Scotland Diary

15-6-2012 Friday
Rainy day as forecasted so we were glad we hadn't planned to do any sightseeing today. We drove 165ks north-west, crossing the border from England into Scotland, to Edinburgh and Edingburgh Caravan club Site for 5 nights. We noticed the roadways were more hilly once we crossed into Scotland but the landscape was just as green and beautiful.

16-6-2012 Saturday
It was rainy and overcast but as it was only raining lightly we thought we should make an effort to do some sightseeing, so we caught the on-site bus into the city at 1pm. We spent 2 and a half hours wandering around Edinburgh Castle which is perched atop an extinct volcano and dominates the city centre. The castle guards were on duty in their ceremonial tartan kilts, even standing in the rain without any shelter. Luckily we had checked out the outside area and views first as later the cloud rolled in, with the wind and rain soon after. On the way in to the castle, we walked through a courtyard like area surrounded by seating, where the Edinburgh Military Tattoo is conducted each year. The oldest surviving building in the complex is the tiny 12th-century St Margaret's Chapel, thought to have been built by King David I in memory of his mother. The Palace, begun in the 1430's, contains the Scottish Crown Jewels, apparently older than their counterparts in London, and the room where Mary, Queen of Scots gave birth to King James IV. Here, too, is the visually unspectacular Stone of Scone, more commonly known as the Stone of Destiny, which is an oblong block of red sandstone, used for centuries in the coronation of the monarchs of Scotland. It weighs about 152kilos and has an iron ring at each end of the stone, intended to make transport easier. There were rooms that chronicled the history of the Monarchs, and Scotland's involvement in civil and the world wars. Other highlights were the Grand Hall, the large 15th-century cannon Mons Meg, the Scottish National War Memorial and there was even a small area that was designated a dog cemetery, complete with headstones, for military dogs. We were glad to get home as the wind and rain seemed to be set in for the rest of the day.

17-6-2012 Sunday
Still rainy today although a bit better than yesterday but as Dave is still not feeling well, we decided to stay in today and rest - which I didn't mind as it's nice to stay at home when it's raining outside.

18-6-2012 Monday
A beautiful sunny day today which made a big difference sightseeing in the city of Edinburgh today. We firstly saw the Episcopalian St Mary's Church and apparently, just to confuse matters, we're told there is another St Mary's church (a Catholic one) in Edinburgh. We wandered down the Royal Mile, a nickname given to a street that caters for the tourists. I'd never seen bagpipe, kilt wearing buskers before, nor operatic type singing buskers - it seems Edingburgh has some up-market buskers. We visited Scotland's principal church, the 15th century St Gile's Cathedral. Spectacular stained-glass windows illuminate the structure and its crown-like spire is one of Edinburgh's hallmarks. On one of the walls was a large bronze portrait of the famous Scottish born author, Robert Louis Stevenson. The Thistle Chapel, with its intricately carved wood and stone, is the place of worship of the Knights of the Thistle. It is a prestigous Order of which The Queen is the Head. Like the Order of The Garter, there are only a certain number of positions which can only be passed on to someone else when a current member passes away. After lunch, which was haggis for Dave (without the sheep's stomach), we walked through the beautiful Princes St Gardens. A Sir Walter Scott Memorial (famous author) looked very much like a Gothic steeple without a church. It had 287 spiral steps but we decided not to do that straight after lunch.

19-6-2012 Tuesday
We went into the city of Edinburgh again today and got on the Hop-on-hop-off bus for a tour of the city which was nice, being another lovely sunny day. We hopped off at Edinburgh's port on the Firth of Forth, Leith, to see the Royal Yacht Britannia. Used by the Queen and her family from 1953 to 1997, Britannia sailed around the world on state visits and royal holidays before going into permanent retirement here. We could follow an audio tour of the entire ship - all the furnishings have been left as they were when it was last used. The interior is surprisingly subdued, but the tour also reveals the strict etiquette and arduous work required to keep royal standards afloat. We had lunch at an Asian restaurant for my birthday, and we were seated at the glassed wall, looking down at the Britannia.

