Our first Scottish meal was a delight. We found that Craggen Mill, as well as most restaurants in the GOS area, use local produce in their cooking. This includes lake grown mussels, river Salmon, vegetables and fruits. For a starter, I had Cullen Skink which is a soup with fish and potatoes, much like a New England clam chowder. Next I had local salmon with a really nummy sauce and for dessert I had homemade blueberry, lime and coconut ice cream. We had walked to the restaurant and Val gave us a “torch” (flashlight) for the walk home in the dark. We were happy to have to walk back as it helped burn some of the extra calories we consumed!
The first morning after our arrival, we were treated to a wonderful home cooked breakfast by Val. I had expected Scottish food to be much like English – a little bland and not very appetizing – but Val quickly changed my opinion about that! Wonderful coffee accompanied porridge, eggs, bacon, juice, toast, tomatoes, mushrooms as well as a variety of cereals and fruits.
After a briefing by Keith on what was in the area to see and do, we headed out to Ballandallach Castle (see picture), a privately owned castle about ½ hour away by car. The family living in it has had it in their family since 1542! To get there, we took the VERY narrow river road. Along the way we must have seen 1000 pheasants – another local product, it seems!
We watched the introductory video then toured the interior of the castle then took a walk on the grounds along the River Spey and on to the point where the Avon and Spey Rivers merge (other picture is Don at that junction). This is the area where much of the Highland salmon comes from. The castle owners have a herd of Aberdeen Cows whose lineage goes back several hundred years.
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