Scotland - Isle of Arran and whiskey tasting

A very early start for our exursion to the Isle of Arran today. A taxi to the station for an 8am train and breakfast. I forget what it's like travelling with Phil, we forget the time and then nearly missed the train. The train goes tight into Ardrossan Harbour which is a bit bizarre. The trip is so easy, it's a short walk to the terminal, then straight onto the boat and across to the island. Luckily, the sea was calm.

We boarded a bus to Brodick castle, a Scottish National Trust property. We had an incredibly hard sell to join the National Trust but eventually ran the gauntlet to get into the castle. I loved the kids versions of the information sheets in each room and learnt loads. For example, why it's called a boxing ring, becuase people would form a ring around them. Then, the saying 'up to scratch' refers to when a person is ready to fight, they would step towards a scratch in the floor.

A quick lunch in a pub while we waited for the brewery to open. Alas, it was more of a shop rather than a brewery, so we didn't stay and decided to go to the whiskey distillery instead. We went to the bus stop, there are only two buses a day so we couldn't miss it. The journey was wonderful, through the mountains.

A quick whiskey tasting and whiskey cake in the distillery before the started. Phil and I have a slight issue that neither of us like whiskey, it burns as it goes down. We had a tour and a dram of whiskey but at this point, we didn't want anymore :) We saw the stills, the barrels and ended with a cream liquer tasting before a quick dash back to the bus to get the boat back to the mainland. There are a lot of 'yes' posters on Arran, and the first 'yes' van.

In the evening, steph cooked us a gorgeous banquet for dinner.