We’re finally getting the chance to get out and see some of the wonderful other parts of Scotland that we’ve been hearing so much about. Not knowing where to start, we chose a direction and hopped in the car. We ended up covering a good bit of northeast Scotland on our first five-day excursion, getting just enough of a taste of its rolling hills, castles, beaches, distilleries, and hairy coos to know we definitely want to go back for more.
On the first day of our first Highland adventure, we headed north from Edinburgh at a leisurely pace, stopping for lunch in the small town of Pitlochry. A brief chat with the friendly lady in the tourist office convinced us to stop at the Queen’s View on our way out of town. We also got the impression that there was some fine hiking to be done in the area.
The Queen’s View is basically a lookout point from which one can see the above view. Nice, but probably not worth going too far out of one’s way to see.
Next it was back on the road for a couple more hours to Nairn, a small town on the northern shore of the Moray Firth.
We arrived at our B&B (Wetherby B&B, which we’d highly recommend) in time to check in and relax a bit before heading out onto the beach for sunset (the beach being so very conveniently located just across the street). The tide was low, giving us a lovely expanse of firm sand beach to walk on; we had it almost completely to ourselves.
We walked the short distance to the center of the sleepy town (quiet except for a couple chippies, Indian restaurants, and sports pubs) and enjoyed dinner at the Classroom, a restaurant recommended by our host at the B&B.
Next up: Scottish dolphins, oil rigs, and other Highland fun.