South of Inverness lies Loch Ness, famous for the still-not-confirmed “monster” called Nessie.  We didn’t see her either.  About halfway down the west coast of Loch Ness lie the ruins of Urquhart Castle. Urquhart was a very strategically important fortress; located as it was on a rocky promontory jutting into the deep waters of Loch Ness.  The castle changed hands several times over its 1,000 year history and when the last soldiers marched away in 1692 they blew up part of the castle as they left.  The ruins are extensive as the castle was added to and re-fortified many times. Our visit to Scotland coincided with baby bird season and there was another nest at Urquhart. The castle is a living history site where they have costumed staff doing demonstrations of weapons and tactics and explained the general living conditions of the period. The white ribbon – cockade – on his hat would let people know he was a supporter of Bonny Prince Charlie, the exiled heir to the Scottish throne; whose attempt to regain his place resulted in the disastrous Battle of Culloden that was a crushing defeat for the Scottish Clans. We left Urquhart just after 1 pm and returned to our hotel in Inverness for a restful afternoon and evening. Every once in awhile a person needs a bit of down time on lengthy trips like these.The gorse was blooming on many of the hillsides.

We had a very early start to catch the 7 am ferry from Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis back to the mainland terminal at Ullapool.  The northern part of Scotland is narrow with many inlets and waterways that almost separate the land into islands.  It is just under 50 miles across from Ullapool on the west to the east coast road that goes north to Golspie and Dunrobin Castle.  I had read about Dunrobin, which is really a grand house, and not a castle, and its beautiful gardens so we specifically drove the 35 miles north to go see it.  And we were not disappointed.  What a fairy tale-like place.  I loved Dunrobin!

I have always loved structured, geometric shaped gardens.  I think it is the orderliness of it all which satisfies my OCD tendencies.Dunrobin, with its pointed turrets would make a great setting for Cinderella or Rapunzel.  It was a beautiful place and the gardens were immaculately groomed.

I  really  think  they  should  pass  out  medieval  or  Victoria  gowns  to  wear  while  you  stroll  the  gardens.  I just seems  more  appropriate  for  the  surroundings.  I loved  this  place  and  would  really  like  to  go  back  some  day.Once we had completed our leisurely walk around the gardens of Dunrobin we got back in the car and drove about 50 miles south again to Inverness where we spent the night.

We spent all day on the Isle of Lewis, first visiting the Calanais Standing Stones and then Doune Broch, a stone roundhouse.  By mid-afternoon we were at the Black House Village Museum, a collection of old stone houses.   The village of Arnol has moved several times, from the seashore further inland in 1735, and a few more moves over the years, until it reached its current site on the ridge in 1853.This type of house was called a white house, to distinguish it from black houses which housed people and animals under the same roof.  The white houses were built in the 1900’s when legal pressures and health regulations started to demand that the livestock should be housed in separate dwellings. This fellow was demonstrating an old loom that wove the tartan fabrics used for blankets and clothing. Many of these homes were lived in until recently when the museum was created in the village.   All the thick smoke from the smoldering peat fires was stirring up my asthma so I wandered the village wearing my carbon-filled bandana so I could breathe.

The Blackhouse was a residence for both animals and humans. There was no chimney and a peat fire was lit at all times in the center of the kitchen and living area.  The dwellings had thick stone walls and thatch-covered roofs.  Looking at the Blackhouse from the outside it is long and narrow, and its main feature is a thatched roof made of twigs and heather and overlaid with straw. The building is constructed from local stones with no cement between the stones.  The thick stone walls and earthen floor absorbed the heat of the fire. The earth core of the walls was good for insulation and also served to keep out draughts, and the chilly winds. The turf and thick thatch, heavy with soot, were also good insulators.

This is John’s photo.  I did not even attempt to enter the Blackhouse.  The smoke was so thick I couldn’t even stand near the open doorway.Also at the Black house Village there were partial dwellings that had little signs telling you what the rooms were used for.  This low building had no fire so I was able to crawl inside.Even with stones being used for construction for thousands of years the fields of Scotland are still full of themFrom the Black House Village we drove further up the coast to the Butt of Lewis; the most northerly tip of the island. This northernmost point of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides lies in the North Atlantic, and is frequently battered by heavy swells and storms and is marked by the Butt of Lewis Lighthouse.  The sight of all the rocks offshore and the strong winds of the north confirms why a lighthouse was needed up here.                   The area is also a favourite spot for bird watchers  From the Butt of Lewis we drove back down almost as far as Black House and then cut across the island back to Stornoway.We spent the night in a very nice room at Thor lee Guest House and caught the ferry back to Ullapool in the morning.

