30 minutes from Geoff and Lorna's house. We decided to take two cars
today, so Geoff and I loaded into the Polo while Sally, Lorna and the
girls rode in the Reid's Honda. We drove northeast through beautiful
Scottish countryside, through the heather and peat covered hills to
Dufftown. Along the way Geoff pointed out the changing agricultural
crops, reflecting the changing soils and climate. In particular, it
was fascinating to see the rivers running brown, about the color of
already brewed whiskey. I was to learn that this is caused by the
rainwater running through the peat and leaching out elements and
compounds. It is the reason why this is the whiskey capital of the
world, for this water is part of what adds to the flavor.
In Dufftown we toured the Glenfiddich Whisky Distillary. An excellent
tour showing every step in this long process. They have been
distilling whiskey here since 1876. My favorite tidbit of information
involved the "Angel's Share", that portion of the alcohol that
evaporates through the oak kegs while it is curing for 12 to 50 years.
The barrels lose about a third of their volume and the alcohol content
drops from 64% to as low as 47% due to this phenomenon.
After the tour we stopped for scones and soup, then off to a castle
ruin not far from their house. Sally, Lorna and Eilidh (pronounced
Haley without the H sound) slipped off to view Pitmedden Garden while
Geoff, Maddie and I got to Tolquhon (pronounced toe-lone) Castle.
We were the only ones at the castle so we started off our visit with a
rousing game of hide and seek. I climbed 10 feet up into the flue of
one of the nearly walk in sized fireplaces as my hiding spot and had
to growl and moan to help Geoff and Maddie find me. We finished off
the tour with a game of tag which Maddie won.
Back to the house for another fantastic Lorna dinner, then off to a
Stonehenge like stone circle about two miles from their house, a drink
at a stone cave of a bar at the local country club and our last day in
Northern Scotland was at an end.
Does it seem to you that there is a lot of ancient stuff right near
Geoff and Lorna's house? It is incredible! There are 99 pre BC stone
circles within a 20 mile circle of their house, at least 20 castles,
who knows how many former estates not to mention 15 or more whiskey
distilleries. Throughout the drive between each location is drop dead
gorgeous scenery of rock walls, farms, and open countryside.
Chuck
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