We hopped on the bus again and saw more of the city and hopped off at the 16th-century Stewart Palace of Holyroodhouse, which is Queen Elizabeth II's official Scottish residence (although Balmoral Castle is the Highland home of the Royal family). Only parts of the ornate interior are open to the public. It was home to Mary, Queen of Scots, and site of the brutal murder of Mary's secretary, David Rizzio, by her then jealous husband, Lord Darnley. Today the Palace is used by the Queen when carrying out official engagements in Scotland. Her Majesty received Pope Benedict XVI in the Morning Drawing Room during his visit to the UK in Sepetember 2010. The Palace was also the setting for the wedding reception of the Queen's grand-daughter Zara Phillips and Mike Tindall in July 2011. On the palace grounds lie the 12th-century ruins of Holyrood Abbey. Despite being the burial place of several Scottish kings and the site of the coronation of Charles I in 1633, the Abbey was abandoned after the roof collapsed in 1768.

20-6-2012 Wednesday
Nice sunny day again today. Drove 40ks west to Falkirk (Scotland) and The Falkirk Wheel, which is the world's first and only rotating boat lift - finished in 2002 at a cost of nearly 18 million pounds (about AUD$27m). It is 35 metres high and looks like a double headed hammer. The Wheel acts as the gateway to Scotland's Lowland canal network and is the place where the Forth and Clyde Canal meets the Union Canal. Manmade canals were used many years ago for business, to transport goods, and a system of locks were used to enable the narrow boats to travel up and down the canals. When road and rail transport came into being and proved more cost effective, use of the canals fell into decline. Over time, as people started to realise the value of leisure activities, the canals started to be used more and more and a way to connect the upper and lower canals was needed, hence the Wheel. We went for a ride in it which takes 4 minutes for the lift to the top, and after a short ride along the top canal, we turned around and came back down. We had to pay for our tourist trip but any boats using the Wheel, don't, as the cost is inlcuded in their boat registration each year.

After our ride, standing by the canal, 2 big swans and their 5 babies (signets), climbed up out of the water and started grooming themselves. I'd never seen baby swans before - they were probably a couple months old and were covered in grey down, were ungainly and had very small. stubby wings with no feathers yet. The tale of the 'Ugly Duckling' is so true - they looked ugly, nothing like the graceful, handsome adult they would turn into. It was lovely to watch them groom themselves and we marvelled at how large the adults were, especially the male. We then drove another 30ks north to a village called Alloa (Scotland) (about 10ks away from the larger town of Stirling), and The Woods Caravan Park for 2 nights.

21-6-2012 Thursday
Raining again today and got quite heavy later in the evening. Drove to a park and ride and caught the bus into the lovely town of Stirling (Scotland). We walked around the streets and walked up to the 14th-century Stirling Castle, another castle built on a defunct volcano. It was home to King James V and the birthplace of his daughter, Mary Queen of Scots. Overlooking the Forth Valley site of the Battle of Bannockburn; The castle and palace buildings are well preserved and the gardens around the castle are beautiful. On the way back down the road, we visited the early 15th-century Church of The Holy Rude, where King James VI was crowned in 1567. It was lovely to walk around the old town. After a nice chinese buffet early dinner, we caught the bus back and drove to the nearby supermarket (with a big car park) and did our grocery shopping, and also bought a Haggis and Dave's Scottish favourite Glayva which is Scottish Gaelic for 'very good'.

Stirling is also home to the Wallace Monument (which we didn't visit), honouring Scotland's national hero, Sir William Wallace. In 1297, a small band of hopelessly outnumbered Scottish clansmen, led by William Wallace, defeated a legion of well-trained English troops at Stirling. We can all thank Braveheart's blue-faced battle scene for bringing this story to the masses.

22-6-2012 Friday
Lovely sunny day as we drove 156ks north to Newtonmore (Scotland) and Invernahavon Caravan Club Site for 1 night. We are in the heart of the Highlands, and within Cairngolm National Park. The landscape here, and on our drive, is beautiful but very different from the very green fields and trees, that we've been seeing. This area is more mountainous with low, ground-cover type plants rather than trees, and the colour is not as green and is mostly a darker brown/maroon colour. I was told this plant is called 'heather' (as in the girl's name) and is that colour because it hasn't flowered yet - when it does, the flower is normally mauve and occasionally, white. Apparently this is 'Monarch of The Glen' country for those who used to watch that tv show (I didn't). This type of landscape was formed by glaciers moving through the area, 350-400 million years ago.

