I finally found the time to start with my report from Scotland. Not many military airfields in Scotland but many nice places to visit.
Saturday June 6th we took the boot from Ijmuiden to Newcastle. Travelling by boot is not my thing, not even with the special pills, so I was really happy to see the harbour of Newcastle.
This day we had to go to Edinburgh. We decided to take the coastal road up to the north. Destination Abb’s Head. We see in our travel guide that this must be a magnificent place, and yes this is!!!
After this it was time to go to the hotel. I was pretty sure that we had a reservation at the Holiday Inn hotel near Edinburgh Zoo, so this was the place to go to. When we arrive there the woman told us that we where at the wrong hotel. Edinburgh has (to) many Holiday Inn’s because we finally arrived after seeing three of them. The hotel was perfect, in the middle of the city. So after dinner there was time for a short walk. In one of the souvenirs shops we found a really nice cd of the Red Hot Chilli Pipers. This is a Scottish back pipe band what plays pop music on the back pipe.
Day 3 Edinburgh Zoo
The day before we already see the Zoo because we where at the wrong hotel. It’s a nice big zoo. You can spend here the whole day, without problem. Highlight for me was the penguins with there young.
Some where very active
This is one of the restaurants in the zoo
For the next couple of days I made a reservation with a B&B in Dumbarton. This is a village near Glasgow. On there website it looked nice and quit. This was not the trued. The B&B was very close to the big road. The woman what opened the door scared us a little. See had a beard. If see is going to cook our breakfast, I’ll skip it every day. Luckily here nice and normal mom cooked it. And see cooked it good!!! The bearded lady we never saw again.
After checking in we left for a nice dinner and a look at Loch Lomond. We found a friendly ranger there. He explained us some things about the birds of prey and told us about a friend of him. This guy feeds every day the Red Kite. Later we will visit him.
Day 4 Leuchars and the Red Kite
Today we went to Leuchars, finally some aircraft. It was the first time we visited it. And we where right on time. We heard that it is an airfield with good possibilities to take pictures because of the low fence. Well they are building a new and higher fence. I think at this time it will be totally finished. It was good weather and there was nice flying activity.
Not the only visitor, also a Chinook, Lynx and Seaking
The place with the Red Kite was on the road so we decided to go there also today. When we finally found it there was nobody. After a couple of minutes a woman told us to go quickly to the hide, he was already feeding the Kites. There was a wooden cabin where we found the guy and a couple of more visitors. For everyone there was a scoop. Every red kite has a plastic thing on each wing. This has a colour and a letter. With this system they can see how old the kite is and where he is born.
Day 5 A trip to the mountains
We wanted to see some mountains today, so we went to Ben Lawers. This mountain is 1214 meters high. On our way there we stopped at Killin. In this village you can find the falls of Dochart. This is the place where the original Casino Royal movie from 1967 is shot.
After Killin we drive next to Loch Tay where we see our first sea plane. Too far to take a nice picture but nice to see. Halfway Loch Tay we went up the hill. This was the first single track road with lots of sheep’s.
Went we stopped to make a picture of the sheep’s we heard a jet. It were two Tornado’s, low flying over Loch Tay. It’s a shame we are up the hill because it’s really to far for a good picture. But it was a special paint Tornado with a Black and yellow tail. Probably the ZE734/JU what we saw the day before on Leuchars.
After a long single track road with nobody else driving there we finally got back to the normal road. Time to go back to Loch Lomond. There we found a great restaurant, established in an old church.
The food was great, the people friendly and the atmosphere terrific. The sun was almost going down, but before we go back to the B&B a short stop for some more Loch Lomond shots.
Loch Lomond and Ben Lomond
Day 6 Blair Drummond Safari park and Prestwick
Today again a day full with animals. Blair Drummond safari park is not really big but really nice with children. They also have a really nice bird of prey show.
The view from the bird of prey show is great
There is a part where you can walk and a part you just drive with your car. The weather was not good, rain. So first we did the car part.
Later the walking part.
Because it’s not a big zoo we had some time left. We decided to pay a visit to Prestwick. We only saw one USAF Hercules, the rest was civil.
Day 7 More bird’s of prey
A day full with bird of prey. We visited World of wings, a bird of prey centre in Luggiebank. We could freely walk trough the centre and later there was a very good flying presentation. They flow an owl, buzzard, falcon and a vulture.
On the way back to the B&B
We had dinner in a very good restaurant on the shore of Loch Lomond. And while we sit there having a nice meal and a nice view, we hear an airplane. A seaplane, landing on Loch Lomond, and taking off again. After a quick dinner we went to the shore to see if we can find the place were the seaplane was because it landed again. It was near a hotel and you could fly with it for 90 pound, per person. (next time)
Day 8 Leaving Dumbarton
After again a good breakfast we gave our cook a present from the Netherlands and left for the next B&B.
We took the nice road that leads us through a beautiful part of Scotland, Glen Coe. But first say goodbye to Loch Lomond. This time without the sun.
Along the road to Glen Coe we see our first back piper
This is one of the three sisters.
The three sisters are three magnificent mountains laying at the left site of the valley where we are driving.
We also drive by the Nevis Range. There we took the gondola up to Aonach Mor mountain. The view was not really good because of the low clouds but it was nice. On this gondola you can take your mountain bike and go down the mountain on you bike. (not my cup of tea)
On our way to the B&B the navigation send us trough a really bad neighbourhood. And we where almost there. Not again as bad as Dumbarton, please. Luckily we came to a beautiful house. The man how opened the door was Grant. A lovely man. He showed us to a really nice bedroom. I told him that our last B&B was bad, no good shower. Well here he had a perfect shower he told. We settled in and I go for a good shower, but no warm water…….
