Tag Archives: Crieff

GreatScot! Midnight and Two More Bottles of Wine – 2nd Outlandish Adventure Day 4

OK. This is a VERY short post. Yesterday was a travel day and not that much happened, but I’ll give a quick recap.

Finally got a chance to catch up on my sleep! I didn’t drag myself out of bed until about 11 am. Once up, I did some quick repacking of my suitcases so that I had everything I needed for the week in my smaller blue carry on. It was a beautiful morning with bright sunshine. I made a bet with myself for how long that would last.

Finally I headed out towards Crieff to pick up a partner in adventure for the next couple of days. Sure enough, by the time I reached the other end of Pitlochry the sun was disappearing and sprinkles were starting. By the time I was on the A822 halfway to Crieff, the bottom dropped out and it was tipping rain something fierce.

I arrived in Crieff at the house my friends were sharing and was warmly invited in out of the rain for a cozy cup of tea and a biscuit before heading out towards Glasgow. As we sat and share stories from the weekend and talked, the rain ended and it was bright sunshine again. You just gotta love Scottish weather.

Back in the car, we made the hour’s drive to Glasgow. My passenger paid me the highest compliment on my left hand driving when she said ‘I keep forgetting that I’m supposed to worry riding with you!’

Once in Glasgow, we were spoiled rotten by our local hostess. She’d already checked us into the hotel and had our room stocked to the gills with goodies. We took a quick walk along the river to clear our heads before returning to the hotel executive lounge for a wee dram before dinner.

 

Glasgow
Me and Lu

I say wee dram, pretty sure I lost count after we started the second bottle. Eventually, we headed to dinner where I had yet more haggis, this time in the form of haggis spring rolls. I have to say either the quality of haggis has changed in the last few years or my palate has. All the haggis I’ve had so far this trip has been very good.

Haggis spring rolls
Roast and Yorkshire Pudding

We ended the evening with a truly lovely dessert called Eton Mess and a martini. I think a certain someone took my saying that I had never been drunk as a personal challenge. Not sure I made it all the way to drunk, but I will admit to being slightly tipsy be evening’s end. Luckily I took some ibuprofen, drank some water and woke up this morning with no ill effects.

Martini
Eton Mess
The end of a lovely evening

Stay tuned to see what we can get into today!

Slàn leat an-dràsta!

Great Scot! More than one ‘Clan’ comes together – 2nd Outlandish Adventure Day 2

This blog may be even shorter than yesterday. Much of that may be because I slept like the dead from the time I finished last night’s blog post until almost 10 am this morning. I finally did drag myself out of bed, feeling very much refreshed, just in time to grab breakfast in the hotel restaurant with Deborah. After that, we packed our stuff and checked out.

I dropped Deb off at her car and then headed north to Pitlochry. That will be my home base for the weekend before heading back to Glasgow next week. Sitting down in comfort, I did a quick technology check to make sure all was working for the all important Outlander viewing in the morning. After some fiddling, everything appears to be working but I’ll keep my fingers crossed until morning, just in case.

Tech check done, I performed a quick wardrobe change and headed across the mountain from Pitlochry to Crieff.  It was a lovely drive through misty rain. Hopefully I’ll get a chance to take some pictures and post them. After a 45 minute drive, I arrived at the lovely Crieff Hydro — a Victorian built hotel and spa. I very quickly started running into friends, old and new, all there for the Outlandish UK Gathering.

Pretty soon it was time for dinner, but first, there was a very special pre-dinner entertainment. None other that Outlander world-famous street musicians Clanadonia, fresh from the streets of Glasgow. All the attendees gathered round to watch — and some ended up becoming part of the performance — as the band rocked the venue.  After several rousing numbers, Clanadonia ended with their smash hit ‘Hamsterheid’– a smash hit partly in that it was featured during the chase scene in Episode 101 – Sassenach.

At this point, many of you have probably noticed something missing in this blog post…pictures. I accidentally left my cell phone in the car and didn’t have it to take pictures with this evening. But don’t worry, I’ll have both the phone and my camera to take pics tomorrow. I can’t wait to see what the Outlandish UK Gathering organizers have in store for us. I’m already pretty sure my credit card balance won’t be safe after shopping at the Outlander Fayre!

In the meantime, do enjoy this video I made of Clanadonia that I was able to make with my handy Surface 3. I sure wish the quality was better but you’ll get the feel. 😦

Clanadonia

After a lovely buffet dinner, the Outlander clan settled in for some Outlandish Trivia. 5 rounds later, three tables were engaging in a tie-breaker for the overall win, but alas, my table was not among them. Why couldn’t I remember William Ransom’s FULL name and title. 😉 Knowing I had a bit of a drive and an early call tomorrow morning, I headed out for home.

In the car, I marveled that even so late in the evening it wasn’t quite dark yet. Pretty sure the sun will be up very early tomorrow (as will I). I made my way back across the Sma’ Glen, keeping a sharp eye out for rabbits, deer and other cars. Have to tell you that the rabbits far outnumbered the other 2. Arrived home safe and sound and now ready to catch some sleep before my very early alarm goes off.

More to come tomorrow!

Slàn leat àn-drasta!