Scotland and Orkney Islands

I wasn’t quite ready for Scotland.  I’m not sure what I expected. I thought that all I had heard about this place was hyperbole.  It’s not. Everyone who goes on about how beautiful it are correct. Scotland is something special.

I landed in Endingburgh, rented a car, and drove up to the Highlands.  These pictures don’t do it justice to how vast and beautiful it is.

Every time I got out of my car to take a picture, I could smell peat smoke.  It was everywhere in the Highlands. So much so, that I suspect it wasn’t just the distilleries using it, but the people living out this way still burning it.

I drove out to the Highlands on a mission to visit my favourite distillery: The Glenlivet.

They have such a great tour. I highly recommend it. For the £10 entry price you get an hour tour through the distillery and two large drams of high quality whisky. I am sad to say, I was driving, as it is very remote.

Of course, along the way, I had to try the most popular drink in Scotland: Irn Bru.

I’m not a soda guy, so I didn’t care for it.

After the Highlands, I headed up to Orkney Islands.  For a very long time, I have wanted to visit the Skara Brae site. This is the only thing I knew about Orkney Islands. I wasn’t ready for how much more there was to this place.

The Standing Stones of Stenness

The Ring of Brodgar

The Brough of Birsay

Of course, Skara Brae was amazing.

Two things about Orkney I didn’t expect were the wind and the water. The wind on the islands can be unreleanting. It is a thing to behold.  The water is a colour of blue I had only seen in the Carribean.

If you make your way up to Orkney Islands, try for the Spring time. The entire place was full of lambs with piglets, foals and calves sprinkled in.  Sadly, I didn’t get a picture, but some of the lambs had little polythene jacket to keep them warm on cold nights. Do yourself a favour and google “lamb jackets”.

Also, stop in at the Scapa Distillery.

Their whisky is really good!