The main town on the Isle of Lewis is Stornoway.  We caught the 9:35 am ferry out of Ullapool and arrived in Stornoway at 12:35. It was a short drive across the island to the Calanais (pronouced Calanish) Standing Stones; one of the most famous and best-preserved Neolithic monuments of Scotland.  The stones are a cross-shaped arrangement that is about 4,000 years old and pre-date the famous monument of Stonehenge in England.  Calanais was an important place for ritual activity for 2,000 years.  It was amazing! We spent over an hour wandering around the stones and then drove up the coast to the Dun Carloway and Doune Broch Centre to see the ancient stone roundhouse.Rough, uneven stone stairways and very narrow corridors. One is never very far from a small-holding sheep farm in northern Scotland. The sheep wander the hills and roads in the same way free-range cattle roam the forests and meadows at home.

We left the King’s Arms in Kyleakin on the Isle of Skye, drove across the bridge and up the coast and around Loch Carron to Strome Castle; where only a few outer walls remain.  The castle, due to its  strategic position on the headland between rivaling clans Mackenzie and MacDonald, passed back and forth many times over two centuries; often at the whim of whomever was a current royal favourite.  It was finally blown up in 1602 by the Mackenzies after forcing the MacDonalds to surrender, and has remained a ruin ever since.                       The castle certainly was in a lovely setting.                       Gotta love the wide and spacious Scottish roads.             Victoria Falls – not the big African ones, but still pretty.                                           This was once  a huge tree!We arrived in Inverewe at one o’clock and went to see the gardens.  I never tire of touring castles and gardens.      These little daisy-like plants all stretched toward the light.From Inverewe we continued north along the coast road with a stop at Ardessie Waterfalls.                                            Lovely, lovely countryside.

We checked out the Corriesalloch Gorge and the Falls of MeasachThe gorge is extremely narrow, sheer-sided and deep.  There was a second viewing platform further down the gorge that gave us a good view of the depth.  Ullapool is only 12 miles from Corrieshalloch Gorge and we arrived at the Caledonian Hotel at 4:30.  In the morning we  were catching the ferry to the Isle of Lewis to go see the famous Standing Stones.  These were the stones that were the inspiriation for the stone circle in the Disney animated film “Brave;” which is one of my favourite movies.

Dunvegan Castle has been home to the Chief of Clan MacLeod for over 800 years. They had an incredible collection of sabers and muskets that were displayed in circular and other patterns on the walls of the halls and rooms.  In the entrance there was a over life-size portrait of one of the early Chiefs of Clan MacLeod.  A man I know at home with the same family name was the spitting image of him.  It was really quite uncanny.  I really wished we had been allowed to take photos inside this castle.  It was really awesome!

We could stroll the gardens to our hearts content though so I satisfied myself by taking lots of photos of the flowers and plants. The water droplets from the recent rain made really nice patterns on these huge leaves.

We left Dunvegan several hours later and drove along the southern coast road past the Cullin Hills.  It was nice to have a brighter sky on this side. We drove nearly to the end of the Sleat Peninsula and Armadale Castle, seat of Clan Donald.  This castle was not being lived in and need a lot of restoration work. The grounds and gardens were very nice and an archery tournament was taking place the day we visited. We arrived at the King’s Arms Hotel at Kyleakin, Isle of Skye at 6 pm.  Kyleakin is right next to the bridge back to the mainland.  The next day we continued northward to Ullapool, ferry port for the Isle of Lewis.

The Isle of Skye sits very close to the coast of western Scotland and  is reached via a short bridge.  We had spent the night in Portree, the main town on the island and spent the day driving the main road all the way around .  As we drove up the northern coast the sky was heavily overcast and foggy; almost completely obscuring the craggy mountains and the Old Man of Stor.                                            Kilt Rock and Mealt Falls.  There were always lots of fuzzy friends wandering the hills and roads.

 Just around the northerly tip of Skye is the Cottage Museum.

The gorse was in bloom.  You do not want to fall into a bush of this!

A short distance down the road from the Cottage Museum is Kilmuir Cemetery, burial site of Flora McDonald, the woman that disguised Bonnie Prince Charlie as a woman and rowed him to safety after the defeat of the Jacobites at the Battle of Culloden in 1746. Our next stop was the Dunvegan Castle, the seat of the MacLeod of MacLeod, Chief of Clan MacLeod.

