International Travel Planning … on your own … without a net, Part 7.5
Posted in European Travel, Historic, Romantic Locations, Scenery, Shopping, Travel Planning | By Wolfstone | Tags: Castles, Scotland, Travel
Scotland: Fall 2009
DAY 9 – Continued
We leave John O’Groats for a short trip to the town of Wick.
John O’Groats to Wick
Distance: 16 miles
Time: 22 min
A harbor town, Wick is also noted in the Guinness Book of World Records as having the Shortest Street In The World! 1 Ebenezer Place is a whopping 6 foot 9 inches. Yeah, that’s pretty short!
Wick is also noted for having the most northern malt whiskey distillery in Scotland, Old Pulteney Distillery. Although tours are given, we won’t have the time.
As we leave town and head south on A99, we will have the distinction of driving on the most dangerous road in Scotland. The 23 minute, 17 mile trip between Wick and the intersection of A9 at Latheron is rated Black for dangerous! (one of only four in Great Britain).
We’ve both driven on roads that make a corkscrew look straight, but from the looks of an AA map (the UK version of AAA), this doesn’t seem to be the case with A99.
Sooooo ….. we are definitely going to drive cautiously.
After Latheron, we’ll motor down the coast until we reach:
Dunrobin Castle less than a mile north of Golspie is the most northern of the large estate houses in Scotland, dating back to the 1300’s. It is also one of Britain’s oldest continuously inhabited houses.
Tours of Dunrobin Castle are self-guided although there are docents in the main rooms to answer questions. Much like Culzean Castle that was in the earlier part of our itinerary, there are extensive gardens and grounds to explore as well as a live Falconry display twice per day.
Ticket prices include entry to the falconry display, museum and gardens.
http://www.dunrobincastle.co.uk
Down the road a few miles is the Glenmorangie Distillery. Producing award winning single malts since 1843, the facility was closed until recently due to renovation. It is once again open for visitors.
http://www.glenmorangie.com/
Tain
If you are interested in architecture, and who isn’t … a short detour off of A9 and into the town of Tain will be of interest. The architectural family of A Maitland & Sons designed much of the downtown area in the late 1800s.
Inverness
45 minutes south of Tain is the large city in the highlands which we have already driven through twice. As we are looking for kilts, we are hoping to stop by one of the oldest kiltmakers in Scotland if we have time:
James Pringle Weavers of Inverness – Making Kilts, tartans, etc. since 1780, also offer a weaving exhibition with interactive displays.
From Inverness, we’ll travel directly back to Aviemore for the night.
So, today we have been on the road approximately 316 miles and almost 8 hours … not counting our stops.
Although we definitely won’t have time, there are two additional attractions outside of the city if you are into military exhibits.
Outside of Inverness
Fort George – A huge fort, completed in 1769, is possibly the largest fort in all of Europe. It is open for visitors year round and is approximately 15 miles NE of Inverness.
Adults: 16-59 £6.70 ($10.66)
Children: 5-15 £3.35 ($5.33)
Concession: 60+ £5.20 ($8.27)
http://www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/propertyoverview?PropID=PL_136&PropName=Fort%20George
Culloden Moor Visitors Centre – 6.5 miles east of Inverness is the site of the famous battle of Culloden in April 1746. With the defeat of the Jacobites, this marked the last battle on British soil and the banning of clan tartans until 1782.
There is a newly opened ultramodern visitors centre containing:
- Interactive exhibition
- Battle immersion film on a 360 screen that puts you in the middle of the battle
- Roof top viewing of the battlefield
- Footpaths through the battlefield
http://www.nts.org.uk/culloden/
In the next installment next Monday we’re going on the ultimate search for cookies and whiskey in the Spey Valley…