micbinks - UK holiday, leisure & tourist attraction images

UK Tourist & Leisure Attractions - Scotland

Belinda and Mike - follow our tourist travels in the UK

Scotland Holiday, Strathspey Railway, Cawdor Castle & a Distillery July 2004 - page3

On this final page of our holiday in Scotland you can find us riding on the preserved Strathspey Steam Railway from Broomhill to Aviemore, visiting Cawdor Castle near Nairn, and sampling a wee dram at the Dallas Dhu Distillery at Forres.  Then on the way home from Scotland we visited the Dun Cow at Sedgefield in County Durham.  Och aye the noo!
This is page three of three.
Scottish Highlands 1 | Scottish Highlands 2 | Scottish Highlands 3
 

The Strathspey Steam Railway at Aviemore in Scotland
On day 5 of our Scotland holiday we took the steam train from Broomhill to Aviemore on the preserved Strathspey Steam Railway.  Here's the awesome steam locomotive sitting at Aviemore station after our initial ride - just look at all that lovely steam!

Travelling on the Strathspey Steam Railway
Opened in 1978 and extended in 2002, the nostalgic steam railway journey of around 20 miles took 35 minutes each way and cost  £9 at the time of our visit.  See our UK tourist resources for the Strathspey Steam Railway website.

Gift shop in Aviemore
On arrival in Aviemore we had a good look around the town, had a coffee and bought some souvenirs.  Aviemore is the centre of the winter skiing industry in Scotland so it's well geared up for tourists.

Outside the bistro in Aviemore
We came across this attractive bistro in Aviemore, were tempted in by the carvery - and succumbed!  We ate our packed lunch we'd brought along back at the cottage in the conservatory that evening.

Inside the bistro and a roast lunch
The meal was yummy and we followed it with Apple Pie and cream, oh, and another wee pint for Mike and a cider for Belinda.  Much better than a picnic in the cold outside.  Och aye the noo!

Waving from the Strathspey Steam Railway carriage
After some four hours in Aviemore we returned to the station for the return journey on the Strathspey Steam Railway to Broomhill.  The steam train ran through some wonderful Highland scenery...

View of the River Spey and Cairngorm Mountains from the Strathspey Railway train
...including the River Spey and Cairngorm Mountains.  The line from Boat of Garten to Broomhill had only been re-opened a few years previously, necessitating a traditional style reconstruction of Broomhill station.

The Strathspey Steam Railway at Broomhill in Scotland
Back at Broomhill, and just as we were about to drive back to the holiday cottage the steam engine came chuffing past so we quickly grabbed one last picture of the delightful Strathspey Steam Railway.

Breakfast time in the holiday cottage
We enjoyed a hearty breakfast in the holiday cottage every morning in Scotland to set us up for a hard day's touring!  Och aye the ... you get the idea.

Cawdor Castle near Nairn in Scotland
In the morning of the last day of our holiday in Scotland we visited Cawdor Castle near Nairn, which is still lived in by the Cawdor family.

Scotland: outside view of Cawdor Castle
Cawdor Castle was built by the Thanes of Cawdor as a private fortress in the 14th Century.  Unfortunately they didn't allow photos inside but we took plenty in the three gardens...

The gardens at Scotland's Cawdor Castle
...which were very picturesque and well worth a wander around.  There were various nature trails to explore too, plus the Cawdor Big Wood and a 9-hole golf course.  After Cawdor we...

Listening to the audio handset at Dallas Dhu Distillery in Forres
...headed over to the Dallas Dhu Distillery in Forres.  Now before you ask, this old fashioned looking mobile phone is, in fact, the audio tour handset which we carried round with us during our visit.

Some of the distillery machinery at Dallas Dhu in Scotland
Dallas Dhu isn't a working distillery any more, but the self-guided audio tour took us round all the distillery machinery that used to be used for whisky production, learning what it all did along the way.

Top of Dallas Dhu Distillery stills
Mike will film anything, even the insides of a still, och aye the noo.  See also our highland videos.  Right, next up was an opportunity to try the Scotch!

Whisky sampling at Dallas Dhu Distillery at Forres
Whisky sampling... well, the face says it all really!  We tried a wee dram before viewing the distillery's video in the theatre at Dallas Dhu Distillery.

Trying the Scotch at Dallas Dhu Distillery at Forres
Mike has a taste, hmmm... we'll take that as a no then!  Our UK tourist resources has a link for Scotland's Malt Whisky Trail and Dallas Dhu Distillery.  We enjoyed a fantastic week touring the Highlands of Scotland, but it was far from a wee...

The Dun Cow Inn in Sedgefield, County Durham
...journey for us so we broke it each way with an overnight in a Travel Lodge near Sedgefield in County Durham (near Teesside).  Here we found a fantastic pub, The Dun Cow Inn and enjoyed an excellent meal on the homeward bound leg.  Och aye... and all that!

Other preserved railways we've ridden: West Somerset, GWR Cotswolds, and mid Wales.