Touring the UK Coastline for a Year in a Motorhome - Christmas in Inverness - Aviemore - Nairn - Durnock Castle - Week 18

 TUESDAY 28 DECEMBER 2014 Week 18

On Christmas Eve, Del and I were getting very excited. We arrived at The Royal Highland Hotel early afternoon and discovered we couldn’t get into our room until after 3pm, so we went for last-minute shopping and found a traditional Highland Tartan shop. As we both have Scottish roots, we bought an Anderson Tartan (my grandma’s maiden name) and a Ross Tartan (Taggart is part of the Ross clan). Then Del suddenly announced that we should go for a Christmas Eve drink!! In the afternoon!! 

We went in search of eggnog, as I’d never had it before, and I suddenly decided at 42 that I wanted to try the eggy, noggy beverage synonymous with Christmas cosiness. Well, I was mightily disappointed – not an egg or a nog in the whole of Inverness. However, we did find a cracking Scottish pub called the Hootenanny, where they serve traditional Scottish fayre and have a good old Ceilidh (a bit of Gaelic for you all there) , meaning jolly old knees up to Highland folk music. When we arrived back at The Royal Highland, we were a little merry, but the entrance was still impressive and very Christmassy. I got very excited, as I always do when I see lots of twinkly lights, and the tartan carpet just set it off nicely.

Christmas Eve was a little odd. I don’t think people must celebrate it as much as we do back in Lancashire. We went for a Chinese (about six of us in there!) The pubs were pretty much the same, so we decided to go back to the hotel for more drinks… Still no egg nog, though – humph.

Christmas day was fantastic. We went for breakfast and everyone decided to wear Christmas jumpers and Santa hats! A bunch of Japanese and American tourists were being taken out on a coach trip! On Christmas Day!!!  Although I did look up Haggis Adventures on t’internet, and it did look like a rather exciting five-day extravaganza for ‘Wild and Sexy’ young tourists around the Highlands. (Although I wasn’t sure about having a snowball fight and making snow angels on Christmas Day was the way forward – A cosy fire and Egg Nog sat in a Val Doonican chair was far more appropriate). They arrived back at teatime and all sat on the big yellow bus looking a tad shell-shocked in Santa hats! I wish I’d had my camera with me. Actually, it was a Kodak moment.

Del and I went for a beautiful walk along the River Ness, it was crisp and cold, but the sun was blazing. We went to light a candle, but all the churches were shut!!! Hmmm. After working up an appetite watching all the mad joggers out on Christmas morning, we went back to the hotel, had pre-dinner Bucks Fizz drinkies, then Christmas Dinner (Haggis, neeps and tatties for starters – Oh Boy! Yummy yum yum.) We noticed that we didn’t have party poppers or balloons like the other tables, so Del asked the staff for the kiddie's Christmas box, and naturally, he was the first to let off his party poppers and let the big long (farting) balloon in the restaurant! 

Actually, it was amusing, and we broke the ice with the other guests- champagne, Bucks Fizz, and a couple of Pinot Noirs or Six- and we chilled out in front of the telly box. Boxing Day, we stayed off the drink and went for a wander around Inverness. We discovered the Castle was a courthouse, and buskers play the bagpipes here, albeit Les Dawson style, hee hee. We tried to go for a boat trip, but that was closed too. We really should try to be more organised and plan ahead.

On Saturday, Inverness came back to life, and we caught a steam train from Aviemore to Broomhill and back again. It was freezing. They wanted us to have the full age of steam experience! But the landscape and views were breath-taking. Now we're off towards Edinburgh for Hogmanay.

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