Great Food, Fine Malts and a Couple of Hills 22nd January 2012

My weekend got to a start when Rhonda and I headed out on Friday for an overnight stay at The Atholl Palace Hotel in Pitlochry. After checking in we dumped the bags and the car at the hotel and headed into Pitlochry for a wander, eventually ending up at McKay's Hotel on Atholl Road for a good few pints of Guinness and a very generous plate of cheese and oatcakes! I'm not ashamed to say that after that I headed back to the hotel for a wee snooze before heading downstairs to the restaurant. Dinner was great, I ended up going for Game terrine, Venison pie and yet more cheese then washed it all down with a nice bottle of red wine. 

After breakfast the following morning we checked out and headed up to Edradour Distillery, the smallest in Scotland and one which stays true to the original production methods used when the distillery was founded in 1825. Thanks to the time of year and our early start we were treated to a tour of the distillery on our own including a walk round the warehouse where they hold casks from as far back as the early 60's. I couldn't help myself and ended up buying a bottle of 12 year old Edradour Caledonia which bears the name of singer-songwriter Dougie Maclean and was also launched by First Minister Alex Salmond.

On the way back along the A9 we stopped off in Crieff to pick up some fantastic scallops from Fish in Crieff which we had that night on top of some equally tasty sirloin steaks and washed down with a healthy glass of Edradour and yet more Guinness. By Sunday morning I was feeling seriously relaxed, seriously revitalised but seriously guilty about the excessive eating and drinking of the previous two days. Time to head for the hills to burn off the calories and sweat out the booze.

A late start on Sunday morning put any talk of Munro's to bed and by the time I picked up Kev we'd decided to go local and used the extra time to stop off for breakfast and check if there was anything good in the Go Outdoors sale. Turns out there wasn't, we were half an hour behind and all we came away with was a new pair of socks for Kev!

Next stop, the wee grass verge at the side of the road across from Glengoyne distillery. I managed to bypass the distillery this time and we headed up the path towards Dumgoyne hill. It's a hill i've seen from afar while walking in the Kilpatricks and from the roads below it but i've never gotten round to it. Considering the Campsies are within 20 minutes drive of my front door i'm surprised i've never given them time before. We decided to tackle Dumgoyne head on rather than take the paths round either side and were rewarded with a couple of nice wee scrambly sections and a quick ascent to the top. At the top of Dumgoyne we decided to head on to Earl's seat but our lack of knowledge on the area coupled with leaving the map in the bag and the call of the Carbeth Inn meant we finished up at the summit of Garloch hill before heading back to the car, falsely believing that we had bagged a Marilyn peak... Never mind, turns out decent navigation is useful on smaller hills and on clear days too!