The subject of this second post will be the cottage we hired, as well as the castle grounds, ending with the castle itself. Above, you can see a quick shot of the common wild Fuscia, just outside the cottage's kitchen window.
Below, you see the main entrance to the cottage, which is quite spacious, having two and a half baths, a mud room, a huge country kitchen, a formal dining room, a large parlour, three good-sized bedrooms with one of them having an en-suite bath.
Main entrance to the Pier Cottage
Below, you see blog central, where I composed these postings while at the cottage.
As you can see, the view was spectacular.
Kitchen View in the Morning
The best part of waking up is the view
A moment of amusement caught on film of Colleen's life-long pen pal, Linda R.,
in the Drawing Room of Pier Cottage
On the second morning at the cottage, the manager showed up, telling us that if we wanted a tour of the castle itself, we were welcome to pop in anytime that day to see what the inside looked like. She said it would be our only opportunity, as the last guest (The top A-list hollywood television star who shall go unnamed here for their privacy) had just vacated, and the next guests, a group of American golf fans coming to see the Scottish Open, would not be arriving until the next day. We took her up on her offer, and boy are we glad we did! Dave, our host, informed us after the tour, that usually this type of tour costs $80.00/couple, and often doesn't include half of what we were able to see.
Below, you see the front entrance to the castle itself. The roadway just left of the tree in the foreground is the only way in and out out of the castle courtyard. Curiously, although the driveway is gravel, it packs so tightly that you cant displace it even on foot. You'd have to have a pick and a shovel to make any kind of dent in this surface. It LOOKS rustic, but, in truth, it is very tidy.
Aldourie Castle Proper from the Car Park
Once inside the front door, we were presented with this surprising view of stag horns from the hunts of years gone by.
Entrance to Aldourie Castle
Once inside, we were led to the main drawing room, which was L shaped, matching the estate's exterior contours. Off to the right of this photo is the other section of the room.
Aldourie Drawing Room, Westward View
Below, you see the same room, only rotating the camera 90 degrees to the right.
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Aldourie Castle Drawing Room, looking Northwestward, across Loch Ness
Standing to the left of the couch above, I turned 180 degrees to get the shot below.
Aldourie Castle Drawing Room, South Wall Fire Place
Orienting the camera conventionally, yielded the photo below. Notice the open door that would be hidden if it were closed? Remind anyone of the Oval Office?
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The last features of this room are the curious parapet walls on the west side of the drawing room below.
The one on the left faces southwest, while the right one reveals views to the northwest.
Below, the door on the left leads to the Drawing Room, while the one on the right
leads back toward the front door, which you could see, if the wall on the right was not there. This would be the library where the Laird would conduct business with his solicitor or his factor. Colleen found a hard cover book dated 1732 on one of the shelves, but I'm sure there are many more that are even older.
Library, Aldourie Castle
Below, you can see the same room from the viewpoint of
the person sitting at the desk, looking westward.
Aldourie Castle Library
One of the views as you proceed up from the drawing Room to the second floor of the castle
Below, we look westward from Lady Gray's Bed Chamber.
It's located directly above the Drawing Room.
Lady Gray's Bed Chamber
Below, you can see a section of Lady Gray's en-suite bathroom,
complete with water-heated towel rack, and solid marble sink and floor tile.
Lady Gray's Lavatory
Authentic plumbing abounds over Lady Gray's Tub/Shower Combo
Elegance Defined, Aldourie Castle
A view out the window from Lady Gray's tub
Another shot of Lady Gray's Lavotory, w/ the Water Closet this time.
Aldourie Castle, Lady Gray's Bathroom
Seen on the left side of the picture above, below we see what must have been a
dressing room for lady Gray, or alternately, a nursery for her infant children.
Lady Gray's Nursery
Leaving Lady Gray's bedroom behind for good, we see a brass rail from which hang all the pictures, paintings and mirrors, just below the crown molding.
Aldourie Castle, South Wall, Lady Gray's Bed Chamber
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Castle through the trees
This view was afforded from the main entrance road out over Aldourie Estate properties
and beyond to the hills on the far end of Loch Ness.
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Farewell to Aldourie
Standing to the left of the couch above, I turned 180 degrees to get the shot below.
Orienting the camera conventionally, yielded the photo below. Notice the open door that would be hidden if it were closed? Remind anyone of the Oval Office?
The last features of this room are the curious parapet walls on the west side of the drawing room below.
The one on the left faces southwest, while the right one reveals views to the northwest.
Below, the door on the left leads to the Drawing Room, while the one on the right
leads back toward the front door, which you could see, if the wall on the right was not there. This would be the library where the Laird would conduct business with his solicitor or his factor. Colleen found a hard cover book dated 1732 on one of the shelves, but I'm sure there are many more that are even older.
Below, you can see the same room from the viewpoint of
the person sitting at the desk, looking westward.
Below, we look westward from Lady Gray's Bed Chamber.
It's located directly above the Drawing Room.
Below, you can see a section of Lady Gray's en-suite bathroom,
complete with water-heated towel rack, and solid marble sink and floor tile.
Authentic plumbing abounds over Lady Gray's Tub/Shower Combo
Another shot of Lady Gray's Lavotory, w/ the Water Closet this time.
Seen on the left side of the picture above, below we see what must have been a
dressing room for lady Gray, or alternately, a nursery for her infant children.
Leaving Lady Gray's bedroom behind for good, we see a brass rail from which hang all the pictures, paintings and mirrors, just below the crown molding.
This view was afforded from the main entrance road out over Aldourie Estate properties
and beyond to the hills on the far end of Loch Ness.
