Farewell Tour, the A9

I’m really not joking about this idea of a carefully thought-out itinerary for my last days on Orkney and the trip south.  This would be the last time I would ever be in Orkney and, in all likelihood, my last trip down the A9 and through the Cairngorms, so I wanted it all to count.

Our first stop after getting off the ferry was a hike to a ruined castle I’d just learned about: Castle Sinclair Girnigoe (just past Papigoe, near Staxigoe – God, I love Scottish place names).  It was absolutely stunning.  And of course I had left my phone in the car, so no pictures.  As we have done every time we’ve driven this route, we stopped at the beautiful beach at Golspie for a walk. Then lunch at a wee pub on Loch Ness that I had visited a few times before, then off to my favourite hotel in Scotland, The Boat Inn in Boat of Garten.  There was a wedding reception going on, the women in everything from wool dressy suits, to gauzy summer dresses, to glitzy cocktail gowns, and the men all in suits: either with kilt, or with tartan trews (trousers).  Scout was in her element, adored by drinky Scots.

The next day was my favourite place to stop along the A9 – The House of Bruar – it’s kind of the Harrod’s of the Highlands: posh clothing, gentlemen’s sporting wear (hunting, fishing, and golf it seems are the only truly acceptable sports for a gentleman), food halls, restaurants & cafes, and a garden centre.  All nestled in the blindingly beautiful Cairngorm Mountains, and with a picturesque hiking trail that Scout and I have walked every time we’ve driven to or from Orkney; this time was no exception.  Then off we went down the highway, away from the peedie villages and quiet roads of the highlands, off to the busy motorways and aggressive drivers of the lowlands, and arrived at my next home: the village of Braidwood, in the Clyde Valley.