Day 15 of travel, but day 1 of Scotland! Flew in from Iceland this morning. Easy flight on Easy Jet. Talked a little politics with some Scottish girls who were in line with me. I restored their faith in America Americans (you’re welcome, America). They said they were always scared to talk to Americans, because they weren’t sure who supports Trump. I informed them that Trump supporters aren’t traveling the world with a backpack, so if they saw one of us traveling, they were pretty safe! 😛
Landed in Edinburgh, breezed through immigration. Customs was just waving everyone through. Got out into the exit area, and stopped into a little store for a bottle of OJ because I a) needed some sustenance (I’d only had a pepperoni stick and a granola bar all day) and b) I needed change for the bus so I had to break my £5 bill. Buses only take exact change, and I needed £1.60. Cracked open google maps, and it said to take the Airlink 100 to Princes St, then the city bus 31/37 (I think that was it) to St. Patrick’s Square. How easy is that?! Went up to the counter. The price on Airlink was $6 one way or $10 roundtrip. Roundtrip, please, no brainer! The (very friendly and chatty!) man charged my card and handed me it and the receipt. I asked if this is what I showed to the driver. He said no! He forgot to give me my ticket!! People, never assume, always double check, don’t be afraid to ask questions!! Started walking toward the bus, looked at my ticket. It said one way! Hmmmmmm. I could have sworn I said roundtrip…. Looked at my receipt. £7.50. Went back to the window. He was helping someone else, but smiled at me, so I told him the problem. He handed me a new ticket. People, never assume, always double check, don’t be afraid to ask questions!! 🙂
As I mentioned, I flew in from Iceland. It’s not called that because of its balmy weather…I was in hiking pants with ski pants over them, a thermal shirt, and knee high smart wool socks. Excellent Iceland attire. Death by sweatication Edinburgh attire! It was HOT! Now, let me clarify hot….it was about 16C (61F). At home in Los Angeles, that is known as “9 degrees below 0”, because 70F is my 0, and below that, I’m cold and bundled up in sweats. I guess I acclimatized to Iceland, because I was DYING!!!!! I sat down on the bus. I seriously couldn’t take it, and told the lady next to me, “I swear I’m not a weirdo, but I HAVE to take my pants off!!”. She (and her family behind her) laughed. As I stripped, I told them I just flew in from Iceland. They had, too! So at least they understood. 🙂
The bus drove along gorgeous streets lined with old homes. There were amazing cathedrals that looked like they were built a zillion years ago. Got off the bus at Princes St. and WOW!! Everywhere you looked was some old, medieval looking AMAZING building or castle or statue or cathedral or SOMETHING! I was in love! This is Europe “proper”!! Iceland, I love you and this is NOT a diss, but you are more Europe “adjacent”! 😉 Iceland exudes nature. Edinburgh exudes history. And I love both. I’ve been to several major European cities in the past couple of years- Paris, London, Brussels, Hamburg, Rome, Florence, Stockholm….now, we have to take Paris out of the lineup, because, well, I teach French History and have a passion for “my” French kings, so it would be treasonous for a good royalist like me to compare Paris to any other city. 😉 However, of the rest of them, Edinburgh (at least what I’ve seen from the bus so far) is the most gorgeous! I literally couldn’t stop smiling. Until I walked to my connection bus stop and stood there. And stood there. And stood there…I finally looked up at the little electronic sign and it said “Buses Diverted”. WHAT?! I texted my airbnb host. So apparently there is a huge women’s march going on to celebrate 100 years of having the right to vote, and a ton of roads are closed. I googled the walk. One mile. With a 25lb pack. Uphill. The bright side? I could see some of this beautiful city! (Old me would have cussed, thrown myself on the sidewalk, and had more than a wee temper tantrum…FYI: My goal is to work the word wee at least once into every blog post. 😜).
Oh, but there was a brighter side! I heard bagpipes! Say what?? BAGPIPES!!! They were getting louder as I walked. I was grinning like a cheshire cat! Speaking of which, I saw the damn cutest Alice in Wonderland dress in the window of Cath Kidston on Princes St…thinking hard about it… Anyway, then, I saw it. A huge RIVER of women, winding down the road, holding signs, singing, laughing. It was awesome! By the time I got to the road they were marching on, the bagpipes had passed, so I didn’t see them. But oh, what a sight!! I fell even more in love with the city! Fortunately, my walking route followed the march route precisely. Kept me entertained and my mind off the hill I was climbing with the backpack. Seriously, every corner I turned was a new photo op of some AMAZING building. But I’ll have time for that next week. For now, gotta put this pack down!
See that line of women winding up toward that castley thing in the back? Crazy!
By the time I reached the Airbnb I was sweating like an Icelander at the equator!! The lady let me in and she is SO NICE!! She poured me a glass of ice water, and we talked about the topic of the day apparently….politics. Guys, it’s on everyone’s mind. Seriously. (This is the day Trump dissed the G7). She showed me my cozy little room and told me where the grocery store was. Perfect, because I had to shop for my 5 day bus tour that starts tomorrow. If you’ve read any of my previous blogs, you know I ain’t about to be eating out for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day for 5 days! Emptied my day pack, grabbed my cloth bag, and headed off to Tesco. FOOD GLORIOUS FOOD!! AT SUPER CHEAP PRICES!! And I can read what it all is!! 🙂 Of course, after being in Iceland, EVERYTHING is super cheap!! Got all of the things I needed, plus a little meal to heat up for tonight. But food is one thing…drink is another entirely. Especially when that drink is my beloved Diet Dr. Pepper!! And they have it!! In a 6 pack!! And it’s only $4.75 (which is still more than the price I pay for a case of 12 at home, but I’ll take it!)!! That would buy me exactly 1 a half Dr. Peppers in Iceland… Grand total for all of my groceries which should last me most of the next 5 days and is far more varied than what I’ve been eating? $27. 🙂 BTW, £1= about $1.30
Happy with my purchases, I came back to the bnb, ate, drank a well deserved Dr. Pepper, took a shower, and settled in for the evening. Tomorrow, at 8am, I embark on a 5 day bus tour of the Scottish Highlands!!
Editor’s Note: Yesterday, I mentioned I took my pants off on the bus. Well, a very kind Scottish lady messaged me and said that pants means panties or underwear in Scotland!! So, basically I announced to the bus that I would be removing my underwear! For the record…TROUSERS (just the first pair! I had on 2!) removed. Pants, firmly in place! 😇
Hello, darkness, my old friend… 🎶 It got dark last night! Now, don’t get the wrong idea… The sun is still clocking overtime hours. Sunset is at 10pm and sunrise is at 4:30am. But I actually slept really good without zzz pills because I didn’t wake up every 30 minutes to adjust my sleep mask all night from the light pouring in…
Packed my stuff, ate a blueberry muffin, and headed out to meet my bus! It was only a wee (got it!) bit over a 1/2 mile. So easy! I had to be there at 8:15, so I planned to leave at 7:45 so I’d be there by 8. What I didn’t plan on was my pack. Normally, it’s right at 25 lbs. Heavy for me, but manageable. But now all of my heavy winter clothes were in the pack instead of on me. And I was carrying all of my groceries. I put on the pack and immediately realized this was going to suck…
Got out on the street and started following the instructions, trying to look at the amazing buildings, navigate, and remember to look for cars coming in the opposite direction I’m used to while crossing the street. Oh, and trying not to die from the weight of the pack. Where’s my sherpa Brian?? Then, Google tried to make me go into a tunnel marked subway. I didn’t need to take the subway… That didn’t make sense! At this point, I had to take off the pack. Wiggled my shoulders and tried to figure out what Google wanted. Put the pack back on and headed in the most likely direction. Google hated it and told me to turn around. I was pretty flustered, because there was construction and sidewalk closure everywhere. I was afraid my path might be blocked. I was dying with this pack. While I was standing there, a young man walked over and said, “are you alright?”. I wasn’t sure if it was because I looked confused, lost, or like a potential stroke victim. I showed him my phone route, and explained the problem. Indeed, I was supposed to go through the tunnel marked subway! I thanked him profusely and we parted. It was like this in Paris, too, when I would get lost. People would just stop and ask me if I needed help. Lovely. This is why I’m never afraid to travel alone. People all over the world are wonderful.
