There was a soldier, a Scottish soldier Who wandered far away and soldiered far away
Our main holiday this year was in Scotland. Ravi and Maggie had invited us to launch the Hossack Institute of Highland Studies in memory of Maggie’s parents. So, we decided to extend the holiday by staying in the Cairngorms National Park near to Tomintoul.
The drive to Inverness was uneventful, except for the police car parked on the motorway bridge with a speed camera. The speeding ticket has not arrived, so reckon I have gotten away with it. That evening some of went out an ate the Great British Menu, curry.
The next day I did some site seeing. Looked around Cawdor castle, the Clava Cairns and Culloden where we whipped the Scots.
The evening was a party night, where we met many of the Hossack’s.
One more day in Inverness, Sunday saw a few of us taking a boat trip on Loch Ness to Urquhart castle in the rain and then a delicious meal in a local restaurant converted from one of the many churches in Inverness that have fallen out of use. I might say a far better use of the premises.
Monday saw us heading to Tomintoul where we were to stay in a converted barn for the next 5 days. When we tried to buy food, it was suggested the nearest place was Inverness. Why had we not visited Tesco as we left Inverness? During the 5 days we toad a steam train, walked around the Glenlivet estate, and tried some Speyside whiskies.
Finally, we travelled to Helensburgh for a couple of nights. The original intention was to stay with some ex-colleagues (Mary and Ed) in a B&B owned by a woman who had been a customer. Alas, she had to go to a hospital, so Rosemary and I stayed in Helensburgh (Loch Lomond appeared full) for a couple of years. I stayed there in 1972 during the enterprise championships.
You may wonder about the pictures of the trees in the gallery, I took a picture of this tree in the exact same spot in 1972.
