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| Royal Stewart tartan Kilt and Bag pipe |
In the Highlands,the past has left traces on the landscape..Ancient cairns(stone piles), and the Picts,with their mysterious carved symbol stones.The Picts were a fascinating prehistoric/early Celtic people living in areas of Scotland.They still live there -- they've simply been assimilated by the Scots (from Ireland) who settled there and brought in their own language,Gaelic, and many of their own customs
In the north of Scotland,the Viking war galleys once roved...Gaelic place names in the west such as Shieldaig ( herring bay) or Diabaig (deep bay), and Norse names like Langwell (long field),or Whaligoe (whale inlet) or dozens more remind us of their rule here.
Then, Clan system evolved with Mackays and Sinclairs, Mackenzies and
Frasers, Camerons, Macdonalds, Macdougals,MacGregors (Rob Roy) and lots more, all holding their territories by
force of arms.These Gaelic speaking Highland
clans not only skirmished, but gave encouragement through their
chiefs to bards and storytellers, adding to the rich heritage of music and
legend which has survived until today.
Though the old clan ways have vanished, the Highlands
are still a place apart, enjoyed not only for their
unspoilt environment but for their particular sense of the intertwining of past
and present.
The Highlands allure lies amongst its Bens,Glens,Moors,Lochs and in proud Castles interspersed with tales about the clans, the culture, the whiskys, wondrous
array of wild flowers such as the Yarrow and Peat and…Nessie of course
Our journey began in Edinburgh,the name
comes from the ancient Gaelic "Dun Eidyn" which means hill fort on
the sloping ridge,using the National Express coach service from
Heathrow, and found ourselves in the city on a gray and wet morning. With help
from the Info Center and the locals we walked along Princess Street and found our Hotel. After
some rest and recuperation we joined the
Sandeman's “walking tour” beginning
on High Street. In about three hours,with a short break, we covered all the main sights of the old City.
Sandeman’s unique style of combining history with pure showmanship made the walking
worthwhile and is highly recommended.
A brief description …
Royal Mile,
starts at the Edinburg Castle and goes up to Holyrood
Palace.Standing high above the city, Edinburgh Castle is a magnificent sight. Not
only is it a historic monument but also a working military establishment where
the Scottish Division headquarters are based.
St Giles’ Cathedral, the
principal place of worship of the Church of Scotland and is 900 years old. Its
distinctive crown steeple is a prominent feature of the
city skyline.
The Mercat Cross, the central
meeting place where Royal proclamations and official announcements were read.
The Grassmarket, was one of Edinburgh's main markets from 1400’s
to early 1900’s for horse and cattle. It was also a setting for public executions.
A popular story is that of Maggie Dickson, who was hanged in the Grassmarket in 1700’s for murdering her own baby. After
the hanging, her body was taken back in a coffin. However, on the way there she
was wide awake!!. Under Scots Law she had served her punishment. It was also to
some extent seen as divine intervention,and so she was allowed to
go free,Scot free. In later life (and legend) she was thereafter referred to as
Half-Hangit Maggie.
The words "until dead" were then added to the
sentence of hanging. There is now a Pub named after her at the Grassmarket.
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| Bobby |
Greyfriars Kirkyard (cemetery) and
Greyfriars Bobby- Bobby was the name of a little Skye Terrier dog owned by
John Gray (Auld Jock to locals). Bobby was so loyal to his master that when
Auld Jock died of tuberculosis in 1858
and was buried in an unmarked grave in Greyfriars Kirkyard, Bobby kept a daily
vigil and lay over his master’s grave for 14 years until his own death in 1872.He
was buried in the same graveyard as his master. Bobby's monument is on the
corner of Candle makers Row and King
George IV
Bridge
Tron Kirk, a famous church on
High street a church on high street
Writer’s Museum-This building is
crammed with pictures, etchings, busts and memorabilia including bibles, pipes
and walking sticks which celebrate the lives of the three famous writers Sir Walter
Scott, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Robert Burns who all at one time lived in
Edinburgh.
