Scotland in “summer” - a short travelblog

[Duvel]

Nope, that’s a Swedish whiskey sampling glass, unbreakable edition …

[liuzhou]

Glad to have you and this topic back.

The Scot in me feels obliged to point out that Scotland produces 'whisky'; not 'whiskey'.

 

This is not mere pedantry or a case of a simple spelling disparity betweeh British and American English..

 

The Scots (and the Japanese) consider whisky and whiskey to be two different drinks. They are made from different ingredients in a different manner. The Irish aren't sure!

Edited November 24, 2022 by liuzhou (log)

[Senior Sea Kayaker]

Nice to see you back.

Were all of the spots you camped so crowded? I'm curious since campsites in campgrounds in Canada are much more spacious and in most cases have treed areas separating them allowing for some privacy. I am referring to national, provincial and territorial parks and not privately owned campsites.

 

[liuzhou]

2 hours ago, Senior Sea Kayaker said:

Nice to see you back.

Were all of the spots you camped so crowded? I'm curious since campsites in campgrounds in Canada are much more spacious and in most cases have treed areas separating them allowing for some privacy. I am referring to national, provincial and territorial parks and not privately owned campsites.

 

 

You can't compare Scotland and Canada. The scale is so different. Canada has almost 4 million square miles; Scotland has 78,000, much of which is mountainous.

 

Of course, camp sites are more spacious in Canada. There is more Canada!

[chromedome]

8 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

 

You can't compare Scotland and Canada. The scale is so different. Canada has almost 4 million square miles; Scotland has 78,000, much of which is mountainous.

 

Of course, camp sites are more spacious in Canada. There is more Canada!

As pointed out by Glaswegian comic Danny Bhoy when touring the country...

 

 

[Duvel]

3 hours ago, Senior Sea Kayaker said:

Nice to see you back.

Were all of the spots you camped so crowded? I'm curious since campsites in campgrounds in Canada are much more spacious and in most cases have treed areas separating them allowing for some privacy. I am referring to national, provincial and territorial parks and not privately owned campsites.

 

 

It was actually not so crowded. If you refer to the last picture, most of the stuff is actually from us ☺️

 

But - some camping sites were pretty booked, as Scotlands high season is August and hotels are not an option when you don't book years ahead ...

[Senior Sea Kayaker]

1 hour ago, liuzhou said:

 

You can't compare Scotland and Canada. The scale is so different. Canada has almost 4 million square miles; Scotland has 78,000, much of which is mountainous.

 

Of course, camp sites are more spacious in Canada. There is more Canada!

Not comparing just curious.

 

[Senior Sea Kayaker]

@chromedome

Good one.

When I moved to Cape Breton last summer I drove. 22 hours driving time over 3 days. Doesn't look like much on the Canadian map.

 

 

[Kerala]

This topic escaped me until a couple of days ago. It looks like you had a wonderful time with your family, @Duvel ! I haven't been to Scotland in a couple of decades, and I certainly missed out on some great food, especially the seafood. When did fish and chip shops get so adventurous? And that shack selling oysters and lobsters for pennies is calling me.

I'm glad you enjoyed yourself in that "atmospheric" weather. My family were planning a trip to Skye before Covid, but there was definitely a faction put off by the promise of rain and midges.

You've yet to deal with deep-fried Mars bars. Did you manage to try the Tennent's Extra?

I might try and find a haggis tomorrow, you've put me in the mood!

 

[JeanneCake]

Wow, this has been a fantastic trip; thank you for taking us along.  I loved every minute, and I am not someone who enjoys any form of camping/glamping/whatever you want to call it.  I loved the photos of the area, I had a real sense of the (cold) weather, rain for days! and the beautiful blue sky when it finally cleared.

 

I've never been to Scotland but now I feel as though I have. Thanks!

[CookBot]

What a perfectly marvelous travelogue, Duvel.  Thanks so much for sharing it.  Now I want to go to Scotland just to see the vending machine that dispenses cooked langoustines.

 

On 11/13/2022 at 7:29 AM, Duvel said:

 

Assorted snacks …

 

 

 

 

 

My boss, an avowed Anglophile, orders cases of those same haggis crisps from a purveyor of Scottish goods in North Carolina.  I find them vile, but fortunately she also orders Arbroath smokies and good smoked salmon at the same time.

 

I think I could probably survive an entire Scottish holiday on nothing but smoked fish and jaffa cakes.

 

 

 

[liuzhou]

18 minutes ago, CookBot said:

My boss, an avowed Anglophile, orders cases of those same haggis crisps from a purveyor of Scottish goods in North Carolina.

 

As an avowed Caledophile, I can say that haggis crisps taste nothing like the delights of real haggis.

[Duvel]

The next day we visited Culloden, located between Inverness and our camping site. As a historical landmark where the Battle of Culloden took place, it is a really nicely kept piece of land, with heather flowering and  just some stones remembering the battle order and also the graves of the respective clans. Despite the tranquility it was swarming with oversea tourists whise ancestors all fought in the battle (and which they were always happy to explain to you).

