Day Seven (Carlisle to the Scottish Highlands)

It doesn't look that high

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While I was luxuriating in the river, Gail along with James and a few others crossed to this side of the stream and followed one of the hiking trails that would ultimately lead to the top.

Flying Scots

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Gail's hike took the group to this bridge spanning a pool of deeper water. As they crossed the bridge they befriended a group of Scottish schoolboys who were taking flying leaps from the bridge. They spent awhile watching the daredevils and were thus unable to make it to the top of the Mountain. (I'm being sarcastic - the hike normally takes hours to reach the summit).

Facts from the Ben Nevis Visitor Center

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And while the intrepid failed in their attempt to scale the summit, I eventually emerged from the swollen stream to take a walk to the nearby visitor center. It was a very informative little building with display cases and signs explaining the history and geology of the area. I found these facts about the summit particularly interesting.

My room at the Highlander

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It took another hour to drive from Ben Nevis to our home for the next two nights, Newtonmore. After driving through the photogenic little town we pulled-up in front of what looked like an American-style motel. We were in a nice shady part of town where the temperatures were in the much more bearable 70 degree range. We quickly checked into our hotel rooms where I was quite pleased to have a rather roomy two bed room.

Bring out the Haggis

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When we walked into the dining room for dinner I was surprised to learn that we had arrived in time for a Highlander Dinner Show. After ordering my Tennant beer the show began with this gentleman ceremoniously carrying in the disgusting-looking stuffed sheep's stomach known as "Haggis". To the accompaniment of a bagpiper he proceeded to divvy up the Highland version of sausage while reciting some undecipherable verse.

Haggis with neeps and tatties

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Everybody got a plate of this. I really didn't relish the idea of eating sheep's stomach stuffed with oatmeal, lungs, heart and liver. I took a bite to be polite and then found I actually enjoyed it. I finished off my whole plate including the mashed potatoes and turnips that accompanied it. Luckily, this was not the main course.

The evening's entertainment

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No sooner did we gulp down the Haggis than we were jarred from our seats by the sounds of twelve bagpipes and a couple drummers mjarching into the dining room. I have to admit that the bagpipe music is pretty stirring and must have been downright intimidating out on the battlefield. This group of pipers is a local group that tours around the country and world from time to time. After performing two tunes they passed the tam-o-shanter requesting funding for their next gig.

An evening stroll through Newtonmore

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We enjoyed a nice dinner followed by a sumptuous dessert tray. Gail and her mother opted to hang around for the rest of the show but fearing the very real possibility of audience participation, I beat a hasty retreat. I decided to take a walk through the little downtown of Newtonmore. I ran into another member of our group, Jean Moyer, who I knew from our church back home. It wasn't much of a downtown commercially speaking but the homes along the street looked old and uniquely English. As usual I had to get a photo of the post office.

The outer limits

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Jean and I extended our walk to the far reaches of the town. I really wanted to get a good picture of one of the Highlnd cattle but everytime I drew near one of them, they took off before I could get a decent shot. The home in the background also looked very interesting. During out stay in Newtonmore people continually talked about "Monarch of the Glen". Apparently it is some sort of British soap opera that has been showing on PBS or other channel I refuse to watch. Somebody in our group claimed that this house was seen in one of the episodes.

An awful picture of a beautiful row of homes

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As Jean and I headed back to the hotel it was starting to get dark at 10:00pm. I could kick myself now for having blown this shot. I should have steadied myself against a wall and then taken the picture, but the picture looked fine on my tiny LCD screen.