Holyrood Palace
– The Queen’s official residence in Edinburg.
We ended at the Princess Street gardens and after a Cuppa,
sat in a bus and went to a Restaurant for Pizza and wine. It was a long day and
we tucked in early to face the morrow.
On our 2nd day at Edinburg
,we were on our own exploring the city. We boarded a bus to Waverly station
after a handsome breakfast. Walking over the bridge we could see the station on
the right and Arthur’s seat on the left. We took a leisurely walk along the
Royal Mile peeping into souvenir shops and taking pictures and ended at Holyrood Palace. Another bus ride followed and we traveled through the new town up to Ocean terminal, Edinburgh's largest Mall with shops, cinema, spa, gym, cafes and
restaurants and home to the Royal Yacht Britannia. On our return we had
a sparse lunch and spent time around the Castle area and the Art Gallery.
In the evening we went to an ancient Pub in the Hay market area and treated
ourselves to fish ‘n chips, Onion rings, and Chicken Tikka Masala and wolfed it
down with Beer (me) wine(she)
What is Scottish Enlightenment?
It
was the period in 18th century Scotland characterized by an
outpouring of intellectual and scientific accomplishments. Among the fields
that rapidly advanced were philosophy, political economy, engineering,
architecture, medicine, geology, archaeology, law, agriculture, chemistry and
sociology. Among the Scottish thinkers and scientists of the period were Alexander Campbell, David Hume,
Adam Smith and
Robert Burns to name a few.
The
Scottish Enlightenment had effects far beyond Scotland itself, not only because
of the esteem in which Scottish achievements were held in Europe and elsewhere,
but also because its ideas and attitudes were carried across the Atlantic as
part of the Scottish Diaspora, and by American students who studied in Scotland. As
a result, a significant proportion of technological and social development in
the United States, Canada and New Zealand in the 18th and 19th centuries were
accomplished through Scots-Americans and Scots-Canadians.
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Day 3…We travel to the Highlands
It was not very encouraging, the grey,wet and somewhat cold morning that
greeted us as we stepped out of our hotel and hailed a taxi for our travel to
Torn Kirk the starting point of our trip. A twelve seater Mercedes van arrived soon with
Peter as our Guide cum driver. We loaded up, listened to the preliminaries and
commenced our trip. Peter gauged the gray mood prevailing amongst us due to the
inclement weather and immediately launched into some history of Edinburg in his own
style, exposing his sense of humor, which he kept up till the very end.
After an hour of driving, we left the city of Sterling behind and halted at the Doune
castle. A medieval, made famous in the recent times from its use in the filming
of Monty Python
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| With Hamish |
Our next stop was the city of Callander.This town’s attraction to visitors goes back a long way. The Romans named the
place Bochastle when they built a fort beside the River Teith here in 100 AD. Also it is a key gateway to
the Highlands. Here the fertile plains come to
an end, and the mountains begin. The "real" Scotland starts
here. We stopped for some coffee and a while later were driven to see Hamish,the highland bull at a nearby field.He graced the occasion by posing for us.
We crossed over the fault line into the magnificent
Highlands taking in the splendor of Loch Luibnaig, Loch Earn, Glen Ogle and
Glen Dochart, as we traveled north over the wild and remote Rannoch Moor into
Glencoe and Loch Levon.
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| GLENCOE |
Glencoe -This haunting glen was the scene of a great massacre in 1692 where many of the clan Macdonald was slaughtered.Thirty-eight MacDonalds from the Clan MacDonald of Glencoe were killed by the guests, who had accepted their hospitality, on the grounds that the MacDonalds had not been prompt in pledging allegiance to the new monarchs William and Mary.Another forty women and children died of exposure after their homes were burned.We stopped in this imposing mountain pass and took a leisurely walk enjoying the spectacular views.
