Scotland & Fifty Shades of Gray

 

Upon leaving the Isle of Skye we came upon Eilean Donan castle. They were flying flags at half mast to honor the victims of the Manchester & London terror attacks. It was a moody day weather wise as well. But the castle was delightful and well presented. A military jet flow low and loud along the waterway doing maneuvers. 

 

It is always kind of fun to try to interpret the Gaelic road signs unless you were in a roundabout and had to read them very fast and try to decided which version was English! Sometimes we went around the circle twice to get the right turnoff. 

 

There is lots of Scotch Broom blooming along the roadside and up on the mountains. In England it seemed to be mostly Rhododendrons. 

 

This is Urquhart castle ruins on Loch Ness.  It's such a tragedy that so many castles and abbeys were destroyed here. They have a relatively new interpretative center & cafe. 

Checked into our hotel which was really an old grand country house. Lovely to meet so many people from many different countries in the lounge there.  We met an older couple, Richard and "Jill-with-a-J" from York who were very sweet & interesting. They met the band -The Who and Freud's grandson Stephan who was "a nut case"......"well they all were really"!  In his retirement Richard tunes organs.  OK...but we find out that he tunes organs for Cambridge and sometimes repairs can take years. 

 

On Tuesday we woke to a downpour but we had brought clothes for all the British weather!  We both wanted to visit Culloden Moor and that whole Scottish battle & tragedy from 1746.  The red flags above are where the English troops were located and the blue were the Highlander's. In a matter of minutes the battle was over. 

 

There were headstones erected at a later date to honor all of the clans who fought there. 

 

The above photo is of Leanoch croft which was used as a military hospital on the field. 

Later we visited Clava Cairns, Fort George & Cawdor Castle.  

Upon returning to our "country home" (where there are real hedgehogs mind you!) we were greeted by a warm fire & drinks in the lounge overlooking the gardens. It was still pouring outside but a fun group of people began pouring in (no pun intended) and as we began sharing our funny-sometimes dangerous- tales about driving on the left, everyone in the room began to share their own experiences.  There were people, from Massachusetts, Berlin, Palo Alto, Switzerland (who spoke Italian), Spain & Aberdeen who had just returned from 7 years in Paris.  

Word of the Day - Haggis, Neeps & Tatties - a menu item found everywhere in the Highlands that consists of a savory pudding containing sheep heart, liver & lungs encased in the stomach lining, turnips & potatoes.  Yum.  I will truly miss this food item when I return home! Sorry mom but you will have to learn to make haggis instead of spaghetti!!!

The Long and Winding Road

Northern Skye.......the main roads around the island were far better than we thought they would be.  

 

Occasionally there were road hazards.....but cute ones!

 

And occasionally there were road hazards and our road became a single track with few pull outs. But at least here you could see oncoming cars as there were no stone walls nor hedgerows like in South West England!

 

There are also no landscaped gardens around here as it's all about survival. I love the simple beauty here.  

And you can't forget that loaf of bread at the grocery store!

 

But the views were spectacular everywhere we turned.  If you look closely at the above photo you can see hikers along the trail. 

 

Kilt Rock behind a waterfall into the sea.  The rock formation is named because it looks like the folds in a kilt. 

 

And it is very windy out here so they need to fasten down their roofs!  We drove out to this point to see Flora MacDonalds grave and a Living Museum nearby but the museum was closed on Sundays.  

Phrase of the Day - "I flashed them first". 

When you drive on a single track road you flash your lights at oncoming cars to let them know you are in a pullout and they can safely move forward and pass you. Except I kept letting Mr. B know that the oncoming car was flashing him so that we could go but he would respond with "I flashed them first" or "I already flashed them - twice" so then it was a contest on a very narrow road as to who would move forward first.  You don't want to get stuck in a bog around here as it might take all day to get rescued!  Oh yeah & no cell service!

Chip Buttie

More about that title later......

 

We were welcomed to the Highlands by a piper playing Amazing Grace as we drove through a pass near Glencoe.  I was teary eyed the rest of the day because it was so overwhelmingly beautiful, reminded me of my dad & grandfather who was a piper for the Black Watch. The countryside is rugged and dramatic and incredible!

 

Mr. B is always looking for trout wherever we go - this is at the base of The Cuillin Mountains. 

 

Sheep are grazing everywhere you look and just look at that mountain range behind them!

 

This big boy is one of the Highland cattle we found lazing by the side of the road. 

 

We found several 16th century knights graves on a small island near Skeabost.  This was an amazing find as I was told that this cemetery couldn't be found anymore but after a few wrong turns, we were able to hike right to the spot.  There is the ruins of an chapel, many other ancient graves and according to stories 28 clan chiefs of the clan Nicholson are buried there. 

 

When we arrived at our hotel in Portree, we enjoyed this stunning view from the hotel garden.  We sat out here listening to bagpipes in the distance until the rains arrived.  

Word of the Day - Chip Buttie = Buttie means sandwich & chip is French fries

People were ordering these near Loch Lomond and they are basically buttered white bread with French fries for filling.  Better order that with a side of ketchup & be ready with the defibrillator!

**I wrote this post several days ago but because of the poor internet connection I was unable to post. I am trying to reduce the size of my photos to see if that helps. Being "unplugged" is both a blessing and frustrating. Everyone is in the moment here. No one whips out their cell phone at the dinner table. People are engaged.  But when you are trying to let your friends & family know that you were not in London during the terrible attack Saturday, it can be frustrating. 

