Driving and drams

Throwing open the drapes over the windows revealed a scene of mist covered hills, sodden lawns and consistent rain coming out of the grey clouds overhead. The fabulous breakfast (included in room cost made it more so) was consumed with great gusto and duly satisfied we jumped into the wheels and headed off for a day tour of Speyside. The country side refused to be dulled by inclement weather and indeed seems to come alive in some respects and the drive was simply one spectacular vista after another. The digital radio cutting in and out as we traversed the various ridges and gullies provided the entertainment. Interesting to note that the Scottish based stations are far more interesting and humourous as compared the ones from down South. This is probably why Edinburgh has a world famous comedy festival whilst London doesn't. Hopefully Brexit will fix this. Stumbling across a castle on the back roads we decided not to go in due to costs, timeframes and itineraries. Did stretch the legs though. Hitting the old town of Inverness we discovered a thriving modern day metropolis surrounding streets of old buildings. One noticeable highlight of Scotland is the effort they put into hanging baskets and window boxes.

Delving into one modern shopping complex we purchased some vital supplies in Boots and left a credit card behind. Good skills..not. Unbeknownst, we hightailed out of town and headed back into the Speyside vistas to get to the distillery for the pre-booked tour. Stopping for tea and coffee at Arbelour along the way. The tour of Glenfarclas was very insightful. It's amazing the effort they go to to produce the nectar of the gods. It was here the missing card became apparent so whilst it created a bit of anxiety during the tour this was resolved at the end by the staff making a phone call to the store and sorting it out for us. How good is that! From now on this is my favourite brand. A couple of drams afterwards to prove the point...

Another pleasant drive through the scenery that does not stop giving and we got back to our comfy hotel in Tomintoul. Choosing this place was a real stroke of luck. Possibly the quaintest village we went through that meets all our needs. Dinner in the hotel - with a bus load of Germans arriving there were some great expectations of a repeated scene from Faulty Towers. All the ingredients were there. Alas all we had was a very nice (and cheap) dinner in the pub and then off to hit the huge bed in preparation for the big drive tomorrow.