I got on the right road. I was dying from the pack, and only about halfway there. I had to stop a few times to rest my arms and back. My 800 arrival was now at 807. I had to check in by 815. GPS said to turn right and my destination was about 450 feet ahead! Woo hoo! I’d made it. Until I turned right and saw the most horrible thing imaginable. A hill. Not just any hill. A steep one. Had a taxi come by, I would have taken it. I don’t care the cost! But no taxi in sight. I walked a bit. Stopped. Walked a bit. Removed pack and did what might be yoga (or just weird contortionist stretching) to ease my muscles. Wash, rinse, repeat… About halfway up I started feeling kinda icky. I’ve fainted on trips before. I didn’t have time for that now! I was already showing an arrival of 8:17! I can’t stand the disrespect of being late! I couldn’t take the pack trying to pull me backwards down the hill anymore. So, I bent over, about 90 degrees at the waist, and kind of turtled up the rest of the way… The pack as my shell. It helped. I’m sure I looked like a fool, but that’s never stopped me before! And I was never so glad to see a tour bus in my entire life! It was right at the top. 🙂
Checked in, put my big bag on the bus, and went to have a seat. Bonus: there’s a USB port right at my seat so I can keep my phone charged and blog in between stories the guide tells on the long drive! Blogging on the go is so much easier than doing it at the end of a day when I’m exhausted, or worse, a couple of days later. I remember all the details better this way. 🙂
James, our driver, has been telling wonderful stories! Deacon Brodie and the robberies (with a mysterious execution!) , Robert Knox, a scientist who paid people to rob graves so he could study human anatomy, Burke and Hare, who murdered people to sell to anatomists, Mary Queen of Scots…. I’M LOVING IT! So much to learn!
First stop! The village of Luss on Loch Lomand. We had 30 minutes to explore this perfectly lovely little village… Not enough! That’s why I hate bus tours. Sigh. Plus, I tend to get lost in my own little world and forget things like what time we’re supposed to be back and where the bus is parked… Which almost culminated in an “incident” in Bath, England a couple of years ago… So I set an alarm and GPS pinpointed the bus location! First stop, potty. 30p to pee, and quite a long queue (psst… Americans… That’s a line!) Now, I don’t know what it is about me, but when I travel people often ask me for help. I’m rather disheveled looking. Plus, I’m quite befuddled on my own trying to figure things out often times, and am rather socially awkward and introverted (I’m the most extroverted introvert you’ll ever meet…or vice versa!). So I’m not sure what is it about me that says “she can help me!” out of all of the other people who are around, but I’m happy to do the best I can. First, an Asian man who didn’t speak any English. He just held out a palm full of coins to me. He wanted me to figure out 30p. I don’t know the coins by sight, so I picked through them until I found the right combination, gave them to him, and smiled. Kindness doesn’t require a common language. Then, an elderly couple who were quite riled about having to pay, and simultaneously confused about how it worked. I walked the lady thru the entire process from getting change at the machine to putting it into the turnstile. Paying it forward for the help I received this morning from the young man!
This little village was so quaint… It could have been plucked from a movie set and placed here! The gardens… Oh my the gardens! I’m a plant rescuer, and buy plants that are about to be thrown away from garden centers, or get plants for free from people who no longer want them. Then, I try to landscape my yard with the resulting mish mash! These gardens were inspirational! So perfect! I needed more time! But there was none. Back to the bus. We drove by Loch Lomand, but didn’t even get to stop for pictures! Trying to take them from the bus is so hard because of the glare. You have to put the camera right up to the glass, which means no glare, but not the angle you want. #firstworldproblems
I’m pretty sure this is a species of passion flower- my favorite flower!! But not the same species from the states.
Then we drove by Loch Long, and through an amazing little valley of sorts! We got to stop at a little area that was quite beautiful. Argyll Forest Park. 10 minutes? How am I supposed to enjoy the scenery, try to come up with at least one decent picture, explore the little wild plants, and search for wee (that’s twice!) bugs in 10 minutes? Sigh. Also, it looked like a perfect place to have a picnic! But something tells me I’m the only person who packed my own groceries…
This stone says “Rest and Be Thankful”. It was put here by the soldiers who built the road in the mid 1700s! And very true words…
We approached the little white village of Inveraray. Apparently, in the late 1700s, the castle owner wanted the peasants off his grounds so he could expand his gardens (and probably not have to look at all the poor, lowly folk!). So he built them this entire village with every building they needed. The ultimate wealthy person version of “Hey you, kids! Get off my lawn!” #brianshero The driver said we’d have a good view of the castle to the right of the bus. Hey! I on the right! I pressed the phone to the window and started snapping. Then, we drove to the castle, just for a couple of pics. My lord, this thing looked right outta Disney! There was a tour! But no time. I cursed under my breath while we were dropped off in the village for an hour and a half lunch break. Lunch?! But there’s a CASTLE over there! Sigh. I found myself a nice bench on the edge of Loch Fyne, which is a SALTWATER loch, interestingly enough! I didn’t know lochs could be saltwater- it opens right to the ocean. Made myself a peanut butter and banana sandwich, ate some cheese crackers, and had a cookie- all with a better view than anyone who was sitting in a restaurant. Perfect. Then, walked around town.
This is that bridge we drove over where we had the 3.5 second glimpse of the castle!
After town, I decided to walk along the road back to the bridge where we had that first view of the castle. A little sketchy with all the traffic, but I lived. There were some cool birds! Got some nice shots and headed back to the village.
Oystercatcher- I recognize this from Iceland!
Um, why wasn’t I IN that castle?? #bustour
Back on the bus (which after missing the chance to go in that castle, will now be referred to as the sheep wagon!), and off to the next stop- Kilmartin. This was actually kinda two stops in the same area. First, the prehistoric Stone-Henge-esque area. This place dates back about 5000 years ago! It had been covered by a thick layer of peat. When that was removed, the standing stones and burial mounds were found below. Amazing! I’ve done a bit of independent research, and can’t find any firm decision on what they may have been used for. The guide said something about lining up with the solstice, but I can’t find any information on that. What is interesting are those “bowls” carved into the left side. This is called cup and ring, and is found in many places like this, but no one has any idea what the meaning is…I find that so fascinating. It must have had some major importance to them, but now it’s lost forever… Then, we went to some of the burial mounds. Very interesting stuff! What wasn’t so interesting was how people were behaving. There was one burial tomb that you could “lay” in to get a photo. Yeah, I don’t consider desecrating the burial sites of ancient people a “photo op”. I consider it to be disrespectful of the people, the place, and the history. This isn’t an amusement park. Wasn’t a fan of that…
Burial chamber. You can either a) stand there and contemplate what life was like 5000 years ago in this place or b) lay inside like an idiot tourist and have someone take your picture. Oy.
When we were done walking through the fields of history (where sheep now graze!), we headed to Kilmartin village. We had 30 minutes. Decisions, decisions…
Mary with a car would have done everything. Mary with 30 minutes chose the historic gravestones. Ooooooo….good choice!! So there’s a really cool “old” church. Old is in quotes, because this really is the new one. It was opened in 1835, but this site has had churches on it since the 900s!! And the really awesome cemetery outside of the church proves it. Gravestones are there from the 900s!! Let that sink in for a minute! The really old stones have been brought inside of the church to be protected from the elements. And honestly, compared to the stones from the 1800s that are in the cemetery, these are in excellent condition even though they are 900 years older! And they were only brought inside in 1977! Amazing!
