Final Inverness tour - the 4 Cs.

The 4 Cs :  Clava Cairn, Coos, Cawdor Castle and Cairngorms

This tour west east of Inverness. First stop was the Bronze age Cemetery close to Inverness, which is apparently best known now because of Outlander. Apparently the 'stones' that Claire time travels through are based on these.

At this site there are three 'passage graves' ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passage_grave ) and apparently many more around the area.




The passage leading in

These 'cup' markings are common, but they are not sure what they signify. 




Then on to Cawdor Castle. This was unusual, in that the owner still lives in the Castle, and it has been in the same family for over 23 generations! 

From Wiki

The earliest documented date for the castle is 1454, the date a licence to fortify was granted to William Calder, 6th Thane of Cawdor (or Calder, as the name was then often spelled). However, some portions of the 15th-century tower house or keep may precede that date.[1] Architectural historians have dated the style of stonework in the oldest portion of the castle to approximately 1380. One curious feature of the castle is that it was built around a small, living holly tree. Tradition states that a donkey, laden with gold, lay down to rest under this tree, which was then selected as the site of the castle. The remains of the tree may still be seen in the lowest level of the tower. Modern scientific testing has shown that the tree died in approximately 1372, lending credence to the earlier date of the castle's first construction. 

Here's the remains of the tree:



Although most of the rooms have lots of older furniture etc, she is an avid collector of art, and the house contains quite a few pieces of Modern Art.  Here, the middle piece is ancient and the other two modern


and some modern art in the hallway



There were some exquisite tapestry wall hangings, with some of them hanging like cutains.



The tartan passage tracks you can see on the floor are taken up when the tours finish, so that it just looks like a 'normal' residence.

I loved this bedroom set

In the basement, near the 'tree'. there was an odd collection of old tools, a unicycle and this:


I had to look at the label to confirm it. Yes, it's an Auralian magpie!

Outside there was a formal walled garden and a beautiful 'wilderness' garden, with lots of azaleas and rhododendrons in full bloom

 

I've never seen a flag iris this colour




And some modern sculptures


and water features





Next C was the "coos". There were a few at Cawdor, but they were across the field, so our guide organised an extra stop for some 'up close and personal'




After a lunch srop at Aveimore, in the heart of the Cairngorms and filled with more outdoor shops than I could count, we headed to a wildlife preservation area at Loch Garten where I was able to watch on a screen an endangered osprey feed her chicks.

You, too, can watch them       https://www.youtube.com/RSPBvideo/search although the chicks have grown and flown

You'll want to look at the feed to see when they have been spotted recently.

I could have stayed there for ages.

Our last stop was the highest beach in Scotland - a beautiful sandy beach on a loch surrounded by firs etc, with views across to the last bits of snow on the opposite mountain. 

You can see how windy it is by how the trees have grown


The Cairngorms area is full of mountain bike trails, adventure activities, walking trail, sailing/kayaking and snow skiing. 






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