 

 

 

 

After exploring we headed into town for the nearest Chippy …

 

 

Menu

 

 

 

And execution. Fish was good, fries were a bite pale, but tasty nonetheless. They had a very light hand on the vinegar, so I had to return and get more. “Regular” haddock and breaded haddock for the grown ups …

 

 

Little one got scampi and half of our chips.

 

 

My wife requested to head for a popular beach. Now, beaches popular in Scotland are not quite comparable with those the my wife as a native Catalan would envision as “popular” (and neither were the temperatures).

 

 

Next to the beach was a snack shop, featuring …

 

 

Given the “popular beach” misunderstanding, I refrained from sampling.

 

Just next to the camping ground were some stone circles that little one wanted to explore.

 

 

 

 

As it was a nice day we spend some time there before heading back to out tent. Dinner was quickly prepared, basically from leftovers. I made some grilled cheese sandwiches …

 

 

This was our last pieces of lamb prepared “a la camp”*: fried with garlic, celery, fresh rosemary and a bit of tomato. 

 

Of course, sampling from yesterday continued as well 🤗

 

—-

* read: with the stuff I had on hand.

[Kerala]

They were a bit skimpy with the chips, especially at £2 a portion. And yes, the chips look a bit pale. The fish looks a bit small too, at that price.

Gutted for you, mate. ☹️

[Duvel]

All good things must come to an end, and so we prepared to move to our final destination, Perth. On route, we wanted to stop at the Edradour distillery, but were unfortunately informed that they don’t do any tours anymore, as the owner got annoyed by the visitors. Their whisky still ranks supreme, and I managed to snatch up a bottle a bit later on this trip.

 

Passing the resort town Aviemore, we stopped at Loch an Eilein for some scenic hiking (and sandwiches, not pictured) …

 

 

 

A little down the road was a fold village that my wife wanted to see. It was quite interesting: they explained the construction principles of the housing in the 16th century. The inside of each house was “perfumed” by a central “stove” that vented into the house. The result was basically an ancient BBQ setup, with the inhabitants as the recipient of the smoke.

 

 

 

Outside cooking was available as well (on good days, so maybe twice a year) …

 

 

We arrived at Perth rather late. The camping ground was on the premises of an old golf course and huuuuuge. 

 

While driving to the nearest supermarket little one suggested to go to a pub instead. His suggestion met very little resistance …

 

The pub was quite busy, and food service was slow. Drink service not, as you had to go to pick the stuff up yourself …

 

 

My wife had the local golden ale, which she found to be an excellent choice.

 

 

Little one asked for the chicken plate 🙄

 

 

My wife and me had burgers, and so had the little one after bathing his miscellaneous chicken parts in HP brown sauce (that he found he dislikes) and generously giving it to me in exchange for half (read most) of my burger. 

 

Desserts were enjoyed in the tent … something I wanted to try, but was sold out in the pub: alcoholic ginger beer (nicely spicy).

 

 

And a fudge something something. Little one heard fudge and was convinced. He managed half …
 

 

 

[Duvel]

25 minutes ago, Kerala said:

They were a bit skimpy with the chips, especially at £2 a portion. And yes, the chips look a bit pale. The fish looks a bit small too, at that price.

Gutted for you, mate. ☹️

I think portion size was ok, and in line with the other places we visited. Two portions of chips were more than enough for the three of us. But I am with you: I found Scotland to be a tad more expensive than for example Newcastle, where we concluded this tour.

Edited November 27, 2022 by Duvel (log)

[liuzhou]

19 minutes ago, Duvel said:

Drink service not, as you had to go to pick the stuff up yourself …

 

Welcome to the UK. That is standard.

[rotuts]

@Duvel 

 

thank you for sharing your wonderful

 

Tour & Eats 

 

 

[rotuts]

BTW :

 

thank you for the BB menu

 

any idea what brie pizza is ?

[Duvel]

1 hour ago, rotuts said:

any idea what brie pizza is ?

Maybe a pizza with Brie cheese on it. But I don’t find that on the menu … 🤔

[rotuts]

sorry

 

fried pizza

[Duvel]

5 minutes ago, rotuts said:

sorry

 

fried pizza

It is exactly that: they take a (usually ready made commercial) pie and deep fry it. If you like they dip it in the fish batter before. To quote the Wikipedia entry on that subject: “… resulting in a different flavour and nutritional profile.“  🤣

Edited November 27, 2022 by Duvel (log)

[liuzhou]

5 minutes ago, rotuts said:

sorry

 

fried pizza

 

One of Scotland's healthier inventions.  Bad pizzza battered and deep fried.

[Duvel]

3 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

 

One of Scotland's healthier inventions.  Bad pizzza battered and deep fried.

I mean, it was bound to happen. You have a bath tub full of frying oil. It’s a slow Thursday morning, and after two or three pints the frying master starts randomly throwing foods into the tub. Deep fried Mars bar, deep fried hamburger, deep fried pizza, deep fried …

 

Seen neighbors kitty recently ?

[Tropicalsenior]

6 minutes ago, Duvel said:

I mean, it was bound to happen. You have a bath tub full of frying oil. It’s a slow Thursday morning, and after two or three pints the frying master starts randomly throwing foods into the tub. Deep fried Mars bar, deep fried hamburger, deep fried pizza, deep fried …

 

Seen neighbors kitty recently ?

Yuck!!