However,we trailed far behind the guide and lost our way to the starting point.Peter came to our rescue a while later.He stopped again for a 'Nature's call halt" and then again when a girl in the group bitterly wept stating that she had misplaced her wallet with all credit cards etc at the last stop.We were already getting late and Peter just called the office back in Edinburgh and passed on the info to enable them trace the wallet and send it to the girl later.We were now coasting towards our destination Isle of Skye and passed Fort William and saw Ben Nevis the tallest mountain in UK
We then drive towards Eilean Donan castle,the most photographed castle in the world,and for good reason.We didn't stop here;for want of time and headed towards the bridge.We shall come back and spend time at the castle later Peter says.We agree as we are all eager to get to our rooms at Portree.
Isle of Skye was accessible only by ferry until a few years ago.A toll bridge,now a free bridge, connects the Isle with the Scottish mainland.It is a beautiful 2-way concrete bridge and you get a lovely view of the bay as you drive through to the other side
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| isle of skye bridge |
A winding drive along the coast and through the hills brought us to the small town of Portree, the capital city of the Isle. It lies at the end of a spectacular bay bound by basaltic cliffs. Gaelic is still spoken and used on the Isle, and most of the signs provide translations.
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| Portree |
Peter reached us to our quaint BnB accommodation and after a brief discussion about arrangements for the next day,we retired to our room,refreshed with a shower,and had a good nights rest after all the excitement of the day.No!we didn't venture out for dinner.
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Day 4...We explore the Isle
Portree in the north of the Island of Skye is the largest settlement, and
main service center on the island, with a population of 2500 people.OMG!
Portree has a beautiful harbor fringed by cliffs.
Peter collected us all from the 7-8 BnB's and the day started with a drive around the shore to see the Cullin, a range of rocky mountains on the island The Cullin are also known as the Black Cullin to distinguish them from the Red Hills across Glen Sligachan. The Red Hills are lower in height.
We cut across and drove along a road leading to a medieval bridge where we stopped for walks and pictures.We could see the Cullin yonder,both the black and red hills.
We drove to Dunvegan. Dunvegan sits on the shores of the large 'Loch Dunvegan' and the Old
School restaurant in the village is widely known for its freshly caught
fish from the loch itself.It is famous for Dunvegan castle,seat of the chief of Clan Macleod
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| Dunvegan castle |
The name Dunvegan is Scottish Gaelic for "small castle". We took pictures of the castle and told Peter that we were not interested in reading the history and seeing the relics of the Macdonald clan.Peter more than made up by cranking out stories about the clans and their culture. But to its credit,it must be said that Dunvegan will go down as the greatest and most renowned among Hebredian strongholds,and the only one which has been continuously owned and occupied by the same family for the last eight centuries!!save for the potato famine years.
A few miles past the castle,a short walk from the road brought us to Coral beach.It is not actually coral that makes up the creamy pink tinged sand but fragments of algae.
Not swimmer friendly,but the rugged beauty of the remote and unspoilt landscape more than made it up for all 16 of the party who enjoyed the walk through the grassy pastures with cattle grazing ; the energetic amongst us went on to climb the small but
prominent hill by the beach.It opened up
to wonderful views over the islands in Loch Bay, and beyond.
After a wonderful and busy morning we drove back to the center of Portree for some nourishment and we found it in the form of pastry and coffee which was yummy.Not many of us wanted to sit down for a meal for fear of losing time away from wondrous Nature all over Skye!.
 Just before the northern tip of Skye is Staffin with its sweeping Bay. The Ridge returns closer to the road at this point, showing off the rock scenery of the Quiraing.We stopped here to admire the scenery and went down to view the place of pillars.  Then we saw the Storr: The Storr is
a rocky hill on the peninsula of the Isle of Skye The hill presents a
steep rocky eastern face contrasting with gentler grassy slopes to the
west. It is a typical Trotternish landslip. By now it was dusk and we had done a lot of walking and climbing and were thirsting for some Lager.We were driven back to Portree and we regrouped later and enjoyed an evening of Whisky, Beer and Fish and listened to Scottish music at the local Pub.The evening dragged on and on until we stumbled back to our accommodation in the wee hours.
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