Day 9 Eilean Donan Castle and Loch Ness
Grant made us breakfast and ask about the shower, well, it was not as good as you told. Big panic, it was impossible. He would check when we are gone.
So off we go to Eilean Donan Castle. It was a long trip, but it was worth the trip.
Loch Duich
Eilean Donan Castle
On our way back we visited Loch Ness. We didn’t found Nessie.
We stopped at the famous Urquhart Castle but didn’t go in.
In stead we visit the Loch Ness Centre. Here we got a paper with the Dutch translation on it. This centre gifs you a good story and let you decide if you believe or not. There was no time to visit the other centre. They are convinced that Nessie exists.
Day 10 Dunrobin Castle and the dolphins
We got the tip that Dunrobin Castle has a good bird of prey presentation with an Eagle. So up to Dunrobin. The weather was grey, but not to cold. We where right on time. The guy who gives the presentation does it very, very good!!! He let the birds fly just above your head, just great. The owl what flow he put later between the audiences.
Dunrobin is close to the water and has a beautiful garden.
In the morning Grant told us about the dolphins. You can see them from a boot but if you are lucky also from the shore. So we tried our luck at the shore. It was really windy and we where there already for 10 minutes without seeing something. But our patience was worth it. At one moment we even see 4 dolphins in one time. This was really a great experience.
Finally, today I saw the first Scottish highlanders
Day 11 Again airplanes, finally
Because we where close to the Cairngorms, a couple of really big mountains, the weather could be changeable. But today looked like a good day. So we decided to go to Lossiemouth for some nice Tornado’s.
When we came to the airfield there was already a Nimrod making touch and goes.
We found a nice spot on the south side of the base. After a couple of Tornado’s we had some nice visitors
To get some other shot we went to the other side of the runway.
After some hours at Lossie we also went to Kinloss for a short stop. There was nothing flying anymore because it was already late but we found an old graveyard close to Kinloss.
After a really good dinner in Aviemore we got up the mountains to enjoy the beautiful views. On our way up there we see a nice yellow Seaking, but to far for a picture and even for the number.
On our way to the top we found this strange tree. One part of it died but is still attached to the tree and is lying in front of it.
Day 12 All day rain
Because the look out of the window didn’t look like any nice weather today we went to an information centre about dolphins and al other marine animals. Also we found some nice information for our next trip to Scotland.
Finally at the end of the day there was some sun. Up the mountain again for some sunset pictures. The sunset was not spectacular but nice to see.
Day 13 The worst day of the vacation
Again not a good day, and not only because of the weather…. We went to the Highland Wildlife Park in Kincraig. They had a problem with some kind off weed so not many animals in the part of the park where you drive with your own car. So we where happy to see these guys:
We stopped to make some pictures and the horses started to lick the mirror of the car. Not bad. The whole group was standing next to the car and in front of the car. It was nice to see them so close, but when one of them decided to put his feet on the front of the car we weren’t that happy anymore. There was a car behind us so it was a worse situation. The horse put another feet on the car and at that moment the car behind us see that there was trouble. He backed up for us and we did the same. When we parked the car we checked the damage. A lot of scratches. We where fed up with it. But luckily after the vacation the insurance solved it.
The Highland Wildlife Park is a nice zoo with many Scottish animals. The weather was bad, so not many pictures today.
After this we went up the Cairngorms with the Cairngorms mountain rail. This railway brings you up the mountain and here you find the highest railway station of the UK (1097m).
The views are wonderful, if we only had some nice blue sky.
Day 14 Cairngorms route and some low flying planes
Grant told us about all the red squirrels in his garden, he couldn’t stop talking about it. But we didn’t see it, until today.
We went first to the osprey centre in Loch Garten. At this place there was a couple of osprey’s breeding. We see the wife sitting on the nest and on the live webcam we see 4 little osprey’s. What beautiful to see this. One off the little ones was standing for the very first time.
In the centre they have live webcams, binoculars and people how tell about the nature there. One of the visitors was watching with the binocular and saw something special. What it was we didn’t know because it was all going so fast. I took a look trough the binocular but didn’t see it. Disappointed as I was I asked one off the guys. He let me look again and told me that it was a Capercaillie. Never heard off it before but it was nice to see.
Grant told us about a nice route trough the Cairngorms and because this was the last day we had to do it today. While driving on the A9 towards Pitlochry I see a Lynx flying next to us, and he was flying low together with another Lynx. They crossed our road and we where happy, what a magnificent sight to see them flying so low. I joked that we must watch out for some more. And there came more, 1 Merlin, 1 Puma and one helicopter what I believe was a MI8. NICE!!!!!
At Pitlochry we took the A924 and the A93. The road was beautiful, the weather changing.
First dark clouds
At the Cairnwell, just before entering the Cairngorms national park again, a Tornado came low over our car, and another one. Again a spectacular sight.
Then finally near Tomintoul, sun!!!
After a short stop at the Whiskeycastle in Tomintoul for some souvenirs we went for some dinner to Aviemore. The only restaurant open was an Italian one. Grant told us that it was not the best but we didn’t have a choice. The food tasted nice, but not long after we came at the B&B I got sick. Grant was a great help with some medicine. I went to bed early and the next day I felt better. Back to home……
I hope you all enjoyed the report and the pictures.
Bye,
Bianca
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