Of
congress and castles….
by Tina Fox, Chief Executive of The Vegetarian Society UK
June 2001
In May this year I was fortunate enough to visit Edinburgh, Nairn and
Fort William to check out the hotels for the post congress tour and tie
down more detail with Heriot Watt so I thought I would share my experiences
with you together with a taste of the places that we will be visiting
during the five day tour. Sadly I didn't have any time during my trip
to visit any of the attractions but as I am a great fan of Scotland I
have been to the majority in the past and I know they are all well worth
seeing.
Once I had passed Carlisle the driving rain stopped and the land dried
up to welcome me, as if by magic the atmosphere changes as you cross the
border, becoming more relaxed, partly due to the greatly reduced traffic.
I believe Scotland to be the most beautiful place on earth in spring (
and I'm not paid by the Scottish Tourist Board!) so the drive to Edinburgh
was a pleasure even in variable weather. If you are travelling by car
and not short of time the A7 route via various border towns is very attractive
and the home of Sir Walter Scott on route near Melrose is worth a detour.
Our stay in Edinburgh will be at the Rothesay Hotel for one night only
at the end of the trip. It is an attractive Georgian building well situated
only 5 - 10 minutes walk from the city centre and Sara, the manager is
more than happy to make special arrangements to accommodate our group.
The next morning I crossed the Forth Bridge, gateway to the highlands,
onto Nairn - on our trip we will visit the excellent Scone Palace on route
and travel up through the Grampian mountains. My trip was a little less
pleasant however as there had been an accident and the main road was closed,
leading to a tortuous diversion. I found the drive worth it though as
I received a very warm welcome at the Windsor Hotel , our stop for the
next two nights. Nairn is a gentle seaside town ( famous for oat cakes)
and its quiet beach can be accessed via a park at the back of the hotel.
Not that you will have much time to explore as you will be whisked off
to Findhorn the next day and later in the day up to Speyside for tour
of a whisky distillery and a wee veggie dram. The hotel always has around
4 veggie options as standard and I found the catering to be very good,
well presented, tasty and adventurous. The hotel has an owner manager
who will be very keen to ensure that our group is a happy one.
The next day we will leave Nairn behind and visit the ancient burial ground
and stone circle of Clava Cairns on the way to Inverness. Travelling on
to Loch Ness, the afternoon will see everyone taking a short cruise on
the Loch and a visit to Urquhart Castle. The initial plan was then to
spend overnight at Fort William but I was not happy with the standard
of the proposed hotel here so it is now likely that we will stay at Oban
or Mallaig which are much nicer towns in my opinion. Mallaig is the gateway
to the enchanting Isle of Skye and on the Wednesday we will take the ferry
over and tour the Island, returning over the Skye Bridge for a different
route home. Our final day, Thursday, will see everyone on the scenic road
through Glencoe and across Rannoch Moor, visiting Stirling Castle on route
to the Rothesay at Edinburgh. This is on a B & B basis to allow everyone
the choice of Edinburgh's many vegetarian establishments but if there
is enough demand a meal could be organised for the group - we should be
ready to party by then!
By the end of June I already had 5 bookings for this tour which is most
impressive considering the timescale, but nearer the time if there is
room on the coach or coaches it may be possible to allow UK members who
are not attending the congress to join in the holiday. Preference will
obviously be given to attendees as it is hoped to give our guests from
abroad and indeed those from the UK who have never visited Scotland a
taste of this wonderful country. If you would like a booking form/ further
details please contact Belinda Tam at the society or email congress@vegsoc.org
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