At the beginning of our trip, we stayed in a small rural area named Finavon. On the morning of July 9, Tiff and I said our goodbyes to the Andrews family (Tony, Alison, and their daughter Jo and her family who also came to visit) and Tony drove us to Perth where we met up with Tiff's friend, Rory. The drive was about an hour and a bit, nothing too exciting to see other than the beautiful Scottish foothills along the way. Rory currently lives in a cabin on his family's land (125 acres), which has hills surrounding it from every angle. Needless to say, it was wonderful to just go out on the deck and have a seat, looking at the lovely view. After Rory, the next somebody that I met was...a cat. Finally. My friends and I are a little obsessed with cats - memes, videos, pictures, etc. So, it was about time that I found a cat. His name is Ginger, and he's honestly one of the nicest cats I've ever played with! As soon as you'd start petting him, he'd roll onto his side and insist that you give him a belly-rub, and as you did so, he'd curl his paws around you to keep your hands there. Ha!
After getting settled in at Rory's (we had our own rooms, sweet!). we hopped in the truck and made our way to Crieff, a small-looking town that looked very typical European to me. We first went to a tourist information centre to check out what would be good to do around Perthshire. We picked up some brochures and set off to get some lunch, which ended up just being prepared sandwiches from a supermarket nearby. We ate lunch at MacRosty Park - very green and full of life - and then set off to our first destination - Auchingarrich. This place was like a zoo (I guess it was called a wildlife park?), and it was especially satisfying because I finally got to see some highland cows. Rory says that Highlanders aren't worth very much since there's not really a demand for them, so farmers will actually only have them "just because".
Dinner was quite delicious - haggis, neeps and tatties (turnips and potatoes ha!), fish lasagna, and regular lasagna! Veggies and hummus for starters. Meals at Rory's were quite different than the ones we had in Finavon - more low-key and laid back, but I loved it all the same. One thing I learned about being in Europe (again) is that people generally stay up later...that means dinners are later and oftentimes there's time spent after dinner lounging around and talking - not something I'm especially used to at home! Definitely a nice change of pace.
The next day, Rory's mum and his younger brother and sister - Laurie and Rowan - came to pick us up and we went on a loooooooooooong trip around the central Highlands with them! It was absolutely amazing. We were headed to Glenlyon, which was about 2ish (maybe less, it felt like a long time because I was so tired haha) hours away, and on the way we stopped at Fortingall, at a church where there's a 5000 year old yew tree living beside it. The thing I love about this place is that so much history has occurred here. I mean, a 5000 year old tree?! Imagine all the things it's seen. Phew. After taking all of that in, we got back on the road. Rory's mum showed us everything alongside the road - all the wonderful views of rivers and glens, going over bridges and seeing everything that I would not otherwise see if I were just touring around on my own in Scotland. And Rory's mum is just so knowledgable about the land. We got to drive all the way up Ben Lawers, which is the tallest hill in the Perthshire area, and also got to see Loch Tay, which is a fairly large loch in and of itself. Interestingly enough, Rory's mum informed us that all the lochs and waterways (I think) are all connected to each other with pipes so that if one area needed more water (for an event or something), then it could be pumped from other lochs for that purpose. Weird! Something else that we got to see was "The Crannog," which is an ancient structure that Scottish people in this area used to live in. They're sort of raised structures on the water that had drawbridges attaching them to the mainland, which could be raised in case of attack. Super interesting. Also while driving, she pointed out to us what area the Romans used as a road, and it was amazing because the rocks they used as markers along both sides of their "road" are still there! Along another part, there's a wide and deep crater that was left by a bomb that a German plane had dropped during the war. We got back to Rory's around 6 o'clock, very tuckered out and ready for dinner. On the way back, we stopped at Kenmore to get some firewood, and along the road there was a shop run by a man who turns antlers into decorative things - bought myself a nice British Lion. Dinner was chicken skewers with corn on the cob and tatties 'n butter and basil :) Super modest and delicious! While chowing down on dinner, the fire was up and going and we turned on Rory's hard drive and watched....Trailer Park Boys, which I've never actually really watched before, and it's really funny!
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| Dinner! |
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| Loch Tay |
Everything that I got to experience with Rory and his family - the tour around the central Highlands and the smaller areas of Scotland - were so nice and I'm really glad I got to meet everyone that I did, even if I didn't talk all that much because I felt it was my sister's time to catch up with them. But stuff like that - little details about the real Scotland that a tourist might not know just by doing bus tours - is what makes me truly appreciative for my experience in Scotland. I really do love getting off the well-beaten path and just exploring the rough parts.
Next will be the very beginning of my trip - in Finavon with the Andrews family on their beautiful property - which I will post soon! I am currently in Barcelona right now, so this is very odd for me to be posting from the past...but it's the best I can do! Hope this update is alright!
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