Scotland and Whiskey

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From London, after having supplied the van plenty of foodstuffs, as well as an industrial quantity of beer, take the motorway north towards Edinburgh.
We do not feel even in Scotland until the mythical past Adrian's Wall, dividing wall that marked the northern boundary of Roman colonization, after which they could not penetrate.

Edinburgh we have seen in a blanket of fog from the even more mystical. Capitati the day of the Queen's birthday, we attended a parade in costume, with a kilt and bagpipes, and with exception of cannon fired from the castle. Spectacular! Beautiful Royal Mile, the main road leading to the castle, full of shops and pubs. St.Giles the Cathedral with the statue of John Knox the Scottish reformer of the church.

Beyond the majestic bridge over Firth of Forth to head towards the valley of the Glen, an area of very famous distilleries. Take the A822 towards Crieff visit the Glenturret Distillery. Visit the distillery and tasting of single malt whiskey among the best on the market (not my favorite, but still good whiskey). Continuing on the A826 is a distillery and a mill to Aberfeldy. The area is really interesting for people like me love the malt whiskey. But we are not yet in the heart of whiskey, we shall be only in a few days.

We follow the provincial roads in this beautiful area: the A827 to Kenmore, then northward to Fortingall (truly picturesque village) and Tummel Bridge. Along the Loch Kummel on B8019 towards Killiecrankie. Nearby to the north, we find the Blair Castle (it is recommended to provide the card to access a number of castles, to avoid spending exorbitant figures) and then back towards the south to Pitlochry (dam and artificial passage for salmon) and Dunkeld.

We continue in a north-east on the A92 in the direction of Stonehaven, on the east coast. Along the coast heading north, we reach the ruins of Dunnottar Castle directly overlooking the sea. Peace in an extreme scenario incredible. Birretta contemplating is a must.

Let the east coast and take the A957 towards Banchory. Nearby you can visit the castles of Drum, Crathes, Castle Trail, Fyvie Castle to Aboyne, Ballater (Balmoral Castle) and Braemar on the B976, through the Lochnagar Distillery. A bevutina of whiskey is what we want.

We leave the valley of the River Dee and to the north take the A939. The path at high altitude leads to Tomintoul. From here you can make a tour in several Distillerie whiskey (whiskey trail).

We continue northwards on the B9008 and B9009 towards Dufftown (distillery and castle visit) and on the A920 towards Huntly on the A97 we visit the Kildrummy Castle until arriving on the north east of Scotland, specifically to Macduff. From here you can enjoy the countryside with spectacular views of cliffs. Fish and chips (potatoes and fish) are a classic dish in these parts.

We follow the coastal road to visit the fishing villages with their harbors. The past uggiose evenings in pubs or Cullen Portsoy remain forever in my memory. Portnockie pretty well and Findochty.

We come to Inverness, but we do not stop, preferring to head immediately to Highland in the north on the A9 towards enjoying the scenery of the fjords.

Along the way we stop at Dunrobin Castle of the noble family of Sutherland. Brora to find the Carn Liath Brock (strong on the age of iron). Between Wick and Dunbeath you can see some Celtic sites (eg in Latheron's Achavanich Standing Stones, 40 stones erected), although we prefer to head further north where they will meet many others.

Arrived in Wick we visit the Castle Sinclair directly overlooking the sea.

Arrived at the north via the A836 to stay there without words. Towering cliffs overlooking the sea, green and unspoiled landscapes. Tourism almost nil. We are in these streets where they meet a living soul for miles. The locals are kind. While running out of gas (a few distributors who say there is not) our wait time was just half an hour: loaded into the machine by a kind gentleman to the first distributor and back.

Dunnet Head the most northerly point of Great Britain and the view of Highland is incredible. Here seems to end up imagining the world only further north the Arctic Circle. We also stick to a seal playing in the waves read.

A Scrabster we slept in a camp close to the sea. The sunrise view from there, with the gulls and pelicans near our homes, is something wonderful, with the mere thought of having to board the next morning to the Orkney Islands.

The next morning we boarded with all the campers. The cruise followed by friendly dolphins has almost made me shoot an entire film. High cliffs with the glare of the sun seem painted pink.

Moored in Stromness after almost two hours. The weather is wonderful and come in a moment of eclipse of the sun for days already announced. It will be a signal?

In spite of our experience in various camps, we granted the luxury of a stay of three days at a beautiful secluded Bed & Breakfast in the countryside near the town, almost in the shelter of a cliff. Hot bath and reading room with the best offered by the hot lady of the house that make the stay more comfortable in my travels. The days here last an infinity, and we often find, after ten at night, to see the sun on the horizon yet. The dinners on the camper at the top of the cliffs will remain forever in our memory.

There is much to see here. The Orkney Islands have a huge amount of archaeological finds of the Neolithic. Most important, Skara Brae (remains of a village of 5000 years ago) and is a site open 24 hours on 24, despite its beauty is not overrun by tourists; Ring of Brodgar, a group of menhirs arranged in a circle on a bright green expanse; Maeshowe, an ancient tomb of 2500 BC Viking inscriptions of the twelfth century.

Kirkwall is the largest city of this island (Mainland). Here we visited the distillery producing my favorite single malt whiskey, the 'Highland Park. Built in 1798, is the northernmost distillery in Scotland. The traditional door-to-play operations such as harvesting of peat, the malting and use of coal for the stages of distillation. The stills are four (two for each distillation) and water, clear and pure, comes from the sources of Bad Maggie. The stores of aging, such as in hill distillery, are exposed to continuous wind from the north. The maturation of the whiskey is therefore affected by this natural element. It 'a shame to leave this island, but our journey must continue.

Resume the ferry to Scrabster along the coast in a westerly direction on the A836. The landscape here is truly wild. Strathy Point offers a fantastic view of Highland with its lighthouse. A Tongue are the ruins of Castle Varrich. The moorland, sand dunes, the typical hairy mantle from cattle, sheep, all filled eyes in this area. It 'hard to separate.

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