[Itinerary Page]The Daily Diary of a Wandering Restaurateur
Highs and Lows in the Highlands
Someone
more famous than me(?) once said, "Into each life some rain must fall." I suspect if you live
in the Pacific Northwest or in Scotland, that may be more the exception than the rule. We have
had pretty good luck weather-wise since we arrived ... so today it was time to balance the
scales.
Now living around Seattle, we are not unaccustomed to rain ... but we also avoid walking 'around in it any more than necessary. So with the rain forecast to last all day, we looked for indoor activities. The first thing that came to mind was a tour of Castle Brodie, a few miles up the coast from here.
In the realm of Scottish castles, it is relatively new (16th century). It never had to hold out against seige by ravaging armies so it is not one of THOSE kinds of castles. In fact, because it was occupied by the original family until just a few years ago, it feels more mansion-like than castle-like inside, although there are a few places like the circular stone steps up the tower where the old place shows its age.
The continual occupancy also meant that it never had a chance to crumble to ruin as did manyu of its counterparts ... but it may have been close. When it was turned over to the Scottish National Trust there was something like $500K in deferred maintenance necessary. Could that have been an incentive for the family to make the deal?
There is a lot of history in the highlands. During a break in the rain we wandered through the Clava Cairns, a Stone Age burial site. We also dropped by the Culloden Battlefield but decided to do that tomorrow when the weather is supposed to be a little dryer.
Then it was back to the room for rest, reading (and warming-up). By dinner time the clouds had parted and we even saw some sun as we headed off to dinner.
© 2009 Restaurant Doctor