22 - 23 June: Ceilidh, Drum Castle and Castle Fraser

The boys and I had a weekend in Westhill, while my husband was on a business trip to the United States. Saturday night the boys and I attended a ceilidh, while the extremely rainy Sunday was spent looking at castles. We decided to re-visit Drum Castle and Castle Fraser, both within 30 minutes by car.

Saturday night: Ceilidh in  Westhill

The parents of one of our oldest son's class mates had invited us to a fund-raising ceilidh (pronounced 'kay-lee'). The ceilidh is a very typical Scottish event, so we jumped at the opportunity to attend one with 'the locals'.  

We had a great night of traditional Gaelic folk music and dancing, it reminded me a little of traditional 'gammeldans' in Norway, where anyone can take part, at least in the easiest of the dances. At the ceilidh it was even easier to participate. All dances and the corresponding moves were described and shown before the music started, so this meant that even us foreigners could participate. The boys and I had a lot of fun, doing our best to remember the moves.

I have embedded a YouTube video which shows an example of ceilidh dancing at a traditional Scottish wedding, to give you an idea of what some of the dances are like.

In addition to the dancing, we were served the traditional Scottish dish 'stovies', which consists of potatoes, fat, stock, meat and minced meat. The stovies were served with oatcakes and beetroots. The dish didn't look too tempting, but it was quite nice.

In addition to the food and the dancing, there were different fund-raising activities, including games for the kids and a 'silly photo booth' where you could get dressed up with silly accessories and have your photo taken. Our boys were only too happy to help mum contribute to the fund-raising.

Sunday: Visiting castles

On the weekend of 16 - 17 February we visited both Drum Castle and Castle Fraser, but this was outside of season so we only got to see the outside. This time we went inside on self-guided tours of both castles.

Drum Castle

Drum Castle started off as a tower house, and the tower has continued to dominate the east side of the castle. The tower was designed to be impregnable in an age before artillery, and is thought to have been built in two phases, the lower part shortly after 1200, and the upper part in the years around 1300.

The castle was the home of the Irvine family from 1323 to 1975, and has been in the care of the National Trust for Scotland since 1975. Drum castle is the oldest intact building the National Trust has in its care.

A lot of the items on display in Drum castle are typical of the period, but were not necessarily in the castle when it was still a family home. It was interesting to see old tools, utensils, toys etc., but unlike the castles still on private hands, I didn't get the sense of visiting a family home. When I did my self-guided tour of the castle, I read all available information as I went from one room to the next. I think a guided tour with a knowledgeable guide would have made the visit even more interesting.

To get an impression of the interior of the castle, I recommend the virtual tour of the castle.

An educational touch to Drum Castle were boxes spread around a number of rooms in the castle, where visitors were encouraged to touch the items inside. The items could be a piece of wallpaper, a piece of woven fabric, some lace or similar. In the small box half the item was covered by glass and could not be touched, the other half was for visitors to touch. The result was that half the item was very worn, while the untouched part was still fine. I thought this was a very nice and efficient way of showing the consequence of many people touching furniture or other items in the castle.

Unfortunately a lot of people think that their own contribution is so small it does not matter, and here we can draw parallels on a global scale when it comes to a number of types of actions, including littering (see sign from Blair Castle to the right). It's important to remember that you as an individual can make a difference, both positive and negative. It's up to you to do the right choices, every day.

The adventure playground and the woodland walk were great, but this day the rain was pouring down so we skipped them this time and drove to Castle Fraser instead. 

Castle Fraser

Castle Fraser was built between 1575 and 1636 by the 6th laird, Michael Fraser. In 1897 the last male Fraser of the direct line died childless, and 24 years later his widow sold the castle to Weetman Pearson, First Viscount Cowdray. Weetman Pearson's daughter Lavinia Pearson, and later also her husband Major Smiley, put in a lot of effort in restoring the castle, before they gifted it to the National Trust for Scotland in 1976.

Despite being in the care of the National Trust, the castle retains the atmosphere of a family home. Castle Fraser still contains the original contents, including Fraser family portraits, furniture and collections. The interiors represent all periods of the castle's history, from the Medieval stone vaulted Great Hall to the Regency Dining Room.

