My name is Marion Vermazen. I am a traveler, hiker, reader, Sun alumnus, computer geek, YouTuber, Spanish and French language student, knitter, weaver and genealogist.
To make it easier for you to follow our 2026 Spring European trip from the beginning I’ve linked the blog posts in order.
You can go to the first blog post of our trip by clicking on this link.
At the end of each blog post after that, there is a link to the next day’s blog post.
Friday morning we drove a few miles outside of Inverness to the Culloden Battlefield and Visitor Center.
What happened at Culloden is well described on the map they gave us at the visitor center:
“Jacobite supporters, seeking to restore the Stuart monarchy to the British thrones, gathered to fight the Duke of Cumberland’s government troops. It was the last pitched battle on British soil and, in less than an hour, around 1,600 men were slain – 1,500 of them Jacobites.”
From Culloden we went to a grocery store and bought food for lunch. Then we drove up the Ness River to Loch Ness and had a picnic.
When we got back to our hotel we played cards, then walked to Urquharts Restaurant for dinner.
Thursday morning when we woke up at Knowes Hotel we could see one of the fishing boats heading out from Macduff harbor. At breakfast we had a great conversation with a guy who grew up in Macduff. He suggested that before we leave we shouldn’t miss seeing a couple of small fishing villages further east along the coast.
There is a footpath along the cliff face east from Gardenstown to Crovie an even smaller village. Roger walked to Crovie from Gardenstown and the rest of us drove.
From Crovie we drove to Inverness. The restaurant where we ate dinner is right next to the castle which overlooks the River Ness.
To read about our second day in Inverness click here.
Breakfast was wonderful at Douneside House where we stayed last night.
After breakfast we went outside and explored the gardens a bit.
Douneside House isn’t far from Balmoral Castle. So after we checked out that’s where we went. From the Balmoral gates it’s about a 10 minute walk up to the castle. They have an app and a self guided tour of the outside of the castle. The only room that you can actually go in is the ball room.
Being at Balmoral and seeing what we’ve heard about and read about was absolutely wonderful. You can see why the Royal family wants to spend their summer holidays here. It’s an idyllic spot.
After our visit to the castle we went down the road a bit to Royal Lochnagar Distillery, had lunch and tasted some scotch.
From Balmoral we drove north to Macduff, a fishing town on the North Sea, where we are tonight.
Tomorrow we drive to Inverness if you want to read my next blog post click here.
Before leaving Aberdeen this morning we drove east to the coast and the mouth of the River Dee, to check out some of the infrastructure for the off shore oil and gas industry.
Next we drove west and stopped to visit Crathes Castle Garden and Estate. The site is owned by the National Trust of Scotland. We enjoyed touring the tower house. It was originally built in the 1500’s.The walled gardens were beautiful and so peaceful.
Before we left we had coffee and shared a house made scone with jam and clotted cream in the estate cafe.
Then we drove on to Douneside House set within the grounds of the MacRobert Trust Estate. That’s where we are staying tonight.
This morning we rented a car and drove north along Scotland’s east coast. Just after we left Edinburgh we stopped at a spot overlooking the Firth of Forth, to admire the three Forth bridges.
Tonight we are in Aberdeen. We are staying at the wonderful. Malmaison hotel. We had an excellent dinner in the hotel restaurant.
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