Great trip report so far, I love to hear about others travel. Why did you choose Scotland and Orkney? Family history or it was on a bucket list?

Scotland was on our list of places to see and we threw it in the hat for this year with a couple more spots and pulled out Scotland. So fate this year!

Several months ago I had arranged a two day tour with Kinlay Francis of Orkney Uncovered to see both the ancient and World War I and II sites. Kinlay has a wealth of knowledge about these sites and is especially versed in military history. I believe he's done a segment or two for the BBC and his background is amazing. Needless to say the tour did not disappoint at all.

Our first day with him was spent spoon the war sites. He had numerous historical photos to supplement what verbal information he provided. DH is retired Army Air Defense so the two of them hit it off in this area. I could go on and on about the information provided but just suffice to say we saw all the "typical" sites - Southern Sentinels, Churchill Barriers, the Italian Chapel, and others. We also saw an underground bunker that was built during the Cold War and I was so surprised that you could still climb down a ladder and go into it. So many places not surrounded by a fence I was really surprised.

Throughout the day we heard snippets of life growing up on Orkney.

It was a full day. Kinlay recommended a place for dinner and after dinner, a short walk in the brisk air it was time to call it a night.

Kirkwall

Our second day was full of the ancient sites. I never knew about the Ring of Brodgar or the Maeshowe before coming to Orkney. The second day was as interesting as the first and it was 5:00 p.m. before we got back to our hotel. My brain was on overload!

Dinner out with a couple of pints and I was ready for bed.

The prearranged taxi was right on time. Our flight to Inverness was short and not full.

Upon landing, we picked up our rental car at the Avis counter. We had made reservations through Autoeurope and even though we had arranged for insurance the agent tried to tell us the car was not insured and wanted to sell us more which we declined. We did opt for the roadside assistance plan though and added me as a driver.

Speyside

We left the parking lot after spending some time figuring out where everything was with the car and all the controls. We had brought our Tom Tom with us; however the car had its own navigation system and after a few twists and turns of the knobs we figured it out. Off to Culloden Battlefield.

Now DH was having a few issues driving on the left. I kept cringing and finally when he hit the curb on the left hand side of the road we were having our own battle! I'm sure you know what I am talking about. So I took over driving. The car is bigger than what I'm used to driving. I usually drive a Mini Cooper where DH drives an SUV. DH can't stand small cars so here we are with an Audi A class which he still hits his head on every time he gets in. I tell him next time smaller!

It's a grey drizzling day where the sun is in and out. The Battlefield was interesting and we enjoyed imagining the battle. The information desk gave us a sheet on the Grant Clan which is on DH's side of the family - we think.

After leaving the Battlefield we drove to Leault Farm to view the working sheepdog demonstration. The A9 was under construction right at the area where the farm was situated so it took some doubling back to get to the farm. Once we got there no one was there. We were the only car in the car park so I called them and they said yes they would do the 4:00 p.m. demonstration. They only do one demonstration per day at that time.

Luckily the weather had changed so while a little windy it wasn't raining. The shepherd arrived and began the demonstration. He did an explanation of the ages of the dogs (average age was 8 years old) and the training. He then put the dogs through a series of maneuvers to show their skills with a herd of sheep. This was amazing and so much fun to watch! He explained it takes about 2 years to train a dog. He has been a shepherd for 16 years and loves the life. He took over fry his father who was a shepherd before him. After the demonstration and answering all our questions, he brought out a 16 day old lamb which I held. What a sweetie. Then he brought out 2 16 day old Border Collie puppies which I held too. They were so cute!

By now it was time to head for our B&B. We drove to the Cardhu County House which was just down the road from the Cardhu Distillery. This is a beautiful house in a beautiful area. After meeting owner Dave we got directions to where he recommended we eat dinner and we headed off. Small little roads that dipped and curved till we found The Copper Dog which was completely full so we headed across the street to the Highlander Inn where we were lucky enough to get a table. Food was so so but the beer was great. Back down the curvy roads and time to relax.

