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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).