Our B&B near Ayr was just across the road from the water, and even though the weather had reverted to clouds with rain it was a nice setting. We checked out at 10 am and took the A82 road north and instead of taking the bridge across the inlet we drove the 16 mile scenic route into the Glen Coe Valley.  Sadly, with the gloomy weather the beauty of the area did not show its best side. Further up A82  was the Commando Memorial. In 1940 Prime Minister Winston Churchill devised the formation of an elite force that would be sent on raids along the enemy-held European coast with the intention of disrupting supply lines, convoys, communications, etc.  They were dubbed “Commandos.”  In 1942 the basic training center for the volunteer unit was in the Scottish Highlands.  The memorial is still an active site. The most-photographed castle in Scotland is Eilean Donan, home of the McCrae’s.  The castle sits at the end of a spit of land and is visible from quite a distance as you follow the winding road along the coast. Access to the castle is across a long stone bridge and walkway. Some hungry baby birds were in the rafters of one of the outbuildings.  There was a very nice view of the surrounding coastline from the castle wall.  The McCrae’s have a memorial to clan members who paid the ultimate price for freedom.  At the base of the memorial is a verse from Canadian Medical Corpsman John McCrae’s famous poem “In Flanders Field.”

We left the lovely castle at four o’clock and drove to Portree on the Isle of Skye where we spent the night at the Dalriada Bed and Breakfast.

The ferry from Oban to the Isle of Mull takes a little less than an hour.                 Duart Castle, ancestral home of the Maclean’s.

Oban is on the Scottish coast across the inlet from Craignure, Isle of Mull and Iona is the little island to the left of Fionnphort  (Google Maps does not show the ferry to Iona).  We arrived at Craignure at 12:45, drove across the island and boarded a small pedestrian-only ferry to the tiny island of Iona.  The heather was in bloom. The overcast sky we had in Oban cleared right off by the time to we arrived on Iona and it was a gorgeous day.

We wanted to go to Iona because the monastic community there was founded by St. Columba 1450 years ago, making it one of the oldest Christian centers in Western Europe.  The Abbey was the focal point for the spread of Christianity in Scotland.A man we know from home asked us to take a photo of his distant ancestors’s grave in the Iona cemetery. When he had come to Scotland several years ago he had found the grave, but the photo he took was not very good.  John and I wandered up and down every row and were unable to find it. (When I saw him upon our return he told me the grave was in a different cemetery on the island.  Oops. That would have been good to know at the time.) The Iona community is an ecumenical religious order that is still a site of pilgrimage.  The chapel at the Abbey is regularly used for worship and the Iona ministry has many facets of work in Scotland and around the world.

After our wander among the buildings of Iona we caught the foot ferry back to Mull and our car.

We drove the road to Duart Castle, hoping to be able to go inside, but it is a private residence and was not open to the public.  The castle was given to Mary Macdonald, daughter of the Lord of the Isles as part of her dowry when she married Lachlan Lubanach, 5th Chief in 1350. By the time we had looked around at Duart Castle we had no time to tour more of Mull.  We caught the last ferry of the day back to Oban and spent the night at Ard’s House just outside of Ayr.

We were lazy and didn’t leave the B & B in Oban until 11 am, but that didn’t matter because we were staying there again that night.   The  day  was  spent  wandering  around  Oban. As we walked around the town we quickly noticed the large coliseum-like structure on the hill so we went to check it out. McCraig’s Tower was funded by Oban local, John Stuart McCraig, an art critic. philosophical essayist, and philanthropic banker.  The wealthy man designed the tower himself in 1897 to be a lasting memorial to his family and to provide work for local stonemasons in the winter months.  There are 94 lancet arches with a circumference of 200 meters (650′).  McCraig had plans to build an inner tower that would be an art gallery and museum, however when he died of cardiac arrest in 1902 the project came to a halt and only the outer wall was ever completed.

The view of Oban from the top of Battery Hill was very nice. About ten miles south of Oban is Arduaine Garden (pronounced Ar doo A nee). The garden is located right on the coast, so from the forest walk you could see some of the small islands in Melfort Loch; which opens into the Firth of Lorn separating the mainland from the Isle of Mull and the Morvern Peninsula.Because we were spending the night in Oban we had a quieter day. We finished our tour of the gardens about four and drove back to Oban for dinner and an early night.