The castle's last owners have also left their mark on the castle; Lavinia Smiley's sitting room and Major Smiley's room, are set out to commemorate the castle's last owners. The contributions from the Fraser family and the Smiley's give the castle character and charm. The newspaper clippings about the castle cattle, in Major Smiley's room, gave us an indication of what was important to the last owners.

Another personal touch was Charles Mackenzie Fraser's wooden leg. He was wounded in the battle of Burgos in 1812 and had to amputate one of his legs. He had made a number of wooden legs for different purposes (walking, riding etc.) and one of his legs was displayed in an ante-room of the castle library.

As with Drum Castle, Castle Fraser has great woodland walks and a nice garden that we have already explored. With the pouring rain we focused our attention on the castle's interior this time.
 

15 - 16 June: Birthday parties and Aberdeen Highland Games

Saturday 15 June was set aside for birthday parties for both our sons. We had two parties for their friends from school, with a gap of two hours between the two parties. As parents we thought it was great, as we only had to do the preparations (tidying the house, decorating with balloons, baking cakes etc.) once. And the kids behaved so well, it was no stress at all having both on the same day.

Our oldest son's birthday was on Thursday the same week, while our youngest had to wait two months this year... I have lots of excuses for being so late, but won't bore you with that.

Creative birthday cakes

Birthday parties for the kids still means I get the opportunity to be creative when I bake cakes. Our oldest son chose to have a beach-cake, while our youngest son went for a swimming pool. This year I didn't manage to get "seigmenn" (sweets shaped like small men), so I had to settle for Jelly Babies. Not quite as good, but they still did the job.

When the parents came to pick up the children they were invited in for tea and cake and after they all had left, our neighbours came over for tea and cake too. We almost managed to finish off both cakes, the rest was eaten the next day at the Aberdeen Highland Games.

Aberdeen Highland Games

Sunday morning we went to the Aberdeen Highland Games with our Polish/Dutch neighbours from across the road, arriving at Hazelhead Park in Aberdeen just after the games started at 10:00. The weather was nice and sunny, and it stayed nice the whole day through, which made it easy for us to stay for the full event. Sunny weather is not something we've had plenty of while we've been living in Scotland.

At the Highland Games, a number of events were happening simultaneously, so we walked around the grounds to see as much as possible. In addition to all the the competitions (Scottish 725kg Tug-o-war Championship, heavy and light events, track and field events, dancing, pipe bands and solo piping), there was a lot of activities for the kids, including a small fun fair.

Family entertainment at the Highland Games

The fun fair was a big hit with the kids, and the queues weren't too bad compared to the queues in theme parks on a sunny day. Both boys had a lot of fun with laser combat (shooting at the other team with laser guns) and  mini golf. One of our boys' favourite rides was a carousel where their 'car' spun round a centre axle and in addition around a smaller axle. I got nauseous just watching.

My husband, our oldest son (who was above the age limit of 10 years) and I all tried the Segways. It was easier than I had expected and we soon became quite skilled at navigating our 'bikes' through the obstacle course that had been prepared for us.

My husband was very fascinated by the man who did chainsaw wood carvings. I must say it was impressive to see what he managed with his chainsaw.

Haggis in different shapes and sizes

The Highland games last from 10:00 to 18:00, so there were plenty of opportunities to buy food, ice cream, sweets and drinks. There was even a separate bar tent with a small fenced area outside.

The longest queue was outside the Fish and chips-van, but I found it quite interesting that another stall served Haggis burgers, Haggis sausages, Haggis with eggs etc. The plan was to get some Haggis burgers before we left, but there was so much going on, we simply forgot. We didn't feel we missed out on much though. My husband always has the full Scottish breakfast when we travel and that usually includes haggis, so he's had it quite a few times by now. I've also had a taste of his haggis a few times and it's quite nice.

Highland Games: Sports and music

Throughout the day there were competitions for solo pipers as well as for pipe bands. The rules for these competitions were rather complex, but in addition to competing according to grade there were also the categories Piobairaechd, Marches, Strathspey & Reel and Jig. I have no idea what these categories were, they sounded the same to me. Having all these competitions meant that you always heard piping somewhere, which was great for the atmosphere.

