Today started with breakfast at the hotel.

Then we boarded the shuttle and were off to visit Blair Castle, home to the Atholl family for more than seven centuries. A lot of history here and very impressive place to see. The castle was built in the late 1200s and has existed through sieges including a raid by Cromwell, the Jacobite Rebellion, as well as a visit from Queen Victoria.

The entrance hall is stunning because of the collections of muskets, swords, axes, etc., displayed on the walls.

Photos of the entrance hall had to be taken from the second floor, I’m guessing so that we didn’t block the entrance. This one captures some of the axes and swords in the collection.

This photo shows a rifle used at Culloden. It’s the black one, third from the bottom.

There is so much history here and not enough time today to get through everything. Three floors and 30 rooms. We just did a fairly fast walk through the house with no time to explore the gardens. No time to read all the information posted in the rooms and get through the rooms too. This is the picture staircase.

This was the tea room set with 18th century Sevres china. The settee and chairs are from 1753.

And that led into the dining room with exquisite plasterwork by Thomas Clayton Senior, completed around the mid-1700s.

A little further on, was the subtle Blue Bedroom which had an adjoining dressing room as well as an en suite bathroom which was rare for its addition in 1885. This was decorated in the late 1800s by the 7th Duke for his Duchess, Louisa, who is pictured on the right.

The display case to the left of the bed contained portrait miniatures.

We also went through the Tapestry Bedroom. The bed complete with ostrich feathers on each corner was brought here for the 1st Duke in 1704. The tapestries once belonged to King Charles I but were sold by Cromwell following his execution. The 1st Duke later purchased them in Paris.

We also looked into the children’s bedroom which contained a hobby horse, clothing, and dolls and doll furniture.

Mary, Queen of Scotts stayed at the castle in 1564 and a special hunt was arranged for her in which approximately 2,000 deer were driven from the surrounding hills and 360 were killed. Maybe these antlers are from some of those deer?

One downstairs room contained exhibits from military service such as this.

We also saw the large ballroom.

And the ballroom contained several chain mail hauberks hung along the wall. These could weigh as much as 30 pounds.

Also hanging along the ballroom walls were tunics of various colors as well as a collection of spears.

We walked through the china room.

Some Meissen China which is always interesting to me.

On the way out, we stopped to look at the knight in full armor as well as the stuffed polar bear beside him. The story on the bear is that he came to the castle in 1786 from Edinburgh and possibly was brought originally from Greenland by whalers.

There was a piper playing outside the castle and we listened to him for a while and then took a family photo in front of the castle.

Then it was time to leave this fascinating place and move on down the road.

We stop in the interestingly-named Killiecrankie for the start of today’s hike which was through a gorge along the River Garry. The hike starts with a descent into the gorge. At the bottom of these steps is a rock that marks where a Redcoat soldier leaped 18 feet across the gorge to escape Jacobite pursuers during the Battle of Killiecrankie.

The River Garry.

The group stopped to try their luck at skipping stones.

They saw kayakers along the way.

As well as bungee jumpers.

And then after about four miles, they climbed back out of the canyon.

In the meantime, I opted not to hike today, and Auggie took me to see the Queen’s View along Loch Tummel.

The Queen’s View was made famous by Queen Victoria’s visit here in 1866 but was most likely named for Isabella, the first wife of Robert the Bruce who lived 500 years earlier. Someplace at the far end of the loch are the Three Sisters near Glen Coe.

Just outside the nearby coffee shop, Auggie takes my photo with Queen Victoria and her favorite Highland servant, John Brown.

We leave the Queen’s View and travel back to pick up the rest of the group as they come out of the canyon.

Ross coming up the trail.

Ross and Emily in the well-traveled Life Guard jacket that makes startling appearances.

Then it’s off to Pitlochry, originally an ancient Pictish settlement. Free to roam the streets, we decide to have lunch at McKays, famed for its fish and chips.

Our last stop of the day is down the street at the Blair Athol Distillery for a malt whisky tasting.

Back to the hotel for our last evening dinner with the whole group and tonight Auggie explains formal Scottish attire for men complete with a kilt made of eight yards of material.

The next morning before we board the shuttle to spend the final two days of our trip in Edinburgh, we take a group photo in front of the hotel.

We had a great group of companions who were very patient with us. I also managed, finally, to collect a couple of glass water bottles to take home. This time they will fit in the suitcase.