Edinburgh to Dunkeld

Up (not to early for Anne but I was having breakfast by 6.30 am) then a final tidy-up and finish packing ready to head-off after a great 4 days in Edinburgh (if you don’t take Anne’s bad back into account). Taking heavy bags down 85 steps is a lot easier than carrying them up!!! It’s only about 110 km to Dunkeld but we took the scenic route. We stopped off at Hopetoun farm for a break (after all we had been driving for almost 30minutes) of coffee/hot chocolate and scone (for me). We then stopped at town of Linlithgow, the birth place of Mary Queen of Scott’s. I asked a local about the castle just off the high street. Apparently it’s a palace and the locals don’t take to kindly to it being referred to in any other way🤭. A fantastic structure built some 700 years ago. The palace is surrounded by magnificent grounds and has its own lake - the stop was worth it. Then onto Dunkeld - took a couple side-roads (read sorta got lost) and drove down some skinny one lane country tracks with stone walls on either side. The country-side is so lush and green, with sweeping hills and forests, it makes you think about the drought back home. Dunkeld is a real revelation, beautiful old country Scottish town built on the free flowing river Tays. The town is thought to have first been settled well over 1,000 years ago and the cathedral (every town/city seems to have a cathedral) building commenced almost 800 years ago. We’re staying at the Royal Hotel Dunkeld (you can tell it’s a popular town with visitors - $140 p/n for a small pub room). We did a walk near town (and had a drink at a pub overlooking the river) then had a rest before going to a small pub for dinner. Anne had chicken & mushroom soup and I had sticky pork loin with haggis balls (don’t ask - look it up 🤭).Read more