The new day began with fruit at breakfast
followed by malt whiskey marmalade
to go with the usual spreads
and breads
as I had pancakes with an egg
and mushrooms
and Suzanne had a more Scottish breakfast
before we began our morning drive over hills and through countryside before taking a tiny road that ended with this old still
near the GlenFarclas distillery
where our tour began with views of the two old buildings
before we entered the malt intake
and saw the storage
as well as some malt itself
and a description of the process by which barley is allowed to germinate but only so much
and then we went to the malt mill
where we saw the mill machine
and the malt dresser
and the de-stoner which was demonstrated by our guide (we were the only two on the tour)
and then we saw where the grist (for the mill) comes from
and looked into a mash tun that had just been cleaned
and one that still had some liquid in it
complete with its lid to which the foam had spread
and another in similar state
before our tour continued with the washing
and into the tun room
as we looked at the depth of the vats
and finally made our way into the room of stills
and saw the output
including these spirits.
Because of the farm history, we also saw this cheese press from the past
and after a final building, we headed back to Loch Ness
where we were met by Nessie in two forms
as we waited for our ship to come in
admiring the loch
and its most famous character
as Suzanne became photographer for these folks
and our ship landed
and so once on board we took this self portrait
as we left the shoreline
and said good bye to Nessie who moved while we were away
and sailed out on the loch
where the water is murky from the peat
as Suzanne
and I
enjoyed the scenery
before we caught our first view of Urquhart castle which was to be our destination
and noted the neighborhood
before we zeroed in
and left the water
for group photos of the castle
before we pulled on shore and saw the welcoming sign
and then made our way past the well
to the draw bridge
and caught this map of highlights
as we crossed the draw bridge
and came to the gate house
with its guard room
as we looked in
and saw the prison cell
which looked eerie without
or with flash
but the views to the loch were quite nice from all directions
as we read of the great raid of 1545
and wondering if this boat was planning a future raid
before we visited the great kitchen
and the great hall
the chapel
and the Grant tower
around which was this wonderful view
with a sense that the water was neither murky nor deep at the shoreline
as we came to the water gate
and read about the great glen
and observed it for ourselves
along with some history of the Catlee by the centuries
which we now looked down upon in fairly magnificent view
as Suzanne took this photo of me with excellent background
and we then admired this remarkable weapon of mass destruction
from which people were fleeing
which we understood when we read about the mechanism.
The scenery remained impressive
convincing us that it was a highland icon
and a great setting
before we stopped at the snack shop for this lunch for Suzanne
and this for me
and enjoyed the views
before taking this self portrait as we headed back towards the ship
and recorded the shoreline while waiting
for the boat to collect us
and once we were on our way, we watched some fishermen in small boats
before reconnecting with Nessie
in different forms.
After a break, we went to the local pub for dinner since all other restaurants seemed to have no room for us and read the menu
before Suzanne ordered her beer
and I ordered mine
and then her fish and chips
and my pizza made for our last dinner in Inverness
but while eating I noticed the decibel meter over the bar
and then pealed the label off of her beer so that we could have the complete picture.
|
followed by malt whiskey marmalade
to go with the usual spreads
and breads
as I had pancakes with an egg
and mushrooms
and Suzanne had a more Scottish breakfast
before we began our morning drive over hills and through countryside before taking a tiny road that ended with this old still
near the GlenFarclas distillery
where our tour began with views of the two old buildings
before we entered the malt intake
and saw the storage
as well as some malt itself
and a description of the process by which barley is allowed to germinate but only so much
and then we went to the malt mill
where we saw the mill machine
and the malt dresser
and the de-stoner which was demonstrated by our guide (we were the only two on the tour)
and then we saw where the grist (for the mill) comes from
and looked into a mash tun that had just been cleaned
and one that still had some liquid in it
complete with its lid to which the foam had spread
and another in similar state
before our tour continued with the washing
and into the tun room
as we looked at the depth of the vats
and finally made our way into the room of stills
and saw the output
including these spirits.
Because of the farm history, we also saw this cheese press from the past
and after a final building, we headed back to Loch Ness
where we were met by Nessie in two forms
as we waited for our ship to come in
admiring the loch
and its most famous character
as Suzanne became photographer for these folks
and our ship landed
and so once on board we took this self portrait
as we left the shoreline
and said good bye to Nessie who moved while we were away
and sailed out on the loch
where the water is murky from the peat
as Suzanne
and I
enjoyed the scenery
