It was a serene and peaceful sail in as we glided
through the smooth waters of Cromarty Firth.
We passed many drilling rigs which apparently dock in this bay to
undergo repairs.
The town was still sleeping when we left for our
tour of Dunrobin Castle. It was a lovely
drive through the Scottish Highlands and Fiona our tour guide was one of the
best we have had so far. She was a wealth
of information and her storytelling kept us entertained throughout the whole
day.
It was a quick stop at a viewpoint known to the locals
as “Millionaire’s View”. A stunning vista
looking down the Dornoch Firth surrounded by a number of Scotland’s biggest mountains.A stop at Falls of Shin had us looking for Atlantic
Salmon fighting their way back upstream to the calmer waters of their place of birth to spawn their future generations.
But alas there was no salmon leaping today. The good news is that, unlike their Pacific relations, they survive their spawning and return to sea
to spawn again.Endless breathtaking scenery as we drove the countryside
Shin Falls
No Salmon leaping here
More beautiful scenery
Dunrobin Castle is the nearest thing Scotland has in fairytale architecture. It is not until you stand in their beautiful landscape gardens, that you can see the the similarities to famous Disney Castle, which in turn takes its inspiration from King Ludwig’s castle Neuschwanstein.
She did a lovely job playing outside the Castle Doors
Now that is what you call a toy room
Nannies and baby shared a room
Beautiful gardens
Very majestic from the gardens.
After we were “done roaming” the castle we walked
around the beautifully manicured gardens and then watched the superb Falconry
display.
Within the gardens, there is a small museum and here you can see the family had a real fascination with hunting, unfortunately, that included game hunting, I was saddened to see these beautiful animals in the manner in which they were displayed.... stuffed!.... Our main reason for even going in was to see the ancient pictish stones that were on display.
It was then back to the Royal Burgh of Dornoch. A beautiful historic town where we also enjoyed
a yummy pastie for lunch, the most expensive pastie we have ever had, but it
was delicious…. There is something about
Scotland that makes you fall in love with their beautiful knitwear and yes I succumbed
and bought myself a beautiful jumper.
We stopped at the Glenmorangie Distillery, where for
those who enjoyed the s mall tasting Fiona gave us of the delicious Golden Nectar Whiskey, could make a purchase.
The Whiskey was smooth and sweet, it was the price tag that had the bite!!!
Fiona was very good at pulling out yummy tasty treats
out of her bag… and we all loved Tunnocks Caramel Wafers, so much so several of
us rushed to two of the local supermarkets in Invergordon, only to buy up all the stock on the
shelves.
Apparently according to the wrapper, over 7,000,000 of these are made and sold every week.....
Invergordon was a lovely town to walk around to finish
off our day. If only I was better
prepared I would have visited www.invergordonoffthewall.org.uk
website and downloaded the app that would help us follow the Mural Trail. There are at least 17 murals to be
found.
With a bag full of biscuits, my beautiful jumper, and a wonderful day under our belts we headed back to the ship…..
On the dock, there is some last-minute shopping
Beautiful Sailaway ....
