Day 7 - ​​​Southbound and down

​There were still plenty of places to stop for photos and we picnicked in Aviemore a place we have visited several times. We arrived in Pitlochry late afternoon again and once again were thrilled to find such a lovely hotel. The Craigmhor Lodge and Courtyard is a B&B but Pitlochry has plenty of good eating places. We planned to go out for the evening but when we saw our room and our balcony we decided another hotel picnic was what we needed! We spent the afternoon in Pitlochry watching the salmon leap and encountering two herons in very strange places! We did some shopping for family gifts and then visited the local Coop for another lovely hotel picnic. We were so lucky with our accommodation and once again I have nothing but praise for this hotel. Our room was immaculate, large and airy, beautiful fittings and of course our balcony overlooking the river. We spent such a relaxing evening here and it was followed the next morning but another high quality home cooked breakfast – porridge for both of us this time and a drop of whisky if we required! We both turned that option down -  a little too early in the day. The service of the staff was outstanding – one of the guests had requested hot chocolate for his breakfast which was not on their menu- 15 minutes later he had his own personal jug of hot chocolate and I am convinced they had gone out to the supermarket to buy it just for him. It was another great place to stay and Pitlochry is a beautiful little town – a bit touristy but well worth a visit particularly if you are craving some retail therapy !

This would be our last day on the North Coast 500 but not of our holiday. It had taken us three days to get up to the top of the country and would only take today to get back down. Our next stop would be Pitlochry.  We both had mixed emotions as the holiday had been amazing so far and it felt like we were returning to civilisation. The journey down to Pitlochry went through some more beautiful countryside. It was much greener than the west side and maybe not quite as breathtaking but it was still a lovely drive with pockets of civilisation which came much more frequent the further down we went. It did feel as though we had finished our holiday as we travelled through places I recognised and finally travelled through the outskirts of Inverness. We both felt a little sad but glad we had decided to extend our trip with some little extras!