When it comes to the other traditional sporting competitions, it seemed you either entered in the Light Events or the Heavy Events. The Light events included 90 metres, 400 metres, 800metres, long jump and triple jump, and the men wore traditional sports outfits. I thought the Heavy Events were more fun, as the competitors all wore kilts and the competition included putting heavy stone (22lbs), putting light stone (16lbs), throwing heavy hammer (28lbs), throwing light hammer (16lbs), weight for distance (28lbs), tossing the caber and throwing 56lbs weight over the bar. There were some seriously strong (and heavy) men competing in these events.

Competitions for strong men

Another competition with really big, strong men was the tug-o-war Scottish championship 725kg. Lots of testosterone going on in this event, with lots of sweating and grunting. The turf got some serious damage when these big, strong men put their shoes down to pull the other team across to their side of the middle. We could actually see the turf roll up when the men at the back tried to avoid their team being pulled across to the other side. 

Out of all the events we watched, my favourite was the Heavy Event 'caber tossing', i.e. throwing a huge, really heavy log. The log is supposed to do a complete turn up in the air and then land in the '12 o'clock position', which means it's perfectly aligned with the direction of the field. That's no easy task, that's for sure.

Elegant dancers

Another favourite was the dancing competitions. This is way outside my area of expertise, but according to the program the dancers competed in Highland Fling, Shean Truibhais, Strathspey and Reel, Sailors Hornpipe, Reel of Tulloch, Sword Dance and Irish Jig.

The dancers had a number of outfits, but I liked the Highland Fling, Strathspey and Reel, Shean Truibhais and Sword Dance the best, they all seemed to have the same outfits and similar dancing techniques, but that's probably just me not having the faintest clue about these dances. I thought they looked very elegant and energetic as they jumped and danced around the stage.

I have embedded a video with an example of highland dancing. It's not from Aberdeen, but it gives you an idea of what the dancing is like.

Prize ceremony and piping bands

When all the competitions were over and only the final prize ceremony remained, all the pipe bands marched into the centre of the arena, playing the same tune. The combined piping band was really impressive, I'm sure the music could be heard quite a distance away from the arena. And such a great way to end a fantastic day! For us, this day felt like the Scottish version of our National Day (17 May) and it was like we had been given a synopsis of Scottish culture.

By the way: The winners of the tug-o-war competition got whiskey as part of their prize; very appropriate for Scotland we thought.

9 June: Dunottar Castle

The boys and I had a weekend in Westhill, while my husband was away on business. On Saturday we tried to find new trousers for my oldest son, but it seems the Scottish children are built differently from Norwegian kids. After trying on God knows how many different pairs of trousers in different shops, we gave up finding a pair that fitted him. All the trousers he tried on were way too wide around the waist, so I decided we'd buy new pairs when we're back in Norway on summer holidays instead.

On Sunday we went to see Dunottar Castle, just outside the lovely town of Stonehaven. We've been to Stonehaven earlier, but we still need to go back to explore it more thoroughly, it's such a tranquil place.

 

Dunottar Castle

The ruins of the medieval fortress Dunottar Castle are located less than 45 minutes by car from our house, so it's an excellent place to go for a daytrip. To get to the castle we walked south from Stonehaven and out to the steep cliffs that drop to the North Sea, 50 metres below.  The walk took us through fields and along clifftop paths, offering stunning views of wild and untamed nature.

Stonehaven's War Memorial

On our walk out to the castle, we walked past the circular Stonehaven's War Memorial. It is built as a classical temple and often thought of as being in a poor state of repair. However, this is the way it was designed to look – as unfinished or ruined as the lives of those it commemorates. The memorial was built to commemorate the dead of World War One, more names were added after the Second World War. To me the memorial came across as a peaceful place where you can take some time to meditate or think about the important things in life.

Spectacular location

Not long after we passed the war memorial, we got a good view of the castle, with its spectacular location upon a rocky headland jutting out from the surrounding steep cliffs. When we did this walk I felt a great sensation of freedom and tranquility, it's truly a place to let your hair down - and where you really can feel the wind blowing through it too.

A narrow strip of land joins the headland to the mainland, along which a steep path leads up to the gatehouse. At the mainland side a lonely piper was playing, but as we got closer on this grey and misty day, the music stopped and the piper packed up and left. No wonder, it was rather cold so he must have been freezing cold. When my husband and the boys visited the castle earlier on, the weather was much nicer and my husband filmed the lonely piper. It's a perfect location for a piper!

