Workaway #3: Scotland!

When we arrived in Scotland via ferry from Belfast, we were immediately whisked away in a coach bus along the coast to Glasgow and then across the country to Edinburgh. Our bus took the twisty turny roads so fast that we ended up getting into Edinburgh a little earlier than expected so we ventured out to find a bite to eat. About an hour later we were picked up by our next workaway host Hazel and we drove about an hour north to Blairgowrie where we would be staying for the next week. Hazel has 38 acres right at the foothills of the highlands.  We arrived after dark so we had no idea what the land looked like and we had a pleasant surprise in the morning!

While at the workaway for the week we had various chores... We cared for her ponies, a breed indigenous to Scotland for which she provided a rescue. We skipped out their stables, poop scooped the fields and groomed them. We cut down a huge brush forest to make a path from one pony field to another (using only hand tools!).  This job was especially difficult because of the presence of thorn bushes and nettles (a plant that stings you and sucks more than poison ivy). We cleaned out a corner of the barn which included going through and sorting a ton of old tools. We helped with a few small repairs and changed out a washing machine. Last but not least we helped ready the guest apartments for the new guests that would be arriving. 


We got to drive this four wheeler all over the farm!

Only the female ponies were brought into the stables each day. The black one is Ebony, white is Cheeky and brown is Missy.

The view out our window!

Hazel took us around the Perthshire area for a day. Our first stop was in a cute little town called Dunkel. It had a pretty church with a nice scenic landscape.








Next stop was in Aberfeldy to check out a real scottish whiskey distillery... We had to goto the Dewars world of whisky! 



Kurtis pretending to be the CEO of Dewars in the 1800s.

Tons of old whisky bottles.

Illegal picture taken of the whiskey distillers. 

More photos from the workaway:


Our friend smoky the cat who looks like Emily but is nice.

Road to the stables.

Ebony in her stable.

Missy (Mischief) and Cheeky (she was cheeky!)

Kurtis grooming Cheeky, see how small the ponies are?!? They are full grown.

Highland cows on the property!

The work at this workaway was hard but Hazel was very generous and even took us to town for dinner two of our nights during our stay. On Tuesday, Hazel took us into Perth where we caught a megabus up to Inverness to search for Nessie!