Captivating Cairngorms

Despite the previous evening's yellow rain warning, we seemed to have been missed by the forecasted deluge. The little rain we did get petered out by early morning. We woke up to excitedly chirping birds and intense sun rays. Decided best enjoy the glorious morning on the chairs outside the camper. We hadn't yet planned out next two evening stays, so pursued the possibilities over coffee and porrage. By the time we packed up and were set to head south it was near noon and a glorious 20C out!

Our chosen destination was another boondock hotel experience, in Glenisla, roughly a 3 hour drive. J also included a few points along the way to explore the area and stretch the legs.

Our first stop was to see Drumin Castle, located in the Glenlivet Estate. The parking lot and initial start of the trail was quite soggy, but gradually opened up and ascended the hillside to the castle ruin, with a gorgeous view of the valley. At the top we ducked into the rock walled orchard area; many of the trees were loaded and ready for picking. The local school group will be collecting them to press. We explored and admired a portion of the intact castle keep before heading back to the van. Of course as this was the Glenlivet Estate, we did pass the famous Scotch distillery, just around the bend.

We passed a number of scotch distilleries en route, most we hadn't heard of. They are all part of The Malt Whiskey Trail. As we came upon Timintoul, we decided we need a few grocery items to get us by. It was a well stocked local shop with some new items for us to try. Oak Leaf wine! 🍷

Not too far down the road we pulled into a picnic area with a trail that lead to the old Lecht iron and manganese mine. The wind was definitely much more gusty here, so it was literally a brisk walk. 🤣 Afterwards we enjoyed a lite lunch in the van.

The next couple of stops were view points. The Corgarff view point had some interesting art features, and extremely turbulent wind with a distant brewing storm. The Devil's Elbow was much more placid, and boasted some amazing scenery.

On the road to Glenisla we passed a number of "castles", not in the Medieval sense, but more of a fortified manourhouse with embellished turrets. The closest castle to Glenisla being Forter Castle.

Once at the Glenisla Hotel, we enjoyed a couple of beers, we bought earlier in the day when passing near Tomintoul, and a salad. The hotel dinner was very hearty and delicious.Les mer