Robert Burns and the Birks of Aberfeldy

Bonie lassie, will ye go
Will ye go, will ye go.
Bonie lassie, will ye go
To the Birks of Aberfeldy!

Well, this "Bonie lassie" had just that opportunity today, and it was fabulous, but I'l get to that later.

By now you might have realized that I am, once again, back in Scotland with my husband.  But this time we've brought our youngest daughter, Amy along, to make our gallivanting adventures even more fun!

I did throw this trip together very last minute, and I will admit, that things were looking a bit dire last evening when we found ourselves in the airport, watching the departure time for our flight change from 8:10 to 9:10 to 10:10 to 11:10 due to some sort of mechanical issue with the plane.  At least that is what we were being told.  And, the suggestion was made that we just might have to wait another day to fly, but the flights for Thursday were all full!   What to do?

So, Marty made the decision to have our flights changed to the "red eye" flight.  The attendant was quite adamant that once the decision was complete, there was no going back.   So, wouldn't it figure, that once the change was made, the red-eye flight arrived late, delaying its departure for an hour and a half from the original schedule?

Obviously, all worked out fine, since I am now posting from Scotland.  Would you believe that both flights ended up departing just minutes apart, and arriving at nearly the same time, with the luggage for both flights directed to the same carousel?  All's well that ends well, as they say.

We left sunny, 85 degree temps and arrived to 50 degree chilly rain, but, honestly, who cares?   We were prepared for the weather after so many trips here over the years.

Our rental car was waiting for us, and we soon found ourselves heading out onto the highway, several hours later than expected, but ready for an adventure.

It appears that a LOT can change in two years, because the long awaited Firth of Forth Bridge was now complete and here we were, driving over it!

How cool is that?  I only wish I had managed to catch the side view so that you can see how awesome it looks.  But there should be time towards the end of our trip for me to capture a photo from a different perspective.  

Our first destination was Dewars Distillery in Aberfeldy.  

There's just something about copper stills and distillation columns that Chemical Engineers find fascinating, and both Amy and Marty were obviously excited about the tour.

We walked through the doors just as a tour was beginning, so we quickly caught up to the group, and went through the process of learning about Dewars and the single malt whiskey that this particular facility makes.    

After the tour, we were directed to the museum, which was really quite fascinating.  We learned all about John Dewars who established this business way back in 1805.  The museum held many personal items that Dewars collected, including the table where Robert Burns was known to have penned some of his poetry. 

He is portrayed as a man who loved to offer his opinion, and a couple of his quotes had me chuckling.

"Experience is what you get when you are looking for something else."

"Never invest in a going concern until you know which way it is going."  Sage advice, indeed.

As part of the museum, there was a "sniff and guess" table, where one pushed a little button, and a puff of an odor would be emitted.  Then, one was supposed to try to determine just what that odor was.

Some were fun like different types of flowers, but this one stood out as a bit unusual.

Not exactly something that one would want to smell in regards to whiskey, if you ask me.

But, then again, I'm not much of a whiskey connoisseur.  

The experience was certainly a lot of fun, as you can tell by these smiling faces!

By now, we were ready for a bit to eat, so we headed to a place called the Millhouse, which is actually a bookstore in combination with a lovely cafe, which makes one awesome Broccoli Stilton soup, which I chose for lunch.  And, it was refreshing to see that they served Perfectly Drinkable Tap Water, don't you think?

Aberfeldy is a lovely little town, and I took just a couple of shots as we were walking back to the car.

Just on the edge of the town, stands The Birks of Aberfeldy,  a wooded waterfall walk that Robert Burns had been fond of, and is where he penned the famous poem by the same name.

The walk is easily spotted. Look closely, and you will notice that Burns bust is afixed to the top of each of those columns.

It didn't take us long to see just why this would be a favorite of just about anyone, Burns included. The rushing waterfalls were spectacular.

And, then, much to our surprise, look who we spotted sitting on a bench in the middle of the forest!

On a side note, one might not realize that "Birks" are actually "Birches".   The woods were filled with Birch trees here.

By now, we were pretty tired, having gotten very little sleep on the plane, so we decided that it was time to drive to our destination for the evening.  But I managed to get this shot just as we were heading out of the town.

Now, let me mention here that when we arrived in Aberfeldy just a few hour earlier, the weather was foggy and rainy and it appeared that there would be absolutely no chance of sun.  So, imagine our surprise when the blue skies appeared out of nowhere, allowing us the opportunity to enjoy the walk through the woods so much more than in the soaking rain!   Now, how lucky was that?

We are now in Kingussie, where we are once again staying at the Arden Guest House, a lovely facility that we have visited twice in the past.  We walked into town for dinner and had a lovely meal at the Tipsy Laird.

Who by the way, serves up a rather tasty Brewdog Punk IPA.  Well, at least that's what these two think. 

Well, it's time for bed!   Here's hoping I catch up on the sleep I missed last night! 

As always, adventure awaits us in the morning!  I'll be sure to keep you posted! 

spot where Burns was inspired to write the ballad"