Along our way, we crossed over the newest of three bridges at the Firth of Forth. When the 3rdbridge was nearing completion, a contest was held to determine an official name for the structure. The favorite submission – but not the winner - was the “Third Firth of Forth.”
We spent the early afternoon at Scone (pronounced Scoon) Palace, known as the crowning place for Scottish kings until King Edward I, who chose to be coronated at Westminster Abbey. The palace is part tourist attraction and part private home of the 8th(or 9th) Earl and Duchess of Mansfield. The 1stEarl of Mansfield received this 32,000 acres as a gift for saving the life of one of the Scottish kings and it continues to belong to his descendants … and to which every reigning monarch has visited since.
Our last stop of the day (before our arrival at the Hilton Cuylumbridge) was at the Dalwinnie Distillery – one of 120 such businesses in Scotland. We were guided through the operation by a very enthusiastic young man who could barely contain himself about the lucky circumstance of his employment as he talked about the number of his co-workers he considered “functioning alcoholics.” Not him, of course! At the end of the tour we were each given a “wee dram” of the house specialty.
On that note, we have concluded whiskey (translated from the Gaelic as “water of life”) is the Diet Coke of Scotland. Whiskey – and wine – is served at all hours of the day and night, at every occasion and is on sale in every shop and market. And, if you order Highland porridge (what we know as oatmeal) for breakfast, it comes with a pinch of salt and whiskey-to-taste!
Tonight, we stayed at the Hilton Hotel in the Cairngorms National Park, 1 of Scotland’s 15 national parks – all combined representing about 6% of Scotland’s land mass in the largest arctic landscape in the UK.
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