Blogs from Scotland, United Kingdom, Europe - page 457

Thursday morning dawned as another perfect day weather-wise. We have been very fortunate that, other than our first few days, the weather here has been delightful. The excellent weather led us to decide to re-visit Kilmartin and finish viewing the ruins and a castle there that we missed last week due to the freezing rain. Well, I should amend that...three of us will return to Kilmartin and Cindy's dad will explore the mountain tops around the Gallanach Estate when Charlie stops by around noon and takes him up in his 4x4 ATV. Cindy, her mom and I left the cottage around 9:20am for the 30 mile, hour long drive back to Kilmartin. I've joked that the roads are so winding and curved that it's probably only 8 miles in a straight line. I shouldn't "complain" though; ... read more

NOTE: SUCCESS!! I was able to upload all of the Edinburgh Road trip pictures for that post, the one that was missing from The Highlands post as well as these from yesterday's activities. I slept until 9am this morning, but I awoke feeling like a new man. Between the driving and the walking yesterday I was whipped when we got back to the cottage last night. The weather has turned warm (80 degrees) and if it weren't for the cool sea breeze we could wear shorts and sandals...if we had them. Cindy and her parents spent most of the morning wandering around the castle grounds cataloging various plants, flowers, birds and insects, graciously leaving me in the quiet of the cottage to write about our time in Edinburgh the previous day and to choose and prepare ... read more

I awoke early this morning and began writing before everyone else got up. It was quiet and from where I write I can look out the window and see the sheep and their lambs grazing and watch the ducks flying down to the inlet beach and back. The rest of the world seems so far away. We've only watched the news on TV twice since we've been here (trying to find weather forecasts more than to see the news) and though I buy a newspaper most every day and check the local headlines back home when I get Internet access, this place is so beautiful, peaceful and insulated that I feel a world away from everything but what we do in each moment. Those of you that know me know that's just not me. I am ... read more

We awoke to an absolutely beautiful day. The sun was shining (sunrise is at 4:45am here, thank goodness for thick curtains on the windows), the sky was clear and the temperature was a balmy 51 degrees. Looking out to the bay, the water reflected the blue of the clear sky and was still and tranquil. The sheep were grazing out in the back field and as we ate breakfast we looked out the dining room window saw a deer running across the top of the hill to our west/southwest. Birds were singing and the sheep were "baa" ing. We had several errands around town that we needed to run and Cindy was still sick with her cold, so we decided to stay close to "home" to allow her to rest some and to take care of ... read more

The Beltane, A festival celebrating the beginning of the sumemr season, and the upcomming harvest. The fire Festival is an old Pegan ceremony that has been preformed in the United Kingdon for thousands of years. Allthough now it has become more modern as time goes by, the down-to-earth vibe still flows throught the spring breeze. The preformance of the beltane goes as follows: So there is the Queen of the Beltane, who represents the sun, the giver of life, and there is the King who represents the growth of the Earth. Every Beltane (April 30th) the king , who is dressed as a large shrub, its torn apart and killed, and a new king is born and starts to grow. The Queen and the Old King lead a parade starting at the old Roman pillars and ... read more