The Cardhu Country House is a lovely property and we had a very nice room.

The next morning we headed out and stopped at Glenfiddich Distiillery and took the tour. It was very interesting to find out not only about the process but all the other things they take into consideration such as reusing energy. The tasting at the end of the tour was nice too. As driver I got a small bottle for later.

Next we headed off to Drum Castle which was quite a way away. We pulled up and just our luck it was closed. Oh well - on to Balmoral Castle. The drive was beautiful to Drum and I loved the scenery. We got the audio guide for Balmoral and walked around. After watching Victoria on PBS it was easy to imagine her and Prince Albert in the gardens

We then stopped in Ballater and brought a bottle of wine to have with dinner and drove back to the B&B where we were just in time for dinner. A wonderful dinner prepared by Val, Dave's wife.

Torridon

We left Cardhu and went to Elgin where we wandered through the cathedral. We very much enjoyed this stop. It was fascinating how they made the story come alive here. We climbed up to the tower and had an amazing view.

On to Ft. George where we walked around for the history and enjoyed seeing its current use. We had lunch here.

I forgot - we stopped by Brodie Castle. Yep it was closed even though the signs all say open. So we got lucky as the caretaker let us look in the library where they display the original letter from Rober the Bruce. So a worthwhile stop after all.

Now it was on to the Wester Ross area and to Torridon. The scenery was beautiful and OMG all the single tracks to drive on. We made it! Spent the night at The Torridon Inn. This is really more like a motel than an inn. You park your car right outside your room door. The room was very big and it turns out they gave us a family room complete with bunk beds. We walked to the hotel which was just behind us. The Torridon Hotel is beautiful and very old world and very expensive. Our splurge is coming later so we didn't want to spend the money to stay here. We walked around the public rooms and went to the Whiskey Bar where they have over 365 types of whiskey. Of course we had to try one and you won't believe I came to Scotland and tried Japanese whiskey. Very good. Dinner at the inn and on to bed.

Torridon

We left after breakfast and did the costal drive to Applecross. Teeny roads where I mastered the art of stopping at the passing places so as not to either run off the road or hit the oncoming car! The scenery was gorgeous.

Coffee at the Applecross Inn and then on to Ilse of Skye. Yes I had to drive over the pass - the second highest road in Great Britain I read. Again lots of hairpin turns on a single track.

Portree

After Applecross an easy drive to Portree. We're staying at the Viewpoint Country House. It's a huge old house. Walking in all the animal heads at first are really weird. The grounds are lovely and it only has a few rooms. My first task was to do laundry as we were running out of "smalls" I felt lucky we were able to do it on site.

Still following along. Wow -- you got to some terrific places.

Isn't Leault Farm fun? I once stayed at a guest house a little over a mile from there and walked over to see the demo.

A wonderful trip and an excellent report. I will be traveling to Orkney this June. This will be my 4th trip. I have an interest in prehistoric sites and Orkney is perfect for such indulgences. I hope to locate the sheela- na- gig in St. Magnus Cathedral. Missed her last time. Did you get to Skara Brae? It's one of my favorites.

Sorry Drum Castle was closed as it is also a favorite. An interesting combination of architectural styles and a beautiful rose garden, but now you have a reason to return.;)

Glad someone finally stayed at Viewpoint Country House. It's been on my list of places to stay on Skye but the Isle isn't short of nice spots and Viewpoint just gets overlooked. Aside from the animal heads, how did you like it?

I'm thoroughly enjoying your report!

By any chance do you mean 'Viewfield' instead of Viewpoint? It has been on my shortlist too.

You're right janisj. I knew Viewpoint didn't sound right but was too busy multi- tasking with grandsons to catch it. I'm sure because I remember seeing the animal heads ( red deer ? ) in the website' photos.

Janisj - it is Viewfield House. I didn't even realize I put the wrong name till you caught it. Thanks!

Loved the sheepdog demo, one of my favorite experiences.