This one is from 900. Beautiful Celtic design.
This one is from 1200.
There was more to see outside in the cemetery! A building had been built to protect several large stones. These were medieval slabs that would cover a grave, rather than stand upright like the ones inside the church. They range from the 1200s to the 1700s. Designs include things like swords, hunting, and creatures like lions and unicorns to symbolize royalty. Just so fascinating!
These are the oldest, from the 1200s.
I then went out into the main cemetery. There was such an air of history in the place- looking out over the fields toward the 5000 year old stones and burial chambers, to this more familiar type of burial area that dated back “only” 1000 years. Who knows what is under all of that ground?
The skull and crossbones design on these slabs was really interesting!
Next stop, the Isle of Seil. We were coming here to see a bridge. And not just any bridge- the Clachan bridge. It was built in 1792, and is the oldest bridge built over the Atlantic Ocean! Now, obviously you aren’t driving from here to New York or anything, but this is an island. And the flow of water that looks like a river between the mainland and the island is the Atlantic Ocean. It’s a beautiful bridge, and on one side a fairly rare purple flower called the Fairy Foxglove (Erinus alpinus) grows.
That’s not the only thing interesting about this little island! I’m still learning about Scottish history…but there was a Jacobite uprising in 1745, and the wearing of the kilt was banned! When the men would come back to the island, this little building is where they would remove their trousers (NOT pants!!) and put on the forbidden kilt…. History. It’s awesome.
And that was the end of our tour for the day! Last stop would be the town of Oban (pronounced Obin), where we would be staying for the night. You had options to book your own accommodations with this tour, or have them included. Seriously, I have enough to do, so I just made it easy on myself and included them. I figured some little hostel kind of situation or something. People were getting dropped off at a lot of different places around town. Imagine my surprise when we pulled up to an ocean front GORGEOUS stately bed and breakfast named the Corriemar House and my name was called!! YIPPEE!! Oh, it’s so beautiful and antiquey inside!! I had a huge, beautiful room with a bathroom (they call that “en suite”). I’m feeling mighty spoiled by Scotland….
I slept so well! Woke up to a beautiful sunny morning. Did some work and blogging and headed down for breakfast at 7:45 when it opened. I can’t recall ever having stayed in a true bed and breakfast (I travel on the cheap!), so it was a treat. I got to choose from a menu when I checked in. Haggis was on there… I want to try it, but maybe not first thing in the morning before a winding bus ride! I had chosen a fish cake, and man I chose right! It was like a fat crab cake, with something creamy and delicious inside. I could have eaten 3 of them! Honestly, at this point, I could eat anything that didn’t involve peanut butter and bread….
Sheep wagon picked us up at 8:45. First stop, the Falls of Lora with these crazy whirlpools. The falls are underneath a really cool bridge, but it isn’t a waterfall like you’re thinking. These are tidal falls (I’d never heard of such a thing!). During the spring tides twice a month (full and new moon- the highest high and lowest low tides), the falls turn into amazing white water rapids when the outgoing tide causes the water level in the ocean to be lower than that in Loch Etive. So interesting!
Look at those crazy currents!
As we drove through the stunning scenery of the highlands, the guide told us the story of the Glencoe Massacre, and for someone who loves history (like myself), it was fascinating! So good, (and so important to this area), that I’ll share the basics with you. Rarely do I get all history teacher mode on the blog, but this is too good to pass up!! See, it all starts with religion (love and peace, you know!). It’s the late 1600s, Protestantism had already usurped Catholicism in this area. But a new king came to power- James VII of Scotland and II of England. He was Catholic (cue dramatic music). His daughter, Mary, was a Protestant (who was married to another Protestant- Prince William of Orange) and next in line to the throne. So the people put up with James’ hail Mary’s and holy water. Except James ended up having another child- a son! So, by way of possessing a penis, this new child bumped Mary to second in line. TWO Catholic king’s in a row?? Oh hell no! James was getting a little more heavy handed with the people. That, and his Catholicism, were getting on some powerful people’s last nerve, so they decided to invite Mary and William to take the throne of England and Scotland. Mary and William quickly RSVPed for that party, and were crowned. Of course, James wasn’t invited to this party and was so miffed he took his toys and went to France- where he plotted against Mary and William, but was defeated. Now William, being the king by virtue of his wife being the queen, wanted loyalty. Especially because he was in a ruckus with MY king, the Sun King, Louis XIV of France (cue angels singing). #frenchhistoryteacher Tiny problem…a lot of Scottish clan chiefs in the highlands still supported James (this is where the term Jacobite comes from- those who supported James as rightful king). Not acceptable!! William demanded in late 1691 that they sign an oath of loyalty to him. And it had to be signed by January 1, 1692. Ok. Let’s piece a couple of things together here…the clans live in the HIGHlands. Guess what? It’s up north and has a lot of mountains. All of this is going down in the winter of 1691. Mail getting into the highlands to announce this demand was late arriving to Alasdair MacDonald- leader of the MacDonald clan of Glencoe (a clan not exactly loved by their neighboring clans- especially the Campbell clan- because of their tendency to pillage, raid, and steal cattle. Remember that).
So Alasdair MacDonald sets off for the nearest town to take his oath of allegiance to King William. The winter was HORRIBLE. Travel was slow and difficult. He finally arrives in Fort William (after the January 1 deadline), and was told, “Yeah, sorry. You have to take an oath in front of a sheriff, and he’s in Inveraray (where I saw that awesome castle yesterday).” You can imagine MacDonald’s response to this- Inveraray was not only 60 miles away in awful winter conditions (Ryan Air hadn’t been invented yet), but was home to some of his most favorite people to pillage and steal cows from- the Campbell clan! He was pretty sure he’d be arrested on the spot if he showed up there. But if he didn’t swear loyalty to the king, his clan would be destroyed. Decisions, decisions! He set off for Inveraray… Where he was promptly detained by the Campbell’s and put in jail until the sheriff arrived. By this time, MacDonald was a few days past William’s deadline. He pled with the sheriff to accept the late oath. He did, and released MacDonald.
The oath was sent to Edinburgh, and promptly stamped as DENIED by the head dude there. A dude who just so happened to not be a fan of the MacDonald’s, and saw this as an excellent opportunity to express that disdain. With the oath being denied, destruction of the MacDonald clan was ordered. Three regimens of soldiers (two of which were made up of Campbells) were sent to carry out the orders of “cut off root and branch” and “to put all to the sword under seventy”- in other words, destroy them completely. Two of the regimens said the weather was so bad, they couldn’t get there (it is thought that they did this to keep from participating in the massacre). The other regimen, led by Robert Campbell, knocked on Alasdair MacDonald’s door and asked for “Highland Hospitality”. Now remember, the Campbell’s and MacDonald’s were enemies. But Highland Hospitality overrode such petty personal issues. This was a harsh land. And if someone was in trouble, there was an understanding between all of the clans- friends or foes- that you took in your fellow man. It was a code that no respectable clan would ever even consider breaking- no matter the issues between them. So the MacDonald’s let the Campbell’s in. You’re probably expecting an immediate slaughter. You’re wrong. The MacDonald’s and Campbell’s lived together for 12 days. Eating, talking, laughing. And on February 13, as a horrible blizzard raged outside, the Campbell’s began the massacre- killing 38 MacDonald’s in cold blood. Dozens more escaped the slaughter (possibly having been alerted by sympathetic Campbell’s), only to die of exposure in the relentless blizzard.
