Spring Break in Scotland - Day 3

Day 3 (Tuesday) - Hiking in Pitlochry On Tuesday I woke up to enjoy my first Scottish Breakfast at the B&B. The food was DELICIOUS! Probably one of the best breakfasts I've ever had. The only way it couldn't compare to Ireland is that famous Irish Brown Bread - but otherwise... That breakfast is probably one of the things I miss most about Scotland. There were yogurts, fruit, cereal, juices, AND a platter breakfast of various things like roasted tomatoes, haggis, "tattie scone" -a potato pancake, eggs sunny-side up, toast, sausage, and black pudding. Dad and I had black pudding in Ireland, but it was in no way nearly as good as the black pudding at Carra Beag. I actually LIKED it! Of course, not all of these foods were served together, but you got to have your pick from all of them. As you can tell, the breakfasts were so filling that I never really got hungry for lunch, which meant that all I had to take hiking with me was some veggies (in a little snack bag I bought) and crackers - just in case. I had energy for the whole day!

After that wonderful breakfast I took my first hike: Craigower. "Craig" means rock in Scottish, so anything with Craig means "on a rock" or "by a rock" or "rocky", etc. Craigower was a very nice, slightly hilly walk up to a lookout point over the Garry river. The path was nice and even all the way to the top, and walked through trees, forests, and some small glens. The first part even went through the Pitlochry Golf Course! I took pictures of the great golf course views for Keith. Overall, the terrain reminded me very much of Washington State. There were tall pine trees and more hilly mountains (like the northern Cascades, or San Juan Islands) with a little bit of left over snow from the winter.

Since Craigower was a short day hike, I managed to make it back to Pitlochry in time to take another short walk before dark. This time I walked around Loch Faskally. Again, very much like the pacific northwest, Pitlochry derives their power from a hydroelectric dam on the river Garry. Loch Faskally was formed when the dam was installed into the river. And, just like Washington and Oregon, Pitlochry's dam incorporates a fish ladder for migrating salmon! Pitlochry was one of the very first cities in Scotland to have a fish ladder, and it is one of their prize "sites". I thought this was funny, considering I come from a land where fish ladders are also very important! Just another coincidence which made me think that Pitlochry felt a lot like home...

When I had finished walking around Loch Faskally, admiring the lake, woods, and local buildings, I went home and ate dinner (chicken and ham "pie" with roasted leeks and "tattie mash" - YUM!) and then curled up by the fire to read a book from the B&B.

One thing I should mention about Pitlochry is that it happens to lie in the path of the Royal Air Force training route. This means that 4-6 times per day, jet fighters (between one and three) come screaming through the valley, rounding the hills and tracing the path of the river. When I was walking the hills, they were so close I could see the pilots! I think I was only 500ft away from the jets at one point. Naturally, this was VERY loud, and kind of an annoyance when you weren't awed by how fast and agile these planes were... but fortunately they went by infrequently, were gone in a matter of seconds, and never flew at night! My B&B hostess said that they probably flew more on the nice days because they had such a great view of the beautiful highlands. I think she's right: jet fighter is probably one of the best ways to see Scotland! I'm jealous of all the beautiful scenery they saw from the planes.

That's it for Day 2, check out the pictures by clicking below: