Into the Fire We Go!

We are moving out of the really rugged Highlands and into a city today. Inverness, Culloden Battlefield via Loch Ness. Loch Ness is 24 miles long, I had no idea it was that large. There are points in it that are 800-900 feet deep, plenty of room to hide any number of things. As you can see, another beautiful day is ahead of us. I think I saw something swimming in the water there, look closely.

Hmm... well maybe not. We made a pit-stop in a little village and off to the side was a field that housed two Highland Cows (pronounced Hee-lan coo) and a Shetland Pony. It took some cajoling from various members of our group to get them to do much of anything... well they are cows, after all... but once they got up they really started to boogie. I didn't get my camera out fast enough to video it though.

Woah! Quick, look! I knew I'd seen something! There you have it folks, a very rare picture of a baby Nessie. You saw it here first! I imagine we'll be tracked down after I post this, probably offered a lot of money for this one of a kind shot. Finally, for once, my camera was out and ready! It slipped back under the water a millisecond after I snapped the picture. Whew! You see, I take care of you.

Culloden Field, the site of the last of the Jacobite uprisings. Bonnie Prince Charlie was the grandson of James II of England/James the VII of Scotland who had been deposed in the Revolution of 1688. He was born in Rome and lived there until his early twenties. At the age of 23, his father named him Prince Regent, giving him full authority to act in his name. Charlie tried to bring his father back to the throne they felt was rightfully theirs.

Charlie gathered some support for his cause from the French monarchy, though their ships were lost at sea before they reached Scotland. He arrived at Eriskay July 23, 1745, and began his campaigning. Many of the Highland clans supported him, believing him to be their true Prince. At first it looked like he was going to be successful. His army grew and was undefeated in taking over the cities and dwellings of Scotland from the British armies stationed there.


Word spread to George II, the Hanover King of England, and he began to get a little nervous. There are even reports of his plans to flee the country and go back to Germany. If only they'd had cell phones and email back then... But alas, Charlie's army made it as far south as Derby, but decided to retreat back North when the English Jacobite support they were expecting did not show.

King George II's son, the Duke of Cumberland, followed their retreat with his own army. So each side was led by a King's son doing his father's bidding. The two, Charlie and the Duke were cousins (not sure how many times removed, but cousins just the same). Their armies were full of people who believed in the cause and those who really didn't know or care what the fight was for as long as they got fed.

They eventually met in the Battle of Culloden on April 16, 1746, "the last battle to be fought on British soil". The terrain wasn't favorable to the Highlanders way of fighting and where Prince Charlie was stationed he couldn't see the battlefield. Orders were given late, misinterpreted, confusion reigned on the side of the Bonnie Prince. The British had superior weapons and training for a battle in such a setting.

The Scots were literally mowed down. The Campbells, fighting on the side of the British, broke through a wall behind the Scots and took out a company from the rear. This fits right in line with what we've learned of the Campbell's backhanded dealings. The Massacre of Glencoe is another example. Anna and I were cursing the Campbells as we walked around. Where's your Scottish Pride, people?

Anyway, the Battle lasted less than an hour. The Duke had trained his men specifically to battle the Highlanders methods. It was devastating for the Jacobites (latin Jacobus=James, ie James II and his son in exile) and they were starting to retreat, but the Duke of Cumberland was having none of that. He issued an order that all of Highlander descent were to be killed. His armies went around killing men, women and children. Not surprisingly, this earned him the name of "Butcher Cumberland".

Of course there is always two sides to every story, and not all of Scotland supported the Bonnie Prince, but such a display of violence made even the English shake their heads. I believe it was after this that there was a ban on wearing kilts, or any manner of Highlander paraphernalia. The ban lasted for 30-40 years... I should really look this up before I post instead of relying on my memory, but I'm not going to :P Forgive me if some of my facts or time lines are a leetle hazy.

After taking our leave of the battlefield, we met up with the rest of our tour group and headed off to Ullapool for the night. To the left is a picture of the street sign, it is written in English and Gaelic (Gah-ligh) and I thought it looked cool. Many things are in both languages up here in the North; I like it.

Come On Eilean! (Donan ;))

Contrary to some people's belief, Eilean Donan was not the name of a woman (though I'm still going to use the lyrics :P). No, Eilean (pronounced E-lan) is a word for Island (I think you can draw the connection with that one, eh?). Eilean Donan is the name of the bit of land where they built Eilean Donan Castle (again, I'm fairly confident you're following me). It is beautiful, and parts are still being lived in by the Clan McCrae.

It is surrounded by Loch Duich, Loch Alsh and Loch Long. The island was connected with the mainland via a stone-built bridge in c1937. How would you like to wake up each morning with this in your backyard? I think I could get used to it. :) The tide was out when we arrived, but we returned the following day for those who didn't go on the tour with us to get some pictures. So I have some with the tide out and some with it in.


