On the road again after an interval of three years. We decided that we just had to learn to live with Covid and I really wanted to see my sister, Maida. Then we decided that we both would like to see some more of Scotland and the gardens. I had a week with Maida before Robin joined me. When I arrived, incidentally bringing lovely weather with me, all the news was of how grim next winter was going to be with power cuts, lack of food security and galloping inflation. There was also the understandable dismay about asylum seekers being sent to Rwanda. Then, quite suddenly, it all changed due to excitement about the platinum jubilee. Pageantry is something the Brits do really well, and, even though the Queen had to curtail some of her activities, it was a very moving, spectacular event. The video of the Queen having tea with Paddington Bear was brilliant. I was very surprised at how much excitement there was in Glasgow, not generally known for its monarchist sympathies, but there was a Jubilee picnic in Maida’s local park attended by about 500 people with a band playing and lots of activities.
I had a lovely week with Maida, being feted by her and her friends – it was just as if I had never left. Robin joined me and we set off for all points North. Our first stop was Barra, a place we had always wanted to visit as it is the home of the McNeils and Castle Kisimuil features on R’s wine label. We had glorious weather for our 5 hour ferry ride there, sighting dolphins and a whale on the way. Our only disappointment was the castle has been closed for renovations for over three years. We took the local bus, which circumnavigates the island, and saw the white shingle beaches and the turquoise sea. To get back to Glasgow, we decided to fly – Barra is the only airport where the timetable states “tides permitting” as the runway is along the sandy beach. It was a smooth journey.
On arrival in Glasgow we hired a car and set off for Fort William. It was a beautiful evening and Loch Lomond and the Trossachs were at their scenic best. We had two nights there, driving to Mallaig, the road to the Isles, and seeing off the Harry Potter steam train. What a gold mine that must be with a First Class seat costing £80 and a carriage £300.
Inverness was next and we had a beautiful AirB&B within minutes of downtown. Although we must have visited this area in 1999 we had forgotten how pastoral much of the landscape is around the Black Isle – not at all rugged. The weather let us down for our visit to Inverewe Gardens, but also gave us an insight into the kind of conditions the gardens often experience – high winds and torrential rain. The gardens, on the same latitude as Moscow, certainly lived up to expectations. There were lots of succulents, olearias in full bloom and masses of colour. We visited a second private garden situated on the former estate of the chief of the clan McKenzie. It was a huge walled garden, featuring a 2000 year old yew and a huge holly. There were numerous garden rooms, a huge greenhouse for propagation and a vegetable garden. There were also beautiful sculptures and a pool with a fountain. I would have loved to have had a conducted tour but the only person there denied all knowledge of the garden and obviously thought we were nuts as the rain was pelting down. It was well worth getting soaked to the skin for. We visited Dunrobin Castle, the home of the Sutherlands. It has a commanding situation high above the sea with the formal gardens, modelled on Versailles. Unfortunately much of the garden had not been maintained and looked very sad, especially as the bones were all there. The inside of the castle was truly magnificent and I especially admired the huge flower arrangements, with alliums, lupins, peonies and hosta leaves.
Today we visited Cawder Castle, expecting it to be the grim, forbidding place described by Shakespeare, only to discover that it was built 300+ years after Macbeth’s time! Again, the inside of the castle was most interesting with two floors furnished to 18th century times with lots of original tapestries. It is still owned by the Cawder family. Nearby was the Culloden Battlefield which is now run by the Scottish National Trust – pretty sad stuff for the Scots!