Bliadhna Mhath Ùr

Happy New Year!

We enjoyed a quiet Christmas in Warrington with a lovely dinner together and a few prezzies. One of our gifts for each other was our imminent trip to Scotland!

We packed up and ventured out on Boxing Day, which is apparently the day the servants and such were allowed to celebrate Christmas, since they were all tied up taking care of the aristocracy on the 25th. In Britain, it was a custom for tradespeople to collect “Christmas boxes” of money or presents on the first weekday after Christmas as thanks for good service throughout the year.

So we drove. We headed up to Glasgow, which was about 3 1/2 hours north. Not too bad. I had previously been a little worried that our trip might involve snow and ice, but that turned out not to be the case, thankfully.

Glasgow is a nice city, with interesting architecture and shopping. They also have whisky bars. 🙂 Found one and tried a few new drams…my favourite was a Laphroaig Brodir, aged in a sherry cask. The Auchentoshan American Oak was also very nice. Next day we headed over to the Kelvingrove Museum, full of everything from animals of the region (and elsewhere) to Dali’s “Christ of St. John of the Cross”, in it’s own little area, almost like a shrine.

The elusive Haggis, before and after capture.

Glasgow also had some interesting bars with surprising images, which justified my suspicion of Scott’s possible ancestry.

Apparently the story of the two-heided man is here:

On to Oban, a lovely fishing village on the bay, where we stayed at the Youth Hostel. Why they keep letting us stay is a mystery, as we do not fit the criteria, but really, I’m not complaining. The ones we’ve visited have been quite nice, clean, and cozy, if spartan.

The Youth Hostel

Oban Bay

Morning sunrise (about 9:45)

Next morning, first things first, we had breakfast. Then we remembered we needed to visit the Oban Chocolate Company. And there we were forced to have second breakfast.

Of course, you can’t visit Oban without visiting the famous distillery. We toured around the premises and were given some of the fine points of whisky-making.

Next, on to Perth, and what do you know? More whisky distilleries! By the third tour I was pretty sure I understood how whisky was made (and how they get some of their different flavours). And the tastings afterward warmed us up.