Day 47 – July 5, 2025 – Nairn, Scotland
We had a wonderful breakfast this morning, thanks to Rowena, and met a couple from England and another couple from London. I like meeting new people and talking with them and so does Michelle, so we really enjoyed our breakfast! Afterwards, we took a walk down to the water and back before heading to Forres. They apparently were doing a triathlon that morning and we saw some of the participants as they were doing the final part, which was running.
We headed out to Forres and we weren’t sure what to expect, but it is a big deal in these parts, and they take their games seriously, lol! The Forres Highland Games Day commences with a procession from the Forres & District Pipe Band up Forres High Street into Grant Park Arena where the Games’ Flag is raised. The day follows with a spectacular show of Scottish tradition, sport and culture with Highland Dancing, Track and Field, Heavy Events, Tug ‘o’ War, Solo Piping and many more disciplines on display. We were there before the procession started so we walked around to see all the vendors’ goods and then found a great spot on the top of a hill to watch the procession and part of the games. The games lasted all day and while we wanted to stay and see them toss the caber, it was near the end of the day, and we wanted to do a few other things. (The caber toss is a traditional Scottish event in the Highland Games where competitors lift and toss a large, tapered pole. The goal is to flip the caber end over end so that it lands in line with the direction of the thrower, ideally at the “12 o’clock” position for the highest score.) We did grab a quick bite to eat, an Angus burger and fries, to tide us over until dinner.
We headed back to the B&B, walked back down to the water again and then sat on one of the balconies of a restaurant and shared some wine with a beautiful view in front of us. It was getting close to dinner time, so we headed to the restaurant and had another great dinner at The Classroom.
We enjoyed a nice walk back to the B&B and John and Vance did a blind tasting of the whisky they got from Macallan. I mixed them up (a 10, 12, & 15 year) and they let me know which they liked the best.
Tomorrow, we head to Portree on the Isle of Skye and we know it will be a beautiful drive!