23-6-2012 Saturday
Drove 90ks north and west to Inverness (Scotland) and then down along part of the very big and beautiful Loch Ness - and no, we didn't see the monster, 'Nessie', at all, although Dave reckons he's taken a photo that shows it(?) Drove further on to view Urquhart Castle on the loch, but didn't visit it, especially as it was a very rainy day - we heard on the news that there's been flooding in northern England and northern Ireland. After stopping in the nearby town of Drumnadrochit, looking around the shops and buying some souvenirs, we drove 40ks east, back through Inverness, to the Culloden Battlefield and Visitor Centre. In 1746 the last battle to be fought on British soil took less than an hour to reach its bloody conclusion here on what is now known as Culloden Moor. It was the last chapter in a sporadic civil war, for succession to the British throne, that had been under way since 1688. Our final stop was Culloden Moor Caravan club site for 3 nights - water was really running through this park. We had arranged to meet up at this park, with the Sydney couple we spent last Xmas with, Marcelle and John. They'd been making their way back down from the north of Scotland. So drinks and nibblies it was, and catching up on each other's adventures til late in the evening.

24-6-2012 Sunday
We had a rest and catch up day today, which also meant, washing day too. The rain looked like it's started to clear this afternoon which was welcome. We invited Marcelle and John over for a roast lamb dinner and more catch up til late - a lovely evening, and no problem with conversation topics.

25-6-2012 Monday
Lovely sunny day today as we caught the bus into Inverness (Scotland) and walked around yet, another lovely city. Its name comes from the Gaelic for the 'mouth of the River Ness', one of the shortest rivers in the world, running 6 miles from Loch Ness, through the city and entering the sea at the Beauly Firth. The city was created a Royal Burgh in the late 12th century. Walked up to Inverness Castle - the present sandstone building (with a pinky tinge) dates from 1834 and today, serves as the Inverness Sheriff Court House. Then on to the Victorian Market, originally built in 1870, then destroyed by fire (which seems to have happened to nearly all the tourist attractions we've seen) in 1888, and rebuilt in 1890 in the ornate splendour of the Victorian era. It's home to some 41 shops but no fruit and vege markets, that have usually been part of any 'markets' we've seen in Europe and Britain. The beautiful Victorian Gothic building completed in 1882, was the Town House, but now serves as the Inverness area office of the Highland Council. Our bus stop stands at Falcon Square, named after John Falconer who opened Falcon Foundry at Inverness Rail Terminus in 1858. One of the buildings (housing some shops) on the square, formed part of this Foundry - it was dismantled and relocated here in the late 1990's. Early dinner at another Asian buffet restaurant before bussing it home.

26-6-2012 Tuesday
Drove west 50ks, through Inverness, back along Loch Ness, and then up a different road to see a couple things we didn't know about when we were here a few days ago. Firstly, we saw the Corrimony Chambered Cairn, built about 4000 years ago and encircled by 12 standing stones. The information plaque states it's a clear example of a prehistoric tomb and it appears it was made for 1 person, a woman. She was obviously a very important woman as this structure is quite large - about 10 metres across and has the appearance of an igloo, with a low narrow entrance which could only be accessed by getting down on your hands and knees and crawling. We then made our way along some narrow, one lane roads to Plodda Falls near a small historic village, Tomich. The water cascades down striated, shale looking rock, then falls down a 100 feet (about 33 metres) to pools below, surrounded by broadleaf and pine forest. As we drove along the road, the ground in amongst the trees was covered by lots of moss, with the appearance of one continuous piece, like a blanket.

We then drove 120ks east and north up the east coast of Scotland, to a town called Brora and Dalchalm Caravan Club site for 1 night. Along the way we stopped at the Glenmorangie Distillery (scotch) at Tain, and took a tour. Barley, water and yeast are used to make the basic mixture. We were amazed at how important the storage barrels are in contributing the flavour and colour to the whiskey, so the oak is considered the fourth ingredient. The oak barrels are bought from Missouri in the US but they are first used in the making of bourbon (in the US) to get the stronger flavour out of the wood, and then the barrels are shipped here. The barrels are only used twice, but each time the mixture is aged in them for 10 years. So the barrels are 20 years old before they're retired and then they're sold to nurseries, cut in half and sold as pot plant holders. Even the mash mixture used to make the spirit is recycled - when all the viable liquid is drained from the mash for the last time, the mash is then sold to farmers to feed their livestock. This is recycling taken as far as it can go - although I suppose to complete the cycle, the last step could be using the livestock manure to fertilise the barley crops.

