It has been a busy few days in Glasgow. On Saturday we took a side-trip on our way into Glasgow to see The Kelpies at Falkirk. These impressive 30 metre high scuptures are a new addition since our last Scottish venture and were one of the "must-see" items on our list. While the morning had been grey and overcast, the sun came out as we arrived at The Helix giving us perfect conditions for taking photos as we strolled around the purpose-built precinct. Having enjo...

On our last day in Laggan it was time to check out the nearby distillery at Dalwhinnie. Booking online secured us a place for the 1pm tour and we travelled the now-familiar route to Dalwhinnie and its cluster of white buildings with the distinctive distillery chimneys which we had already seen a number of times from the road in passing. Despite its remoteness this is a popular stop on the Speyside Whisky Trail and coaches can often be seen in the car park; today...

For the past few days we have had amazing weather with cloudless blue skies, sunshine and temperatures hovering around 20 degrees C. Making the most of this we first headed into the Cairgorms National Park and the Reindeer Centre to take our customary hill walk to hand feed the reindeer. It was a mixed group that headed up the hill but all were keen to experience seeing reindeer up close. This was our fifth trip as we have been part of the reindeer adoption sch...

Ruthven Barracks is a ruin on a hill just outside of Kingussie; we have passed it many times on previous visits but today we decided to take a closer look. Initially we had thought to take one of the many walks around the village but after spending some time walking along streets that were somewhat depressing in their emptiness with many shops closed or for sale, we arrived at the railway crossing and, seeing no path leading towards the barracks, decided that we...

Leaving Shore Croft Cottage, we started our journey to Laggan at just after 10 am. Our last task in Mellon Charles was to visit The Perfume Studio and buy some of the wonderful products available; truly unique items with a touch of the Highlands. After spending up on perfume, body cream, face cream and soaps (to add to the items we had bought earlier in the week) we started out for another trip across the country. Having some time in hand, as we were not due a...