We had a lot of distance to cover today so left Edinburgh at 8 am. As we were winding our way down towards Princess Street we spy an unusual sight.....a robot rumba was cutting the grass ! I had only previously seen a rumba in son Terry’s living Room! Who knew the Scottish ones could cut grass!
Our guide Matthew was entertaining us with Scottish facts as we made our way. Scotland has 30,000 Lochs! And uses less than 10% of its water. Matthew shares the occasional story with a lot of humour. The prime ministers of Britain, the Queen, royals, and others were fair game. We all knew Margaret Thatchers nick name was “the Iron Lady” but we did not know the name Matthews school friends gave her. It seemed PM Thatcher was on a mission to cut costs, she decided to discontinue the daily pint of milk each that every child in school received , this earned her....Margaret Thatcher the Milk Snatcher. ....well maybe you had to be there.
As we made our way north, a passing motorist gave our driver the thumbs down sign which means slow down, police radar ahead, sure enough a mile down the road we spot them. Mathew referred to them as “police officer with a hair dryer”. Scottish music pleasantly plays, such as Bluebell Polka by Sir Jimmy Shand, famous for his playing the Squeezebox, (accordion).
We approached Auchtermucty, which I can pronounce but the phonetics of it escapes me! The band the Proclaimers was from there.
Listening to the music I’m reminded of the music we grew up with in Kitimat, Kenneth Mckeller, Andy Stewart, mum had brought her records from Scotland, she would sing along with them. I think she was homesick then but we didn’t really know it.
We pass through the village of Couper, famous, as Sir Douglas Bader was from there. He was a Pilot who shot down more planes during the war than any other. He had lost both his legs in a plane ,accident, and wore two wooden ones! He was so valuable to the war effort that when he was shot
down and in a German prison camp, two new legs were made and air dropped near the camp, although they were 300 yds away, he received them and escaped. His skill was so renowned he was brought back in peacetime to train new recruits. Quite an incredible story.
The rain has started but is not too heavy as we approach St. Andrews , drum roll! Keen golfers who have this course on their bucket list may know that to earn the privilege of a golf time you must
request a booking 6 months in advance. The cost is £175 per round and your handicap must fall within a worthy range. The British Open is played here every 7 years. The rain and wind are blowing and we see golfers with umbrellas pulling their carts. If your six month previous date has arrived and it is raining ....you will still be golfing. St Andrews is famous for a couple of other events. The most recent, a well known fact is that Prince William and Kate Middleton attended St Andrews University, they had their first of many dates at the North Point Coffee Shop. The coffee shop was allowed to place a sign in the window stating it is where Kate and William met., increasing their business! Secondly the film Chariots of Fire was filmed here. The scene where a group of young men charge into the North Sea, dunk under the waves and race back out again was filmed here. The story is the film crew came into the hotels and asked young local lads to oblige for £50 each. While we were ,there today we saw a group of 15 or so men/boys in bathing trunks charging towards the sea, dunking in and charging back out! It seems it must be a tradition of sorts today. What a sight on a wet blustery day. ....
Of course as we are travelling further into the north of Scotland there are many more rolling Green fields with many more sheep and lambs. The sheep will be shorn in late May, this is earlier than ..,sheep further south. The highland sheep need more time to grow their coats back and will be put in indoor sheds from November to March.
We leave St Andrews and drive through Dundee, if you live in Dundeeyou are a Dundonian! The Tay River bridge is over 1 mile in length and the river is 127 miles long. Another river....The river Spey is famous for the fishing of Atlantic salmon. You may purchase a licence for salmon for £450, (not a typo) you may catch one and release it. Trout licence £50 and also it must be released. Apparently there is no shortage of people wishing to be parted from their funds.
We stop in Balmoral for lunch. Myself and a few others purchased pies from the local butcher shop. I had a delicious steak mince pie warmed up and put in a poke.
As well as the well loved sheep and lambs there were cows and calves . The farmers lose lambs to the white tailed eagle who are able to pick up the new borns and cart them away. The government gives the farmers a cheque to compensate them yearly for the loss. During mad cow disease many farmers were ruined and in 2001 , 32 young farmers committed suicide.
The road is narrow and bumpy, the hills still have snow which we can see higher up, the Heather is dormant, I can imagine the colours of pink and purple in August. There is a scattering of stone houses and a few castles along the way. AND exciting we spotted our first heiland coos!
We are at an elevation of 2100 feet, and have passed some ski areas...Glenshee. Some of the crofts have white smoke coming from their chimneys, this means they are burning peat. Peat takes 100 years to grow 1inch so it is not in much use today.
We made a short stop in the village of Tomintoul where we were treated to a taste of our choice of Scotch Whiskey. Ick. I made my first non edible tourist purchase in the gift shop.
Then it was back in the tour bus for the journey to Inverness where we will be for two nights. Dinner was at our hotel. Tomorrow is another 8 am start.
The milk snatcher! Lol
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