Day 4: Crannogs and the Hermitage
Crannogs
Today was an absolutely beautiful day--sunny, warm, white puffy clouds and a little breeze. The locals were treating this like summer vacation. In fact, lots of people were out on the loch (lake) and even swimming (burrrr!).
Our first destination today was a visit to the Scottish Crannog Centre. Crannogs are iron age houses built on the water for defense. There are 18 crannog ruins on Loch Tey, the lake we visited, as well as one full re-creation. Fifteen to twenty-five people historically lived in each hut as well as their animals. The huts are designed so that they can withstand 100 mph winds. Incredible!
During our visit, we were treated to a history lesson as well as demonstrations of how the people of this time carved the dowels, drilled holes and created machines to carve wood and stone. My favorite part was the fire-making demonstration. I gave it a try, and it worked! It took some effort, but I made fire! The group joked that Pam would now be safe with me out in the wilderness. After that, we helped the two kids on the tour get their fire started. We loved the interactive nature of this stop! It was a rich learning experience.
Our first destination today was a visit to the Scottish Crannog Centre. Crannogs are iron age houses built on the water for defense. There are 18 crannog ruins on Loch Tey, the lake we visited, as well as one full re-creation. Fifteen to twenty-five people historically lived in each hut as well as their animals. The huts are designed so that they can withstand 100 mph winds. Incredible!
During our visit, we were treated to a history lesson as well as demonstrations of how the people of this time carved the dowels, drilled holes and created machines to carve wood and stone. My favorite part was the fire-making demonstration. I gave it a try, and it worked! It took some effort, but I made fire! The group joked that Pam would now be safe with me out in the wilderness. After that, we helped the two kids on the tour get their fire started. We loved the interactive nature of this stop! It was a rich learning experience.
A few stops on the way to our next hotel
On our way to our next hotel, we stopped at Dunkeld to visit the Hermitage, with its beautiful forest and Black Linn Falls. We walked this nice park and saw the ruins of a church which is still in service and was having a wedding complete with bagpipes and kilts. Black Linn Falls was neat and had a lookout which was once a room of mirrors. Our next stop was the Black Watch Memorial. After arriving at our hotel, we went for an optional walk with Nigel up to the castle where Queen Victoria and Albert vacationed in the 1800s. They fixed it up for that event. The original castle remains part of the structure, a small square at the center, and the newer parts of the castle have been built up around it in the late 1800s. We followed that hike up with another nice group dinner.