The nation was outraged by the massacre. But all that happened is that the dude in Edinburgh, who denied the oath because he had it out for the MacDonald’s, resigned. The event was forgotten. But not by the MacDonald’s. Some businesses in Glen Coe, some 300 years later, still have signs…”NO CAMPBELL’S”.
We listened to this tale (I conducted some independent research to verify facts!) while we drove through gorgeous landscapes of lochs and brilliantly green covered mountains. We kinda got to see Castle Stalker at 60kph from the window… The original castle was built in 1320. The present day castle is much younger, having been built in the 1440s 😲! We were in Campbell country- and they actually lived in the castle from the 1620’s until the roof caved in in the 1840s. It’s been restored, and is probably best known (although not by me because I hate that kind of humor) as the Castle of Argggggggggggghhhhhhhhh in Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
As we wound our way through the glen (a narrow valley with high mountains on either side), my muggle eyes fell upon the first of the day’s Harry Potter adventures….THE FORBIDDEN FOREST!! This is where it was filmed, and Hagrid’s Hut was built there- although it sits in London these days (damn England- they take ALL the good stuff!!). This shot was taken from the bus window. Sigh.
Next, we stopped at the visitor center and told this was a 5 minute restroom break- we had things to do. I got out and it was AWESOME!! Informational signs (learning! 😍), trails…um, heaven. But oh no, pee and get back on the bus. I did as I was told. No one else did, and I sat on the bus for about 15 minutes waiting for those yahoos! And because of that, we only got 15 minutes at our next stop instead of 30. I swear, I’m about to start a clan uprising between the Middlebrook clan (party of 1) and the rest of the bus! We pulled into Glencoe- MacDonald territory- and my, but it was GORGEOUS!! Trails, little waterfalls spilling off the mountains! And I got to spend 15 minutes mulling around the parking lot. Kill me.
Why the rush? For some optional whiskey distillery tour that started at some certain time. I hate whiskey and whiskey hates me. It’s a mutual hate-hate relationship. (I hate wine, too, which goes over GREAT in France….) Plus, I’m not sure I’d get a lot of student enrollments for “Whiskey Making 101”. So I opted out of this tour. You know I really don’t want to do a tour when the other option is “Spend 2 hours in Fort William for lunch!”. Sigh. Fortunately, our awesome driver/guide James got back on the bus after getting the whiskey folks checked in and said, “Do you guys want to just go into town now, or go to a castle?”. I think I almost flew out of my seat in the urgency to flail my arms and scream “CASTLE!!!” before the other clans even had a chance to dare speak “town”!! Dear guide, ALWAYS castle. Love, Mary. Oh, and what an awesome castle it was! Castle ruins, more appropriately. This was Inverlochy Castle- built in, get this, 1280!!!!!!!! My house is in ruins and it was built in 1960. #justsaying We got to wander around for free and explore the grounds. It’s just so amazing to think about the people who lived here, who walked in the places where I was walking. How completely different their life was. How neither of us could even fathom how 800 years, a blip in geologic time, is such a different world in human years… And what was really interesting is that the guy that owned this castle and Robert the Bruce (of Braveheart fame) were enemies. In 1306, Robert the Bruce murdered the castle owner and took Inverlochy for his own…and basically abandoned it. And here it still stands today.
Awesome graveyard across from the castle, complete with waterfall in the background!
All too soon it was time to go to Fort William. I have nothing against towns. But can’t we spend 20 minutes in town and an hour and a half somewhere INTERESTING instead of the other way around every day?! Ain’t nobody on this bus going to die if they miss a meal. #mainlyamericans I wandered slow.ly. down the high street. I found a little museum and spent some time in there looking at things. I sat outside in a little square and had a picnic. I found myself completely alone inside of a church. When all of those things still left me with about an hour to spare, I, out of complete desperation, went into souvenir shops and….browsed <shudder>. Finally, I found a chap that looked like a rather interesting conversationalist. Sat down and chatted with him for about 30 minutes.
My new bestie.
When we boarded the sheep wagon, and I heard the Harry Potter theme song. Of course, I immediately checked my phone, because that is the ringtone telling me I have school email to attend to (my school is the school that Harry Potter Genetics built! 🙂 ). Huh. I didn’t have email. Then I realized the theme was continuing. The driver was playing it, because next stop…THE HOGWART’S EXPRESS!!!!!!! 🚂 We were about to board the Jacobite train, the very train that was used as the Hogwart’s Express in the movie. Remember this scene in the movie??
Yeah- I was going to be riding on THAT train, on THOSE tracks, over THAT bridge, and by THAT loch!! EEEEEEE! I got my seat next to a window, put my stuff down, and ran out to take pictures before we left. I even got to go in the engine car and sit in the driver’s seat and meet Charlie, the engineer!!! To say I was a wee (got it!) emotional would be an understatement…Soon it was time to be seated and begin the 84 mile journey to Hogwart’s Mallaig. The little cart came by and I got a chocolate frog (didn’t even blink at the $5.35 pricetag….). I so wish I had taken a video of it! Because as soon as I tried to take a bite, he jumped on to the window!! It was crazy!! 🐸 Um, as gorgeous as everything was, you would literally think you had left the muggle world and entered into some magical wizarding realm. Of course, trying to get pics while the train was moving and trees were in the way was a feat of magic in and of itself! Word to the wise- if you are riding this train and leaving from Fort William- SIT ON THE LEFT!!! All of the good stuff is ON THE LEFT. Where was I? On the right. But I managed a few good shots along the way!
That tall peak is Ben Nevis- the tallest peak in Great Britain!
YES! That is THAT bridge! EEEEEEEE!!!!!!!
Bet ya can’t guess what that island is?? It’s where they filmed Dumbledore’s final resting place!! #spoileralert
I can’t even believe I got this shot. Right place, right time, fast on the button!
I seriously had SO MUCH FUN on the train! It was like someone used a time-turner and fast forwarded us. The 2 hours was over in an instant. And now, here we were in the ocean port town of Mallaig. The conductor said there was a Harry Potter shop down the street. Oh, but what a Harry Potter shop! It was like I had wandered down Diagon Alley! Such a fun and fantastic little place with all of the right touches.
The front “Dumble”door!
Firebolt!
The rest of the town was ok. Seriously, after 16 days or so in Europe, it was time for real food. So I splurged on fish and chips. Not the most flavorful food in the world, but it was hot protein, and that was good enough for me! Next up was to put the bus on a ferry and head over to the Isle of Skye…
By now, it was late. 8pm. We had been on the go for about 12 hours. Got dropped off at my bed and breakfast for the night- Rainbow View in the lovely little seaside town of Kyleakin- with an ocean view to boot! Had a nice chat with Jana, one of the owners, took a shower, and fell in bed too exhausted to even blog or work! I had taken a bus, a train, and a ferry today, and seen some of the loveliest land you can imagine under blue, sunny skies. I needed to rest up for tomorrow’s exploration of the Isle of Skye…
DISCLAIMER: Ok, I know a lot of people have really been looking forward to reading about my experiences in the Isle of Skye. This journal might be a little disappointing, because I don’t think I was able to really get a true feeling for the island. Apologies to all of you Skye fans out there!!
UPDATE: What I thought was just typical Scottish weather was actually Storm Hector– the first named summer storm of the season! I’m trying to locate a “I survived Storm Hector” t-shirt. 😜
I woke up, did a little work and blogging, and went in to breakfast at 8:15. The night before I had requested salmon and eggs. Um, I sure as hell was not expecting this culinary masterpiece!!
A feast for the eyes and the mouth!