27-6-2012 Wednesday
Drove back a few ks to Dunrobin Castle, home of the Clan Sutherland, dating from the 15th century. The castle contains 189 rooms filled with magnificent furniture, silver, family portraits, much history and tapestries. The female owner, Countess of Sutherland, is 91 and lives in an apartment in the castle. Large, beautiful formal gardens would be full time jobs for a few gardeners. A museum in a separate building on the property, displays the trophy heads of numerous animals, shot by family members on safari (including an elephant head and a giraffe - the latter had the neck attached and it was fixed to the floor so it was taller than me); a collection of stuffed animals, birds and various birds' eggs; ethnographic items collected from around the world (particularly Africa); and an important collection of archaeological artifacts, collected from the enormous Sutherland estates. Notable among these are the collection of Pictish engraved symbol stones (Picts were a group of late Iron Age and Early Medieval Celtic people living in ancient eastern and northern Scotland, and are thought to date from the 6th to the 9th centuries). Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take any photos inside the castle or museum. Part of our entrance ticket included an entertaining Falconry display (with a hawk, a falcon and a large owl) which was held in the castle gardens. Falconry is the ancient art of hunting with birds of prey. Andy, the adept and entertaining handler, rewarded the birds' performances with what he called 'chicken mcnuggets', which were desceased baby chickens, probably only a few days old - fresh meat, which of course, the birds loved and so, performed well.

We then drove 110ks north to the town of John O'Groats (Scotland), the traditionally acknowledged extreme northern point of mainland Scotland, and the John O'Groats Caravan Park for 3 nights. Our book shows the description of the caravan park to be 'on a seafront, beside the last house in Scotland' - that's not something every business can say. Our position in the park is such that we can look out on the North Sea, on a stretch called the Pentland Firth.

28-6-2012 Thursday
Rest day - it was really raining today so stayed home, in 'Casa', our house for now, for most of it. We had a walk nearby earlier, when the rain had abated, but that wasn't for long. We were going to walk to the main town but headed back for the van when the rain started to build up again. The water in front of us had some white caps that are pretty high and the wind is rocking us a little bit. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day for sightseeing.

29-6-2012 Friday
It was a sunny morning with a little rain through the day and later cleared again. We had a long day with a Maxi Tour to the Orkney Islands which started at 8.45am and finished at 7.45pm. We travelled to the islands by a 45 min boat ride and then a bus tour that took us all over the islands to different sites, covering about 125ks (about 80miles). The bus driver was very informative and helpful and really made it a good day. The stops were Kirkwall, the capital of the islands where we walked around the town and visited the St Magnus Cathedral, which displays the ship's bell from the torpedoed Royal Oak (read on further for info); the town of Stromness, a fishing village; The Ring of Brodgar and the Standing Stones of Stenness, a bit like Stonehenge; Skara Brae, a 5,000 year old Stone Age village that was covered over with sand and was uncovered during a particularly windy, violent storm in 1850; Skaill House, a house opened to the public by the current owner, and which shares the same property as Skara Brae; the lovely Italian Chapel, built by Italian POWs during WWII, the same Italians who were brought here to build the Churchill Barriers - 5 causeways built between the islands to prevent enemy submarines gaining entry into the big harbour called Scapa Flow, where some of the Royal Navy's ships were stationed. Previously old ships had been floated in and sunk in these gaps between the islands to prevent this happening, but a German sub squeezed through in 1939 and sunk a ship, The Royal Oak, killing about 800 men, and then it managed to squeeze back out and escape. After that, the causeways were built which completely closed the gaps. The causeways were originally to be temporary but ended up having roads built on them and connecting the islands permanently.

The Orkney islands originally belonged to Norway (which was under Danish rule at the time) but were given as a dowry, along with the Shetland islands, by the King of Denmark to the King of Scotland, to marry his daughter. So there are strong ties to Norway and the Orkney flag is not the Scottish one, but closely resembles the Norwegian one, with a slight difference in colour. Each year Norwegians travel to the Orkneys for a day of celebration. The Orkney people don't regard themselves as Scottish, even though they are under Scottish rule - they are Orcadians.

The daylight hours here and in northern Scotland, take a bit of getting used to. It is the summer and gets light at 3am and doesn't get dark til midnight - it is strange! In winter apparently it gets dark at 3pm and doesn't get light until 10am. It doesn't snow in the Orkneys in winter because of the warm gulf stream water coming up from South America but it does get cold, very windy and there's lots of rain. They even put the cattle inside buildings and have to take feed to them every day. The poor sheep don't get treated as well, and are left outside for some unknown reason.