Anna and I wandered around a bit and came out onto a balcony. This strapping young lad called up to us, saying we were on the Juliet balcony... so me being me, quipped, "Well, give us your lines, Romeo." He didn't have any lines prepared, but he posed nicely for the camera. He met us as we were exiting the stairwell and handed me his sword saying, "Would you like to hold my weapon?" Again, this is me, like I'm going to pass up an opportunity to handle a blade. I took it and said, "We were hoping to see a Claymore..." Our luck, they had had a Claymore on loan for the season and it had just been picked up two hours before we got there.

By this time we'd reached the main courtyard again and so we took some photos (see Anna's Hello again, naturally post). Yes, somewhere there is a pic of me holding his sword to his throat as I make to behead him. Good times that. He next gave us a special tour through some of the castle's secrets... and one of their country's secrets... I think you know what I'm getting at, eh?

If not, allow me to sing a bit for you... "With you in that kilt my thoughts, I confess, verge on dirty. Ah come on Eilean ('s kilt wearing guide)! These guides 'round here wear wary watchful eyes, sunk in smoke dried faces, they're so resigned to what their fate is... but not us, no, not us, we are far too young and clever! Ah come on, let's take off everything, that pretty red kilt, Eilean..." Yeah, now you get it...


To find out the answer to the age old question of "What does a Real Scotsman wear under his kilt?" click here! And to get the whole story of how it all came about, you'll just have to ask us when we get home. Don't worry Mom and Dad, it's nothing -that- bad.

I'm probably going to go to jail if this is seen, but I really liked the inscription so I had to take a picture. It says, in case its unreadable, "I mark the hours do'st thou". I considered taking it with me but, I thought a photo would be the lesser of the two evils. I'm pretty sure it was in an area that they didn't want photos taken, so this will be our little secret, right?

Another secret that you'll need to keep hush-hushed is this shot. This is the old well, and tourists aren't allowed down this close to it alone. We weren't alone (thanks to our new friend), but I think the actual ruling is that tourists don't get to be there at all. Lucky us, eh? :) If you click on the picture, you can see that there are stalactites and stalagmites forming around the doorway. They are still too far away from each other to have any Mite-tites forming any time soon. It was a lovely shot, I had taken one earlier from farther away (where I was allowed to be), but this was much better.


This plaque was at the bottom of a memorial that listed all those of the Clan McCrae who had died in battle. It listed which battle, the date, what their rank was... it was very impressive. The words say, "We are the dead. Short days ago we lived, felt dawn, saw sunsets glow, loved and were loved, and now we lie in Flander's Fields." There is so much history and tradition here, it makes me realize just how young our country is indeed.



This is the Castle the following day when the tides were in; I thought these a good pair of bookends for the post. How many times can I say how beautiful and fascinating it is here? Not enough, never enough. You'll all just have to make your own ways here and find out for yourselves. You won't regret it.

Miles of Isles

Today we ended up at Eilean Donan, but that story will come later for our journey there was quite spectacular as well. We woke up early, as we have all tour, and set off to Portree (Port of the King) to meet up with our local guide, George. He had many stories and legends to impart to us as we drove around the northern section of the Isle of Skye. I was having trouble paying attention to him, I'm sad to admit, because I was so distracted by everything I could see.


I know I am sounding quite redundant, but its not my fault the scenery gets more and more beautiful every day! Sorry folks, miss me if you must, but I'm staying here! ;) This post is going to be picture intensive, can't be helped. I cut the number down as much as I felt I could, but I want you to see as much as possible. The pictures don't even do the Isle justice.

The purple is of course heather and it is absolutely everywhere here. You aren't allowed to bring any fresh heather out of the country because of the agriculture laws and whatnot, but there were a few of our group that would pick a sprig and wear it. I contented myself with taking a thousand or so pictures of it :) Give or take a few hundred.

Yes, more heather, I did warn you. ;) If you look closely you can make out the edge of the land then just above that, before the clouds start, you can see more land that is quite a bit farther away. The shoreline of Skye cuts in and juts out with such frequency, I believe we were told, that the measured distance around would be 3,000 miles should you walk along the shore.

Taking a step away from the coast the scenery is no less beautiful, with small groupings of houses dotting the hills. It is not uncommon to see small watch tower structures on the hills surrounding the groups of houses. Some are in ruin, but a good number still look like they could be usable.

Inlets, bays and islands create a complex lacework pattern with the ocean. Standing on the edge of a cliff looking out into the sea and sky it was easy to feel brilliantly lost in space and time. This picture turned out much better than I thought it would. Can you see where the land ends and the sea begins? How about where the water ends and there is land again before the sky? I imagine this would make for a good jigsaw puzzle, what do you think?

