Dunecht, Scotland is a village 13 miles west of Aberdeen. Our visit to Dunecht was not a visit to a place but to friends, who
treated us to a several very rich experiences unlike any we had anywhere else. We met these friends in a campground near
Amsterdam.
One afternoon, Ron was sitting outside reading on a warm day when he kept moving his chair to stay
in the shade. A camper in a fine, new American Winnebago also was sitting outside and also kept moving his chair,
but he wanted to stay in the sunshine. Later that day he and his wife had visitors. They sat around a table having
a great time, and one could not help noticing that the sunshine man had a booming and inviting laugh as well as a definite Scottish
brogue. When the visitors left, Ron went over and introduced himself. Soon the four of us were having a good time.
We exchanged email addresses and kept in touch. We were invited to visit him in Dunecht. That invitation was one of the major
incentives for our planning to travel the next year to the UK. Edinburgh was our first stop on that trip and Dunecht our
second.
We spent about a delightful and interesting week with our friends. They arranged some very special
and unique treats for us. They took us on a private tour of a 100 room 19th century granite manor house owned by a Laird.
Then they hosted a picnic on a grouse moor where we learned all about the proper way to burn heather so that it can
support large numbers of grouse, and about how grouse hunts are organized. We enjoyed an elegant picnic of smoked pheasant,
Scottish salmon, cold roast Scottish beef and a delicious wine served in crystal glasses. Our dessert was a visit
with the very genial game keeper on this estate. The next treat was a partyy with their friends in a private home.
Finally we were treated to a fine dinner in a posh hotel in which the barroom offered a selection of 169 different single
malt Scotch whiskeys.
Our photos page include photos from some of these adventures. The
letter we wrote home about
this visit contains many more details about what we describe in the preceding paragraph.
From Dunecht we drove west across the
highlands once more, stopping briefly at Balmoral, where the Royals have a residence. We did not see that but did walk around
the the very picturesque town. From there we drove to a campground just north of Oban situated on the shore of the Firth of
Lorne just opposite the Isle of Mull, which you could see from our campsite. This time the weather was clear.
Adventures in and around Dunecht, Scotland, by Mouse
