Today we awoke to the sun shine and warmth in the air - what a nice change! Although we were leaving Torridon this day, there was still time for one more activity - archery. The target was set up on the front lawn of the hotel and it was so scenic. It looked like we were country royalty set to have some sport! Kyle was again our activities instructor and we had a great time. We started with some close range shooting before gradually gaining distance from the target. It took a bit to remember how things worked, but I got it in the end. They even had a left-handed bow for me to use! After some practice there was time for a little friendly competition.. We did three rounds of 6 shots and I am happy to report that I beat Jeff's butt handily :) After that we tried our hand at a little long distance shooting - backing up all the way to the hedge. It requires different aim but I managed to hit the target several times, even getting the red, but not the yellow. It was hard not to be distracted by the beauty of our surroundings. There was the Torridon Hotel right next to us; to the other side was a field with the famous Highland Cows (although the pronunciation is something akin to "coo") and the mountains and loch. Just so much beauty!!
After we checked out it was time to set off for Inverness. Along the way we were to stop at the Glen Ord Distillary for an education on the process of whiskey making and also for a wee taste! Since the distance to Glen Ord wasn't that long we planned on taking the drive nice and slow and stopping if there was anything we wanted to check out. What a gorgeous drive! The sun was out and there was no rain, so we were able to roll down the windows and enjoy the day. We stopped here and there are some picturesque locations and generally enjoyed ourselves. One great place we stumbled upon was Rogie Falls. A quick five minute walk takes you to some neat falls with a bridge that spans the river. The bridge is the perfect vantage point to watch for salmon swimming upstream and attempting to jump up the falls. We actually did see one huge salmon try to flop his way up, but he was unsuccessful. Next to the falls there was a salmon ladder, so maybe the others ones were taking the easy way - but we didn't see anymore.
By the time we were back at the car it was time to head to the distillary. Glen Ord has been around for a very long time. The original owners made whiskey illegally in the beginning! Acutally, the first two sets of owners went bankrupt! Now it is owned by a larger beverage company, as is common these days. The distillary is a blend of old and new, with newer buildings coming up around the old. The coolest part were the huge wooden barrels (and I do mean huge) that the mashing process occurs in. We got to peek inside some of theme after our guide, Scott, determined that the fumes wouldn't knock us out! In many places these wood barrels are being replaced with stainless steel, but they are keeping them wood here. The cask room was also nice. Nice and cool that is. We learned that the whiskey is aged in either old bourbon or sherry barrels and often the two are blended together in the finished product (unless it is single cask). After the tour it was time to taste. We tried 12, 15, and 18 year old whiskey. It is amazing how different they taste from one another! Jeff and I both like the 18 year old, which was, of course, the most expensive bottle. If it was a bottle of wine, we wouldn't have thought twice about buying it, but since it was whiskey and we don't know how much we would really drink, we skipped it.
On the advice of our tour guide we stopped in the village of Beauly for lunch at the old school house. This is a little shop and cafe right as you come into the pretty little village. I think it would have been nice to walk around in, but we didn't have that much time. We had toasties (like paninis) and some lovely cakes for lunch, then off we went.
The city of Inverness (Capital of the Higlands) is set next to the Ness River. I instantly fell in love with the river and the stately buildings that line either side of it. The Strathness Guesthouse faces the river and it is relaxing to look out and watch the birds on the water and people strolling by. Since Jeff needed to go for a short run, Josh and I went for a walk along the river to explore! As we walked we passed by anglers fishing for salmon and lots of people just enjoying the day. Our turnaround point was an area called "Ness Islands", a few little islands linked by bridges that took us back to the other side of the river. The water in the river actually wasn't as cold as I thought it would be, which was surprising. After we returned I read that there are actually seals in the river, but we didn't see any!
Later on, Jeff and I went for another whiskey tasting, just across the river at the Whiskey Shop. This time instead of whiskey from the same distillery. The variation in taste is just incredible! I have learned that I don't really like the "peaty" ones - those are the ones that taste like bike tires to me. I like it a little lighter, but still rich. Of course, the one I liked was still over $100 US, so I am thinking I have expensive taste in whiskey!
Dinner was at Cafe 1, a short walk from our hotel. Really, most everything is a short walk from the hotel, so that is very convenient. The restaurant was hopping! I think the owner is like Asian, Italian, Scottish or something like that! She took to Josh right away and had a lot of fun with him. His first request was for mash, which of course, wasn't on the menu. But she asked the chef and he agreed to it, so Josh went over and thanked the chef. I think everyone got a good laugh from it. I had a very small, very pretty apple salad with brie and walnuts. I also split a beef spring roll with Jeff. It was super tender and tasty, but it was fried, more like an egg roll than a spring roll. All in all it was a lighter meal for me - I feel like we are eating all the time! Jeff had a nice chicken breast with a tomato sauce on a bed of pesto pasta and of course, we shared a great bottle of wine - an Australia Shiraz, Grenache blend that had another grape I didn't recognize as well. Oh, we can't forget about dessert - very simple. Love red strawberries with a salted caramel dip that was to die for and a vanilla ice cream that seemed to have some lavender in it. Just delicious.
The restaurant was right across the street from Inverness castle so we went over to check out the view. We also learned that the castle is a courthouse and not a tourist attraction. Still the view of the town, surrounding mountains, and river was fantastic. A lovely end to the day!
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