Scotland day 6 continued

In the evening, we ate at the same place where we had eaten dinner on the day we arrived. The Glen Kindie Arms Hotel has very good food. We had the dining room to ourselves, as most of the patrons were eating in the bar. This is a good thing, as the kids are noisy and the wait for food is a long one. The hotel is small with seating for about 12 in the dining room and maybe 20 in the bar. All the food is cooked from scratch while one waits, which means a very leisurely dinner – but well worth the wait. Kate brought activity books for the kids, so they had something to do while we waited. Kate had duck breast, Geoff and Sarah had fish and chips and I had a wonderful risotto with bacon and broad beans and shared a scallop starter with Geoff. For dessert, we all (except Alex) had sticky toffee pudding – my favourite English dessert. Alex had chocolate ice cream. They make their own ice cream and it is delicious.

One of the things I have noticed and enjoyed about this part of Scotland is the landscape. We drive up and down rolling hills, surrounded by fields of grain or pastures where sheep and cattle graze together. Yesterday, in the Cairngorm, there were mountains, but along the coast, the hills are gentler. There is mile after mile of fields and forests. We saw areas where the pine forests are clear cut for lumber and then replanted for the next harvest. We also saw a number of 'wind farms' - huge pilons on hilltops, slowly turning the wind into electricity. I think they are beautiful and do not subtract anything from the views.

Towns in this part of Scotland (the central highlands) aren’t very large. The houses and other buildings are made almost entirely of stone, probably quarried nearby. The peregrine falcon we saw yesterday nested in an abandoned quarry. The whole area reminds me a bit of western New York State and Virginia – hills and valleys with small villages and a few farmers’ homes far apart. It’s very lovely. The main difference from the US is the predominance of sheep. There are sheep everywhere. Also ruins of castles – every little village seems to have at least one old castle.