This picture is one of my favorites. I might have to make a print and hang it on the wall. Its very hard for me to look away from it though, so maybe it wouldn't be such a good idea to have it on my wall. This was taken at the same stop as the one following. In fact, turning roughly 135 degrees to the left and walking about 150 metres you'd end up where I took the next shot. All approximates of course ;)

The railings and barriers are a new addition to the cliffs. As you can imagine, many people lost their lives (whether by accident or not I am not at liberty to say ;) ) over the edge and found their new home on the rocks below. (Broken record alert) The beauty is simply astounding. The Isle has diversity, but every bit of it makes you take a deep breath of wonder and appreciation.

There are so many waterfalls in the Highlands. I assume that is because there is always moisture collecting at the tops of all the magnificent mountains, but don't quote me ;) I have almost as many pictures of waterfalls as I do of heather! This one was taken at the same spot as the one below. This time just turning 180 degrees would give you the view.

The stone standing in the far right of the picture is the Old Man of Storr. As I mentioned earlier, I was having a time paying attention to all the information George had for us, through no fault of his storytelling, I assure you. I was simply enthralled with my surroundings. I do remember him saying that they would let convicts who were sentenced to death choose to spend the night with the Old Man of Storr as their sentence. If I recall correctly, they would find those who chose this option the next morning, dead, with no mark on them. All very intriguing.

Needless to say, I will be coming back to repeat this tour. George was kind enough to give me his card and offered to take me on some of the paths and climbs around the Isle while he told me more of their history. I will leave you with this last shot for your viewing pleasure. Keep in mind, all these pictures were taken within 3 hours of one another. The locals have a saying, "If you don't like the weather, wait five minutes." We had wonderful weather all day, in my opinion, but I am quite partial to grey clouds and mists. The sun did make a bit of an appearance, but when I muttered, "Bah, I don't want to see you sun!" it quite obediently, and immediately, went back behind the clouds for the rest of the day. ;)

hello again, naturally

Hey all! ok, its been awhile. But we have good excuses. really. No internet for our computers! Jeez.. you'd think we'd be in the wild highlands or something...

to continue my scattered ramblings... I got to take a pic of the viaduct that the hogwarts express takes on its journey to Hogwarts. This is as close as we could get.


Then we took (yet another) ferry ride. I was searching for land, you see. I think I found it. And the next is the view standing on the steps from our hotel room. Its hard being me.



I'm not sure if we've mentioned, but the roads are a bit... narrow. In fact, a LOT of them are single lanes with passing places. The first is the sign (duh), and the second is an example of how it works on a fairly good road where you can actually see who's coming. And us on a bus! It's pretty awesome.



Then... we went to Eilean Donan castle on the 12th. It's been in several films like: Highlander (whoop whoop!) and even in James Bond. We saw some pretty awesome sights there. I think Heidi has the whole story planned out, so I'll leave it to her. I'll just leave you with a few photos


The view from the front of the castle

This guy worked at the castle and let me hold his weapon and shield. I was going to behead him, but I showed mercy. Heidi did though, and he didn't seem too upset by it. What a nice guy.. a bit leggy too, eh?


Well that concludes my journey. For now. One of these days we'll all be caught up :/

'Nips and Tatties of Trivia

'Nips (turnips, pronounced "neeps") and Tatties (potatoes) are a very common vegetable accompaniment to dinner, and oh so tasty! Those who said we wouldn't find anything good to eat here... well, you were wrong. I've found the food to be quite to my liking, maybe a bit too much... hmmm...

Scotland's patron saint is St. Andrew, the apostle who was crucified in Greece. He said he was not worthy to be crucified upright as Jesus was, so they put him on a sideways cross. Scotland's flag is blue and white (Greece's colors), the white in the shape of a sideways cross. Regulus had a vision that he was to take Andrew's remains (relics) to a "far off land", so off he went with Andrew's bones in tow. He eventually landed on Scotland, where St. Andrew's is, imagine that!

Scotland's flower is the thistle. I believe the story is that a Viking raiding party tried to surprise a camp of Scots, but they ran through a field with thistles in it. Many of them cried out as the thistles pricked them, effectively warning the Scotsmen. In reward for the thistle's loyalty, they made it their flower.

Today we set off from our hotel in Ft. William to the shopping centre of Ft. William. The last store we went into I could have spent several days and fortunes, but sadly I had neither. We were (-slightly-) late getting back to our bus and received a round of applause. I think we are getting a reputation. I'm not sure if that is a good thing or not. We're affectionately refered to as "the girls" though so I don't think its -too- serious.