Slàinte Mhath

 

Wednesday we headed out of the Lake District and spent some time at Castlerigg Stone Circle just outside of Keswick. When we first arrived there were lots of people but they slowly drifted away and it was just Mr. B and myself (and some sheep) left to enjoy the stones on a beautiful warm day. 

 

Next we headed to the Lanercost Priory near Carlisle and the Scottish boarder. 

 

The small church was left intact but the priory which dates back to 1169 is now pretty much the bones of the building but striking in its own way. 

Nearby were bits of Hadrian's Wall & foundations of Roman forts that at one time stretched across Northern England near the boarder of Scotland. 

 

It was begun in AD 122 and was built to protect the Romans (who had conquered the rest of Britain) from those wild Scottish barbarians. 

One more stop on our way up to Glasgow......

 

What remains of my family's castle - Crawford Castle!

The Crawford Castle was built in the 12th century on the River Clyde which runs through Glasgow as well. It stands on the former site of a Roman Fort dating back to AD 80.  

On our first night in Scotland our cute Scottish waitress Isola says "Where are you from? You have quite an accent!"

Our response in unison "So do you!"

We all laughed and shared travel stories. 

Word of the day - Slàinte Mhath = Good Health (cheers) & pronounced slawn-ge-var (yes....really!)

The Lake District

 

We found ourselves in Near Sawrey this morning visiting Beatrix Potters home.  She had a dominating mother and at the age of 39 she found out that her little children's books had made her a wealthy woman so she was able to purchase this home & farm in the Lake District. 

 

Just guess who I found in her garden?  Mr. McGregor!

 

There was an apple tree there that was over 100 years old and the above bee box in the garden. 

 

We walked by a lot of Herdwick sheep that are an old variety of sheep from North England. Beatrix brought them back into popularity here. 

 

And here is a great name for the cottages around here "Bend or Bump".  Most places have signs to "mind your head" due to low ceilings or entryways. 

Next we headed to Hawkshead to see the National Trust Museum of her drawings.  Spectacular!

 

We are staying on Lake Windermere but we drove over to Lake Coniston to take a ride on the steam gondola. It was raining and cool so we did the next best thing.....

  

Mr. B drank Old Mans Ale and I had a glass of wine in the covered outdoor Bluebell Cafe and we watched the boats go by & the children play.  Cheers!

Word of the Day -----

 

Meaning?

....the road crew is taking out the reflector bumps in the middle of the road!  Of course!

Sweet Loretta

We got to meet Sweet Loretta today.  

 

The name is taken from The Beatles song "Get Back" and Monday we spent most of the day in Liverpool on the FabFour Beatle tour. 

 

Our driver, Tim was wonderful and so informative.  It was raining when we first arrived in Liverpool but was just cloudy for the rest of the day so it made getting in & out of the taxi so much easier. Here we are at Penny Lane. 

 

And at the barber showing photographs of every customer he's had the pleasure to know...

 

And Strawberry Field were John used to sneak into at night to visit the young ladies that lived there. 

Tim our very capable driver & Mr. B outside the graveyard were Elenor Rigby & Father MacKensie are buried.  

  

Heading into the Cavern where music is still played. 

 

Can you tell that I was pretty thrilled with our day?  For just a moment in history these four young men made such a lasting impact on the world and I treasure that memory. 

 

And after a two hour drive we are in the beautiful countryside of the Lake District. This is the view from our room of Lake Windermere.  Tomorrow we head to Beatrix Potters Hill Top Cottage. 

From Beatles to Beatrix - quite a leap!

Word of the Day - Teddy Boy = Ringo's gang name

Arrgh....it's a Pirate Faire

 

We had breakfast on the dock at our hotel.  Beautiful morning on the River Dee on a three day weekend here (bankers holiday on Monday) in Chester and next door is the Royal Rowing Club with lots of boats in the water this morning!

 

Traveled from Chester to spend the morning in Conwy & Llandudno in Wales today.  They are both seaside towns with a rich history. Amazing Castle that we were able to walk all over, up & down, along the walls, etc.,  built by King Edward I around 1283.  But.....

It was a zoo getting in and out of the town due to the holiday & children here have a week off school on holiday. 

Oh yeah....and it was a pirate fair!

Kids and parents were dressed in appropriate Pirate costume and we were thinking that they were way into visiting the castle until we saw this sign on the way out of town......

 

I accused Mr. B of fooling me.  Remember it's in Welsh like all the signs we saw here. 

After visiting several other Welch towns we headed back to Chester, England to walk around the Roman ruins and take a boat ride down the River Dee to hear a little more about the city's history.  

 

We passed our hotel (the brown buildings in the back of our hotels floating beer pub) which was extra busy due to it being a Sunday. They do a thing in Britain called Sunday roast and people are dining all day long on Sunday.  

Then we walked through olde town to see the half timbered buildings and the Eastgate clock.  

 

And the Roman ruins - below is the Roman garden but there is also the Roman amphitheater and walls. 

Heading to Liverpool tomorrow and The Fab Four Tour!  Just because... we grew up in that generationa and I loved it!

Word of the day - because we ran into so many signs about badgers crossing the freeways in Wales = mochyn daear