30-6-2012 Saturday
We drove 25ks west, first to Dunnet Head where there is a lighthouse, and this is the real most northerly point of mainland Scotland, even though John O'Groats is traditionally acknowledged as the most northerly point. This lighthouse was built in 1831 by Robert Stevenson who also built many others, and was the grandfather of Robert Louis Stevenson, the famous author. It was rainy and lots of fog and mist rolled in so we made a cuppa and waited in hope that it would clear. As nothing changed, we drove not far away, to the town of Thurso (Scotland) and did our grocery shopping. By the time we came out, the rain had cleared and it was a lovely sunny day, so we drove back to Dunnet Head and oh, what a difference! The lighthouse was so clear and we could see past it to the large Island of Hoy (part of the Ornkeys) which we didn't even know was there before because we couldn't see it, and all the surrounding cliff faces and beautiful blue waters were in clear spectacular view. The drive here was via a one lane bitumened road but they have passing places every 100 metres or so which make it quite manageable. After walking uphill in the opposite direction and taking the different, fabulous view from up there, we drove to the Dunnet Bay Caravan Club site at Thurso for 2 nights. We have a terrific view of the water and cliffs out of our van window.

1-7-2012 Sunday
Rest day. It was quite a windy day and it started out raining but cleared up by lunchtime. We went for a walk down on the nearby beach. The tide was out and the sandy area between the water and the dunes, was very large.

2-7-2012 Monday
Before we left the park today, Dave discovered we had a fuel leak so we drove only a few ks down the road to a repair place in a village called Castletown (Scotland). Luckily they were familiar with our sort of engine, and were able to repair it without too much drama. As luck would also have it, the adjoining shop was a hairdresser, the sister of the fellow repairing our leak - so while we waited, I was able to have an overdue haircut. We then drove about 120ks west, along the top of Scotland, to a town called Durness and Sango Camping Park for 2 nights. The park is high up, overlooking the ocean, and off to the right are waves crashing on the bottom of the rock cliffs - just beautiful! On the drive here, albeit winding and on one lane roads a good bit of the time, we had the most magnificent views - this is truly a scenic, beautiful part of Scotland. We drove down one side and up the other side of the large Loch Eriboll, which runs into the sea. Loch is not just another word for lake - it can mean lake or estuary, so it can be freshwater or sea water, opening out into the ocean/sea. There were a few cattle grids across the road on the way here, and we often saw signs that warned of the possibility of sheep being on the road, like they'd warn you about cattle or deer. And there they were - sheep grazing right on the side of the road! Can't remember if I've mentioned it before, but the sheep here aren't sheared for their wool - in fact the wool just seems to fall off them, like a raggy, scraggy coat that's too big for them, and you see bits of it lying around in the pasture. They do shear them but I think, only to relieve them of this scraggy fleece. It is also strange to see them with long tails - they're not docked as in OZ.

3-7-2012 Tuesday
We walked down the road to the impressive Smoo Cave, a large cave set into the limestone cliffs. It was 83 metres long, 40metres wide and 15 metres high at the entrance. The cave was formed along two geological lines of weakness by a combination of erosion from the sea and an inland underground freshwater stream which has formed the innermost chambers. The cave name is thought to originate from the Norse 'smjugg' or 'smuga' meaning a hole or hiding-place. We had an early dinner at the pub next to the site.

4-7-2012 Wednesday
Drove 110ks south to Ardmair (Scotland) near Ullapool, still on the west coast of the North West Highlands, to Ardmair Camping Park for 1 night. Again we are overlooking the water, near where Loch Broom meets the sea - we are being spoilt of late. And again today, we experienced fabulous, breathtaking scenery along the way. Much of the rocky hills/mountains have been created/left behind by glaciers travelling through here over 20,000 years ago. We also saw cut up peat sitting on pallets, in the fields, left to dry - I'd heard of it but never seen it. It is sliced from the ground in straight lines and then cut into smaller pieces, in much the same way as a square cake is sliced and cut up in pieces. When it's cut it's moist and soft and is the colour of dirt, becoming rock hard when it's dry.

