Thank you everyone for your well wishes! And so far my husband and my family in Texas don't have any Covid symptoms.

I love the details about the Marie Rose sauce. Never heard of that or salad cream before! You learn something new every day.

Hope you are feeling better soon.

My niece says sticky toffee pudding counts as one of her five a day as it contains dates.
If she turned sideways she could hide behind a lamppost so it is doing her any harm!

Salad cream reminds me of a thinner version of Miracle Whip - sweet and mayonnaise-ish.

Branston Pickle is also very British. As in, why?

I actually like Branston Pickle, which has caused much abuse here on Fodors

Salad cream on the other hand - not so much

What is wrong with Branston Pickle? Perfect with Christmas/Sunday dinner leftover meat. Or with a rally good chunk of Cheddar.
One of the few things we bring back from the UK, though I assume we can't do that any more thanks to Brexit .
Salad cream brings back memories of grim Sunday teas with the Welsh Aunties, along with pickled beetroot and cucumber sliced so thin you could see through it, swimming in a bowl of Sarsons Malt vinegar. Shudder. At least there was Malt Loaf if you managed to get that far, and if we were really lucky some warm Welsh Cakes fresh off the griddle.

Enjoying this report and the excellent photos -- hoping it doesn't send hordes to Scotland. We've only been once but plan a return.

Is that a langoustine atop the disappointing hake? My favorite crustacean!

Sorry about the covid, and condolences to your daughter and her family on their leaving Provence for Texas.

Another Branston Pickle fan here!

I am enjoying all these discussions about British food that I know nothing about! What is Branston pickle? A specific brand of pickles? I love pickles!

JUNE 7, 2023: A CASTLE, MORE BEAUTIFUL GARDENS AND A FAMOUS BATTLEFIELD

Our first destination today is the beautiful Cawdor Castle, built during the 14th century, and located about 15 minutes from Nairn. Cawdor is the title that Shakespeare’s witches promised to MacBeth so there is this connection to Shakespeare’s play. But the real MacBeth, an ancient Scottish king, couldn’t have lived here since he died in 1057. We used audioguides and visited the drawing room, the tapestry bedroom, the dining room, and the huge kitchen, along with a few other rooms. The rooms are beautifully decorated and furnished.

Cawdor also has several gorgeous gardens, including a walled garden, a maze, and a woodland garden. It’s amazing how many beautiful gardens we saw on this trip! And the poisonous Golden Chain Tree is everywhere!

After a light lunch at the Culloden Moor Inn, which was mediocre, we visited the famous Culloden Battlefield. An important battle took place here in 1746 that ended the Jacobite Rising of 1745 when Bonnie Prince Charlie was defeated. 1200 Highlanders were slaughtered by government troops. So this was the end of the old Clan system.

Admission to the battlefield is free; however, there is a fee to enter the visitor center and museum that includes a film and a guided tour if you wish, which I think would have been a worthwhile thing to do. Our friends weren’t interested in doing this, so we walked around the battlefield ourselves using the provided leaflet for information, and there is some signage. The battlefield is actually quite pretty with yellow witches broom and heather. Enemy lines are indicated by colored flags. There are also stones and monuments that mark the graves of the clans. The Fraser stone was roped off because the area around it is all brown earth. No grass because of so many visitors due to Outlander fame. We spent about one hour here.

Our dinner tonight was at the Aurora Restaurant in Nairn. It’s an Italian restaurant and the only restaurant we were very disappointed in. Our 2 starters weren’t good: a tomato and mozzarella salad with unripe tomatoes, and calamari that looked like onion rings and tasted like cardboard. We were very disappointed in our blah pasta dishes. The only thing we liked was the dessert. I will post a photo of that later.

The Cawdor Castle bagpiper

Cawdor Castle

The elegant drawing room - I love the blue sofa!

