Halloooooo!!
So, today wasn't the best day of my trip so far. First of all, I feel like 15 days holiday isn't going to be enough. Secondly, I'm staying in a town that wants to leave the EU and thirdly I've had so many delays today. Ugh.
No one to blame but me.
The day started off pretty fine. Got up on time, had a delicious full Scottish breakfast, fruit and yogurt, by 9.30am I was checked out and ready to hit the road (after snapping a few more images of the square). All seemed to go to plan, until my sat nav decided to bail on me. I wanted to visit Dunnotar castle in Stonehaven, which is about 20km from Aberdeen. I always check the route on my sat nav to ensure that I'm going in the right direction. So it seemed. So I started driving, everything went smoothly, no issues, no traffic, no road works, nothing. Until the last 20kilometers. Like an idiot I followed sat nav rather than the signs on the side of the road. I ended up in freaking Aberdeen!! Luckily it was only a 30min drive back, but that 30min meant that I had to drop my plan to go to Aberfeldy on my way to Grantown-on-Spey. If you don't know, Habitat (local 'restaurant') has the best burgers in the world (in my opinion). I was soooo annoyed with myself! Travel diary Scotland day 7, 2015: Mrs Rowling, are you home?
Castle DunBroch
Finding Dunnotar Castle in Stonehaven turned out to be another adventure, which made me loose even more precious time. But when I finally arrived, I was blown away by the look of the castle. It just stands there, impressive on a rock.
The main reason why I wanted to visit Dunnotar castle is because I believe it might have been the inspiration for DunBorch, castle where Merida lives in the Dinsey Pixar movie Brave. This has not been proven and there are of course a lot of other castles on rocks near seasides. Also, a colleague heartily recommended it to me.
Now here is my recommendation: definitely go see it, but do not visit it. It's not worth the £7. There is no audio guide included or even an option, and it is basically just ruines on top of a hill. It missed some character, unlike Doune castle which has plenty (thanks to the audio guide).
Although I saw the entire castle in less than 30min, I did spend a good hour up that hill. My brain was in over drive so just sat on one of the benches to process everything. After I left the castle I sat outside on the grass with a splendid view on the castle and surroundings, finishing my thoughts process. It was bliss.
2hour drive turned into 4hour drive.
Of course I'd like to have a travel companion. It is nice to share experiences with someone else, but I when there are none available I don't mind going by myself. I'm very comfortable on my own and I am very picky with my travel companions. However, the idea of sharing experiences is just something I'd like, not something I need. The only time I actually would need a travel companion is when sat nav bails on me (again) and I have to ride based on the good ol' map. Part of the road on my way to Grantown-on-Spey was closed due to road works. Fair enough, but a road closure in the Cairngorms means a detour of at least 70kilometers. Hurray! My sat nav was completely confused and kept asking to 'keer rechtsom indien mogelijk' (return if possible). Luckily I had a map of Scotland (thanks dad!) with me so I could plan out an alternative route. I tried to memorise a few of the towns that I needed to pass and in which direction I had to drive everytime I had to make a turn. That part was easy. The difficult part was to check if I was still going in the right direction whilst driving. Since that is a no no, I had to pull over everytime, get the map out and look. If I've had a travel companion co piloting next to me, they just could have said where to go. That was the only time I actually really wished I had someone with me.
Anyway, I made it ;)
Grantown-on-Spey wants to leave?
By the time I was approaching my final destination I was already a bit grumpy. I hadn't had the most delicious burger in the world and I had to drive 2 hours longer than intended. I was starting to get hungry and on top of that my batteries of my phone and two cameras died. But when I came closer to Grantown-on-Spey signs with "Vote leave" and "take back control" started to appear. By the time I was driving through the town, the signs popped up left, right and centre.
Now, I had heard the reasons for Brexit. I've seen them on social media, in articles, interviews with politicians, etc. I've also read and heard alot about people who want to stay. Now, this is all good and well, but when I actually saw those signs today, it really made me feel unwelcome. It was probably the combination of my entire day that magnified that feeling, but it really hit me. It'll be very interesting come Thursday. Now, when I checked in at my guest house, I saw a sign that said: Vote Remain. I'm in good hands here ;)
Also, allow me to introduce you to...
... my travel companion for 12days of my trip. This is a Vauxhall Corsa. Nice car, not too big a fan of the colour, but it drives me through Scotland so... Unfortunately it can't read maps...
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| Car rented via Europcar |
This is where I'll leave you today.
I've got two days of hiking in front me, so better getting that sleep!
Thanks for reading!
xo - Sara
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