Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Or, as our friends in Scotland might say, Nollaig chridheil agus Bliadhma mhath ur! This year, Steve and I took a trip that we have long been talking about, but have had to delay for many years, spending a wonderful two and a half weeks exploring Scotland. Those of …
Continue reading ‘2015 – Are You Being Served?, or, All It Will Take Is One Good, Stiff Wind’ »
Finally, the day to fly home has arrived. It was a wonderful trip, but quite long. Steve thinks the length was just right because our week in Edinburgh seems very long ago, and it doesn’t feel like we only just got to Scotland and are now heading back home. I’ll give him that, but I …
Today was our last day on the Isle of Skye and we had a long drive ahead of us back to Edinburgh; however, we made time for a “quick” hike nonetheless. It was time to take the road from Glenbrittle to Sligachan and find the Fairy Pools! We got a little turned around on the …
This morning we headed to the Trotternish Peninsula (the northwest portion of Skye). We’d barely made it out of Portree before we encountered waterfalls and views of the Old Man of Storr. It was mainly a day to drive around and stop for photos along the way, but we still managed to do a fair …
Continue reading ‘This Whole Damn Place is Magical, Then We Find Fairyland’ »
Today we headed to the southeast of the Isle to the Sleat peninsula. Our main outing of the day was to be the ruins of Clan Donald’s 19th century Armadale Castle and the accompanying Museum of the Isles. Honestly, if all you go there to see is the castle ruins, it’s not really worth the …
You’ll all be glad to hear that breakfast this morning was innocuous enough, us having turned down the black pudding menu item in advance. The selection of music playing during the meal did have its moments, though. The rotating CDs featured a mix of bagpipes and vaguely Celtic-sounding music. Think of the music you typically …
Today we left Inverness and drove to the Isle of Skye for the last portion of our trip. We got a later start than planned as we spent a little time in Inverness doing a wee bit of shopping. I found at the last minute that there was a local craft brew store that had …
Continue reading ‘The Most Photographed Castle in Scotland? You Don’t Say. . .’ »
As if we haven’t been walking enough on this trip, today we decided to go for three walks in the woods! Every indication was that Glen Affric was not to be missed, and every indication was right. It was gorgeous. Driving out to the glen, our first stop was Dog Falls. The trail to the …
Our day began with a tension-inducing drive out to Cromarty for a boat ride on the Moray Firth. We were driving along okay, staring in wonder at the large bus ahead of us navigating the narrow streets of Fortrose, when our GPS detoured us around the town and up into the hills. I like to …
We started our day with a visit to Culloden Battlefield, site of the crushing defeat of Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Jacobite army, and the beginning of government reprisals against Highlanders and their culture. This was an extraordinarily well-done exhibit with a great historical display providing the history of the Rising, the ensuing battles, and …