Peat is a dark fibrous material created when decomposition fails to keep pace with the production of organic matter - basically an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation. It is the first stage of transformation of plant matter into coal. Peat deposits are harvested as an important source of fuel in certain parts of the world, used in industry and agriculture, and found in many places around the world, including Australia. In many countries, including Scotland and Ireland, where trees are often scarce, it is traditionally used for cooking and domestic heating. Some Scotch whisky distilleries use peat fires to dry the malted barley which gives it a distinctive smoky flavour. It can also be dangerous. Wet or dry, it can be a major fire hazard, as peat fires can burn almost indefinitely (or at least until the fuel is exhausted). Peat fires can even burn underground, reigniting after the winter, provided there is a source of oxygen. Wow, never knew any of that before!

5-7-2012 Thursday
Drove 150ks south to the town of Inverinate (Scotland) and Morvich Caravan Club Site for 2 nights. As per our recent driving experiences, the landscape of lochs and rugged mountains has just been fabulous. Just for a change from the beautiful loch and ocean views at our stopover points of late, we have rugged mountains on 3 sides as our view at this stopover (how's that for a bit of pretentiousness!).

About 10ks away from our stopover, in the village of Dornie, we visited Eilean Donan Castle. It is located on a small island where 3 great sea lochs meet, and surrounded by some majestic scenery. It is little wonder that the castle is one of the most visited attractions in the Scottish highlands. Although first inhabited around the 6th century, the first fortified castle was built in the mid 13th century and stood guard over the lands of Kintail. Since then, at least 4 different versions of the castle have been build and re-built as the feudal history of Scotland unfolded through the centuries. Partially destroyed in a Jacobite uprising in 1719, Eilean Donan lay in ruins for the best part of 200 years until Lieutenant Colonel John MacRae-Gilstrap bought the island in 1911 and proceeded to restore it to its former glory. After 20 years of toil and labour the castle was re-opened in 1932. It has been used for several movies inlcuding the 1986 Hollywood movie, Highlander of which Dave, I and Kerry are big fans. The Banquet Hall, bedrooms and other rooms had beautiful furniture, artifacts, paintings, etc but the room I loved the best was the kitchen. There were 4 life-like mannequins and the artificial food being prepared for a banquet was so realistic, my mouth started watering. There were roast meats, whole baked fish, veges, hearty soup and sweets and, in the larder, as well as the normal stuff you'd find, there were large fish and hanging game - life-like rabbits, pheasants, ducks, chicken, etc, all waiting to be skinned or plucked. I wanted to stay for dinner!

6-7-2012 Friday
Rest day so the obligatory washing and other catch up chores. We're using for the first time, one of these 1 pound, disposable BBQs that you put and use on the ground - haven't seen them before, so will see how it goes........ Dave says wasn't too bad but a bit fiddly, would only use it as a last resort, or if travelling with a small tent and couldn't really carry a proper BBQ.

7-7-2012 Saturday
Drove 110ks west and over the bridge to the Island of Skye (Scotland), continuing north up the east coast to the village of Staffin and Staffin Camping Park for 1 night. On the drive here we stopped to see The Old Man of Storr, peaks jutting up from part of the Trotternish mountain Ridge. We climbed up a rocky path for half an hour in the cold, windy mist and the higher we climbed the more misty it grew, and it didn't help that it was quite cold and very windy. We spoke to a lady on the way down who said she gave up because she couldn't see anything and the path grew even steeper further up - so we decided to turn around too.

8-7-2012 Sunday
It's rainy and cold today but did stop in the afternoon. Drove 60ks north up around the Trotternish Peninsular of Skye, and then back down south to the village of Edinbane (Scotland, Island of Skye) and the Skye on Loch Greshornish Caravan & Camping site for 3 nights. We stopped at the Musuem of Island Life but it was closed, only on Sundays, so will try to get back there tomorrow.

9-7-2012 Monday
Nice sunny day today. We drove 40ks back to the Museum of Island Life (still on the Island of Skye) that wasn't open yesterday. The museum consists of half a dozen thatched huts, depicting the life of a crofting village, during the early 19th century, including a crofter's farm house, a blacksmith's hut, a weaver's hut containing a loom that was used up until 1950, and a farm hut with loads of farm tools and implements. A wall poster detailed the life in a female crofter's day. As well as the normal household duties such as boiling the washing (and beating it on a rock!), ironing with non-electric old fashioned irons, cooking (including making their own bread), cleaning, shopping, and looking after the kids, she was also expected to help on the farm, planting, harvesting and carrying potatoes, etc, cutting and collecting seaweed (for fertilising the crops), cutting and carrying peat for fuel and anything else hubby might think up for her to do in her spare time - Phew, I'm glad I wasn't born in those times! In the yard were restored and painted farm equipment like ploughs. Just down the road was a small cemetery which holds the grave of Flora MacDonald, famous for helping the fugitive Bonnie Prince Charlie (future King of Scotland) to escape to the Island of Skye from the nearby Island of Uist - ducking English government officials who were after him. This is the prince and the event that the song was written about, containing the words "Over the sea to Skye".

