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European Adventure 2017
Our campsite last night was very quiet, tucked away in the trees at Speyside Centre which was another Britstop. This morning was laundry time and we found a laundrette in Aviemore just a few kms down the road. While we were waiting we ducked across the street to a lovely little cafe above a sports shop called Mountain Cafe which we discovered is owned and run by a Kiwi girl from Temuka no less. Fabulous food and the first time we had had seen long and short black coffees and flat white coffees on offer. There were also Kiwi style pancakes on the menu but unfortunately we had already had breakfast! So any Kiwis heading this way make sure you visit this little cafe...there was a wait for a table but it was worth it. The sun was shining for the first time in a few days and the mood was buoyant. We set off for our first stop of the day which was Blair. Castle owned by the Athol family. It was an amazing place full of fantastic artefacts and furniture. The history of the family involves the Culloden fiasco with three brothers on both sides of the battle two with the Jacobites and one with the government and so the family was torn apart with the one fighting for the government inheriting the castle. There must have been a tremendous amount of hunting done in those days as there were hundreds of weapons of all descriptions on display as well as 1500 deer antlers. As usual Geoff didn't read the sign about no photography (except in the ballroom) until he had taken a few of the entrance lobby! The castle's estate was originally on 145,000 acres of land and the family also owned the Isle of Mann for 100 years although the government demanded it back from them. They sold some of the castle estate when the railway went in, and during WWll it was used as a hospital and a school for children who were transported out of Glasgow for their safety. As we left the castle a piper appeared at the exit so we stood and listened to him for a while before heading back to the vans. A few kms down the road was Pitlochry which has a dam over the river Tummel. As this is a salmon river a 'ladder' was built to take the fish over the dam. We were pleased we saw the salmon ladder at the Rogie Falls because the fish would be visible climbing the ladder there whereas at Pitlochry they wouldn't be as the water is dark and swirly and the fish travel up the ladder with entrances to stage of the ladder at the bottom therefore they are not visible. The ladder is equipped with electronic equipment which counts and measures each fish that passes - New Zealand could learn a lot of lessons regarding the treatment and preservation of salmon. Around 5,500 fish pass through this ladder each year. There are 34 steps to the ladder and it covers 310 metres with three larger pools to allow the fish to rest. Our camping spot for tonight is another Britstop - a farm shop in the area of Angus which has a cafe, gift shop and nursery. It is very quiet and very rural, in fact we are parked beside two John Deere tractors and we overlook a very green paddock with cattle, geese and ducks. A third camper has just joined us for the night with a Dutch family and a dog. Ryan is driving up to join us for a week tomorrow so we will head for more traditional campsites if we can. We are so looking forward to seeing him again. Tonight is our seventh night in Scotland and so far we have only paid £12 for camping! I know I've mentioned it before but this Free camping with small, mainly rural businesses is a win win and wherever possible we support them by buying some of their product.
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mum Thanks for lovely pics etc. Mostly places we visited so happy me ories rekindled My sympatbies to Charlie re. Midges, 'clegs' in local parlance. Hope he wasnt wearing a kilt..
Becky Ooh Mary, you cheeky devil ;) !!! If I remember it rightly Jo, is that the cafe which serves 40 different types of cake, all amazing and all massive?x
Jo Kidd Yes Becky that's the one. A really amazing variety of cakes and goodies. All freshly made too so the advertising says. Wish I could have tried more of them!