Dunkeld, Scotland

In March, a different friend and I made our way up to Scotland. Despite having lived in the UK for a while now, and having a British father, I’d never made it up that far north (disgraceful, I know). Well, we took the train from London up to Edinburgh and then hopped on a bus to Dunkeld. My friend happens to be a pretty fine fiddler and once upon a time went to fiddlin’ camp in Virginia. It turns out there was a fiddling festival in Dunkeld, in honor of Niel Gow, and so we decided to go along so she could get her fix and I could experience what all the fuss was about.

I didn’t realize this before our trip, but apparently the Scots love their puns, perhaps more so than the Irish. This was especially evident in smaller towns, such as Dunkeld. We also happened across a beautiful church, St. Columba’s Cathedral and a forest that may have given Shakespeare inspiration for MacBeth.

We encountered surly bus drivers and some rather Lord of the Rings-esque scenery. Don’t worry Niel Gow, we’ll be back.