12.23: Aberdeen and castle country

I wasn't that interested in touring a big city, but I drove to Aberdeen so I could say I'd been. I drove around the University of Aberdeen--I can't quite resist being on a university campus--and then drove to a car park to wander a bit to see some of the granite buildings for which Aberdeen is famous.

On the way back to Banchory, I went to Drum Castle. I drove up the wrong road to a farm and bothered a sheep dog--the herding kind of sheep dog, also known as a Border Collie, I think--, but was able to find my way to the car park at the back of the castle. I wandered around the paths on the castle estate; there is a flower garden that must be gorgeous in the spring. then back up the road and through the forest that is the last remaining bit of what was declared royal forest in the 12th century. The rest is now commercially or privately owned property. It was quite nice to tromp through the area.

A woman was walking her black labrador and the dog really wanted to come close, but seemed scared of me. She encouraged him to say hello, but then he started barking and bouncing like he wanted to play. She told him not to be "dafty" and I wondered if I smelled different, if it had something to do with my accent, or if it was my yellow jacket because she insisted he wasn't usually "such a souk."

I drove to Crathes Castle where the grounds are quite extensive. I walked the mile from the gate to the castle and then meandered around some of the paths. Like so many of the castle estates, the grounds and paths are open to the public year-round and the people in the area certainly seem to take advantage of that. There were a number of people there with their dogs, again, unleashed and very well trained. I did see a few runners on some of the paths, but it was rare to see runners at all. Even then, many of them were in T-shirts and shorts--no fancy running gear except their shoes.

Crathes is a large castle and estate owned by the National Trust for Scotland. There are shops on the estate--tea and gift, but there are some other things for the public for sight-seeing and entertainment.

I headed back to Banchory and did a little grocery shopping (found Diet Coke with lime!), bought a couple of books by Scottish authors, and got my laundry. I went back to my room, packed some things for lunch, and then off to Braemar in the Grampian Mountains. I saw snow on the mountains and had a beautiful drive along the River Dee.

Braemar itself was a bit disappointing; the castle is privately owned so it's not possible to tour it except in the summer. I stopped for petrol on the way back: 88.9 pence per liter of 20 pounds for half a tank. That was about $40 with the exchange rate. A liter is .22 gallons, so 1 gallon is 4.545 liters. Yep, petrol is expensive in Scotland.

I stopped at Campus o' May, just a signpost I saw on the way back, and did some lovely tromping there. Again, there were a number of marked paths, so it was easy not to get lost. It was starting to get really cold again and the wooden bridge was icy, so that in addition to growing darkness made it time to go home.

Had dinner at the Burnett Arms again. I noticed a group of men with their pints who then ordered dinner and a bottle of red wine. They had their wine with their dinner, though the occasional sip from their pints as well. I'd seen that "mix" of wine and beer before, but thought it something of an anomaly. But I've seen it several times, so perhaps this isn't a big deal in Scotland.

I talked with the bartender for a while. We were talking about the chaos the night before, about traveling, about the area, and she made some great recommendations of places to stop on my way to Inverness. On to the Highlands!