North to Inverness.

A bit of rain to start off this non-sheep day, as we made our way north through the changing countryside.
We drove parallel to but not into St Andrews of golf fame. Marion our guide pointed out these important facts about the University there: it is the oldest university in Scotland but of much greater interest, it was where William and Kate met. And the rest as they say, is history .

 We made our way to Pitlochry, home of a renowned summer theater festival. A beautiful town with a mile of pubs, shops and boutiques.

  We dropped some of our party off in town and the rest of us  took the tour of Edradour's: Scotland's smallest distillery in this idyllic setting. (There are daffodils everywhere at this time of the year in Scotland).


What an experience! Because of some timing issues, we had to begin our tour in the tasting room - how unfortunate, Not! A "wee dram" of the smoothest of whiskeys (their 10 year-old), and a cream liqueur that was like white velvet. What a way to start the day.

Our guide, Beryl explained that because they truly are the smallest distillery in Scotland they make as much whiskey in one year as Glenfiddich does in 3 days. A fact in which they take great pride. She also pointed out that up to 1/4 of the whiskey in each cask will evaporate over the 10 years that it ages. This is known as the angel's share. These casks are in their second lives, having previously held bourbon, port, sherry or other such rich beverages. The residue will flavour the whiskey with a distinctive taste.

Lunch of fish and chips in a cozy pub, then on to Inverness, the largest centre in the Highlands.

We walked into the Royal Highlands Hotel as if we were walking walking back a century into the glorious foyer. The hotel is next to the train station, a central hub for the northern part of the island. When it was built guests would come into this foyer directly from the station to the left of the grand stairway.

 A walk along the River Ness brought me to a pedestrian bridge that crossed over to an island populated with these most amazing park benches, each one of a different design and carved entirely from a single block of wood. Back down the other side of the river towards town for a super view of Inverness Castle. (If it isn't an abbey, it's a castle in every town. Sometimes both.)

I'd heard tha, as Inverness is at a more northerly longitude than Labrador City, we would be seeing very late sunsets and early sunrises. I was up at 6am to McDonald's seeking their free wifi (with the help of wee Stephen, as they say, the kindest McDonald's employee in the UK), and snapped this picture. The sun had been up for at least an hour at that point. And just look at this cloudless sky. The weather gods have been smiling on us for sure during this entire trip.