Scotland, Day 10: Travel to Speyside – Visiting the Highland Coos at Drumbuie Farm, Duffus Castle, Arrival at Islay Bank House, Dinner at Toot’s

Travel day! We left Portree, packed all our things in the car, and are headed to Speyside.

En route, one of the spots we found was Drumbuie Farm. While we were in Glencoe, I was looking up places where we might be able to give Liz a chance to interact directly with some Highland Coos. This seemed the perfect spot.

I will note: this place was packed. They had a guy on hand, just to direct cars because of how tight the parking was. A lot of folks were here for the cafe, but an equal number were here for the coos.

An interesting note: the farm employs a lot of folks who are travelers themselves, backpackers who are trekking across Scotland.

Inside the cafe, which was cozy but full with people.

A very busy spot!

In back, an elevated area for the humans to gather – in the event that any of the coos want some attention.

Visitors can purchase a small amount of food (slices of bread and veggies), to feed the coos.

Liz, demonstrating that a nose scritch is part of an international language.

I’ll be honest – we were all surprised at how much tongue action there was, in the feeding process. I was not expecting this.

A bit of an impromptu detour: stopping at Duffus Castle.

Liz, with her eagle eyes, spotted this little fella on the path. And made sure I didn’t step on him.

Fast forward a bit. With a bit more travel, we arrived at Islay Bank House. And yes, it’s as gorgeous on the inside as it is on the outside.

Walking up to our room, which was in its own private section of the house (with our own private bathroom).

Downstairs, in the public living room area.

As cozy as this was, we didn’t end up spending any time here (we mostly hung out in our room).

Peeking in to the main dining room, which was breathtaking.

The collection of whisky available.

Along the main entryway.

For dinner, we ended up trekking to Toot’s, at the Station Hotel. We actually visited here for a lunch the last time we were in Scotland, but I don’t have any photos from that visit.

We were in the area, and happened to visit Glen Grant. Coming here for dinner was a nice, familiar callback to our earlier trip.

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Scotland, Day 8: Handspinner Having Fun, the Old Pier, Tasting at Torabhaig Distillery, Walking Along the Carbost Waterfront, Dinner at Old Inn
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Scotland, Day 3: Acrophobia Along the Hidden Valley Trail, Lunch at Kingshouse Hotel, Driving Glen Etive Road
Scotland, Day 2: Breakfast at Cafe Wander, Good Spirits Company, Falls of Falloch, Shopping at Green Welly, Settling in at Glencoe House
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Chicago to Scotland: Travel Day