After our West Highland Walk, we boarded a bus in Fort William to explore Inverness and the castles and scotch found in the Speyside area of the eastern Highlands. https://hikescape.org/scotland-culloden-and-cawdor-castle/ We stayed in the lovely village of Grantown-on-Spey, at the Dunallan House http://dunallan house.com. This welcoming inn was our home base for the castles of Lochindorb, Balvenie, Auchindoun and Ballandaloch. Bernie toured distilleries at Cragganmore and Balvenie, and any other whiskies left untouched (!) received their due acclaim at the Whiskey Castle in Dufftown.
Castle Lochindorb
On this leg of our trip, I was completely gobsmacked by castle ruins that seemed to lurk around every corner. While I enjoyed exploring castles with extensive restorations, astounding works of art and expansive gardens, somehow the castle ruins were by far my favorite. Why is that? For me, the ruins marked a history untold, with stories and lives that were buried within the walls, chambers and courtyards of the past. The ruins give a glimpse of Highland culture of the past, and generations that are sometimes traceable- and sometimes not.
This is the road leading to the island ruin of Castle Lochindorb.
The shifting light and clouds were beautiful, constantly changing while we were there.
The heather was gorgeous and fully blooming in spots. Be still, my heart!
Moray Coast
We also drove up to the eastern coast of Speyside, which is quite near Grantown on Spey. Our coastal explorations started at Findhorn, and ended up at the site of a 5th century Pictish Fort in Burghead.
Cooperage: How to hold your scotch
Sometimes the very best experiences happen when you are looking for something else. We had missed the turnoff for the Balvenie whiskey distillery, but since the road intersected further down our route, we continued onward.
Along the way, we happened upon row after row of used bourbon barrels, awaiting their noble purpose. Hoops were stacked alongside the barrels; functional, strong and stark circles. The hoops will restrain and embrace the oak staves, acting as a womb for the transformation from white liquor to perfect single malt scotch whiskey.
Bernie was excited about the Scotch whiskey tours; I continued on to explore castle ruins.
Balvenie Castle
Just a mile away from the distillery was Balvenie Castle, with its turret, parapets, defensive ditch, wrought iron double yett, and latrine system, built sometime in the 1200s. In addition to the remarkable castle features and additions, the latrine system was a fascinating nod to medieval disease prevention.
The stone heraldic panels, worn by time.
This section of the castle was an addition in the mid 1500’s, with chambers for the Earl of Atholl on the second floor, and Lady of Atholl, on the third floor.
Here you can see the twin stair towers of Balvenie Castle:
This is a yett, which is a wrought iron defensive gateway. This one is double, differing from most yetts, which are single. I wanted to get a photo of the yett, and in the process, I struggled to swing it out from the wall because it was so heavy!
Auchindoun Castle
This castle was farther out a single track road. A half mile walk from the car park, Auchindoun Castle proudly dominates the countryside from its hillside perch. The wind was fierce, but the views were stunning. This castle was my favorite, and unbelievably, I was the only visitor. The weather and clouds quickly shifted from wind and racing clouds, to wind and sun, and back again. Along with a few rain sprinkles…
Is this not just beautiful?
This castle reminds one of the fragility of life and existence on earth. There is far more speculation about Auchindoun Castle than than there is fact, save the grisly history related to a subsequent owner, Sir Adam Gordon, who set a fire at Corgarff Castle, killing twenty seven members of the Campbell family and servants in the late 1500’s.
I explored this castle for over an hour, wanting to see every accessible nook, cranny and viewpoint.
Once again, the remnants of the castle brought to mind what life might have been like in the 1400’s, when warring clans laid waste to the homes and keeps of their rivals. It was somewhat eerie here, with the wind sweeping across the moor, and nothing in sight except sheep and croplands.
Looking through the windows of the past, I wondered what the inhabitants experienced when they lived or visited here. How many lives were lived and lost in the walls and shadows of Auchindoun?
It boggles the mind to think about the construction techniques that have lasted centuries.
The history of the Highlands documents that the population was drastically reduced in the mid 1700’s, when the Jacobite Rising was quashed by King George’s troops.
Here is the clock tower in Dufftown; Auchindoun Castle is just a few miles away. Dufftown is the site of Bernie’s favorite castle: The Whiskey Castle, to be covered in a future post.
Thanks for joining our adventures in the Speyside area of the Scottish highlands. Next up? A few more castles, of course!
