Shetland Ponies and Highland Cattle

Date of this adventure: April 2, 2013

We actually came across these cuties as we were traveling to the distilleries that I posted about yesterday. However, I decided that these guys deserved their own post.

Say hello to a few Shetland ponies.

The Shetland pony is a breed of pony that originates in the Shetland Isles of Scotland. Shetland ponies have short legs, heavy coats of hair, are quite strong, and are considered to be intelligent animals.

You can find these ponies on the A920 in between Huntly and Dufftown. The ponies will be on your left hand side just outside of Huntly.

Can I have one, please?

After visiting the ponies, we headed to Glenfiddich and The Glenlivet for our distillery tours. Read about our distillery tours here.

On our way home from Speyside, we spotted a field of Highland Cattle.

Highland Cattle are also known as "Heilan' Coos."

This little farm has a herd of Highland Cattle and a small display explaining a bit of Highland Cattle history. 

Resembling Texas Longhorns, a Highland Cow was a must-see for these University of Texas fans.

Originally, there were two types of Highland Cattle. Black haired Highland Cattle were small and were associated with the west of Scotland and the islands. Red haired Highland Cattle were large and were associated with the Highlands.

Read about Scottish wildlife here.

Castles and Distilleries with the Halls

Date of this adventure: April 2, 2013

Approaching Slains Castle

Built in 1597, New Slains Castle was used by Bram Stoker as the inspiration for the castle in his novel Dracula.

These North Sea cliffs helped to defend the castle.

Near Slains Castle, the Bullers of Buchan is a collapsed sea cave that forms a chasm through which the sea runs.

The cliffs at the Bullers provide a nesting site for colonies of birds, such as puffins, kittiwakes, and a few different gulls. 

Absolutely LOVE this grass

After visiting Slains and the Bullers, we made a stop in Huntly at a local whisky shop called Whiskies of Scotland.

Whiskies of Scotland offers exclusive bottlings from several different Scottish distilleries. If you are looking for unique Scotch that others are not likely to have, I recommend visiting this shop.

Stopping for a taste of Dean's Shortbread in Huntly

More than half of Scotland's malt whisky distilleries are located in Speyside. "The unique characteristics of each Speyside whisky distillery result in delightful, hand-crafted whisky form each one."

Glenfiddich Distillery

To read a bit about the distillation process of whisky and our last visit to Glenfiddich, click here.

Learning about the distillation process

About to get our wee drams

Cheers!

Glenfiddich is currently the world's best-selling single malt whisky. 

The picturesque, lush countryside of Speyside

Our next stop was The Glenlivet distillery.

Glenlivet is the biggest selling single malt whisky in the U.S. and is the second biggest selling single malt whisky worldwide. 

We were a wee bit late to attend a tour of the distillery so we settled for just a dram of the popular The Glenlivet malt.

We drove back to Aberdeen through the Cairngorms, a mountain range in the eastern Highlands of Scotland.

Yep, it was still snowing in April...

Our last stop was Glenbuchat Castle.

Built in 1590, Glenbuchat Castle is located above the River Don in Aberdeenshire.

Another beautiful day exploring Scotland with family

We are blessed.

Scotland, the Home of Golf

Date of this event: April 1, 2013

"There has been much debate as to the origins of the game, and in some cases, how it was originally played. One thing is certain- the game of golf as we know it was born in Scotland."

 Leaving Edinburgh bright and early in the morning, we headed toward St. Andrews for a day of exploring the home of golf.

About halfway between Edinburgh and St. Andrews is Ravenscraig Castle. 

 The ruined castle, located in Kirkcaldy, dates from around 1460.

Our next stop was St. Andrews.  

 A family round of golf on The Himalayas Putting Green

This is a "must do" for golf fans while in Scotland.

After our round of putting, we ate lunch at the Swilcan Restaurant while enjoying stunning panoramic views of the Old Course.

Delicious Irish coffee

 Old Course

The Old Course Hotel

Watching some golfers on the Old Course

 Swilcan Bridge spans the Swilcan Burn between the first and eighteenth fairways on the old course. 

After having our fill of exploring the links and shopping at the golf shops, we hopped back into the car to head to our next golf stop: Carnoustie.

Since the 1500's, golf has been played over the links at Carnoustie.

Many men from Carnoustie emigrated to the United States in the early 1900's, taking with them club making skills and golfing talent.

Carnoustie has been an Open Championship venue seven times.

The Championship Course is considered to be one of the top layouts in Britain and has been described as Scotland's ultimate golfing challenge.

 Driving back to Aberdeen from Carnoustie

Watching the ships come in to Aberdeen's harbor 

We ended our night with a giant portion of fish and chips.

Fun fact: "The word golf was first recorded in the 15th century, appearing twice in an Act of the Scots Parliament of 6 March 1457, in the reign of James II."