Soldier's Leap

Hi reader,

I continue my journey south of the Cairngorms National Park in northeast Scotland. The last few days have been slightly milder and I've been able to sleep okay without the hot water bottle.

Today I visited Killiecrankie and Pitlochry for some lovely walking in stunning woodland. I parked the van near this cute little house. Look at all that wood stored outside. I bet it's really cozy in there when they've got the fire going in the winter.

This is the River Garry:

Killiecrankie is a tiny village, most famous as the site of The Battle of Killiecrankie, which took place on the 27th of July, 1689; the Highland charge of the Jacobites took the government forces by surprise, overwhelming them in under ten minutes.

Donald MacBean, a redcoat soldier fleeing the battle, leapt 18 feet (5.5 metres) across the River Garry (losing one of his shoes in the process) to escape from the pursuing Jacobite clansmen. For those of you wondering, the current long jump world record is 29.3 feet (8.95 metres).

This is Soldier's Leap:

Just like yesterday at the Falls of Bruar, the woodlands here are lovely to walk through.

The River Garry runs through the pass of Killicrankie.

You can follow the path all the way along to the next town, Pitlochry. It's a walk of just under four miles.

At one point, the near bank of the Garry widens out into a big pebble beach.

There were lots of these pebble towers in the area. I counted over 40 of them.

Bonus tip: a cold, smooth pebble is very soothing when placed against tired, itchy eyes.

Lookee here. Another one of these tree stumps with coins hammered in for good luck.

This 510 feet railway viaduct, which was designed for the Inverness and Perth Junction Railway by Joseph Mitchell was completed in 1863 at a cost of 5,730 pounds. There are ten masonry arches, which each span 35 feet. The extreme height to the parapet wall is 54 feet.

Another small waterfall:

These woods are very mossy. Almost every tree trunk, stump, rock and fence has moss covering it. It reminded me a lot of Puzzlewood in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England.

Here's a view of the River Garry from a footbridge which spans the pass:

Pitlochry is a picturesque town, and it looks quite well-to-do. It reminded me of Cowbridge, in the Vale of Glamorgan. The high street has a good selection of shops, pubs and restaurants. 

I decided to treat myself and dine in again. I won't say the name of the restaurant I went to, as my food was pretty dreadful. I ordered a vegan pizza for 11.95. Regrettably, I took the option to add vegan cheese for another 2 pounds (surely cheese should be included on a pizza, not as a paid extra). Anyway, it was the cheese that ruined it. I've found quite a few delicious vegan cheeses, both in Thailand and here in the UK. This stuff was disgusting and didn't taste like cheese at all. Still, I had to fill my belly, so I ate the lot.

As the restaurant was charging over 3 pounds for a soda and lime, I decided to just order tap water to drink. For those of you reading outside of the UK, British tap water is safe to drink and it's the law that you can request water for free in any café or restaurant. However, when I asked for a glass of tap water, my waiter said loudly "That's it?!? Just ordinary water?", which caused other diners to look round at me. Grr! 

Anyway, it was a lovely two days in Killiecrankie and Pitlochry. Tomorrow after breakfast, I'll depart for Dunkald, Birnam and Perth. Hope you'll join me.

Thanks for reading,

Brian