Rob-n-Hild Take the High Road!

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Queensferry to Aberdeen and ferry to Shetland 191 km, 2:57 driving time.

We took a rural route from Queensferry to Aberdeen. First, we stopped in Glamis. We didn't have the time to visit famous Glamis Castle properly. We walked through the impressive gates and part the way down the looooooong avenue of trees. Then we decided to (hopefully) come back here when we return from Shetland. Afterall, this is where the Queen Mother was born, and where Shakespeare's Macbeth lived. Next visit we hope to learn why the different names of towns and areas are etched into the entry gates.

A shout-out to Nicole, Mauricio, and Abella for bringing Jam Bothy Gin Marmalade to Donna, who then loved it so much that she told us about it, and then we dropped in since we were driving past it in the town of Glamis. We sampled the three jams we bought - and we love them all.

We learnt from the staff and the museum that a bothy is a basic free-to-use shelter in remote locations. People used to live there and now many of them are a bit derelict. We figure this sounds a lot like Norwegian tourist "hytte" (cabins). Made a note to see if we can visit one when we return.

Looking for a picnic spot with public toilets, we ended up in the nearby town of Kirriemuir. This is where famous playwright J.M. Barrie was born. His and his family's graves are in a nearby cemetery. He is still celebrated in the town and the park has a playground called "Neverland". After lunch we went for a walk around the park and surrounding area. Very pleasant surprise.

The handily placed public toilets had funny names: Gents = Lost Boys. Ladies = Tinkerbell.

After lunch a quick drive from to the ferry terminal in Aberdeen. The boarding process was quick and we found ourselves parked on the lower car deck in no time. The climb up to deck 6 was quite steep but we made it. We found our sleeping pods and enjoyed the extra comfort. Worth every penny.

A group of musicians were entertaining the rest of us with Scottish music on fiddles and much more. Shortly after we took the photo, we all got blown off down into the cabins. There was indeed a strong wind!

We had some dinner in the cafeteria as both of us hate to feel seasick with empty stomachs. It was a very bumpy ride and after settling into our sleeping pods, we were happy to have motion sickness tablet. Thank goodness for Gravol - the drowsy kind! Thank you to Vanessa for giving us her box of Canadian Gravol when we visited her and Gary in York.

Hild woke up in the middle of the night as we passed Fair Isle. She also woke up when we briefly docked in Kirkwall, Orkney. She could sense that we had mobile internet again so she could reply to some emails. How eager!

We took another motion sickness tablet in Kirkwall and pushed on to Lerwick. Hild slept like a log while Rob was more unsettled. Luckily neither of us lost our dinners. However, many other passengers did. Poor souls. When we finally reached Lerwick we were eager to get on with our journey. Because Percy was on the lower car deck, it took a bit longer before we could disembark. We waited patiently.

This is the track from Marine traffic.com. Estimated 385 km , 14 hours 34 minutes at an average speed of 26.4 km/h

Coming up: Yell Island.

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