Atholl Memorial Fountain in Dunkeld
This is the second page covering our 2023 trip to Scotland. Click here for page 1.
On July 14, 2023, we took the Highland Lochs, Glens & Whisky Rabbie's Tour. Did we enjoy this tour? Clearly, we liked the places we visited, but we felt rushed every step of the way. Admittedly, I don't move as fast as I used to, plus I like to have a little time to take pictures. What did not help is that 13 of us and our driver had to sit in the bus for twenty minutes waiting for three latecomers after lunch. I would have preferred to skip one of our stops to have a bit more time at the others. On the plus side, Keith, our driver, was very considerate. We left Edinburgh a couple of minutes after 9 a.m. and arrived in Dunkeld, our first stop, roughly an hour and a half later.
Click on any image to see a larger (2400 x 1600 pixel) version!
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Atholl Memorial Fountain in Dunkeld |
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Dunkeld Cathedral |
Parish House by Dunkeld Cathedral |
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Archway to a quiet backyard |
Walking down to the River Tay |
Another way to the river |
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Looking from High Street to Brae Street |
Shop on Atholl Street |
Next, after a drive of only about 20 minutes, we took a walk along the River Braan to a waterfall. The walk itself was easy enough, but again, I felt rushed. The bus ride from there to the town of Pitlochry took just over a quarter of an hour, and we were told we would have one hour and 15 minutes to see the town and have lunch. We decided to eat first, and that was a good thing: by the time we were done, we had just a couple of minutes left to get back to the bus. Next, we drove to a place called The Queen's View some seven miles away. I had intended to take a panorama at that location, but when we had walked the short distance from the parking lot to the outlook, all our traveling companions were crowding around the bannister. I finally made it to the front and was able to take the one photo shown below, but I didn't have the three or four minutes I would have needed to take my panorama.
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Walking along the River Braan to the Hermitage |
The River Braan through the trees |
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The Black Linn Falls by the Hermitage (photo by Vicki) |
The town of Pitlochry |
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In Pitlochry |
Sitting in our bus waiting for some latecomers in the drizzle |
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The Queen's View over Loch Tummel |
Our final stop on this tour was the Dewar's distillery in Aberfeldy. This was what all the others (including Keith) seemed so anxious to visit. Our driver turned out to be quite an expert on whisky and during the fifty minutes or so it took us to reach the distillery, he told us about the different types of whisky, or "water of life" as the Scots call it. He also told us how to properly taste whisky, knowledge we put to use at the distillery after we had taken a tour through the facility. The tasting and how the flavor changes dramatically if one adds just two or three drops of water was interesting, but honestly, give me a good glass of wine any day. After what was clearly the longest stop on our tour by far, our driver took us back to Edinburgh in the rain.
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The tasting room at the Dewar's distillery in Aberfeldy |
Not to worry: we only got to taste 2 kinds |
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Seat of the Royal Bank of Scotland on The Mound |
Menacing skies over North Castle Street |
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The Princes Street tram station |
The first ever Floral Clock was here in Princes Street Gardens |
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When Mardi Gras is Saturday, July 15... |
...I guess it's normal to have carnival in July! |
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Scott Monument |
Royal Scots Greys Monument |
Inverleith Park |
On July 16, we took the hop-on, hop-off blue line bus because we wanted to see some neighborhoods of Edinburgh not covered by the green and red lines. One of the places we wished to visit was the Royal Botanic Garden, so we got off at that stop. This garden is a haven of peace; the staff does a great job of showing things neatly without over manicuring the displays. We wandered around for about an hour and then repaired to the restaurant for a coffee and scones with clotted cream and jam (two hearty servings, all but gone by the time I photographed my plate). We then hopped on the blue bus again to continue our journey.
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Path near the west gate |
In the Royal Botanic Garden |
Dead tree |
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The pond in the Botanic Garden |
In the Royal Botanic Garden |
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Heading back to the entrance |
The cafeteria where we had scones, clotted cream, and jam |
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Newhaven Harbour |
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Upstairs and downstairs: scene photographed from the bus |
Mamma Roma on Antigua Street |
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Robert Burns Memorial |
Old Calton Burial Ground |
Scottish-American Soldiers Monument |
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Strolling around the cemetery |
Governor's House on the left and Arthur's Seat in the background |
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Jaune on Rose Street, an indie gift shop championing local brands |
A pub on Rose Street |
On July 17, before heading to the airport for our flight back to Nice, we went to the Scottish National Portrait Gallery. We had seen the building from a bus, and then looked it up on the web. Clearly, this is a location we had to see before leaving Edinburgh! The Great Hall is particularly amazing. We ended up having lunch at the museum cafeteria, then walking back to St Andrew Square tram station to catch a streetcar back to the airport. We had a great time in Scotland!
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The Scottish National Portrait Gallery on Queen Street |
The gorgeous Great Hall in the Portrait Gallery |
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Detail of the frieze |
One of many exhibition rooms |
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Red and Unread, portrait of Tilda Swinton |
Less humorous: the execution of Charles I |
The walkway around the Great Hall |
All pictures from our Scotland vacation were taken between July 12 and July 17, 2023 with my new Fujifilm X-T5 camera.
Photos from both pages, and a few extras, are also available in a gallery.
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