Highland Games and Misadventures

September 5, 2022

One of the big draws for me in planning this Scotland trip is the chance to see a Highland Games. They occur in different cities or counties all over Scotland usually in August or September. The one that intrigued me is one of the oldest, The Braemar Gathering. It is so well known that royalty almost always visit. It has a Royal Box in place each year. Little did we know that when Prince Charles made an appearance, that his life would soon change.

I was able to schedule my loop of Scotland based on the date of this event and that of the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. There are schools of thought on traveling, to plan everything or to be spontaneous. I like both, but for events and distillery tours, planning was essential. Even for restaurant availability. Sometimes relying on serendipity doesn't work in your favor. But it also doesn't mean you can't be flexible and adapt. More on that a bit later. 

And of course planning too much and cramming too many activities without rest and relaxation can mean you need to recover and have a vacation from you vacation. Build in time to relax. I am terrible at this but still working on it.

Back to the Games!

If you have a chance to see a Highland Games, just do it! It's part track and field meet, and part musical festival. They have Tug of War! Also, Heavy Events and Running events. The Hill Race really is a race from the grounds up the nearby hill and back down. Do you want to try it?

Look closely on the hill to see the runners

The Tug of War prelims were right in front of my section. Each branch of the Scottish services represent several teams. And they are very very serious about this. They have coaches, strategy, and obviously practice with precision choreography in their movements. 

Tug o' War won by Scotland's 13th Signal Regiment

Everything is so much fun. There are sack races for the kids, running races of different distances and age groups, highland dancing (on a stage far away from me), long jump, high jump, and the Heavy events. Large men throwing different heavy devices like a shotput or kettle weight. They also throw a weight over a high bar. One man almost got the record!

But my favorite Heavy event is the Caber Toss. More large men picking up a huge log, running with it and throwing it in the air to see if it can flip all the way over. I can do that right?

In the distance here, you may be able to see the Royal Box and Charles and Camilla. They were Prince and Princess Consort on that day, September 3, 2022. One week later, they would become King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla.

Click the image for an larger view

It would not be highland games without Bagpipe bands. Twelve bands gather and compete at the games for prizes too. Each march out to a designated area in the field and perform songs while the other competitions run. Twice, they entire collective march together around the track. It's quite a beautiful sight and sound.

And I walked around the staging area for these bands and took a few fun photos.

A fine Highland Day Indeed.

After  a very slow drive (a bit of traffic from the Gathering) drove my hunger and I found the Old Mill Inn in Pitlochry for a grilled lamb steak.

Don't Ditch It!

Remember that times I told you things never always go as expected on vacations and something usually goes wrong. Yeah.

As much fun and adventurous the Highland Games were, I was full of misadventures the next day. It was to be a short drive up through Speyside again, through the lush scenic Cairngorms National Park to Culloden Battlefields, where the Jacobites faced their final stand against their hated British.  But going through Speyside, the car's navigation system took an unexpected route. We went through farm roads getting narrower and narrower and more pockmarked and bumpy. I finally ended up in a field alright, just nowhere near the actual historic center where the Culloden battlefields are located.

So I turned around and slowly droved up the rough road. But then I hit the big hole that sent my back end careening sideways and into the ditch. I moved forward with no luck, then backward with worse luck until the rear tire was just spinning. I could smell the unmistakable pungent smell of burning rubber. This is all pure farmland far away from civilization. A long walk in either direction might take an hour. But stuck I was and no getting out soon.

At least the scenery was nice.

Oh, by the way the opposite site of that ditched car, where the river runs? A sheer drop off 50 or 100 feet down. Guess I picked the right side of the road to go off of. And of course it starts to rain. I had absolutely no service on my phone but luckily 911 worked. So I talked to the dispatcher to try to explain where I was. The map on the navigation system showed a village several miles away that she seemed to recognize. But it also showed no roads, especially the one I was on. She said she thought she knew where I was and sent help. 

I bit later another car appeared! But it was some local people who owned a farm nearby, coming to check on their sheep. He had a wench and we thought maybe we could pull the car out and fix the tire. But we all thought it would damage the car too much and agreed to wait for the police. We called and she gave them the name of the road and a description of how to get there. So, yay, police have more information! I also managed to get the GPS coordinates off of the car and give to the dispatcher.

One hour later, still no police, and my friends are still tending to their sheep down the "road." I'm thinking I just have to walk to the village after all. But then I see a car coming. A...BMW? It was an Inverness unmarked police car! In a BMW! The officer said, "You are a hard man to find!" But they took my statement, and by law because of the car incident, were required to perform a breathalyzer test on me. Yes I passed. Good thing I didn't taste whisky that day! It took another hour for the tow truck to arrive. The car had to be towed to the police garage and now my stress level went higher because of now having to explain everything to the rental agency and hopefully get a new car, or have this one fixed.

The policeman and policewoman were very friendly and professional throughout this ordeal and they gave me a ride to my hotel in Inverness. We all agreed long ago that Culloden was now off the table. 

It wasn't all bad. Arriving to Inverness and checking in the the Strathness, in Inverness, on the River Ness, I had this view out the window.

And there was an Indian restaurant downstairs that smelled great and I definitely needed a drink.

So Biryani and a Highland Beer ended this nutty, wacky day. Travel is sometimes a beast and resilience is required. Beer and whisky is required also. The "driver's pack" that Aberlour provided came in handy.

Next, the rest of the Highlands and Islands.