Rothiemurchus and Braemar Castle: Day 18 – Scotland 2017
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23 April 2017
Our rescheduled horse trek was set for 10 AM in Rothiemurchus, so we hopped to and got our camp packed quickly. We had a bite to eat and then made our way to the stables. Two beautiful horses were waiting for us. Billy would be riding Gilly, and I was paired with Moss. Our ride was a slow and easy one. The woman who was our guide walked the trail ahead of us, so that set the pace. I didn’t mind the slow-going because it gave us ample time to take in the gorgeous Scottish countryside.
Early on in our ride, Billy’s saddle started to slide. The girth (or cinch, here in America) hadn’t been tightened enough, and the saddle was loose. After stopping to adjust it, we found out that Gilly had bucked off one of the stablehands just days earlier. Luckily, he behaved himself for our trek. It might be on the expensive side, but we think going for a horse trek is absolutely worth it. It’s such a different way to experience the beauty another country has to offer. We’ve done it both in Scotland and in Ireland, and it was worth every penny.
The Treezone
Rothiemurchus has an insane amount of things on offer, but aside from the horse trek, there was one other activity that we were dying to try. The Treezone is an outdoor adventure experience you won’t forget. It is an obstacle course suspended in the pine trees of the area and features two different courses. The shorter course, Tree Creeper, is no higher than 20 feet off the ground. The Buzzard course takes you higher with crossings in the 20-40 foot high range.
Everything is suspended with wires and the crossings are challenging yet exhilarating. We had an amazing time here and as soon as we touched the ground after the last zipline, we were desperate to get back in the air and do it again. There are balance beams, Tarzan swings, swinging platforms, and many other types of crossings. Don’t worry, you are in a harness and attached to a guidewire, so there is no risk of falling. I wish we had pictures from this experience, but we left our phones in a locker down at the shop. Trust us, though. It’s incredible.
Braemar Castle
After the adventures of Rothiemurchus, we settled in for the drive to Braemar Castle. The drive was made quite eventful as we searched for petrol while our gauge slowly went down. Luckily, we found some near the end of the drive! Compared to some of the other castles that we’d seen, Braemar Castle was on the small side. The Earls of Mar built it to serve as a hunting lodge in 1628. Quite fancy, if you ask me!
The castle suffered massive damage during the Jacobite uprisings and was eventually left in ruins. The government rebuilt it in 1748 to use as a garrison. When it had served its purpose, the government gave the castle back to the Farquharson clan, who had purchased it prior to government use. The Farquharson clan has leased the castle to the community since 2006, and it is open to the public to visit. When we visited, the castle was furnished as it was in the 1950s when it was last lived in. The tour was self-guided, and what I remember more than anything else was how the wind howled throughout the castle. I can’t imagine how hard it was to keep the place warm!
Snow Chances
I didn’t note where we camped for the night, but I did write down that we had a 50% chance of snow overnight. Even though we were sleeping in our tent, we were thrilled. True Texans, any mention of snow gets us excited. We hoped we’d see a little, but we had no idea what we were in for.
Cheers,
Lydia and Billy
