Castle Fraser turned out to be quite a nice little place. No military history to speak of, it is more of a tower house. Its origins may go back as far as the mid 1400s, but most of what you see today is from the 1700s and 1800s, especially the gardens. I chatted a bit with several of the... ahem... mature volunteers or guides (I don't know what, if any, salary they were on, but they're paid too little) of the castle and really had just a wonderful time strolling idly through the place (as if my legs would allow me anything more vigorous).
It was nice to be a Fraser.
I daresay you could play most sports on this field.
The old stables, which were now rented out as apartments.
One could also enjoy indoor games.
There was no eerie music playing at this point.
One room was filled with hunting throphies.
Some of them were downright creepy. I apologize for the darkness & blurriness in some of the pics, but blitz was verboten, ja?
One of the better things I have ever seen in a British castle was this tiny room, where a grate down to the great hall below allowed the Lord of the Manor to eavesdrop on his guests.
Those who have seen Downton Abbey will recognize the bells, calling servants to their respective masters or stations.
One could almost envision Mrs. Patmore cooking up sumfin' tasty here.
The slightly more modern kitchen still produced some scrumptious goodies.
Leaving Fraser, I drove through the tiny parish of Tough.
I had also planned a visit to Craigievar Castle, however I abandoned this trip less than halfway into it when the guide started talking about the place being haunted, hearing voices, etc, etc. In this day and age, when everybody and his granny (though not yours truly...) has a smartphone with both camera AND audio recording capabilities, you'd have to be pretty fookin' daft not to be able to make serious money off of having recordings that proved everything we knew about the laws of physics were untrue. As no such evidence has been shown, I must either conclude that the guide is a fucking idiot or, perhaps worse, a filthy, no-good, cheatin' LIAR, pandering to his more gullible guests' misgivings. Either way, I was disgusted and simply walked away from the group and left the premises.
My only pic from Craigievar Castle was this, of the exterior.
I then set course for the tiny village of Drumnadrochit, on the shores of Loch Ness. The route I had chosen took me through the northern and northeastern parts of the lovely Cairngorms National Park. Have a looksee.
The light was really playing along nicely at the first place I stopped.
The road I'd come.
The rest of the pics are from an area just north of Corgarff Castle. I love these views; along with the stretch of A82 between Tyndrum and Clencoe, this is what SCOTLAND looks like to me. If you look closely, you can see several tiny beams of sunlight coming down in the background.
Bleak, but beautiful.
Corgarff Castle.
Some stones were now placed near a small parking lot just above Corgarff. I think they must be new, as I have no recollection of them. Or I've got Alzheimer.
Peaceful and purdy.
The road goes ever on and on.
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