Seriously, I was in shock just from the presentation. I’m not used to such fancy food!! And oh my god, it tasted DIVINE!! Seriously. Everything. The eggs, the salmon, the bread the eggs were on, the cucumber garnish with the AMAZING sauce, the tomatoes… I’m going to be dreaming about that meal a lot over the next 2 months, as I eat PB & J…. HUGE shout out to Rainbow View Bed & Breakfast! But even without this wonderful food, breakfast would have still been enjoyable! I got to chat with Jana, and she is just a lot of fun. We talked about all kinds of things- tourists, travel, etc… When I was finished, she said, “You are really nice.” I chimed in, “For an American!”. She said, “I wasn’t going to say anything…but….” 😉 I live for that shit. 🙂
Got on the sheep wagon at 8:50. Now, I have to say this. There are like 40 of us on this bus. Accommodations in any village in Scotland are tough to come by because there are SO many tourists here. And it’s not like there’s some Hilton in every town with 500 rooms. So we don’t all stay at one place. We get spread out all over in 8+ different guest houses each night. Ok. The scene has been set. Now, I step on the bus and immediately proclaim to the driver, “Best. B & B. EVER!!”. Apparently, not everyone had such a wonderful experience. Guesthouses in Skye are particularly hard to come by, and the company was having to put people in all kinds of places- some that they had never previously used. And apparently not everyone was as ecstatic with their room as I was… So I got on a bus where a lot of people were complaining and the driver was trying to apologize and reassure them. This went on for several minutes, and it was enough for me. I just piped up and said, “Whatever happened last night is over. We have a beautiful day ahead of us! Let’s focus on that instead.” A few people cheered. Then everyone went back to complaining. Sigh. #americans
Now, there was one thing to complain about. The weather. Which you may have guessed from the title of this blog. Yesterday was FANTASTIC! Sunny….warm….no wind…the first time I’ve worn a short sleeve shirt in 2.5 weeks!! Woke up this morning to cold, drizzly, gray skies. I dressed appropriately in wool tights under water resistant TROUSERS (not pants! 😁), a thermal top, my rainjacket, and my waterproof walking shoes. As we drove across the island, I could pretty much only see two things- a raindrop covered window that was hard to see out of, and scenery covered in a blanket of gray mist. Scottish weather, to be certain, but not really what you want to see when you’re visiting what so many people have told you is the most beautiful part of Scotland!!
We saw a weird rock formation in the distance, called the Old Man of Storr, and were told a story….There was a married couple, who used to walk to this mountain every day. Years later, the wife passed away, and the husband would still walk their path each day, thinking about and missing his wife. One day, he sat on the mountain, and said out loud that he wished he could just be here forever. The fairy king overheard him and granted his wish….by turning him into stone. After that story, I was silently praying to the fairy king for good weather!!
Next stop was another formation, but this one was a cliff. It’s called Kilt Rock, because the folds in the rock resemble the folds in a kilt. there was a very misty waterfall coming down from it, but you couldn’t really see it well from our angle. That, plus the fact that drizzle had turned to rain, got everyone back on the bus in record time. Taking pictures in the rain is no fun.
You can see the waterfall kinda, if you look about 1/3 of the way from the left of the picture.
Next we went to what was probably my favorite spot of the day- The Quiraing. The scenery is out of this world- literally, it looks like an alien landscape! We had 30 minutes here to hike around, but the weather was dreadful. Wind, rain. Ugh. I did hike for about 20 minutes, trying to get away from the people, trying to get them out of my shots, and trying to enjoy what I was seeing without thinking about the cold. Taking pictures was so difficult. As soon as I’d lift the camera, the lens would be pelted from sideways rain that seemed to come from every direction within seconds. I got as many pictures as I could, and then retreated to the bus.
Ok, I seriously do not feel like I am doing this place justice. Because frankly, the wet and cold was just miserable and made it hard to see and enjoy anything that was happening. It was so bad at some places, that the driver would pull the bus over, tell us about a place, give us 10 minutes to get out and take pictures, and no one would move. It was that bad out. But he did tell us a story that I feel imparts the beauty of the Isle of Skye, so i want to share it with you…
The MacLeod clan ruled over the Isle of Skye. Highlanders were looked upon as a little backwards by the rest of the Scots. Everyone, even other highlanders, looked upon the people of Skye as especially backwards. So, there was definitely a “hierarchy” there! All of the clans went to King James IV’s palace in Edinburgh for a meeting. When they walked in, all of the candles were lit in the palace. King James said to the leader of the MacLeod clan, “I bet you’ve never seen candles burn so brightly in Skye.” The other highlanders agreed with their king, ribbing poor MacLeod who ignored it. When they entered the dining room, King James said, “I bet you’ve never seen a ceiling painted so beautifully in Skye.” The same thing happened- ribbing, and MacLeod ignored it again. A feast was brought out, and James once again tried to make MacLeod ashamed that there was nothing this good in Skye. Finally, MacLeod had had enough. He invited the king to come visit him in Skye. The king agreed, and arrived a few weeks later. At midnight, MacLeod took the king on a walk. They arrived to a hill, and were immediately surrounded by 500 of MacLeod’s best men, holding lit torches. MacLeod asked James if he’d ever seen anything burn so brightly. James said he hadn’t. MacLeod then told James to look up at the starry sky- had he ever seen a ceiling so beautiful? James said he hadn’t. A feast was then brought out to them- all of the wonderful things the people could hunt or grow on the Isle of Skye. Plate after plate of amazing food. James understood the point, and declared the Isle of Skye to be his most favorite place in the world.
Next, we stopped off at a museum of sorts- which seemed literally way out in the middle of no where! This was the Skye Museum of Island Life. About $4 to get in. The weather was still a nightmare, and this was an outdoor museum where you went from building to building, learning about how the people of this island survived in the 1700s-1900s. The houses are called Crofter Cottages, and were built from the scarce local materials of rock and thatch. Each building had a theme- the Croft House, where people lived until I think it was the 1950s (maybe 1930s), the smithy, the barn, a weaver’s cottage, etc… And in each building there would be artifacts from that time period. And there were a LOT of artifacts! It was really interesting, but I couldn’t help but be worried what the weather would be like when I would have to step back out into it. It was getting worse and worse… After the museum, we drove to the nearby cemetery. Alexander McQueen of fashion fame is buried here. And there’s a monument to a lady named Flora MacDonald. I don’t have all of the history on her, so you’ll have to google it if you’re interested, but she is considered to be a hero in Scotland- mainly for helping Bonnie Prince Charlie escape the island by dressing him as her female servant. Seriously, the driver stopped the bus and ONE person braved the elements for a picture. That one person was not me!
From there, we went to the town of Portree for lunch. This is the largest town on the Island, and is the capital. It has about 2,000 people. 🙂 We didn’t get there until almost 2:30, and apparently they roll up the sidewalks at 2. Normally, I sit in some interesting area outside and make myself a picnic during our lunch stops. That was not an option today. It was raining and windy, so I asked the other 2 solo girls if they would like to have lunch with me. They agreed. We went to Cafe Arriba and there was a line literally out of the door. We waited about 40 minutes to be seated. The waiters were trying to get everyone seated as quickly as possible, and started asking if people minded sharing tables. Everyone agreed except one couple. Guess what nationality?? #americans Do you see why I am always so damn happy when someone identifies me as not acting like an American?? We seriously have a pretty craptastic reputation overseas, and I have witnessed first hand many, MANY times just why that is. Spoiler alert: We are not the most powerful people in the world, people do not worship us, and our shit does stink. #yourewelcome Finally got a seat, and I ordered the most amazing venison stew with potatoes and bread. It took over 30 minutes to get it. So totally hit the spot, though, on this nasty weather day. Comfort food at its finest! Time to get back to the bus was quickly running out, and I wanted to get pictures of the cute little Portree harbor! So I wolfed down my deer, bundled up against the elements, and walked very quickly down the street to snap a couple of shots, then even quicker to the bus pick up point for shelter. The fairy king must not be pleased with me, since he’s not answering my prayer. Of course, if the weather had cleared, it would obviously be because fairy kings exist and answer lowly human’s wishes! But since he didn’t, we’ll just chalk it up to, “Fairy kings work in mysterious ways”. 😉
The order of things gets a little messed up here, because I didn’t get out and take photos at all of the stops. But here are the things I know we did….we stopped at the Sligachan Bridge. Like many things in Skye, this place is enchanted. If you dip your face in the water for 7 seconds, you’ll have eternal beauty!! A lot of people on the bus did this. A lot of people on the bus needed this. I deemed myself cute enough as it is, and skipped it. 😜
Then, we passed a RAGING waterfall! It was gorgeous! And the funny thing is that the driver said we had passed this on the way in this morning and it was a trickle. All of the rain throughout the day turned it into a spectacular sight! So spectacular, that I got my butt out of my seat to go take a picture. The rain was pelting the camera so hard though, that it was impossible, and I retreated.
