2 August 2014
Day 16 –Thurso – Aviemore
Accommodation – Alvie Estate
Weather – overcast with rain in the afternoon
Temperature – 15 degrees
We left lovely little Thurso to wend our way down the
coastal road to Aviemore. In the
distance we could see the oil rigs of the North Sea. There were grass covered cliffs dotted with
sheep and a handful of tiny villages.
After an hour and a half of driving we stopped at Dunrobin
Castle which is the family seat of the Sutherland Clan. We fortunately had arrived
within minutes of the falconry exhibition.
For half an hour the birdman had three birds swooping and diving at his
command.
A very informative and fascinating demonstration about falconry - birds dived over our heads.
The rear of Dunrobin from the manicured gardens. Photos weren't permitted inside which is a pity as it really gives an insight into times past.
Once this was over we wandered the expansive and manicured
gardens back up to the main castle of the duchy of Sutherland. The Countess is 94 years old and lives in
London however her son lives in a house nearby.
This castle is breathtaking – not in a gold and glitter manner – but in
the fashion of the late 1800’s and early 20th century where you can see
how the rich lived.
We were permitted to take photos of the gardens from the upstairs windows.
David standing next to the giant rhubarb plant native to South America.
The castle has its own private museum with many stuffed
animals. I was standing next to the head
of a giraffe which was still taller than me – quite spooky really! There were many elephant tusks, heads of
deer, a pair of crocodiles and so on.
They must have liked their hunting – and they must have travelled with
their own taxidermist!
At lunch we met our second mad Scotsman, Gordon. He lived locally but had been educated at
Cambridge and Oxford and had taught at Geelong Grammar. Gordon was full of tales and he gave out a
lot of advice on marriage (he’s never been married), on parenting (he has no
children) and on grandchildren (nope, none of those either!). He was a funny eccentric man and we enjoyed
his company.
The weather had closed in and we drove in rain all the way
to Alvie Estate. The manor house was not
open and there was no one to greet us.
Our friends from Hawaii arrived at the same time so we huddled in the
entrance out of the rain. Eventually a
gentleman turned up from the Highland Games a little way down the road and
showed us our little house. I asked if
we needed to take our car and he said as we had luggage it was probably a good
idea. Now, I think this man is probably
bonkers, but as it turns out he owns the estate….the road is more than a
kilometre to the house so I’m not sure if he really intended us to walk all the
way in the rain on the boggy road with our bags.
We met up with the majority of our group (fourteen in total)
and had a great meal at the Cairngorm Hotel.
A wedding was in progress and the bar was full of men wearing kilts and
women dressed in tartan dresses. As we
left the pub a piper was standing in the rain piping tunes across the town.
Scottish culture is alive and well in Aviemore!
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