With a detour from Beauly to Strathyre
It was very late, last night, but we have only a short drive today, so we sleep late and have a late breakfast.
After breakfast we have coffee with Iain and Cathy and they have all sorts of presents for us! That is something we don't experience often when we leave a hotel, in fact, never. They give us chocolates, candy and a jar of the hotel, filled with whisky, of course. Again, like last year, it is hard to say good-bye to them.
Since we are saying good-byes, we decide to make a small detour to drive to 'our small castle', near Strathmashie House. We then still don't know exactly where it belongs to. This time an occupant (owner or tenant, we don't know) sems to be present, but we don't see him, so we cannot ask.
Both pictures, to the left and to the right, have been taken at the same moment, at the same place, but in opposite directions. Typical for Scotland. Eventually, the clouds would win, but now and then the sun appears through the clouds.
At Dalnacardoch we leave the A9 and drive into the mountains toward Loch Rannoch. This is one of the areas where only few people live and on the road we seldom meet with oncoming traffic. This area is very popular for hikers, to make long walks. And it sure is a beautiful area.
The trip around Loch Rannoch, to Rannoch Station and back on the southern side of the Loch takes us more than 2 hours, though the distances don't look that big on the map. Just for the picture, Elisabeth stands there in T-shirt, but it has become much chillier by now.
Near Tempar we suddenly see this castle. Now the estate is used as a private school or boarding school, so we can't come any closer. A nice place to grow up, but discipline is strict, we are told.
The northern side is also nice, but can not be compared to the southern road. So when you are there and have an extra hour, take the south side of Loch Tay.
The Loch has a length of 23 kilometers and to the north is an area with mountains, some of them more than 1000 metres high. To the right a characteristic cottage from this area.However small our rental car is, and even without the heater working, it has brought us everywhere, without any problem. On the single track roads it is very handy to have a small car like this.
At the end of the afternoon we arrive at Strathyre, a small village located in a valley, north of Callander. We have made reservations in the Ben Sheann hotel, where we have been before. In 2000 we have been there 3 times, at the beginning, at the end and in the middle of our holiday. The village lies at the center of Scotland and can be used as a starting place to see all parts of Scotland.
We are still a bit tired from last night, so we are off to bed early. We want a fresh and early start tomorrow, because we first want to visit a few places before flying home.
© Teije and Elisabeth 2000 - 2012
Travel through Europe and Africa
with Elisabeth and Teije