Ok- last stop of the day!! Dun Beag Broch. A broch is a tower of sorts, built in a strategic location (like on a hilltop as this one is). When was this built, you ask? Well, let me tell you. ABOUT 2000-2500 YEARS AGO!!!!!! I got all US Postal service when I heard that… “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds” My “rounds” was to see some ancient history!! To do this, we had to hike up a hill in gale force winds with rain pounding us…and try to avoid very wet sheep landmines that were EVERYWHERE… You have no idea how long it took me to get each of these pictures. Multiple, multiple, MULTIPLE shots, constantly having to wipe the lens and snap fast before it was covered in drops again.
Got to the top, and the view was spectacular! But so was the wind. It was literally hard to walk against, and I was afraid of getting blown over. I’m not kidding. There was no protection up on top of that hill… But once up there, you could see inside of the broch. It’s thought that these were fairly tall towers, about 10 m (30ish feet), and used as lookouts, defense, and maybe even status symbols. One hypothesis, due to how where they are located, is that they may have been a type of communication system, warning of impending danger. Remember in Lord of the Rings, how the fires were lit in the beacons of Gondor, one after another, to warn of the impending attack? Yeah, like that. And the really cool thing- they are only found in Scotland!! PS: I am NOT a movie person. Literally, the only movies I like that were made in 21st century are Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings. And Scotland has given me BOTH of them in the last two days!! No more movie references, I promise. Unless I’m in Austria- you’ll be bombarded with The Sound of Music. 😉
I was super glad that I went and saw this. Such history. So many questions that will never be answered… Bus took us back to our guest houses. I was bone cold. This is what I call it when I can literally feel the cold inside of my bones, and the only way for me to get warm is a super hot shower. I peeled my clothes off, and the top of me was dry underneath my raincoat. But I was soaked through my water resistant TROUSERS, wool leggings, and even my pants (using the Scottish term, here!). I fell into bed, exhausted. And feeling like something was seriously missing from my Isle of Skye experience. Maybe it was just because I was miserable being cold and wet all day. Maybe it was because I could barely see anything. Whatever it is, I am convinced that it was a “me” issue and not an Isle of Skye issue!! I’ll have to come back some day when the weather is better, and give this place another chance!
Woke up and looked out the window. Wind, rain, gray. Oh, how I wanted to just crawl back into bed for the day and hitchhike back to Edinburgh! But that was just a passing thought…I headed off to the kitchen to another INSANELY beautiful and tasty meal! Can you even believe this?? Smoked herring, prawns, and eggs that I learned are from the chickens in the garden. More wonderful conversation with Jana. I gave her a hug before I left. She is such a warm and fun person! I’ll miss her (and the food!!). It was time to board the sheep wagon and leave the Isle of Skye behind us. I was still feeling like I “missed” something, but no time to dwell on it- there was a full day of adventures ahead!! I was not looking forward to the ferry ride across. The water I could see from my room was so choppy. Puking would not be the way to start out a brand new day! To my surprise, we didn’t have to take the ferry. There was a perfectly civilized bridge that took us back to the mainland. 🙂 As we drove, the weather deteriorated to the point that it made yesterday look like a freaking picnic. Wind was whipping trees something fierce. Rain, rain, rain. We passed GORGEOUS mountains on both sides of us, and I am not even kidding you, they were streaked like marble with hundreds of waterfalls. Yes, HUNDREDS. Had I had a car, it would have taken me all day just to get down this road with all of the stopping for pictures! But alas, the bus windows were covered in raindrops and fog, so I just have my memories.
All of a sudden, the bus swerves on the narrow, two lane road and brakes fast! People gasped. The guy in the front seat who didn’t have his seatbelt on, fell in the aisle. The driver pulled over and jumped out. It all happened so fast, that no one really knew exactly what happened. The driver came back and explained. So a tourist had pulled over on the left side to presumably take pictures of all of the insane waterfalls pouring off the mountains. When he opened his car door to get out, the wind caught it. He was not far enough off of the road, and the door flew open right into our lane! The driver had to swerve to miss it, but also swerve because there was an oncoming car in the other lane (that I did see as it happened). How the driver maneuvered that huge bus in the pouring rain on that narrow road and managed to not hit either obstacle is a testament to this guy. He is just awesome! We all clapped. 🙂
As we drove, the driver told us about some of the animals that can be found in the woods here. And then he told us the national animal of Scotland. I never in ten zillion years would have guessed….UNICORN!!!! Oh my god, Scotland, how awesome can you be? Seriously?! The story we were told is that the unicorn was chosen, because it was the only beast capable of defeating a lion (the animal on the coat of arms of England). I haven’t found verification for that, but it sounds good, so I’ll believe it until I’m corrected. 🙂
First stop, Eilean Donan castle. The word castle always gets me excited, because there’s history to be seen and learned! Got off the bus and walked right what growing up in Texas I would have called a tropical storm. At this point in my travels, I still didn’t realize that this awful weather was being caused by Storm Hector- the first named storm of the summer. The wind was gale force. The rain was every direction (I think even upside down!). I quickly made my way to the ticket counter, and asked the lady if there was someone working there named Rosie Cheeks that was on some of the Scotland facebook groups. She looked puzzled for a moment (and I admit, I felt weird asking!), and said, “Oh! She works in the gift shop!”. More on that later…. I went outside and played “race the raindrops” to try to snap pictures of this stunning castle before the lens was covered. The wind was CRAZY. The castle was….STUNNING! I couldn’t wait to get inside!! (And not just because of the weather!)
I walked into the first room and starting snapping pictures of all of the signs so I could go back and read later. Here are the basics: The original castle was built in 1200s, changing shape and size over the centuries as remodels took place. It played a role as a Jacobite stronghold in the 1600s and 1700s, and was eventually practically completely (that’s a lot of -ly words!) destroyed. It was abandoned for about 200 years, until it was purchased in 1911 and restored. This is not a Scottish government owned site. It is family owned. Which I find fascinating, and if it was mine I’d kick all these hordes of tourists out and have the most awesome AirBNB known to man kind!!!!!!!!! Of course, I’m selfish like that. 😉
After that first room, I went outside of the castle. Holy hurricane, batman!! The storm had worsened substantially in like 10 minutes!! I ran to a little area to get shelter. You could hear the wind howling (screaming) around the walls and people were running and fighting umbrellas- Hector was making himself known!
Here you can see the rain coming down hard.
