On Thursday the 19th of September we had a very nice breakfast at our B&B meeting some of the other guests. One of the couples was from Washington State! We had a nice chat. We paid up and headed for the coast road for our 42 mile drive to Glamis Castle.

On the way to A92 we passed this farm and saw this gigantic pig. The photo is fuzzy but that pig was real!

We had more picturesque views and soon we were driving up the long drive to the castle. We were there right at opening.

Glamis has been the ancestral seat to the Earls of Strathmore and Kinghorne since King Robert II granted the Thanage of Glamis to Sir John Lyon in 1372. Once host to Mary, Queen of Scots, Glamis is said to have inspired one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays, Macbeth. Glamis also has a deep connection to today’s Royal Family as it was the childhood home of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and birthplace of HRH Princess Margaret.

The Timeline of history of the castle can be found here.

We joined a tour of the castle but no photography was allowed since part of the castle is still a residence. You were not allowed to roam around this castle without the tour guide.

When our tour was completed we enjoyed a little snack in the Castle Kitchen. The Castle Gift shop next to the parking area was on two levels and we found some goodies to buy.

This castle had a Royal Connection and you can read the history here. This is the Coronation program from Queen Elizabeth’s ceremony in 1953 and the wedding programs from Prince Charles, Lady Di, Prince William and Catherine Middleton.

From Forfar we drove about 18 miles to the coast to the Carnoustie Golf Links to see if there was any chance of Josh getting a tee time. We found out that wouldn’t be possible and he’d have to look for another option but we enjoyed a nice lunch in the Rookery. It was at the Rookery that I had my first taste of Cullen Skink. I really enjoyed it!

Welcome to our restaurant at Carnoustie Golf Links. For as long as anyone can remember, crows have made their name in this area. In fact, legend has it that the old Scots name, ‘Craws Nestie’ is where our much-loved Carnoustie got its name. Over the years these resourceful, community-minded birds have made their home in our coastal town, as, like golf, they belong in this challenging and formidable place. They call it home. We call it The Rookery.

Cullen skink, one of Scotland’s most famous dishes, is a hearty soup traditionally made with smoked haddock. The name of this soup comes from Cullen, a small town in the northeast of Scotland. Skink is the Scottish term for a knuckle, shin, or hough of beef, so most soups made of these parts were called skink. When people in northern Scotland were unable to find scraps of beef due to economic strains but had plenty of fish to cook with, and smoked haddock was found everywhere, meat stews transformed into fish-based soups, but the name skink stuck.

We checked our maps and saw a golf club closer to our lodging for the next two nights and we swung by to see if Josh could get a T-time here, St. Michael’s Golf Club. While Josh talked to someone in the golf shop we walked through the cemetery next door.

With a T-time and the promise of a set of golf clubs to borrow Friday morning we set off to find our home away from home for the next two nights.

Pinewood Country House was easy to find and it was our favorite lodging of our whole trip. The owners put us up in the Red Squirrel Lodge which was behind the large country home. We chose Pinewood for it’s close proximity to St. Andrews.

The lodge was two stories with the main living area, full kitchen and a king size room and bathroom and upstairs was another king size bedroom with sitting area and a bathroom. I didn’t take photos of all the areas.

Here is the link to Pinewood and we would recommend staying in the main house or the lodge if you are ever in this area of Scotland.

We settled in to our lodge and relaxed until it was time for dinner at the close by St. Michael’s Inn. The owners of the Inn were having dinner at the same restaurant this evening celebrating their anniversary. We didn’t have reservations but slipped in under the radar and had a nice meal despite a hectic start because of some kitchen issues.

After dinner we drove into St. Andrews to find a grocery store to pick up a few items for our next couple of days.

Thursday was another picture perfect blue sky day for us. You can see in the last photo some clouds forming. Friday would be a full day with golf and ruins as the theme in St. Michaels and St. Andrews.

We were again thanking the LORD for taking such good care of us in our travels.