Lochs
From the Lowlands of Edinburgh we took a tour of the Scottish Highlands. We left early in the morning and got back twelve hours later. Andy, our unabashed tour guide, entertained us with tales of Scottish history as we gawked at passing scenery between each of our seven destinations.
First, we stopped for breakfast and photos of Haggis, the resident Highland Cow. Second and third were some photo opportunities and the fourth stop was a quick lunch. Loch Ness was our fifth stop. We took off in a boat hoping to snap a candid shot of some monsters. There would be no Nessy sightings that day and to lift our spirits Lauren and I bought some strawberries. Stop 6 was a ‘cute’ little highland town and at our last stop we checked out a peaty waterfall.
One of the many interesting facts we learned from Andy was the history of peat. Peat is a special type of soil that is prevalent in the Highlands. It is what you get when a lot of organic material collects in layers and never fully decomposes into dirt. This slightly acidic soil grows over the years and can get very deep.
Highlanders used to cut out giant chunks of peat, dry it out, and use it as fuel for heating their homes, cooking their food, and most importantly, roasting barley and brewing beer. Of course, the Scots didn’t stop with beer – they distilled it into whisky. When the conventional oil-burning oven came about, many brewers started roasting their germinated barley without the peat smoke. This smoother, less smoky flavor caught on with the girly-men around the world, but it is said that a true Scottish Whisky is one with the vicious bite of peat smoke. As you can see, in Scotland it’s easy to learn a whole lot about whisky in only a few days. Scots talk about whisky like New Yorkers talk about New York City; they won’t shut up about it.
Tags: Travel
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