A fortress from the early middle ages

The site on which the castle sits is believed to have been fortified in the early middle ages. During the 9th century King Donald II was killed defending Dunnottar Castle from a Viking invasion.  However his death was in vain and the Vikings seized and destroyed the castle. Those Vikings sure knew how to fight!

Dunnottar continued to play a prominent role in the history of Scotland because of its strategic location and the strength of its situation. William Wallace, Mary Queen of Scots, the Marquis of Montrose and the future King Charles II, all graced Dunottar Castle with their presence.

Dunnottar is best known as the place where the Scottish crown jewels were hidden from Oliver Cromwell's invading army in the 17th century. Crown, sceptre and sword now take pride of place in Edinburgh Castle.

From home of the powerful to ruins

The castle was the home of the Earls Marischal, once one of the most powerful families in the land. The last Earl was convicted of treason for his part in the Jacobite rising of 1715, and as a result his estates, including Dunnottar, were seized by the government. The buildings were thereafter much neglected until 1925 when the castle was restored and then opened to the public.

The ruins of the castle are spread over a fairly large area (1.4 hectares). The surviving castle buildings are largely from the 15th and 16th centuries. The various buildings within the castle include the 14th-century tower house as well as the 16th-century palace.

The dining room has recently been restored, with a beautiful wooden ceiling. The room is quite bare, but it includes a memorial over the fire place, commemorating the fact that the Scottish Crown Jewels were kept here from 1651 until 1652.

Nature takes it all back

The ruins are surrounded by lush, grassy areas and many colourful flowers, and the grass and flowers have started to grow on the walls of the ruins too. The most beautiful examples were the yellow flowers growing on the walls, brightening up even the greyest of days. It was almost as if the sun had crept into the old walls and shone its warm, yellow light on us.

 

Fantastic fish and ice cream

We had been told that one of the shops on the beachfront in Stonehaven have the best fish and chips you can get, and the shop next to it sells the best ice cream. This was confirmed by my husband and the boys on an earlier occasion, when I was in Norway on management training.

When it comes to the ice cream, one of the mums at school told me that it's so good, all she wanted for her 30th birthday was an ice cream cake from the shop in Stonehaven, which she got.

Unfortunately we ran out of time and did not get the opportunity to go this time, as we had to head back home to welcome my husband who had been away for a few days. And since I had his key, we had to go home to let him in, or he would be soaking wet on this grey and rainy day.


 

2 June: Blair Castle

Blair Castle

Much later than originally planned, we finally arrived at Blair Castle and we immediately went inside to inspect yet another magnificent castle. Blair Castle has grown and developed throughout the centuries as the times have changed around it. The earliest known part of the present castle dates from 1269 and is known as Cumming’s Tower.


Blair Castle opened its doors to the public in 1936, one of the first great houses in Britain to do so.

Inside the breathtakingly beautiful castle

Our self guided tour took us through a grand total of 30 rooms, I don't think we've been through that many rooms in any other castle. The grandeur was present in every room of the castle, so for this blog I've had to choose just a few highlights from this majestic castle.

I recommend taking a look at the pictures from inside the castle on Undiscovered Scotland's website. The interior is truly breathtaking, but as is often the case when one tries to photograph something truly stunning, the photographs only give a bleak impression of its true magnificence.

If you have the time, the video below gives you an even better impression of the house's grandeur.

Built to impress: The Entrance Hall and the Picture Staircase

Our first stop was the impressive entrance hall, its beautiful wood panelled walls covered  by muskets and swords. Weapon displays were a feature of the Scottish Baronial style, but this one even includes targes (shields) and muskets which were used at the famous Battle of Culloden in 1746.

As in many other Scottish castle, the staircase forms a family portrait gallery. The staircase was completed in 1756, as part of the Georgian remodelling scheme.With its high ceiling and huge portraits you feel quite humble. Another impressive detail is that at first sight the walls appear to be panelled, but they were actually formed in plasterwork. 

Grand rooms: The Dining Room and the Drawing Room

The Dining Room was very beautiful and distinct, with its pastel green walls and fine plasterwork.On the beautiful dark, wooden dining table was a sample of the local Glen Tilt marble, used as a mount for a silver stag presented as a wedding gift to the 7th Duke and Duchess in 1888. At one time marble used to be quarried in nearby Glen Tilt, but imperfections in the stone and difficulties of transport made it uneconomic.

