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Pitlochry

Our very first stop was in Pitlochry, a very small "Victorian town" half-way to Inverness. It's renowned for its nearby scenery and beautiful hikes. It doesn't hurt to have two whisky distilleries nearby, either! The only way there from St Andrews by public bus is to go to Dundee, then to Perth, then take the Inverness bus which will drop you off in Pitlochry. It takes a good couple of hours! The town pretty much consists of one main road, and that was the one our hostel was on. It was part of the MacBackpackers chain and was fabulous. We had our room to ourselves the whole two nights. It was wasn't busy because it was the first weekend it was open! All the people were awesome and really friendly. I want to go back!

Saturday, March 29, 2003 Spent the morning traveling, and went almost straight to the tourist info center (TIC). They had lots of brochures about local hikes, so we picked one up. After we checked into the hostel we found the Co-op and got lunch. We quickly discovered the loch/river and had a picnic lunch while watching people kayak. Walking back to the hostel we decide to try one of the walks, which led us into lots of farmland and golf courses (the norm for Scotland). Towards the end, we thought we found a castle, but it was only a really classy hotel (Atholl Palace - see picture). It was pretty late by this time so we got dinner at the Co-op and hung around the hostel.

Sunday, March 30, 2003 Mari and Deanna were quite ambitious and really looking forward to the wonderful hiking opportunities. I wasn't quite so gung-ho and was looking forward to relaxation (it was vacation after all!). So they got up really early and took a pretty long walk, getting back around lunchtime. One of the cool things they saw was the Limm of Tummel (see pictures). I slept late, got breakfast at the Co-op, ate it next to the river, and then explored the dam and fish ladder. It was too early for salmon coming upstream but it was still neat to look around! There was a short hike nearby that included a waterfall and a whisky distillery so we attempted that. After finding the path with only a little difficulty, we were soon rewarded with the Black Spout waterfall. There was a viewing platform, but we wanted to get closer. We climbed up the path a little more and found the source. Mari and I took off our boots and stuck our feet in. Brrrr! (see pictures) About 20 minutes up the path was Edradour Distillery, the smallest single malt distillery in Scotland. Only 3 men work there, much less than the number of tour guides hired there! It was neat to see the whole process again, and the whisky here was much better than the stuff they gave us in Edinburgh. The walk back took us the same way as the hike we did yesterday. We got dinner and then watched A Life Less Ordinary in the TV room.

Monday, March 31, 2003 Mari and Deanna got up early and climbed a mountain! Ben Vrackie is the highest mountain in the immediate area and isn't a terribly hard hike,or so they say. (see pictures) I slept late again! My morning wasn't terribly productive, I just read a lot of Pride and Prejudice. Our bus to Inverness was scheduled to leave around noon or 1, so I didn't want to wander off too far....

What happened on the bus you say? Click on the link to find out!

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