View from Cairngorms National Park

Sunday 20^th May 2012

Woke this morning to sunny morning, blue sky and no wind and it just got better as the day went on. Temperature was 15°.

We left Inverness about 9:30AM and headed south towards Blairgowrie.

First stop was Tomintoul, a small village famous for Tomintoul whiskey. Bought two bottles of whiskey, one a special single malt distilled specifically for the Diamond Jubilee. Only 200 bottles have been produced and I managed to get bottle #23. Bottle #1 has been reserved for presentation to The Queen. Heading south towards Balmoral, the scenery through the Cairngorms National Park was stunning, high peaks and deep valleys. I walked to the top of one of the hills and the view was excellent. There were also patches of snow on the ground at the top. I brought a snowball back for Lynne but she would not get out of the car so I could throw it at her.  

Howells of Balmoral

By the time we arrived at Balmoral Castle weather was perfect with clear blue sky. Just what we needed for taking photos of this absolutely magical Castle, and its beautiful gardens, which looks like something straight from a fairytale.

We were only able to go into the ballroom where there were displays of items belonging to Queen Victoria & Prince Albert, as well as dresses worn by Queen Elizabeth II on state occasions dating back to 1970.

The Castle itself was built for Queen Victoria & Prince Albert as their holiday home in the Scottish Highlands. Building commenced in1853 and was completed in 1859. Balmoral Castle is Lynne’s favorite, and she has certainly seen a lot of castles.

As we had not been invited to dinner at the Castle we left Balmoral about 3:15PM and drove to Blairgowrie, arriving at about 5:00PM. Checked into Altamount House where we are staying the night.

Altamount House is a grand grade B listed house built in 1800. We had a drink in the bar after dinner and the owner filled us in on some of the interesting history of the house. The grounds around the house are beautiful and there are peacocks roaming about the gardens.  Just lovely!!