STEVE MacNAULL
Kelowna Daily Courier
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What do you wear under your kilt? It鈥檚 an inevitable question with Ross Boardman standing on the front lawn of Glamis Castle in Scotland, outfitted in the famous skirt for men, hiking boots, jacket and vest.
He鈥檚 also holding a bow and arrow, but we鈥檒l get to that a little later.
鈥淲ell, actually I鈥檓 English,鈥� says Boardman with a laugh.
鈥淪o I wear boxer shorts under my kilt.鈥�
The women in our group give a little sigh of disappointment.
However, Boardman鈥檚 co-worker Duncan Cleary is there to save the day.
鈥淚鈥檓 a real Scotsman,鈥� he declares proudly. 鈥淚鈥檓 not wearing anything under my kilt.鈥�
Even in the cool weather, he confirms everything鈥檚 warm under there.
Boardman and Cleary work for the activities company Boots N Paddles and they鈥檝e set up six big targets on the front lawn of Glamis Castle for our Adventures by Disney tour group to try our hand at archery.
Disney鈥檚 Academy Award-winning animated movie Brave inspired this tour, so naturally there has to be archery at a castle just as there is in the film.
We may not be as good as the fictional fiery red-haired Scottish princess Merida is at shooting a bow, but my 10-year-old daughter and I have a blast trying.
鈥淭he Disney name opens doors,鈥� explains Adventures by Disney regional manager Bruce Austin.
鈥淚t鈥檚 how we鈥檙e able to have archery at this castle when no other tour group has been able to do so before. It鈥檚 also why we鈥檙e able to launch our canoes at Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness to go looking for the Loch Ness Monster, get a private tour and dinner at Edinburgh Castle, and enjoy a barbecue under the marquee between mountain biking and horseback riding at Rothiemurchus Estate.鈥�
Bonnie Scotland as a vacation destination already has its own cachet with the charming sing-song accent of its inhabitants, kilts-and-bagpipes folklore, kings-queens-and-clans history, sophisticated cities and stunning highland scenery.
At Loch Ness, we climb into canoes in the shadow of the ruins of Urquhart Castle. The water is calm, the sun is shining (always something to be thankful for in notoriously grey and misty Scotland) and the Loch Ness Monster is very much on everyone鈥檚 mind.
鈥淚f you鈥檙e going to see Nessie this will be the place because this point at Urquhart is where most of the sightings are,鈥� says Boots N Paddles guide Dan Maggs.
While a Scot through and through, Maggs isn鈥檛 wearing a kilt.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not really canoeing attire now, is it?鈥� he says.
While the canoeing is surreal, Nessie does not make an appearance.
Our only monster sighting is back at the Loch Ness Centre & Exhibition were they have a big statue of Nessie floating in a pond.
Our day at Rothiemurchus Estate confirms that Scotland is not all haggis and scotch at the pub.
It has an active outdoor recreational scene and the 10,000-hectare Rothiemurchus near Inverness in the north of the country is proof.
The guys from Boots N Paddles show up again with mountain bikes for us to cycle trails through some of the last stands of Caledonian forest to pretty little Loch an Eilein.
After a barbecue lunch under the marquee in front of the estate鈥檚 old manor house, we meet stable manager Feona Laing.
She鈥檚 matched her kilt with rubber boots (wellies in Brit speak) and thermal underwear.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a wee bit cool you know,鈥� she says.
We鈥檙e paired with stocky and hairy Highland ponies and amble over heather-covered moor and through more Caledonian forest.
For our final night, it鈥檚 back to the capital of Edinburgh where we鈥檙e led by a bagpiper through the front gates of its imposing castle built atop an extinct volcano.
Awe-worthy views of the city await before its off on a private tour and exclusive dinner of chicken in tarragon cream sauce in the Queen Anne room at an impossibly long banquet table topped with eight massive candelabras.
We feel like royalty.
