We went for a short walk in Inverness this morning before driving back to Aberdeen through the Cairngorms. Inverness is a lovely city. The population is only about 50,000 and the city is built around the River Ness which is beautiful. Here are some pics:

We wanted to drive back via the Cairngorms to enjoy the lovely views but it started raining almost as soon as we left Inverness and rained the whole way home. Here’s what we saw:

We stopped in Ballater, one of my favourite places, just to refuel. Doug went in search of some toilets and the fellow in the petrol station said, “There’s a loo outside but it’s closed for the winter”. Evidently public toilets are not needed in the winter: Scots must hold it in for several months until spring.

The drive from Ballater to Aberdeen is also very nice and we stopped at Drum Castle on the way so Mum and Doug could have a look. We’ve been to Drum Castle several times now and I learn something new on each visit. This time I learnt that archaeologists recently discovered hidden chambers in the castle including one with a medieval toilet. The castle is about 700 years old and belonged to one family, the Irvine family, from 1323 to 1975.