Pitlochry, Scotland, United Kingdom
Today is the day for us to tour Pitlochry and environs so we were up early. When I went in to take a shower I found something shocking about our shower. When you step out of the shower you are facing the large window and the main road--and of course as I said yesterday there are no curtains! Well hello world!
Our first stop today is the Edradour Distillery that is on the hills above the town. It is the smallest single malt distillery in Scotland and was founded in 1825. They take pride in making their whisky with a minimum use of machinery and have a proud emphasis on tradition. The distillery with its many red-roofed, white washed small buildings sits in an impossibly green landscape right beside a stream (Edradour is also the name of the stream). It was quite fun and they let us take photos anywhere unlike the larger distilleries!
Leaving there we headed to the Pitlochry Power Plant and Dam on the River Tummel to see the salmon leap up the salmon ladders by the dam. Our cousins, Biff and Donna, said they had done this and it was great fun to watch.
The salmon are supposed to be here in May and June so we are excited to see them as they go upstream using the ladders which are actually a series of chambers. To get there though we had to cross a suspension foot bridge over the River Tummel. This is supposed to be an ancient site where monks crossed the river, not on this footbridge of course, but much earlier versions. I so hate these things as they begin to swing and I feel as if I am on a boat on the ocean then my stomach begins to complain! Thankfully it was a short walk across the bridge. Then we waited by the ladders to see the salmon and chatted with some people from the Isle of Man who were also waiting to see the salmon. But our wait was to no avail as the salmon were noncompliant. Not a salmon was in sight.
We were not interested in touring the power plant itself so we walked through a lovely little area and decided to have lunch nearby at Craig-na-Pure, a small building built in 1650. Of course we ate salmon for lunch--we’ll show them!! Along with our salmon we had curried carrot soup and Mike had a 1/2 pint of Tennants and I had a glass of Chardonnay.
After lunch we drove back into town so we could walk around this busy little village--shopping time! I had to buy a shirt as it is a tradition that I buy some piece of clothing when I travel! At least I found a shirt on sale this time! We stopped at a pay phone and called The Logierait Inn which is just down the road from our guesthouse to make dinner reservations.
We shopped at Regatta Pitlochry for clothing and candy, the Scottish Shop for toys for the grandchildren, The Cooperative to buy Prosecco for tonight, Mackenzie's Battery for fresh strawberries and then to Moffat Woolens for an anniversary card. Carrying all of our packages we met Sandy and Dennis at our appointed time and place in a park in Pitlochry and drove back to the guest house.
For dinner tonight we walked along a path by the Tummel River and by some cute little cottages to the Logierait Inn. The Inn has been a courthouse and a jail before becoming a restaurant. Its claim to fame is it was the jail where the infamous “hero” Rob Roy was kept (although he managed to escape). We shared a bottle of wine and Mike had a pork loin plate while I had a salmon cheese glaze. Then we all shared a cheese plate. After a leisurely meal we walked back to the guesthouse.
We were celebrating Sandy and Dennis’ 44th wedding anniversary which is today. So back at the guesthouse we surprised them with a bottle of bubbly Prosecco and fresh strawberries. We had a great time celebrating this event and in such a marvelous place. Just as the sun was going down about 11 p.m. we headed up to bed.
2025-05-23