My brother and his wife came for a four day visit to see us in Scotland in late October. That meant a road trip, of course. No visit north up the A96 would be complete without a stop at the Baxters simulated old village and store on the River Spey. Unfortunately the Christmas Shop wasn't open yet.
A road trip in Scotland necessitates several stops at various castles. Aberdeenshire has more castles (see list here) than any shire in the entire UK. This is a back gate to Fyvie Castle, with claimed 13th century origins.
Magnificent Fyvie Castle. Unfortunately were there before opening hours . . . be we combed the castle grounds and posed for numerous photos.
Finding castles often leads to discovering wonderful rural roads.
Scottish rural roads often lead to quaint villages. It was fantastic day for landscape photography.
We stopped to poke around an old rural church cemetery . . . looking for our family name on grave stones. We didn't find any here.
Our next stop was at the incredible ruins of Elgin Cathedral, which dates from 1224.
Elgin Cathedral must have been a magnificent structure in its day.
Wonderful scenes and vistas through the ruins.
A part of one vestibule was still standing . . . .
A long exposure shot of the medieval wooden ceiling of the vestibule at Elgin Castle. Fantastic
What's left of a statue of an old Pope or Bishop at Elgin Castle ruins.
We stayed at the Melrose Villa B&B in Inverness. It was nice.
The beautiful River Ness flows through Inverness.
We took an evening walk along the River Ness and enjoyed the evening light on Inverness Castle.
We crossed the River Ness on this iron Victorian pedestrian bridge.
No matter who comes to visit, they all want to take their pilgrimage to Loch Ness for a little monster spotting.
It's also good to stop off at Urquhart Castle, on the banks of Loch Ness.
We took a different, and longer route home through a gorgeous river valley.
We stopped periodically to enjoy the sights . . . and sounds of a wild Scottish salmon stream.
Old sturdy rural churches marked our way. Struy Church.
Beautiful nature in Scotland.
After the road turned to gravel, we came upon a 'holy fountain' dedicated to a saint. My sister-in-law gathered some of the water.
Saints used to wanter the forests and trails of the Scottish Highlands and river valleys.
It was a good, but short road trip . . . and it was good to see my brother and his wife again.