the Dunrobin Castle in the backdrop, we got back in the van and headed to our next stop. I am so glad we stopped here for ‘Castle appreciation’ day.
3) GLENMORANGIE SCOTCH DISTILLERY TOUR in Tain
Another 20+ minutes in the van and we arrived at the waterfront Glenmorangie Scotch Distillery. Again, pre-purchased tickets enabled us to catch the next tour and witness (no photos allowed) the series of processes involved in making scotch. During our walking tour through the plant, we tasted the fresh mash supplied to us from a massive drum of liquid, and with heat and time (years), it is hard to believe eventually a clear liquid as smooth and tasty as scotch emerges. They refer to their stills as giraffes since their tall copper long necks are the same height as an adult male giraffe. The copper color serves as the distinct Glenmorangie Original scotch box color.
In the middle part of the tour, we were led into a cool, dry, barn-like building. There were hundreds of casks in dozens of rows, all containing the liquid that would one day become delectable Scotch. Each one ages anywhere from 10-41 years. Very impressive.
And the finale… Back to the factory tasting room. The eighteen of us on the tour were seated at a long, beautiful table. At each setting, there were three Glenmorangie scotches: The Original, the Allta, and the Signet. For this 15-minute video and audio presentation, we were provided earphones to guide us through our tastings. We were instructed to slowly try each, one by one – first ‘neat’ then with a drop or two of water that would release additional flavor. We were taught to fully appreciate the attributes and the dark chocolate they offered truly enhanced the experience! 🤭 We learned to appreciate the “legs” — the lingering liquid along the inside of your glass post-sip. The voices of both the gentleman and gentlewoman who read the script to us had the most suggestive of voices, perhaps subliminally increasing our attraction to scotch? Of course, the tour ended in the gift shop where we all had a little more fun. Val and I bought logo scotch glasses, Janis bought a giraffe headcover and couple bottles of Scotch! Glenmorangie, we appreciate you and will never forget you!
4) ONTO NAIRN
We hopped back into the van for another hour before arriving at our hotel in Nairn. What a wonderful and cozy place to stay for the next four nights – The Clubhouse Hotel. Erika realized that not only was it the same hotel she had previously visited, but the suite in which Val and I were staying was the exact same one where she had stayed. Although a small boutique hotel, downstairs there was a wonderful bar and restaurant. Our friendly front desk attendant informed us that their full hot breakfast is included! This hotel was conveniently situated for a 6-block walk uphill to town, or a 6-block walk downhill to the sea and Nairn Country Club. Before sunset and after a quick change of clothes, we headed up the hill to town.
The Classroom Bistro sat center city and was highly recommended by our driver Ken – we noticed that the staff all seemed to know him when we arrived! It turned out to be a wonderful choice – it was casual and we sat right up front at the window overlooking the heart of little downtown Nairn. What a treat – delicious fruits, cheeses, vegetables, fish, onion rings, even a specialty apple dessert with ice cream – what a day! And it is not over yet…
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