Blogs from Inverness-shire, Scotland, United Kingdom, Europe - page 47

Today has been simply amazing! I got up at 5.30!!!!! to make sure I got some good film of us arriving in Skye. It was pitch black when I got up & I was the only one up on the ship, except the driver of course. After a cup of tea, I was quickly on deck to watch the sunrise...fat chance, teaming with rain & the good old Skye mist made an appearance, along with...DOLPHINS!! They popped up out of the water to say hello & I caught them on video! They also swam around our tender as we went off to the harbour. We hired a car & travelled down to Sligachan to admire the view...what view? More Skye rain & mist...still took photos & waved at the webcam (incase anyone wants to look it ... read more

I had a couple of days off work, so I went up to Inverness. I was looking forward to the trip, because Claudine had told me how much she liked the city, plus I was going to take a trip to the Orkney Islands. I stayed at the Bazpackers Hostel, which was really nice. I wasn't that fond of the city itself, because I thought it lacked any grace or elegance. It was just kinda there. It did have a river through the town, like most towns hwere seem to do. I went to a "Scottish Experience" show Wednesday night, which was pretty cool. Hokey, but interesting. Dancing, singing, bagpiping, etc. I even got asked to dance a "Gay Gordon" with one of the dancers. It was fun, but I couldn't dance for anything!! :)... read more

Monday, August 6th - Isle of Skye: I don’t really remember what we did on this day during the morning, so I’ll just go off of the brochure notes: “A full day on Skye to absorb the breathtaking scenery of this spectacular and history-steeped isle. Explore Portree, the tiny island capital, then visit remote Dunvegan Castle, seat of the chiefs of Clan MacLeod since 1200, and learn of connections with Bonnie Prince Charlie and Flora MacDonald. Take in the views of the Cullin Hills on the way back to Broadford.” So, yeah, there you go. We looked at scenery and the fact that it was “history steeped” probably explains my lack of memory. I do remember Dunvegan castle (because it had the word “vegan” in it and that made me smirk and think of ... read more

Thursday, August 2nd- Inverness (with a trip to Dingwall aka Tulloch Castle). Inverness. In the morning we went to Culloden (where the Battle of Culloden took place.) After this battle (which the Scots lost), Bonnie Prince Charlie went into hiding (Flora MacDonald disguised him as her “lady’s maid”) and eventually made it to Greece where he remained ‘til he died. Clan Davidson did fight in this battle, they made up part of Clan Chattan (according to Wikipedia). Anyway, so the battlefield now has blue flags which show where the Scots line was and red flags which show where the British line was. There are also stones that show where the heads of certain clans “fell” and other stones which represent where the clans stood on the field. In the middle is a stone memorial. url=http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/nairn/fort... read more

We went on a FABBY trip last weekend, by invitation from our pal Morven's parents George & Maureen, to the most beautiful island of Barra, which is one of the islands of the The Outer Hebrides on the West Coast of Scotland. You can get to Barra two ways - ferry from Oban, or flight from Glasgow. We flew. It wasn't that expensive really - about 100 pounds per person including tax and Beth went free of course as she's so teeny. Flight takes 50 mins and if it's a clear day you get the most amazing views imaginable, heading out over Oban, up the Sound of Mull (with top views of Tobermory 'Balamory' harbour with its gorgeously quaint painted buildings facing the sea), over the Atlantic ocean bypassing other beautiful islands such as Muck, Eigg ... read more