A croft farm is a rented block of land where the crofter stocks it with his livestock and owns any house or farm buildings he constructs. These crofts are still in existence today. In winter they usually need to supplement their income with other jobs due to cold, winter and often snowy conditions. This caravan park we're staying in, is also a working croft with chickens (they sell the eggs in reception), some sheep and 3 big beautiful pigs which are really just for viewing value for their camping customers. The owner said the pigs should come with a health warning because you get addicted to them - she just loves them. She says they are as affectionate as a pet dog and will rub up against you and if they jump up on you, they'll knock you over.

10-7-2012 Tuesday
Drove 15ks to the jetty of a little village called Stein on Loch Bay (still on the Island of Skye, Scotland), where we went out for about 3 and a half hours on a boat trip up the coast of the Waternish Peninsula. We passed bird colonies, nesting in rock crevices with their chicks, and a natural rock structure shaped very much like the Triumph Arches we've seen in Paris and several other countries. At the peninsula point in the open water, we saw some porpoises, a pair of minke whales, and several types of birds, including guillemot (which look a bit like penguins but they fly), gannets, oyster catchers, cormorants, and the ever-present seagulls. Unfortunately we didn't see any of the type of birds I really like, the puffins, the squat, orange-beaked birds that always look sad. We saw plenty of seals with their pups, all casually lounging around on the rocks enjoying the summer - some were lying on their sides, waving their flippers, as if to us. The rain held off until the ride back to the jetty and then it started only lightly. Back in the village we had a late lunch at the local pub before driving back to the camping park.

11-7-2012 Wednesday
We drove 70ks south to Strollamus (Scotland, Island of Skye) and Lochside Caravan Park for 1 night. On the way we visited Dunvegan Castle in the village of Dunvegan. It is the oldest continually inhabited castle in Scotland and ancestral home of the Chiefs of Clan MacLeod for 800 years. The castle was originally built in the 13th century and altered several times over the next 700 years. While looking at the many wall portraits of the Chiefs, I noticed that most of them seemed to be named 'Norman'. As with all the castles, there were many beautiful items of furniture, rugs, and artefacts and the manicured gardens were a pleasure to visit. The current 30th Chief Hugh (not Norman) MacLeod and his family live in the castle. For miles on the drive to our stopover, the very impressive, high Cuillins mountains were in sight.

The Scottish Highland cattle here are a milk chocolate brown colour, have very long horns and long hair on their body, as well as down their forehead and over their eyes - it is hard to comprehend how they see at all.

12-7-2012 Thursday
Did some shopping and fueled up before driving 25ks south to catch a vehicle ferry from Armadale, a half hour trip, across to Mallaig on the mainland of Scotland. We then drove a further 55ks east to the largest town in the Highlands, Fort William (Scotland), a town on the edge of Loch Linnhe, and Glen Nevis Camping Park for 2 nights (although the park isn't on the loch). On the way we stopped to view the Glenfinnan Viaduct for trains and the Glenfinnan Monument just across the road - the Jacobite monument to the clansmen who followed Prince Charles Edward (Bonnie Prince Charlie) in the 1746 rising for the Stuart cause. We had gorgeous scenery all the way, with lochs and rocky, craggy mountains - we stopped often to take some photos in addition to the ones I was taking, clicking away on the move. In the camping park, we are parked basically at the foot of the Glen Nevis mountain range, so we look out our window at this steep green rocky mountain, sweeping upwards to the sky, and it is just awesome! Not too far away is Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the United Kingdom, 1344 metres (4406ft) - lots of people like to climb it - not us!

13-7-2012 Friday Black Friday (probably shouldn't have gone out today)
It was a beautiful sunny day so we rode the bikes (haven't done that for a while) about 3ks into the centre of Fort William and walked around the High Street mall with some interesting old style shops. We've seen a lot of backpackers and people with their walking sticks here which isn't strange seeing as a lot of people do a few walks up and around Ben Nevis. The other day we saw a private (obviously Scottish) bus with 'MACBACKPACKERS' on the side of it, which gave us a chuckle. Had fish n chips by the side of Loch Linnhe, in the sun - was nice.