After the Ballroom, the Drawing Room is the largest room in the castle and represents the pinnacle of the 2nd Duke’s aspirations to grandeur. With its red walls, huge portraits, fine plasterwork and beautiful furniture, it's impossible not to be impressed.

Tapestry from an executed king

The stunning tapestry room contains the Mortlake Tapestries that once belonged to King Charles I and were sold after the king’s execution. They were discovered in Paris and purchased by the 1st Duke who brought them to Blair Castle to hang in this room which forms part of the ancient Cumming’s Tower.

The splendid four poster bed  in the tapestry room is hung with fine red silks and is quite striking with its ostrich feathers rising from each corner post. I wouldn't mind sleeping in a bed like that one, provided there were no bedbugs in it of course.

The Ballroom

Commissioned by the 7th Duke for the annual gathering of the Atholl Highlanders and completed in 1876, this grand ballroom is essentially Scottish in style and setting, and remains unchanged today.

The grand ballroom with its high vaulted ceiling and numerous stag horns, oozes of tradition and testosterone. The room is still used for its original purpose and for many Highland balls, wedding receptions, corporate hospitality and private dinners.

The tranquility of the gardens

With so many rooms to see and such difference in pace and interest, we soon split up, allowing the boys to find answers to the 'Castle Detectives Challenge' and then run over to the Woodland Adventure Playground, while we strolled through all the impressive rooms. When I, as the last of our group, finally re-appeared at the end of the tour, we all walked over to the sunny gardens.

We started off at Diana's Grove, a tranquil wooded area adjacent to the castle, which affords a unique opportunity to enjoy some of the county’s finest and tallest trees in a space of just two acres. It is also the home of a Grand Fir, the UK’s second tallest tree at 62.70 metres.

From Diana's Grove we walked over to the Hercules Garden, a nine acre walled garden running along both sides of a large lake. Named after the life-sized statue of Hercules which overlooks the garden, it incorporates landscaped ponds, a folly, a Chinese bridge and an impressive orchard of more than 100 fruit trees. The glory of this garden in summer are the herbaceous borders which run along the 275m south-facing wall.

At the east end of the garden was a small display where I, among other things, was fascinated by photos of people in the 19th century (if I remember correctly) playing curling on the ice-covered pond. It looked like great fun.

With a beautiful, sunny day and tranquil surroundings we took our time in the garden, knowing very well that it would be way past bedtime for the boys by the time we were home, but also knowing that it would be well worth it this weekend too.

Highland cows - again

When finally were ready to head home, I discovered some Highland cows grazing on a field next to the road. The homeward journey was slightly delayed once more, as I just HAD to take some (more) photos of these magnificent creatures!

1 - 2 June: Glamis Castle and Dunkeld

After a busy May where we traveled a lot, we finally had time to visit some more wonderful Scottish castles. Our choice for this weekend were Glamis Castle and Blair Castle, both still on private hands. What we've learned from visits to other castles is that these kind of castles tend to have a more 'homey feel' than the castles in care of Historic Scotland or The National Trust of Scotland.

Glamis Castle

We arrived at Glamis Castle (pronounced 'Glamz') just before lunch, so we ate our packed lunch at one of the tables in the garden, trying to soak up some heat from the sun. The temperature was not very high, but it was nice sitting in the sun, so we relaxed for a bit while the children had a great time on the estate playground.  The 'Zip slide' was especially popular.

Guided tour of a royal castle

After lunch we had guided tour of the castle. This is truly an impressive castle, with it's thick walls (1m), high ceilings and magnificent interior. Glamis Castle was built in 1376 and has remained the ancestral home of the Earls of Strathmore since this time. The castle is open to the public, but still retains the atmosphere of an ancestral home. During the tour our eldest son was given the privilege of playing on the family grand piano which Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother also had played when she was at the castle. This was a great experience for him.

Lady Elizabeth Bowes Lyon, later known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, was born in 1900 and she spent much of her childhood at Glamis Castle. Lady Elizabeth married Prince Albert, second son of King George V, in 1923.

