**** This is a long one! So, if you're not interested in mysterious stones, castles and such, you can go ahead and scroll down to the food.
We had a great time on Islay, from the Scotch tastings, to the wonderful sights and people, it was a trip we'll not soon forget. But in was now time to head back to Edinburgh. We must have been more tired than we thought...or perhaps our hearty breakfast got the better of us? Both the Missus and I took a nice nap on the ferry back to the mainland.
Since, we were returning rather early in the day, Sean had a couple of stops planned for us. The first two stops was in the Kilmartin Glen area.
We parked in a small designated parking lot and crossed the road where Sean led us to this pile of rocks.
This is Dunchraigaig Cairn. In case you're not sure of what a cairn is, it's basically a pile of stones used as a marker, be it a burial site or to identify a path, or some other purpose. Dunchraigaig Cairn had its first documented excavation in 1864, though it said to have been "badly robbed". It was a very impressive cairn.
Many photos I've seen of this cairn show the entrance, or cist open. On our visit it was closed and I was rather glad, because in 2021 the first Prehistoric Animal Carvings ever found in Scotland were discovered here! Pretty awesome huh?
Our next stop made our day. You know how the Missus and I love the mysterious and unknown, right? Well, after parking we were walked over to a group of standing stones in sort of an 'X' formation.
Whoa, these are the Nether Largie Standing Stones.
The central stone is the largest and covered with lichen. It has cup like indentations.
The outlying stones are aligned in northeast to southwest, so perhaps to mark the solstice or something of that nature?
Just Googling "Nether Largie Standing Stones" will deliver you a wealth of theories; everything from a tool to predict the solstice and eclipse, to burial rituals, to this being a ball court! You gotta love it!
And if that wasn't enough; our next stop was very impressive......
That's Inveraray Castle, home of the Duke of Argyll, who is chief of the Clan Campbell....which means all Campbell's in the world!
It was quite stunning, walking down the path to the castle.
This really looks like something out of a movie, doesn't it? Touring the estate, the Duke of Argyll and family still occupy part of the structure, was very impressive. The foundation stone of the castle was laid in 1746 and the castle has gone under renovations after two fires. After the fire in 1877, the third floor and the four conical roofs were added. In 1975 another fire engulfed the castle.
What was probably the most impressive room of the castle is the Armory Hall, with its huge collection of weaponry. The ceiling of this hall is 21 meters - that's almost 69 feet high and is said to be the highest ceiling in all of Scotland!
Of course the thought of being in here when a earthquake hit and getting impaled by one of the pole-arms entered my head.....
The Salon was a very nice room.
It is said that Lerner and Loewe actually composed some of the songs from My Fair Lady at this piano while staying at the castle.
This is the Drawing Room.
This is the Victorian Room, located on the first (second floor in the US) floor.
Of course every castle has at least one ghost, right? Inveraray is noted to have several. The most well known one occupies the MacArthur Room. It is said that a young harpist was murdered by the Duke of Montrose's men in 1644. The the ghost of the harpist is attached to this bed, must be one heck of a bed! And according to the legend, when a family member is about to die you will hear the music from a harp coming from this room!
And there's the "Grey Lady" often said to be the ghost of a former kitchen maid who can only be seen by daughters of the Duke of Argyll!
Nothing like some good "Obake stories" for the month of October, right?
I also enjoyed touring the kitchen in the basement.
Which was last used in the 1950's.
The grounds of the castle are immaculate.
And there must be hundreds, if not thousands of stories.....
That millstone above is said to be cursed.
Sean got us to our AirBnb in Edinburgh in perfect time. The flat was fantastic, just meters from High Street, but still fairly quiet.
Soon enough, it was time for dinner. We originally had dinner reservations at Forage & Chatter, but the restaurant cancelled our reservations a week before the date. Luckily, I managed to get reservations at Monteiths, which was just around the corner from where we were staying a few days before we arrived in Edinburgh. Like Devil's Advocate, Monteith's was located in a Close. In case you are wondering what a "close" is.
And of course Monteiths is located on Monteiths Close.
The restaurant serves "modern" Scottish cuisine and cocktails. Serves was friendly and efficient. The restaurant was a bit on the dark side so please forgive the photos.
We started with the Beef Tartare.
There was what seemed to be shaved cured egg yolk on this though it didn't add much to the dish. The beef was tender and if a bit coarsely chopped. Nice clean flavors overall.
We also got the Smoked Duck.
The duck had a nice smokiness to it and was on the toothsome side, but still quite tasty. The goat cheese added a bit too much acidity for our taste.
The Potato Dumplings, Wild Mushroom, and Truffle.
Nice mushroom flavors, mild truffle, and the potato dumplings, which were pretty much gnocchi were really rubbery.
The best dish of the evening was the Hot Smoked Salmon.
The salmon was wonderfully smoked, good balance, just enough salt. I wasn't sure about the Hazelnut Bearnaise sauce, but the rich creaminess, along with the herbaceous tones really balanced out the smokiness of the salmon. The nutty buckwheat pancakes was a nice accompaniment as well.
Overall, a decent meal and the staff was very nice.
Monteiths
61 High St.
Edinburgh, Scotland
After dinner we headed out for a stroll. I thought we'd head up Calton Hill As we headed up, we saw Old Calton Cemetery, something I had on my "list" of things to see. The Missus humored me and we decided to check the place out.
That obelisk is the Political Martyrs Monument. There's even a American Civil War Memorial, with a statue of Abraham Lincoln. Sad to say that photo didn't come out.
Quite a few notable folks are buried here.
Man, look at the dates!
Man, if these tombstones could talk....the stories that could be told.
Instead of heading up Calton Hill, we decided to head on back down. The view was very nice.
We walked down the stairs....
Then crossed over Waverly Station. Took took a short walk down the Royal Mile. Before deciding to head back to the apartment and call it a night.
Of course we got to Deacon Brodie's Tavern before we decided to turn around. And here was yet another story. You gotta love this one!
"He had designed the gallows that were to eventually seal his fate." Can you say ironic?
so many beautiful sights!
Posted by: kat | Wednesday, 12 October 2022 at 05:41 PM
That is quite an adventure
Posted by: Som Tommy | Thursday, 13 October 2022 at 08:08 AM
Awesome castle!
Posted by: Soo | Friday, 14 October 2022 at 09:09 AM
There's just so much to see...and all the stories Kat!
It was ST!
It looked like something out of a movie Soo!
Posted by: Kirk | Friday, 14 October 2022 at 10:16 AM