I made my way into the main castle. Jaw. Dropped. Now THIS is a castle!!! It was so magnificent, so stately, so imposing, so medieval, yet….so homey. Sorry Windsor, prior to today you were my favorite castle. Eilean Donan just dropped you to #2, because you are gorgeous, but a bit pompous as well! 🙂 There was only one bad thing about this castle- NO PICTURES WERE ALLOWED INSIDE!!! Please, please, please go here and look at some pictures. Simply perfect. At this point, I knew I would kick all of the tourist hordes out if I owned it, but not so sure I’d even share it with AirBNBers!! This was a castle for LIVING! And the family that owns it does have private apartments that they come and stay in on occasion. They have also put a lot of their own items on display, which makes it even more homey. I was in love. 😍
Now, the driver told us to open all of the cupboards and such. Admittedly, I felt like I was “that” American, opening every door and drawer! Sometimes, I’d find a pile of spare light bulbs or whatever. But I opened one closet, and there was A SKELETON IN IT! I screamed out loud like a complete idiot, quickly looked around to see who saw/heard me, and thoroughly embarrassed myself for about 2 seconds. Quick recovery, and was so glad to have found that little hidden gem! Look for it. 🙂
This castle is really well done. I love all of the attention to detail. It’s beautiful. At one point, I just stood by the window, looking out on to the misty loch and listening to the wind howl. I tried to imagine what it would be like in here 300 years ago… I finished my little tour of the castle, and headed back outside, where Storm Hector was all to happy to greet me with pelting rain and driving wind! The driver told us to pick up 3 stones and bring them back to the bus. I did. Then, I went into the souvenior shop. I was looking for Rosie Cheeks from Facebook, but wanted to look at employee name tags first and see if one said “Rosie” or something similar on it before I asked. I walked by the cashier and the lady said, “Mary?”. Holy smokes, SHE RECOGNIZED ME!! We have never met, said like 3 sentences on facebook to each other, I never even told her which day exactly I would be there, and she sees like 10 zillion people a day, and SHE RECOGNIZED ME! We had a quick, lovely chat, and I was so happy to have met her. I love little experiences like that. I told the bus driver about it, and he thought it was pretty cool. 🙂
The wind and rain was still at it, and it was time to leave. The driver said to just hold on to our stones, but he wasn’t going to tell us why yet. Then he started telling us about how cairns are made in memory of loved ones passed. And that we were going to go to a cairn field (I can’t remember the name or if it even had one). And if we had lost someone, we could add our stones to a cairn in remembrance. I didn’t have to even think a second about who. My dad. Who took me on my first international trip when I was 16 (to Mexico). Who as an adult, I traveled with in his camper every summer for several years, until age started to get the best of him. He loved to travel, to travel with me. We’d plan those trips for months. Looking at maps (this was in the age before cell phones and google!), trying to figure out scenic routes and camping spots. I lost him a year ago last summer. There’s a lot of back story there that I won’t go into but I will say this- I feel like my dad travels with me every where I go now. That he’s proud that I get out there and see the world, take risks, have adventures, and live the hell out of life. I forgot all about the wind and rain as I wandered through that field to find a cairn that spoke to me. And I left the stones there. My dad, who never went overseas on vacation, just to war, has now been to Scotland.
Next stop, Roderick Mackenzie’s cairn and grave. By this time, the wind had gone from serious knock you off your feet gusts to what I would call “brindy”- a step up from breezy, a step down from windy! Still rainy, though. So who’s Roderick Mackenzie? He helped Bonnie Prince Charles escape the English, because he looked almost like him! MacKenzie was captured while the real prince got away. The English killed the “prince”, and it wasn’t until later that they realized they had been tricked. He’s a Scottish hero.
And now, it was time to head to something that has fascinated me since I was a little girl…LOCH NESS!! I was really excited about this! We pulled into the little town of Drumnadrochit. We had an hour and fifteen minutes for “lunch”. And by now, there was some sun and blue skies peeking through, and “brindy” had been downgraded to “breezy”! First order of business was cash- I had to have it for the cruise and I was cash poor. Had to find a cash machine. I walked to the tourism office and they directed me down the road. WAAAAAAAAAAY down the road, to the co-op store. Walked down there, got my cash, headed back. I knew I didn’t want to eat lunch, I wanted to explore this town that sits on Loch Ness! I walked toward something called Nessieland that looked like it could be kitchy and fun, but then saw the sign for the Loch Ness Centre. Just the way they spell center…centre….makes it seem so much more formal and important! So I went that way. And right there was a pharmacy! I decided that with the choppy waters, motion sickness pills were not a bad way to spend $5… Continued walking and found the center centre. It was like $9 to get in. I had 30 minutes. He said the presentations were about 30 minutes, but I could rush through if I needed. Each room had a little movie that was about 3-4 minutes long, detailing out certain information about the Loch, including the search for Nessie. It was so well done! I hated that I didn’t have enough time!! If you go, you really need about 1-1.25 hours to do it justice. I exited through the gift shop, and there was a cash machine!! ARRRRRRGHHHHHH! Had I not wasted so much time walking all the way to the other side of town, I would have had more time at the center. 🙁
Hey! I’m those things EVERYDAY!! And executioner! 😉
Next, we went to Castle Urquhart. Unlike Eilean Donan, this one is in ruins. But they are gorgeous ruins! The castle was built in the 1200s, and added on to over the centuries. In the 1600s, it was destroyed by England so the Jacobites couldn’t use it for defense. England…you are why we can’t have nice things! 😡 First, we watched a really cool video about the castle, then had about 40 minutes to explore it. Oh man, it was so much fun!! You really had to use your imagination to build the castle in your mind, and imagine life back then. I wonder if they ever saw Nessie??
Great view of the moat
The little sign says “latrine”. You could shoot arrows through the slit, and pee at the same time. Now THAT is efficiency in war!
Soon it was time to head out on to Loch Ness for a cruise. Maybe I’d see Nessie, just like I dreamed about when I was a child and read my Loch Ness Monster book about a zillion times! While we waited in line, two ducks just walked up to me and started quacking. I was in the middle of the line, so it was weird that they approached me of all people. I talked to them a bit, then remembered I had a few crackers in my backpack. I took one out and fed them. When I was done, the guy next to me said, “I videoed the whole thing. Do you want me to send it to you?” HOW NICE WAS THAT??!! And I had zero idea he was doing it.
The lady next to me said, “They’re posing for you!”
Like water off a duck’s back!! I love this shot!
All aboard the Jacobite Queen!! Dear England, You may have won, but everything here is talking about the Jacobites, so did you really? Really?? Love, Mary. We had such a wonderful man telling stories, singing songs, cracking jokes (I think his name was Malcolm) as we cruised out across the world famous Loch Ness. The Loch has 22 square miles of surface area, making it the 2nd largest loch in Scotland. However, it is so deep (755 feet at its deepest point!!), that it is the largest loch by volume in ALL of Britain! And get this- it holds more water than every lake in England and Wales COMBINED!!! Crazy!! No sightings of Nessie, no puking, thanks to the pills, but it really wasn’t bad at all even though it was a bit choppy, and a wonderful experience that really brought out the giddy little girl in me!! Scanning the surface for any little anomaly that might be the elusive Nessie…
The driver had the bus waiting for us when we docked. And he said he had a surprise- we were going to see Highland Coos (cows)!!! I swear, the gasp of excitement that washed through our group was crazy! We had seen castles and history and spectacular scenery over the past few days…but the very mention of Highland Coos sent us into a tizzy!! And then, he showed us this.