14-7-2012 Saturday
Drove 100ks south to a village called Ardlui (Scotland) and Ardlui Holiday Park for 1 night. The park is situated on, and near the north end of, the beautiful 62ks (39 miles) long Loch Lomond and has a lot of cabins with their own pontoons outside their doors. The mhome/caravan area though is only small and consists of about half a dozen side by side type bays like a car park, so wouldn't want to stay here for long. The water is busy with people on their boats and jet skis - it's certainly a lovely place for families. Again, we were blown away by the magnificent mountain scenery on the drive here, especially Glen Coe mountains and the Three Sisters. Below is some information from the internet:-

'The Three Sisters of Glencoe'. The mountains of Glencoe are built from some of the oldest sedimentary and volcanic strata in the world. They were subsequently moulded, sheared and repositioned by a geological event known as a 'cauldron subsidence' which took place 380 million years ago. It is often considered one of the most spectacular and beautiful places in Scotland, and is a part of the designated National Scenic Area of Ben Nevis and Glen Coe. The glen is U-shaped, formed by an ice age glacier, about 16 km (9.9 mi) long with the floor of the glen being less than 700 m (0.4 miles) wide, narrowing sharply at the Pass of Gloen Coe about half way along.
Geologically speaking, Glen Coe is the remains of an ancient supervolcano. It is considered to be one of the best examples of Cauldron subsidence. The eruption happened about 420 million years ago during the Silurian period, and the volcano has long since become extinct. The landscape was further shaped by the processes of glaciation during the last ice age, 10,000 years ago.
Lost Valley (Coire Gabhail) is the hidden valley where the MacDonalds of Glen Coe hid their rustled cattle.

15-7-2012 Sunday
Before leaving our position on the lovely Loch Lomond we thought we'd record below, the song relating to it. I think everyone will know the chorus, if not the verses:-

Background to the song: Two of Bonnie Prince Charlie's men were captured and left behind in Carlisle after the failed rising of 1745. One young soldier was to be executed, the other released. The Spirit of the dead soldier travelling by the 'low road' would reach Scotland before his comrade, who would be struggling along the actual road over high, rugged country.

By yon bonnie banks and by yon bonnie braes,
Where the sun shines bright on Loch Lomond
Where me and my true love were ever wont to gae,
On the bonnie bonnie banks of Loch Lomond.

Chorus
Oh! Ye'll take the high road, and I'll take the low road,
And I'll be in Scotland afore ye,
But me and my true love will never meet again,
On the bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomond.

'Twas then that we parted, In yon shady glen,
On the steep, steep side of Ben Lomond,
Where, in purple hue, The highland hills we view,
And the moon coming out in the gloaming.

The wee birdies sing, And the wild flowers spring,
And in sunshine the waters sleeping.
But the broken heart it kens, Nae second spring again,
Though the waeful may cease frae their greeting.

Rainy day today. Drove 170ks south east to a village called Moffat (Scotland) and Moffat C&C Club site for 1 night. After hooking up we walked around the nice main street of the nearby village centre.

16-7-2012 Monday
Drove 170ks south to Kendal (England) and Kendal C&C Club site for 2 nights. On the way we stopped at a village called Gretna Green, in Scotland, where young elopers used to go to get married - the age in Scotland was younger than England so people used to run off to there to get hitched. It was very much a tourist place with souvenir shops, a big car park and plenty of tourist buses. After that we detoured to see the ruins of Housesteads Roman Fort and Museum, and Hadrian's Wall - a stone barrier built in AD122 by the Roman emperor, Hadrian, and stretched unbroken for 73 miles from modern day Carlisle in the west right across England to Newcastle in the east, to stop the enemy from the north trying to take over. The Romans had claimed England as part of the Roman empire. The wall used to be 4-5 metres (15 feet) high and 3 metres (9 feet) wide but there's not a lot of it left. Most of the stones have been carted off and recycled into surrounding structures, and the portions of wall that remain stand at only half their original height. Once at the caravan site my cousin, Suzanne, who lives not far away, picked us up and drove us back to her place for a lovely dinner. Afterward, we walked down the local pub for a drink.