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We are leaving Edinburgh this
morning. After another filling breakfast served on and with the best
china and silver, we packed up our stuff, said our goodbyes and thanks and
headed over to the airport hotel to meet up with Lars' parents. They
had already gone to meet Lars' brother and his son, and they were all
waiting for us in the hotel room. Once there, we all agreed on the
plan (that is, to head directly up to Pitlochry) and helped them load all
their things into the rental car. |
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And then we headed north, taking
the motorway to the bridge over the Firth of Forth (what a great name).
From the road bridge, we could look across at the old, iron rail road
bridge, still in use today. It was the first large iron bridge in its
day. What a feat of engineering. With one stop along the way, we
arrived in Pitlochry (which Queen Victoria named one of the finest resorts
in Europe) after about 90 minutes of driving. |
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First stop is at the information
office to find our way to our hotel that we have booked for the next couple
of nights. We got the directions, hopped back in the car and arrived
at the Pine Trees Hotel a few minutes later. What a lucky find we made
on the internet. A great place (and at a reasonable rate, booked
online directly with them). We checked into our rooms, scattered a
little bit here and there over the hotel that had corridors wandering up and
down and around corners. It took a day just to figure out how to get
to our room without making a wrong turn. At the heart of the hotel was
the cozy sitting room with the huge fireplace (not used during the summer as
it burns too hot), with the bar right next to it. We will be spending
some time there over the next few days. |
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Once we had sorted out our stuff
and settled in, it was time for lunch. We drove back into town and
then began the search for a place to eat. Part of the problem is that
children are not allowed in most pubs, so our choices became a bit more
restricted, but we were soon having a nice lunch in a warm cafe. |
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After lunch we decided to work
off some of the calories that we had ingested with a walk down to the dam on
the nearby stream. It is a very pleasant walk down to the stream,
which we cross on a shaky footbridge. We then have a short walk up to
the dam itself. Along the way we come across a fisherman, who kindly
shows Carl his recent catch. |
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Up at the dam we get to check out
a salmon ladder that has built on one side to allow the salmon to swim up to
their spawning grounds. We can see a few of the salmon in the glass
tank in the middle of the ladder. The dam is small, but nice. We
cross over to the other side of the stream on the top of the dam and then
make our way back to the village via an alternative route. |
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Once we have all gathered back at
the cars, we decide to go and see the smallest whisky distillery in
Scotland, a short drive away from Pitlochry. We get to Edradour
shortly after 2 PM and have a look around the small display before we head
out on a tour. It is a small, but delightful place. It seems to
employ about only 4 people and they make in a year what a large distillery
makes in a week. But that makes it special. After seeing some of
the larger distilleries, everything here seems to be in miniature - liking
going to Legoland. |
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The copper stills were especially
cute. In the end, the stills produce about 430 liters of spirit very
week, enough to fill 12 casks. We then head over to the tasting room,
where we get a wee dram - an interesting flavor. From there, we make
our way to the shop, to have a look around at what is on offer. In the
end, we buy a bottle of their Lords single malt as a gift for Danny - one
can only get that in two places, here and in Westminster. |
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After the distillery, we head
back to the hotel, where Carl and I decide to go for a run. Along the way we
stop off at the local golf course and book a tee time for the following
morning. Looks like a fun course, running up and down the hillside.
We run a loop, up the hillside and back down into town before returning to
the hotel. |
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After a quick shower, it is time
to meet in the bar for a pre-dinner drink or two. It is a warm place,
with plush, leather sofas one can sink into. They also have some
games, and we get into a bit of a noisy session with Carl, jr. |
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The three course dinner in the
dining room over looking the gardens turns out to be quite good. Along
with the wine, we have a very nice meal. This is followed by coffee
and drinks back in the bar. We just hope that we did not chase away
too many other guests with our noisy games (well, we did have to entertain
the young master Carl). |