Scotland

Edinburgh, Scotland

As monuments go, this one is pretty cool so we took lots of photos of it

This is the National Monument of Scotland memorializing the Scots who died fighting in the Napoleonic Wars. It’s on Calton Hill across from downtown Edinburgh.

Edinburgh Castle

This one is also on Calton Hill and it commemorates Admiral Nelson’s victory at Trafalgar. I’m not sure who they were fighting…probably the British.

It was so fun to see the seagulls all around Edinburgh. When I was in the city, it was easy to forget how close the ocean actually is!

A view from Edinburgh Castle

This is the Balmoral Hotel clock tower on Princes Street beneath Castle Rock (where Edinburgh castle is perched). It’s right by the train station so the clock is set 3 minutes ahead to help ensure that passengers don’t miss their train!

A statue of Bobby, the loyal pup.

The City Chambers

Another view of the Adam Smith statue and a better view of St. Giles Cathedral.

I think this is a really fancy rain spout? It’s also on the Scott Monument.

Deanston Distillery and the Scottish Kelpies

Barley grist is added to warm water to make a liquid called mash

Whatchu lookin’ at.

The Kelpies

Yeast ferments the mash converting the sugar to alcohol. This makes a liquid known as wash.

The wash is distilled repeatedly in order to separate the alcohol from the water. This creates a liquid known as “high wines.”

Oak casks are filled with a mixture of the high wines and water.

Aging the casks is where the magic happens. The vault includes casks from other distilleries, a common practice to protect against losing everything in a catastrophic event such as fire.