Rhonda Bracey: At Random

Today we had a free day in Pitlochry. And what a gorgeous day it was too! It wasn’t just me in a t-shirt today; it was most of our group. A lot of us started with the dam and fish ladder (for salmon, but I didn’t see any) that wasn’t far from where the coach was parked, then some continued on to the suspension bridge while others returned the way we’d come to go into town.

Pitlochry is a pretty little town, and very popular with tourists. It has some lovely shops and a real country town feel to it. As I said in my previous post, it reminds me a little of Bridgetown in WA – similar sort of vibe, but Bridgetown has nowhere near as many American tourists!

We pack the bus tonight ready for our departure tomorrow for Edinburgh, the last stop on this trip, where we’ll spend 5 nights. Why are we packing the bus tonight? Because this hotel of some 114 rooms across 4 floors, scattered about down many corridors, through many stiff doors, and up sets of stairs you weren’t expecting, and quirky turns, only has ONE lift and that lift can only fit 2 people with luggage, AND it’s used as the service lift for housekeeping etc. too. Did I mention Fawlty Towers??? In a Google search it’s described as ‘Cozy rooms with their own unique charm’. Think real estate agent speak to interpret that!! 🙂

Update: My TripAdvisor review: https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g186566-d278467-r976509033-The_Atholl_Palace_Hotel-Pitlochry_Perth_and_Kinross_Scotland.html

What can I say about today? We started off with the biggest surprise – a visit to a working sheepdog farm, where I held a 9.5 week old sheep dog puppy, helped hand shear a hypnotised Scottish black-faced sheep in the Scottish Highlands (a bucket list item I never new I had!), fed a (very big) lamb, saw a 20 month old highland cow (‘hairy coo’) up close, and generally was in awe of the amazing sheep dogs and their shepherd. And the puppy? She was soft and fuzzy and just amazing. The shepherd held her much of the time and she was watching, listening, learning, and aching to get amongst it. At one point he let her go and she was off, herding those sheep almost as well as the adult dogs! Clever girl!!!

The shepherd uses Gaelic (pron ‘garlic’; the Irish pronounce it ‘gaylic’), Scottish English and a whistle to give his commands. Each dog has its own set of commands it responds to, which is why some hung back until he used his voice or the whistle to command that particular dog. Each dog has a short name for ease of commands (e.g. Joe, Lily). All this magical morning was at Leault Farm in Kincaird, Inverness-shire, Scotland. (https://workingsheepdogs.uk/)

How do you top that??! Well, you can’t really, but we came close. Next stop on the way to Pitlochry in Perthshire was the Dalwhinnie whisky distillery, where we had an hour-long tour of the distillery and a tasting of 6 different whiskies, paired with some amazing chocolates – who knew whisky and chocolate would go together so well? I’m still not a whisky fan, but those chocolates – yum!!!

Next was a very late lunch stop at the House of Bruar, a high-end large shopping precinct that featured some fabulous things, from an extensive food hall and restaurant, to clothing to homewares, etc. Well worth the visit.

Then finally we arrived in Pitlochry (which reminded me a lot of Bridgetown in WA, with its quirky touristy places mixed in with locals in a working town). And on to the Atholl Palace Hotel, which looked magnificent and very posh in its grounds. And there the resemblance stopped… Think ‘Fawlty Towers’ but in real life. A LONG story for another day, and possibly in person!!! Definitely a story for TripAdvisor sometime soon.

Update: My TripAdvisor review: https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g186566-d278467-r976509033-The_Atholl_Palace_Hotel-Pitlochry_Perth_and_Kinross_Scotland.html