You are in Scotland in a small port and you have a few hours to see something worth your time. So what should you do if you are an adult who likes adult beverages? You visit a scotch whiskey distillery. Ann, Ellen, Juan, Lynne and I signed top for HAL's excursion, "Glenmorangie Distillery & Lovely Dornoch". We boarded a bus along with several other passengers for a ride into the countryside. We were in the Scottish Highlands which refers to the northern portion of Scotland rather than mountains. As a teaser and to stretch our legs before going to the distillery, we were taken to the small picturesque town of Dornoch. We saw old buildings, a very old church, lots of flowers and trees, and a couple of good cafes. After seeing the sights, Ann and I stopped at one of the cafes for a typical Scottish scone and a cappuccino. ​

Getting back onto the bus, we retraced our route and arrived at the Glenmorangie Distillery. Our guide was a young Scottish woman who also worked there as a chemist. She showed us the complete distillery process and storage facility. It was a very professional presentation. I can still see the huge copper distilling vessels. No photos were allowed, so I can't show them here. We ended of tour at the tasting room were were were given a small dram of whiskey to taste. The store was next to the tasting so we could make a tour of it and buy a souvenir. We resisted. ​

When the bus arrived back in Invergordon, the driver took us through the main street along the famous mural trail including 11 large coloured wall paintings representing life in the Highlands past and present. ​

Back on the ship we went to the World Stage to watch a local family perform songs and dances to give us a flavor of this area of Scotland. As we sailed at 5:00 a local bagpipe band serenaded us from the dock - a fitting farewell to Scotland.

Dornoch

Dornoch

Dornoch

Dornoch Church

Scones and Cappuccino

Glenmorangie Distillery

Glenmorangie Distillery