History traveler - it's a quirky property for sure. Staff are very nice. We're in Room 11 which I think is in their old attic area. It's a very nice room but the stairs to get here let me work off all meals! No really it's only 2 flights but the last flight is very narrow with a turn that was challenging to navigate with a bag. Very nice view from our window and lo and behold 2 luggage racks - yes 2!!!!!

Isle of Skye

After getting the laundry done we only had a short time before we had to leave for dinner at the Three Chimneys. We requested a taxi because not really knowing where the restaurant was and knowing I would want wine I didn't want to be driving. The House arranged a taxi for us.

We didn't realize that the restaurant was almost an hour away! Oh well It gave us a chance to see some scenery. Sandy from Gus's Taxies was such a friendly man - more on Sandy later.

Three Chimneys - beautiful location. We had cocktails in the lounge in the little inn and on to dinner. Again beautiful view from our table. It was very busy too. The choices on the à la carte menu sounded better than the tasting menu to us. DH had Langoustine and Crab for his starter, then Wild Halibut as his main with Strawberry Cheesecake for dessert. I had the Pidgeon starter, Venison and Chocolate (mouse). We also had a wonderful soup that for the life of me I can't remember the name of but it was delicious. The food was very good and interesting and the service excellent. We had a nice bottle of wine and it was a wonderful way to start our stay on Skye.

>>We didn't realize that the restaurant was almost an hour away! <<

<i>Everything</i> on Skye is an hour (or more) away :)

The Three Chimneys truly a special place.

I had to smile at your mention of scoring two luggage racks. In my travels with Mr. History, I was always thrilled when we got two racks.It's funny how such a simple thing can make a difference.

Forgive the typos. I'm doing this report via iPhone and my fingers don't always hit the correct key!

So let me tell you about Sandy. He was the Chief of Police (now retired) for the Isle of Skye and served 31 years in law enforcement. He now drives a taxi for Gus because he wants to still get out of the house and meet people.

On the way to the restaurant Sandy told us a story. In 1977 he was a young constable working near Inverness and Loch Ness. He and his partner all of a sudden saw something swimming in the Loch that was huge and not like anything they had ever seen before. It had a massive tail and they had no idea what it was. Sandy began to furiously take pictures knowing that they would need some proof of their tale or no one would believe them. When the creature disappeared they were ready with the evidence except wine small detail - he had left the lens cap on!! They decided to keep it all to themselves but as luck would have it the story got out.

Now when Sandy picked us up from the restaurant to take us back to Viewfield, he brought with him the National Geographic issue from 1977 showing the article complete with his picture!

What a fun experience to hear the story from him. He said they got horribly teased about the lens cap issue. He then took us on a short tour of the harbor area before taking us up the hill.

That's a great story. Lucky you. It's those experiences in conversing with locals that are the highlight of one's visit. Once on Skye we had a taxi driver ( Alistar, now retired ) take us on a day trip around the island. He, too, told wonderful stories of life on Skye. We passed the croft where he was born. We heard the local gossip and learned far more about Skye than what's in a guide books.

I do wonder if the boys had been tasting/ testing the local whiskies.;) I may have to see if I can locate a copy of that National Geographic issue. Love the story.

Isle of Skye

We walked around the town and harbor the next day and walked up the lump for views. Enjoyed a cup of coffee and a scone and people watched.

We then were picked up by Harry of Marcus McAdam Photography for our photo tour, or I should say DH's photo tour. Harry took us to all the iconic sites for photos and did an excellent job. DH is an avid photographer while I point and shoot. He wanted sunset photos. Do you know how late the sun sets? It was almost 11:30 p.m. before we got back! I highly recommend Harry

Today we went to Eileen Donan Castle and to Dinvegan Castle. Enjoyed both spots. I especially loved my drive back on one more single track road where I loved seeing the countryside, sheep and cattle.

Now headed for cocktails and dinner at Viewfield for our last night on Skye.

Historytraveler, I so agree with you. Meeting Sandy is the type of experience that just reinforces for me how special travel is and will be a special memory of the trip.