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Wednesday 9 June 2010

All roads leading north Part 1...........



We spent the last bank holiday weekend travelling to, across and back home from SCOTLAND!  We had a 20 minute taxi journey to pick up our coach at 6.55 a.m., with some other pickups in neighbouring towns before we set off on our journey proper which commenced when we hit the M6 then the A74(M) where we made our first stop at Moffat at a woolen mill for lunch.  We had taken our lunch with us and sat outside on the picnic tables enjoying the sunshine before a quick mooch round the mill at the goods on sale and our first taste of single malt whisky.

Boarding the coach again we set off on the M74 again through Glasgow to pick up the A80 heading towards Sterling then the M80, M9 and the A9 up to Gleneagles, enjoying the scenery as we went.   We stopped for a comfort break at a lovely little village called Little Dunkeld on the River Tay but were astonished to be charged 30 pence each to use the public conveniences!    The next place of interest we passed through was Pitlochry, then Blair Atholl, through Newtonmore, Aviemore, then on to Carrbridge and finally at 4.45 p.m. our hotel - The Carrbridge Hotel  - a distance of approximately 350 miles. 

Click on photos to enlarge.


We just had time to unpack and freshen up before going to the dining room for a delicious dinner, after which we decided to go for a stroll down to a little pub we noticed as we arrived.   Here we are outside the hotel after dinner.

K, T and Me
and here's the pub we went to just down the street.




Carrbridge is on the River Dulnain and the river is right next to the hotel and is absolutely stunning - take a look at this photo.




Here's MWM and I posing against that backdrop.



There's a story to that original bridge over the river.


Isn't that a great story?

After a couple of drinks we went back to the hotel to check out the entertainment which was a singer/guitarist who had a huge repertoire, all good,  and MWM and I even had a dance!

We retired before midnight as we were embarking on our first trip at 9.30am the following morning, I hope you'll join me to see where we went and the fabulous scenery of the Highlands of Scotland.

25 comments:

Bernadine said...

The buildings in Scotland is beautiful. :) You are so lucky to see the world.

Elaine Denning said...

Cor, you two don't 'alf get around!

Anonymous said...

Arghhh I LOVED this. My family are all from Stirling and I recognised some of these places... even hearing the names of the roads you traveled on made me realise how much I miss home at the moment.

Dumdad said...

Looks and sounds great. But 30 pee for, um, a pee?! Outrageous.

Gledwood said...

Och aye!
Soonds like ye journied intae a picture postcard.

Gledwood said...

Driving over that bridge at anything bar crawling speed would surely make you feel like you were launching into outer space!

Akelamalu said...

There are some beautiful buildings in Scotland for sure Bernadine :)

We're trying Laney! LOL

I'm so happy to bring back lovely memories for you Eternally Distracted. x

I know, it was outrageous Dumdad and the worst part was we'd forgotten there was a toilet on the coach until after we'd paid the 30p!! Ouch!!

The new bridge (on which we were standing) was much sturdier and flatter Gleds :)

Empress Bee (of the high sea) said...

i love it when you take me with you on your trips! ha ha ha

the first time i had to pay to go to the restroom was in italy, it was one half euro! and not much more than a hole in the floor. what an experience. i left, never figured out how to use it either.

it has been interesting to talk about it though!

smiles, bee
xoxoxoxoxoxo

nitebyrd said...

Thank you so much for the gorgeous pictures and wonderful descriptions of Scotland. It's a place I long to visit. I'll be looking forward to the rest!

buffalodick said...

Another one of your neat adventures!

Ron said...

Oh, Akelamalu...I just LOVE seeing and reading about your travels. You have a wonderful way of actually making us feel like we're there!

The hotel you stayed is absolutely charming! I love history, so it was wonderful reading about he Old Packhorse Bridge.

Thank you for sharing, m'dear!

I look forward to seeing more.

Enjoy your day...X

Daryl said...

I am going to enjoy this very much, Scotland is on my list of some day

Finding Pam said...

What a lovely place to take a holiday. The photos are wonderful. I look forward to more.

A Lady's Life said...

Life is for living.:)

secret agent woman said...

I really like that bridge.

Akelamalu said...

I'm so glad you enjoy our trips Bee. We regularly have to pay to use public conveniences here but it is usually 10 pence - 30p was daylight robbery!

There's a lot more photos to come Nitebyrd so you're in for a treat. :)

Yep another adventure Buff :)

The story about the bridge is interesting isn't it Ron? So pleased you like our adventures. x

Oh you should go as soon as you are able Daryl, Scotland is just beautiful!

Thankyou Pam, I hope you enjoy the rest of my posts about our trip.

It certainly is Lady's Life, that's my motto!

It is quite unique and the river flows very quickly - quite stunning SAW.

Maggie May said...

We have also done this type of trip, once to Ullapool and another time to Fort William and Skye.
I must admit I loved these Scottish coach tours. We packed in so many things and day trips out that we needed a holiday after that to get over it. LOL!
Maggie X

Nuts in May

Akelamalu said...

Fort William and Skye were on our itinerary too Maggie and you're right you do need a holiday afterwards to get over it! :)

Julia Phillips Smith said...

Yay! A trip to Scotland!! Oh God - I can't wait!!

Mmm...loved the nip of single malt. And the picture of the stone bridge is really, really gorgeous.

Akelamalu said...

I thought you would like this Julia Nova Scotia meaning New Scotland. :)

A Lady's Life said...

Those are wonderful pictures and the bridge story is truly sad to think how many burials must have crossed it.
It would definitely be worthwhile to fix it to the way it was.

Travis Cody said...

Scotland is very high on my list of places to visit.

Oh...I love the changes you made to your template!

Pam said...

can't wait to see more of the trip. ancestors are from scotland. i envy the trip as it's one of my dream places to visit. i do have to say when i saw the name blair atholl, i was reminded of the movie made of honor. the girl was getting married to a scot and his mom wanted them to maybe name their baby atholl. then the guy says, 'we come from a long line of atholls'. i guess you really have to think about it for it to be funny. lol i'll be popping by more often. doing good on my end, just school and fb where we keep trying to nudge ya lol

Akelamalu said...

I don't think the bridge would withstand the amount of traffice going through the village now Lady's Life

I hope you get there some day Trav. I like the new template too - very easy with the new design thingie on blogger. :)

Thanks Jingle

I'm sure you'll get to Scotland in the future Ciara. As you know I don't get on FB much so it's nice to see you here. x

A Daft Scots Lass said...

and you were so close to my birth town Kilmarnock.

I'm envious of your Scots travels. Enjoy the highlands