After leaving the city, we stopped at Inverlochy Castle ruins. It seemed a small castle to me, but perhaps it was more imposing back when it had all its floors and buttresses. Michael, our tour guide, pictured here... gave us many bits of information today while we were driving. It rained, and the windows of the coach were so splattery I couldn't take many pictures. I instead kept up a constant narrative in my journal.

"Sometimes we are driving and I can almost forget it is 2007. How wonderful!"

"If I could live in the Highlands, I would never leave. I want to keep writing, trying to detail and describe each blade of grass, each petal and leaf of Heather, burn it into my memory... but as I've said, words fail me. Michael has put on some beautiful Scottish music to accompany our drive and it is doing a much better job at capturing my feelings than my words are. Surely this is where God lives. It is Heaven to me."

"There are remnants of old stone walls everywhere, covered with yellow-green moss, the stone black with age and moisture. A gate off to the side proclaims life is being sheltered even out here. The last house was almost an hour ago."

"Ahh... we turn a corner and the wilderness fades away as we enter a little port village. The mountains have stepped back now and on the left the land is nearly flat leading down to the Sound... Turn another corner and here lies the ocean. I love seeing the vastness of it stretching out into nothingness."

We boarded the ferry in Malaig for the Isle of Skye... is that not the coolest name? I think it is, and they have my favorite plaid as well. The ferry wasn't very long, I did manage to take a couple of videos, but I'm going to try my hand at putting them to music before I post them.

We landed on the Isle and made our way to the Kyle of Lochalsh where our hotel lives (lucky thing that). Our day consisted of quite a bit of driving and tidbits of information. We ended with a lovely dinner, which happens every night, and then we retired to our rooms. Anna and I watched a bit of a program on the 9-11 tragedy and then fell asleep.

Lochs, Talk and Barrel

Good morning! After an exhausting day, I still could only manage about 5 hours of sleep. But this affords me the chance to write this post in the peace of the early morning. The grey light is filtering through our window and the scenery (broken record) is breathtaking!

Yesterday we began our adventures with a pleasant (read:windy, read:gale-force) ferry ride from Oban to Craignure. I really do have a thing for ferryboats. There were no dolphins, nor sea turtles to be seen as the water really is quite dark here.

I liken it to black liquid rubber, or oil... or some parts look like asphalt after a bit of rain. When the sun shines on it, well when the sun manages to eek out a bit through the lovely clouds, it doesn't shine in silver flashes like I'm used to seeing. No, its more like a large void was dropped onto a pane of black glass and shattered. If that makes sense?

I took plenty of pictures on this first ferry, as it was 'round about an hour long ride. We had 5 ferry rides in all yesterday, but none were as long as this one. We drove along the coast of the Island of Mull a short bit, bypassing Duart Castle, sadly, though we did get some good pictures of it from the ferry.

The road cut inland after that through some of the most gorgeous countryside I've seen. I realized I could live here quite easily. The road is a single lane, though it services both directions. How does this work? There are occasional widenings of the road marked by a black and white striped pole and a sign that says "Passing Place". As I am sure you can imagine, it is there where people can pass along side each other and carry on their respective ways.

The drive took another hour to get to the opposite side of the island where we embarked on another ferry, this time for only 5 minutes. Debarking stepped us onto the Isle of Iona where St. Columbus set up an Abbey. This island is said to be the "Seat of Christianity for Scotland".

It seems our sainted Saint got into a bit of trouble with regards to a copyright on a manuscript he was said to have written. They took such things very seriously back in the day and the two sides soon came to blows (The Battle of the Book). Quite a few people died and filled with remorse, Columba set off, away from his beloved Ireland and landed on Iona.

There is an Abbey and a Nunnery, the Abbey has been restored and is still in use, but the nunnery has been allowed to decay and sit as a relic of times simpler. In the courtyard of the abbey, the stone of the columns have been carved into beautiful scenes.

We stopped at a local convenience store and picked up some local candy, to see how this side lives. They are blessed to have the superior chocolate with which to work and the candy was quite tasty. It was sweet enough that you wouldn't be able to eat much of it, which isn't a bad thing at all really. Anna dropped her return ticket inside said convenience store, though we didn't know it at the time.

When she discovered it missing it was nearly time to return and so we ran, yes -ran-, up the hill, about a mile (no snow, though it was quite windy), to the Abbey and looked all around there. We didn't find it and she had just decided to buy another ticket on our run back down the hill when she thought to look inside the store. The clerk handed it to her and we ran the rest of the way to the ferry. The speed in which they left port once we got onboard leads me to believe it was a good thing we ran.

The rest of the day was spent driving through more and more amazing scenery. I took nearly 200 photos today, so there will be plenty to look through once we get back. I'll post a few here so you are not left completely devoid of the splendor.

The inscription on the bench reads, "Rest and Remember", I thought that quite lovely.