We are off this morning with our guide, Karen and Allen, to explore some of Glasgow. Our first stop was at Glasgow Cathedral, a constant place of worship for over 800 years. Founded by the cities founding monk, St. Mungo, whose tomb is in the underground church within the cathedral. The cathedral is home of …
Day 17 – August 28th – Glasgow & Day 18 – August 29th Travel to LeedsRead More »
Today we made our way to Glasgow. On the way we stopped at Inverary Castle, a country “house” near Inveraray in the county of Argyll. It has been the seat of the Dukes of Argyll, chiefs of Clan Campbell, since the 18th century. The current Duke, the 13th Duke of Argyll, and his family live …
Day 16 – August 27th – On the way to Glasgow and even more CastlesRead More »
With clouds low in the sky we thought it best to start our day at Glencoe. Here is a U-shaped glacial valley with dramatic vistas. We made for a short hike, about an hour and a half, to a bridge overlooking a river. Our next stop was the Glencoe visitor center where there is an …
Day 15 – August 26th – Glencoe hiking and Ben Nevis but no skiingRead More »
Up to now the weather has been pretty consistent, that is mostly cloudy and sometimes drizzly. The clouds were always low and touching the mountain tops. But this morning was different, the sun was shining brightly and the clouds, what there were of them were high in the blue sky. This was perfect weather for …
Day 14 – August 25th – Loch Ness and Urquhart CastleRead More »
Before leaving Skye, we visited the ruins of the Donald family castle, Armadale and a visit to the Museum of the Isles which tells all about the epic story of Clan Donald / MacDonald. The castle is a mansion house first built here around 1790, facing south-east over the Sound of Sleat. In 1815 a …
This morning we headed to Talisker, the oldest distillery on Skye. We arrived early and looked around the shop before our private tour. We met our guide George, and he took us through the distillery explaining the process of malting, fermentation and aging. We then went to the tasting room where we sampled the Reserve, …
Day 12 – August 23rd – Whisky, Fairies, and more castlesRead More »
Woke up nursing a bad cold. But with meds hoped to manage it. With rain in the forecast for later in the afternoon, we set our sights for the first stop at the “Old Man of Storr”. This is a cluster of ancient landslip pinnacles. To reach it there is a 2-mile moderately step path. …
Leaving Inverness, we headed to the Isle of Skye. Along the way we made a couple of stops. First was just for a photo of Loch Ness. We did not see Nessie, but we will be returning and I am certain I will find her. We next stopped where Allan wanted to show us the …
This morning we toured Brodie Castle, a 16th century castle that was the ancestral home of the Brodie clan for over 400 years. It was turned over to the National Trust just in the late 20th century by the 29th Laird, who was an actor and famous for his role in the play “Harvey” hence …
Our first stop this morning was the battlefield of Culloden. Here on April 16, 1746, the last battle in support of the Bonnie Prince Charlie was fought. It was a terrible rout for the Jacobite cause in support of the Stewart kings. Lasting less than an hour, there were over 1600 casualties, mostly, from the …
Day 8 – August 19th – Bloody History and some not so Bloody HistoryRead More »