The drawing room

The tapestry bedroom

Another bedroom

Another elegant room

The Big Kitchen

Cawdor Castle

Beautiful flowers

The drawbridge

Cawdor Castle Gardens - Golden Chain (AKA Laburnum) is everywhere

Gorgeous red poppies

Me amidst the poisonous Golden Chain - didn't know it was poisonous at the time

More beautiful flowers

The Maze

The Walled Garden

Walled Garden

The Woodland Forest

Clan gravestone at Culloden Battlefield

The Culloden Battlefields Moors

Culloden

Yellow Witches Broom is everywhere

Delicious ice cream dessert at Aurora Restaurant - it's not spumoni - I forgot the name

Random flower garden in Nairn

"I am enjoying all these discussions about British food that I know nothing about! What is Branston pickle? A specific brand of pickles? I love pickles!"

More like a relish than what American's would call 'a pickle' - most large American supermarkets would probably have it if they carry any foreign/imported foods. Comes in 'original' and 'small chunk'

https://www.worldmarket.com/p/branst...B&gclsrc=aw.ds

Oh -- too bad your friends didn't want to go inside the visitors centre they do a really good job of explaining the context and the the battle chronology and the aftermath

Aren't the gardens at Cawdor lovely?!! Probably my favorite after Crathes and Inverewe.

Branston pickle isn't a pickle like you have in the US, it is more like a chutney/relish I guess.
https://www.epicurious.com/expert-ad...h-game-article
It shows how not to eat Branston though. It is a condiment to be added to sandwiches not something to smear all over a slice of bread.

https://www.tastingtable.com/897768/...anston-pickle/ shows a better picture, and as it says you get it with a ploughmans lunch often, along with a pickled onion. Yum.

I can't believe you have never had it in the UK. Next time...

There are many brands of pickle sold but Branston is THE famous one, it has been going for years and named after the village of, yes Branston in Staffordshire!
Cheese and pickle sandwiches are fabulous, especially using grated cheddar on white sliced bread.
My world was rocked when Branston started making a smooth pickle - which I much prefer although you can also get 'small chunk' as well the original.
That's the pickle lesson for today!

Wow! I am learning so much about different food items!
hetismij2, our Scotland trip is the first time we have been to the UK since we were in London on work trips in the 1970's! I'm really dating myself! And we only had a few sandwiches on this trip. Would Branston pickles go good on hot dogs or burgers? Sounds like it would. If I find any in a nearby supermarket, will definitely buy some, or purchase online.

janisj, yeah, I was disappointed our friends didn't want to go into the Culloden visitor center/museum. I know it would be helpful in understanding the history better. That's why we prefer traveling with just the 2 of us. We enjoy going away for a weekend getaway with friends, but I think anything more than that is too much for us.

There is a World Market about 30 minutes from us. Never been there. Will stop by when I am Covid negative.

Yes, that is a langoustine on top of the hake.
My daughter and her family were sad to leave Provence, and we were sad to see them leave, too, because we visited quite frequently. But they are adjusting well to the Dallas area. They have lots of nice neighbors with children the same age. The neighborhood had a cute July 4 parade with the children in it, and a picnic in the park. Their next door neighbors had July 4 party the night before. So they have gotten to meet a lot of people from the neighborhood. And coming from Provence they are accustomed to the heat. Coming from MA, we are not. One week the temps were 100 to 104 degrees, and the other 2 weeks with low to high 90's!

KarenWoo, what a fabulous trip report! Your photos are wonderful! I have been so remiss in following this report, and every time I return to it to start reading, there are 20 more posts to catch up on!

I’m so sorry you tested positive for covid - I hope your symptoms remain mild and your family continues to be negative.

I want you to know how jealous I am of the stunning weather you had! And the food you had - wow! I spent a year in Edinburgh as an undergraduate (early 70s) and the most interesting food I had then was Indian food. I can’t believe how creative the food is now! I did go back with my husband one summer about 25 years ago and it poured heavily almost the entire time we were in Edinburgh and much of the rest of our trip to Scotland. Of course, the misty weather does add a lot to the mood of the place, I would always remind myself! But I do love Scotland and am a sucker for bagpipes and castles.

Thanks for a great report!

KarenWoo…..I have enjoyed going to Scotland with you every day along with my morning coffee. Your photos and commentary have made it come alive.

I was showing a few of your flower photos to a gardening friend of mine and she said “Is that your sister?”
We do look very similar.



Karen in Scotland

Mary in The Canadian Rockies

Secret sisters! Definitely!