Scotland 2016: Day 34 18/6/16 Day 5 12/50 Register Week.Tour

Day 34 Day 5 Register Week Tour

Awoke this morning and it was actually sunny! I may sound surprised - I am!!
Today the tour route was headed for the House of Bruer but as we had already been there we decided to visit “The Scottish Crannog Museum" about 10 miles away near Kenmore and possibly the whiskey distillery in Aberfeldy.

On the road and we actually have sunshine!

Really interesting architecture.

Eagle sculpture outside the Cranog Centre

This group have recreated a Scottish Crannog, an iron age house built on stilts over the Lochs and the many tools and implements that where used in the period. During the period there where thousands of these Crannog’s dotting the Lochs and most of the little islands in the Lochs are collapsed structures. As the support posts rotted away at the waterline (they didn’t rot when fully submerged or above the water), they where replaced until there was no more room and the house finally collapsed forming an island and the family then built a new one nearby.

Making fire "Iron Age" style

Just to prove you can create fire rubbing 2 sticks together - we some can as we tried and failed.

Dale mesmerised by the weaving machine

A black faced tern I believe. Looks like a sea gull with a dirty face!!

Village layout

Demonstration of how hole were made in soft stones

Iron age wood turning "lathes"

Alan and Dale work to create fire.....it didn't work but they got close.

Noeline has a go at grinding wheat to make flour for bread.

Inside the Cranog house (celing/roof)

Inside the Cranog around the fire.

The circular Cranog built on the water for safety.

Islands have developed where the Cranog houses collapsed.

Cranog

After some lunch in Kenmore, we returned to Aberfeldy and visited the Dewar’s distillery for a tour. As we had a 2 for 1 voucher we decided to do the Cask tasting tour which included a taste of a 23 year old cask, wow, a very smooth drop, We have discovered we quite like un-peated whisky. The other very thoughtful addition to any of the tours was that they offer a “drivers pack” of a small sample of their ‘White Label” whisky, a lime and small can of Dry Ginger Ale (and the recipe for a “Mamie Taylor”) to take away and sample later. The tour was well worth the effort even if you don’t opt for the cask tasting as they have a very extensive museum and as the distilary operates 24 hours a day except for 3 weeks holiday when they do maintenance, you will nearly always see the spirit gushing (and it was quite a gush) through the whisky chest.