About an hour or so via train from Edinburgh, we arrived in the small village of Blair Atholl. Just on the other side of the train tracks, we came upon our lodgings, the Atholl Arms Hotel.
Many of the buildings in the village were built in a similar fashion as our hotel.
In the background were some beautiful hills and the beginning of the Highlands. Birds were singing on the wires.
The Atholl Arms hotel was lovely. However, the employees were exceptionally helpful and friendly.
We ate supper in the dining hall one of our two nights at the hotel and had a nice table set for us in the huge hall:
The hotel had a fireplace with actual coal, but it was warm enough in September that we didn’t need a fire. I am sure the ambience of the hall is greatly enhanced with a fire glowing.
I didn’t look to see if there were other hotels near the Atholl Arms, but why would you stay anywhere else?
Now for the castle:
Walking to Blair Castle from our hotel across the street from the grounds was beautiful. It was early morning and dew was still on the grass. We had a lovely stroll up the road to the castle:
As we got closer to the castle, we crossed a bridge. But just before this, the castle came into view:
Blair Castle was the castle that Victoria and Albert visited in Scotland and in the recent TV series “Victoria,” where the couple got lost on the grounds. Victoria loved the Scottish countryside that was on the edge of the Highlands. She and Albert and their children returned there many years as the children were growing up.
Below you can see how beautiful the castle is in the interior. The plaster moulding and ceilings were spectacular. The dining room was beautiful and I loved the pale green color.
Also, when first walking in, I observed a huge amount of weaponry on the walls. I assumed that being so close to the Highlands, hunting and gaming were great sports in this region (Perthshire). The castle and grounds are in trust, I believe, and the current Duke of Atholl lives in South Africa. He only visits the castle once a year. As I have visited the United Kingdom much in the past few years, the armor is starting to become familiar.
Below I was not really spotlighting the guns as much as I was the moulding. Oh no, a gun is missing. A view of the knight in armor as well as a polar bear from above, more moulding, and a write-up on the Order of the Thistle:
A sweet picture of Victoria and two of her children, one of the baths, a bedroom, and a beautiful office:
This clock was in the dining room. We encountered Blücher and Wellington on the tour of the castle. It’s nice to see some familiar faces in such a far away locale.
My most favorite costume from “Victoria” happened to be on display! I love this raw silk dress that Jenna Coleman wore when she and Albert were in Scotland. The black dress was worn by the actress who played Skerritt . . .
One of the last rooms we toured was the Great Hall. I am sure much entertaining occurred here. An unfortunate repeat of the polar bear and knight (but I was not going to redo the collage). Also, a sketch of Victoria’s favorite dachshund was hanging in one of the bedrooms. I spotted a typical Canaletto painting of St. Mark’s Square in Venice. In the bottom right is not wallpaper, but a painted wall to look like wallpaper.
Kristine, Diane, and I taking a picture of a picture with all of us in it. I wonder what their pictures are like? Kristine has blog posts scheduled already until May 2019 at Number One London, so it might be awhile before Blair Castle is featured! Diane might write about this trip on the blog Risky Regencies.
An alternate view of the grounds from the hill next to the castle:
There were some beautiful gardens such as Diana’s Grove (as in Diana, the goddess of beauty), a walled garden, and the pony stables next to the house. The lichen-covered trees were everywhere on the grounds.
We did visit the walled garden. Such beauty!
After walking around the grounds, we then headed back to the Atholl Arms.
Next post: A Land Rover safari on the grounds of Blair Castle.
Hi Denise – you can see where Canada gets its ideas for buildings from … those early Canadian explorers/immigrants. What a gorgeous place – no wonder you’re so enamoured: I suspect you’ve put it on my list … if I ever get to Scotland to tour. Lovely descriptions and photos you’ve given us … loved reading it and seeing it … cheers Hilary
Next year the Scottish Retreat is going to be based at a house in this area of Scotland! Thank you as always, Hilary, for being such a loyal visitor and reader! Cheers, D