When King Edward VIII abdicated in 1936, in order to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson, Prince Albert became King George VI. Their second daughter, Princess Margaret, was born at Glamis Castle in 1930.

After our tour we got the opportunity to take a closer look at the small castle museum which featured beautiful china, medals, everyday items and beautiful clothes. I could see myself looking quite handsome in one of those gowns. The only trouble is that I do enjoy to breathe freely, without being restricted by my clothing.

Before leaving the castle I went to 'powder my nose' in very elegant surroundings. Once inside one of the cubicles I saw I sign which rather intrigued me. Not sure the message came across very clearly though, as I had to take a couple of looks to decipher the sign.

Magnificent flowers throughout the estate

 After our tour of the castle, we went to see the rest of the grounds. In addition to all the magnificent rhododendron along the River Dean and in the woods, there were two beautiful bridges leading to the Walled garden, one built in stone, the other with wrought iron railings. Fruit and vegetables were grown inside the walled garden, which also included beautiful flowers and a fountain. 



I took lots of photos of all the lovely flowers in the gardens and the woods, while the children enjoyed running around.  To give you an impression of the variation and beauty of the flowers, I have added a number of them in this blog. I apologise for the way the photos are organised on the page, the layout of the blog does not allow me to do this as smoothly as I would have liked.

We eventually got to the 'Italian garden' which included beautiful female roman statues, perfectly trimmed hedges and an abundance of beautiful flowers in many different colours. To me the garden seemed to be quite typical 19th century; I could almost see the young ladies strolling slowly through the garden whilst speaking to each other in low voices.

Serene Dunkeld

Our plan was to visit Blair Castle on Sunday, so from Glamis Castle we drove in that general direction and hoped we once again would be able to find a decent place to stay for the night. When we reached the outskirts of Dunkeld we came upon a small park by the peaceful river Tay. The sun was shining and the afternoon light gave the whole place such a tranquil look, we decided to take a short stroll along the river before proceeding. Once out of the car we discovered we were very close to the centre of town, so we might as well leave the car and go see if we could find a place to stay for the night.

Once again we were extremely lucky. The hotels in town were more or less fully booked, but at one hotel they had had a last minute cancellation, so we got their last two double rooms. Dunkeld turned out to be a really charming little town and one of the most complete 18th-century country towns in Scotland. Many of the harled (rough-cast) vernacular buildings have been restored by the National Trust for Scotland (NTS).

Magnificent location of Dunkeld Cathedral

Sunday morning we  got up early to be able to explore the town and its surroundings before traveling to Blair Castle. The sun was shining and everything seemed so extremely peaceful this Sunday morning. I think we covered more or less all the small roads in town and we also climbed to the top of a small hill just behind our hotel. As we were getting ready to leave we decided to have a quick look at at the 13th - 15th century Dunkeld Cathedral.

It's often said that the most important thing about a property is Location, Location, Location, and I have to say that this really was the case with the cathedral. We had approached from the park/fields behind the cathedral, but when we got closer we discovered a lawn with benches, large trees and plenty of grassy space between sloping slightly down towards the river Tay. I just wanted to sit on one of those benches in the sun and never get up again, it was so extremely peaceful.

In the end we did go inside to have a look at the cathedral and the cathedral museum before service started at 11 o'clock. As we were leaving we could see the first kilt-clad church-goers approaching the cathedral. They looked smashing in their Sunday bests.

Hilton Dunkeld House

During our walk we had discovered a sign pointing the way to Hilton Dunkeld House. Judging by the look of the gates at the end of the long and narrow road leading up to the house, this seemed like a place worth a visit. We decided to do a detour and drove up to the hotel on our way to Blair (well, sort of on our way there).

The Hilton Dunkeld House is based in a summer house built by George Murray, 6th Duke of Atholl. It is home to the Beatrix Potter memorial, as the author spent a lot of time writing there. Potter's first book, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, took shape at the house in a story and picture letter to child friend Noel Moore.

The hotel was quite nice, but once again it was the magnificent location by the river Tay that really made it special. While we were looking around we discovered that the hotel had put on a bird-show in the garden. We decided to blend in and got a fantastic show where a lady from a falconry told us about falcons and hawks and demonstrated how these birds hunted. The speed and precision was extremely impressive.