We left Pitlochry this morning and headed to Balmoral Castle. The route there was pretty rural and the roads today were even more narrow and winding than yesterday. In many parts, Chuck had to slow way down and pull slightly off the road to let an oncoming car get past because we weren’t totally confident that two cars could fit on the road side by side. It was still very beautiful though and we saw tons of sheep and some adorable lambs.

It was another beautiful, sunny day today and the grounds at Balmoral were beautiful. The audio guide was pretty informative and my favorite part was walking through the extensive kitchen gardens and hearing about the operations and glasshouses. Their growing season up here is pretty short, in contrast with Texas, so it was interesting for me to hear about measures in place to expand the growing season.

After Balmoral, we grabbed lunch in Braemar, the home of the largest Highland Games – the ones the royal family typically attends each year. After lunch, we headed to Huntly Castle and explored ruins of a castle built in the 15th century. It was really fun to try to imagine what the space would have looked like lavishly decorated with ornate furniture and tapestries.Finally, we got back on the road and headed to Inverness for the night, where we grabbed some Indian food and explored old town Inverness.

Today’s Highlights:

• Delicious Scottish smoked salmon at breakfast
• So many sheep!
• Beautiful grounds at Balmoral
• Exploring the ruins of a cool old castle
• Being startled by this bird hanging out in a little nook of the castle

Tomorrow’s Proposed Adventures:

• Guided tour at Culloden Battlefield
• Visiting Clava Cairns
• Possibly a working sheepdog demonstration if time allows