Fucking seriously? To say I was disappointed would be a MASSIVE understatement. I looked at him and he could tell. He said, “Are you disappointed?”. I said yes, with a scrunched up face. He said he was sorry. Everyone else looked pretty underwhelmed as well, after he proclaimed this to be modern art. Then he said, “Do you guys want to see some REAL Highland Coos?” We all gasped again. I practically skipped along side of him, and gave him a new joke to add to his bad joke repertoire (which is already quite extensive!). I said he should tell everyone this was MEDIEVAL art, not modern. And then explain that you can tell because it’s wearing CHAIN MAIL!! Buh-dum-dump. 😉 He liked it. And you know what I like? HIGHLAND COOS!!!!! And I hate cows. Like seriously do not like them they scare me. These, I wanted to cuddle, not eat!!
Back on the bus, dreaming of Highland Coos and how to sneak one into my carryon… Next stop, Invermoriston. We got to hike down a beautiful sun-dappled path through a little forest beside a stream, down to a little stone summer house. No idea what this was used for, but it was cute! And the stream was beautiful. It was a nice little nature break kind of away from everyone. I was needing that. After that, got dropped off at the accommodations for the night. The end of a long, eventful day!
I then went out into the main cemetery. There was such an air of history in the place- looking out over the fields toward the 5000 year old stones and burial chambers, to this more familiar type of burial area that dated back “only” 1000 years. Who knows what is under all of that ground?
That’s not the only thing interesting about this little island! I’m still learning about Scottish history…but there was a Jacobite uprising in 1745, and the wearing of the kilt was banned! When the men would come back to the island, this little building is where they would remove their trousers (NOT pants!!) and put on the forbidden kilt…. History. It’s awesome.
And that was the end of our tour for the day! Last stop would be the town of Oban (pronounced Obin), where we would be staying for the night. You had options to book your own accommodations with this tour, or have them included. Seriously, I have enough to do, so I just made it easy on myself and included them. I figured some little hostel kind of situation or something. People were getting dropped off at a lot of different places around town. Imagine my surprise when we pulled up to an ocean front GORGEOUS stately bed and breakfast named the Corriemar House and my name was called!! YIPPEE!! Oh, it’s so beautiful and antiquey inside!! I had a huge, beautiful room with a bathroom (they call that “en suite”). I’m feeling mighty spoiled by Scotland….
I seriously had SO MUCH FUN on the train! It was like someone used a time-turner and fast forwarded us. The 2 hours was over in an instant. And now, here we were in the ocean port town of Mallaig. The conductor said there was a Harry Potter shop down the street. Oh, but what a Harry Potter shop! It was like I had wandered down Diagon Alley! Such a fun and fantastic little place with all of the right touches.
The rest of the town was ok. Seriously, after 16 days or so in Europe, it was time for real food. So I splurged on fish and chips. Not the most flavorful food in the world, but it was hot protein, and that was good enough for me! Next up was to put the bus on a ferry and head over to the Isle of Skye…
Next stop was another formation, but this one was a cliff. It’s called Kilt Rock, because the folds in the rock resemble the folds in a kilt. there was a very misty waterfall coming down from it, but you couldn’t really see it well from our angle. That, plus the fact that drizzle had turned to rain, got everyone back on the bus in record time. Taking pictures in the rain is no fun.
Got to the top, and the view was spectacular! But so was the wind. It was literally hard to walk against, and I was afraid of getting blown over. I’m not kidding. There was no protection up on top of that hill… But once up there, you could see inside of the broch. It’s thought that these were fairly tall towers, about 10 m (30ish feet), and used as lookouts, defense, and maybe even status symbols. One hypothesis, due to how where they are located, is that they may have been a type of communication system, warning of impending danger. Remember in Lord of the Rings, how the fires were lit in the beacons of Gondor, one after another, to warn of the impending attack? Yeah, like that. And the really cool thing- they are only found in Scotland!! PS: I am NOT a movie person. Literally, the only movies I like that were made in 21st century are Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings. And Scotland has given me BOTH of them in the last two days!! No more movie references, I promise. Unless I’m in Austria- you’ll be bombarded with The Sound of Music. 😉
I was super glad that I went and saw this. Such history. So many questions that will never be answered… Bus took us back to our guest houses. I was bone cold. This is what I call it when I can literally feel the cold inside of my bones, and the only way for me to get warm is a super hot shower. I peeled my clothes off, and the top of me was dry underneath my raincoat. But I was soaked through my water resistant TROUSERS, wool leggings, and even my pants (using the Scottish term, here!). I fell into bed, exhausted. And feeling like something was seriously missing from my Isle of Skye experience. Maybe it was just because I was miserable being cold and wet all day. Maybe it was because I could barely see anything. Whatever it is, I am convinced that it was a “me” issue and not an Isle of Skye issue!! I’ll have to come back some day when the weather is better, and give this place another chance!
It was time to board the sheep wagon and leave the Isle of Skye behind us. I was still feeling like I “missed” something, but no time to dwell on it- there was a full day of adventures ahead!! I was not looking forward to the ferry ride across. The water I could see from my room was so choppy. Puking would not be the way to start out a brand new day! To my surprise, we didn’t have to take the ferry. There was a perfectly civilized bridge that took us back to the mainland. 🙂 As we drove, the weather deteriorated to the point that it made yesterday look like a freaking picnic. Wind was whipping trees something fierce. Rain, rain, rain. We passed GORGEOUS mountains on both sides of us, and I am not even kidding you, they were streaked like marble with hundreds of waterfalls. Yes, HUNDREDS. Had I had a car, it would have taken me all day just to get down this road with all of the stopping for pictures! But alas, the bus windows were covered in raindrops and fog, so I just have my memories.
And now, it was time to head to something that has fascinated me since I was a little girl…LOCH NESS!! I was really excited about this! We pulled into the little town of Drumnadrochit. We had an hour and fifteen minutes for “lunch”. And by now, there was some sun and blue skies peeking through, and “brindy” had been downgraded to “breezy”! First order of business was cash- I had to have it for the cruise and I was cash poor. Had to find a cash machine. I walked to the tourism office and they directed me down the road. WAAAAAAAAAAY down the road, to the co-op store. Walked down there, got my cash, headed back. I knew I didn’t want to eat lunch, I wanted to explore this town that sits on Loch Ness! I walked toward something called Nessieland that looked like it could be kitchy and fun, but then saw the sign for the Loch Ness Centre. Just the way they spell center…centre….makes it seem so much more formal and important! So I went that way. And right there was a pharmacy! I decided that with the choppy waters, motion sickness pills were not a bad way to spend $5… Continued walking and found the 
The driver had the bus waiting for us when we docked. And he said he had a surprise- we were going to see Highland Coos (cows)!!! I swear, the gasp of excitement that washed through our group was crazy! We had seen castles and history and spectacular scenery over the past few days…but the very mention of Highland Coos sent us into a tizzy!! And then, he showed us this.
Fucking seriously? To say I was disappointed would be a MASSIVE understatement. I looked at him and he could tell. He said, “Are you disappointed?”. I said yes, with a scrunched up face. He said he was sorry. Everyone else looked pretty underwhelmed as well, after he proclaimed this to be modern art. Then he said, “Do you guys want to see some REAL Highland Coos?” We all gasped again. I practically skipped along side of him, and gave him a new joke to add to his bad joke repertoire (which is already quite extensive!). I said he should tell everyone this was MEDIEVAL art, not modern. And then explain that you can tell because it’s wearing CHAIN MAIL!! Buh-dum-dump. 😉 He liked it. And you know what I like? HIGHLAND COOS!!!!! And I hate cows. Like seriously do not like them they scare me. These, I wanted to cuddle, not eat!!
Back on the bus, dreaming of Highland Coos and how to sneak one into my carryon… Next stop, Invermoriston. We got to hike down a beautiful sun-dappled path through a little forest beside a stream, down to a little stone summer house. No idea what this was used for, but it was cute! And the stream was beautiful. It was a nice little nature break kind of away from everyone. I was needing that. After that, got dropped off at the accommodations for the night. The end of a long, eventful day!
