I trust that I well established in these pages that a trip to Scotland is never about just whisky for me. The itinerary may be defined by the distillery locations, but points in between also get a modicum of attention. Herewith is a small array of depictions of such points.
Starting with this.
As I was driving by, I was initially entirely convinced that there was a policeman checking the speeds of passing vehicles. In literally the middle of nowhere. Which was entirely inexplicable, as none of my past experiences in the United Kingdom – in the three years that I lived there and on several visits since – suggested that it was a common occurrence for the police to occupy themselves so. Traffic cameras do the trick without any human touch.
When the GPS navigation put us on the same stretch of the rural road in the opposite direction a while later, I slowed down to a crawl and stopped by to capture what I realized was the cardboard policeman. As might well be expected, other cars on the road were proceeding at speeds sufficiently higher than the posted limits. The locals are surely perfectly aware that there are no real policemen – or cameras – on this stretch. It’s only the foreigner who got duped.
Next is the historic Craigellachie Bridge over the River Spey.
The bridge was built in 1814 and remained in full use until the early 1970s. These days it allows only pedestrians and cyclists, anchoring a network of trails around the river. And the river, of course, gives its name to Speyside, the largest by volume whisky-producing region in Scotland.
Not far from here, at the edge of Aberlour, one can find a walking path in the woods that leads to Linn Falls.
In Scottish Gaelic, “linn” means “waterfall”. So the place is technically called “waterfall falls”.
Grazing bulls are a frequent sight, both solitary and in small groups.
Come to think of it, we have not seen any cows. At least, as far as our knowledge of cattle goes.
The gorgeous castle of Eilean Donan featured in this blog in the past. The rain was at its worst when we made a short stop by the castle this time, but nonetheless here are a couple of additional perspectives.
A couple of fragments of the pleasant town of Dornoch.
Near the northern edge of the island of Great Britain in John O’Groats, Duncansby Stacks highlight the breathtaking coastline.
John O’Groats is technically not the northernmost point on the British “mainland”, but is nonetheless thought of as one. This relatively famous sign marks the distances to a few key destinations.
Lunchtime in Wick Harbour offered us the best weather of the week-long trip for about an hour or so – warm, sunny, and calm.
I liked how this tall ship Glenlee on River Clyde in Glasgow combined in the perspective with the loading-dock crane on the opposite bank, but I probably had too many drams by that point to think through the proper composition.
And that concludes the photographic reports from the recent Scotland trip. The next such trip is tentatively penciled in for three years hence.