The drive through the Scottish Highlands is filled with some of the most picturesque landscapes we’ve ever seen. Enormous lochs (lakes) reflected the sky, infinite green rolling mountains, and waterfalls.
Part II – Isle of Skye, Harris, and Lewis
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Day 7 – Inverness and Lochness – Scottish Highlands
Urquhart_Castle’s history can be traced back almost a millennia to the Picts, early settlers of Scotland. Supposedly a Pict King was converted to Christianity here by St. Columba from Iona. The castle was built in the 7th Century and them intentionally blown up by the British at end of the 18th century to keep the Jacobites from overtaking it. It sits on the edge of Loch Ness, providing a unique view out over the water.
River Ness runs though the town of Inverness, in the Scottish Highland, which is equal parts historic and hip. Inverness is also on the northern coast of the Great Glen Fault. This fault line formed most of the Lochs over 300 million years.
We ate at The Kitchen Restaurant which was an unplanned treat. If you can believe it, we fought over the last piece of pickled herring (if you can believe it!) and shared a fabulous duck entree. We then got gelato at Miele’s Gelatoria, they even have non-dairy options. Finally we ended the night with a few half pints of the local beer at Black Isle Bar. It was a real treat to sample the micro-brew culture of the Scottish Highlands.
We stayed at this guest house on the river Ness in Inverness.
This walking bridge in Inverness was quite wobbly.
Cool Chair in the Strathness Guest House.
We really enjoyed our half-pints from Black Isle Bar. We wish beer was served in 1/2 pints in the States too!
The Duck was divine.
The best pickled herring we've ever had!
Day 8 – Clava Cairns and Culloden – Scottish Highlands
Clava Cairns are ancient Bronze Age burial sites, shaped like a slabbed letter C. (C is for Cairn, that’s good enough for me.) The other edge is large boulders that hold the larger stones. They are about 1.5 meters high and about 30m in diameter. They are found all other the Scottish Highlands and Ireland as well.
Clava Cairn in the Scottish Highlands.
Another of the Clava Cairn in the Scottish Highlands.
Juliette stands outside the cairn for scale.
This kid desperately needed to get bag pipe lessons and tune his pipes so we tossed him a few quid.
This cairn commemorates the battle of Culloden, the last stand of Bonny Prince Charlie against the British government in the Scottish Highlands.
These two stones mark the length of the mass grave for the Clan Mackintosh after the Battle of Culloden.
Culloden Battlefield was chalked full of history about a tragic last stand in what could be described as a British civil war. The Scotsman that fought for the insurgency of Bonny Prince Charlie were ill prepared to fight against the heavy artillery of the British government. Yet they bravely and tragically fought the lost cause anyway, which is why it is romantically commemorated. The show Outlander tells the story of the highlander clans from the perspective of a time traveling doctor (no, not THE Doctor, that’s a different show).
Day 9 – Stirling Castle – Stirlingshire, Scotland
Stirling Castle and a lazy coo
Stirling Castle
Scotland in a nutshell.
We we checked into our guest house Cooper immediately felt at home.
This Scottish highland coo loved to eat grass clippings.
Stirling is just south of the Scottish Highlands, so please forgive us from including in our “Highlands” post. It might have been our favorite town, it is filled with history yet light on the tourists. The old town sits on a hill, with Stirling Castle on top.
This guy knew all about coats of arms.
We were in Stirling castle on our anniversary, which we shared with James IV and Margaret Tudor.
The kids on the tour were truly engaged with the history of Stirling Castle.
We didn't visit the William Wallace Monument but could see it from Stirling Castle.
Too many famous faces to name, adorned the ceiling.
The Great Hall of Stirling Castle was built by James IV.
Juliette in the throne room.
Banner with the coat of arms of James IV.
Detail of The Great Hall built by James IV.
The moat around Stirling Castle.
Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders were a fearsome regiment from the Scottish Highlands.
For our anniversary dinner we when to the Stirling Highland Hotel and had a lovely 3 course meal. The big surprise was that Juliette and selected the location because of one unique feature. Their building used to be a high school and in 1888 an observatory was added to house a one of a kind telescope. Cooper was thrilled to photograph this awesome little rotunda with rotating roof. Although the hotel runs tours, only the Stirling Astronomical Society can use the telescope to star gaze. It is worth coming back one day.
Day 10 – Stirlingshire – Scotland
Another treat for pop culture geeks was our visit to Doune Castle, Deanston. You might recognize it from Monty Python and the Holy Grail (if so, according to the very comedic woman running our guest house, you are probably male). Otherwise, and more recently, the castle can be seen in the TV show Outlander as well as Game of Thrones. Visitors are given complimentary headset guides narrated by the Python Director and historian Terry Jones. Outlander fans on the tour are occasionally treated to the dulcet tones of the historical heartthrob Sam Heughan. Come early to this castle to get the best experience, sans large crowds. Be warned, you will run into at least one “Thrones-er”, “Sasanach”, or Knight that says “Ni!”
Doune Castle, Scotland
Remember the joke about the coconuts being carried by the swallow? This place was swarming with them!
Interior Doune Castle
The crest of
Juliette looks down on the peasants below.
This berserker was so intense with his poses, the best shot I could capture was this moment after the roar.
We recommend taking a tour of the Deanston distillery, if the spirit compels you, since it is very close to Doune Castle.
Not only did we get to taste a dram or two but we also got to see the entire facility, including the aging room. Deanston may be the only distillery in the world that relies solely on its own renewable power generation. The facility had previously been a cotton mill, built in 1830, that harnessed the flowing water of the adjacent river Teith to run turbines. After a few upgrades the plant now generates enough energy that the distillery only uses 25% of it, the rest feeds the grid!
Barrels aging in this room slowly gain the oak flavoring while losing a but of their liquid volume via evaporation. This vapor is called the "Angel's Share".
Juliette sniffs the barley.
Scotch Whiskey is made with used barrels, often coming from the US bourbon industry.
Cheers!
Loch Lommond is a beautiful site.
Airth castle is a funky hotel in Airth. There we met Wallace McIntosh, an old English Sheep Dog. He ran right for Cooper, who was tickled purple!
Wallace sprints toward Cooper.
Wallace slows down and circles around, in classic sheep dog fashion.
Wallace comes into give Cooper a snuggle.
Wallace and his other sheepdog friend merge momentarily.
Our final stop was in The Helix in Falkirk at sunset. There we admired the grand modern horse sculptures known as the “Kelpies”. Kelpies are a mythological creature know for taking the form of a horse and feared for dragging their victims under water. Luckily these Kelpies just lit up and remained inert. It was the perfect end to an amazing tour of Scotland.
The Kelpies in Falkirk, Scotland at sunset.
