Farewell to Friends June 29, 2011

This morning, Margaret & Colin left us and continued on their own adventures. We had a wonderful time enjoying the views and relaxation of the Ferry Cottage and Skye with them.

I was reading about areas near here that we visited before and saw mentioned Loch Maree. In its waters is the tiny Isle Maree, which was once a sacred place of the Druids who are said to have introduced oak trees, significant religious symbols in the Celtic world. St. Maelrubha came and set up his cell here and, for similar reasons, planted holly trees. In later centuries, paganism was practiced here and rites involving the sacrifice of a bull occurred on the island as late as the 17th century.

Also at Loch Assynt where stands the ruins of Ardvreck Castle. In 1650 the Marquis of Montrose (well-known for his exploits against the religious dissenters known as Convenanters) fled here. Neil MacLeod imprisoned him and dispatched him to Edinburgh to be barbarously hanged, drawn, and quartered. Although MacLeod expected a bounty of £20,000 for Montrose, he was paid in oatmeal—56,000 pounds of it. Calda House, which stands near the castle, was built in 1695 but was burned to the ground in somewhat mysterious circumstances in 1737.

After doing some laundry and having lunch, we went in search of internet access so that we could check emails and blog. Then grocery shopping and shopping for books and a good homecooked meal.

Pictures from Skye today

Another Beautiful Sunny Day June 28, 2011

We awoke to another gorgeous sunny morning—how lucky is that? I have to admit that our history with this cottage and its weather has not been that great. Though I found it fascinating, the last time we stayed here is when we had gale-force winds and waves throwing themselves onto the walls of the cottage. Ray hauled coal from the shed for fires as fast as he could and I started calling him Pa Ingalls. We thought we were in for a repeat on Saturday and Sunday, but Monday and now today promise a HUGE improvement over the last trip that we had to end a day early and head to Edinburgh for cover.

This morning we visited Eilean Donan Castle. Although first inhabited around the 6th century, the first fortified castle was built in the mid-13th century to stand guard over the lands of Kintail against Viking raiders who controlled much of the North of Scotland and the Western Isles between 800 and 1266. It was partially destroyed in a Jacobite uprising in 1719 when it was blown up and lay in ruins for 200 years until Lieutenant Colonel John MacRae-Gilstrap bought the island in 1911 and restored it according to the surviving ground plan of earlier phases. It was reopened in 1932.

It was probably named after the 6th century Irish saint, Bishop Donan who came to Scotland around 580 AD. Its walls are up to 14 feet thick in places. We climbed and descended stone spiral staircases to discover the bedrooms, banqueting hall, and kitchen. Many artifacts were on display.

We had a lovely lunch at the café at the castle then returned home for a rest. For dinner we drove into Plockton, which is always a strange sensation for me as it seems so tropical being here in Scotland, palm trees and all. We tried for dinner at The Shores, but they were fully booked for the evening. But we ended up being lucky for we then tried at The Waterside Restaurant at the Kyle of Lochalsh railway station and had a most delicious meal. Ray ordered the langoustines to see if I recognized the meal from my previous meal at the Isle of Harris Hotel, but, alas, it wasn’t the same, only a tinier version of it. Had dessert of dark chocolate and vanilla ice cream crepes. Also had a taste of Margaret’s Raspberry Cranachan (pronounced “CRAN-uh-kin”) which was delicious with its mixture of oats, thick whipped cream, and raspberries.

Pictures of Eilean Donan Castle.

Eilean Donan Castle & one from Plockton

A Tour of Skye June 27, 2011

After yesterday’s totally white-out fog and rains all day, which was not the way we wanted Margaret & Colin to be greeted when they arrived, we awoke this morning to beautiful blue skies dotted with white puffy clouds. Ray fixed us his “Waffle House” breakfast, then we were off on our driving tour of Skye.

On this trip, we saw the several waterfalls, the Old Man of Storr (clearer than ever before), Kilt Rock (with its humming railings created by the winds), Staffin, the single track road between Staffin and Uig with the Quiraing, Uig, the Isle of Isay, Fairy Bridge, Trumpan Church and Ardmore Point, and Dunvegan, where we had lunch. I had my first taste of Ginger Beer, which was delicious.

Learned several new things on this trip:

--ginger beer is delicious

--the pillars of rock forming the Kilt Rock formed as molten rock forced its way between layers of Jurassic sandstone rocks. The molten rock cooled slowly and columns formed as it shrank. The Scandinavians settled at Kilt Rock in the 10th century. The dolerite sea cliffs here are 200 feet high and have the appearance of pleats in a tartan kilt.

--an Ornithopod dinosaur was found at Brother’s Point in 1982. A Giant Carnivorous dinosaur print was found at An Corran Beach—this is where we looked for the fossilized footprints on our last visit. The smallest ever dinosaur footprint was found here on Skye in 2004.

--Quiraing comes from KVI and RAND, which is Norse for “round fold.” The Quiraing is one of a series of landslips that formed the Trotternish Ridge, but the Quiraing is the only part of the slip that is still moving. The road at its base near Flodigarry requires repairs every year. The Table (slipped down from the summit plateau creating what looks like a raised platform hidden by pillars) is here and was used to hide cattle from Viking raiders. The Prison is also here, a pyramidal rocky peak, which can look like a medieval castle keep when viewed from the right angle. The Needle is a jagged 120-foot high landmark pinnacle.

--Dunvegan Castle is the oldest continuously inhabited castle in Scotland and has been the stronghold of the Chiefs of MacLeod for nearly 800 years. Built on a rock, it has survived clan battles, the extremes of feast and famine and profound social, political and economic changes. Originally designed to keep people out, romantic and historic Dunvegan Castle was first opened to the public in 1933. Over the years, they have welcomed Sir Walter Scott, Dr Johnson, Queen Elizabeth II and the Japanese Emperor Akihito.

--Fairy Bridge stands where 3 roads converge. It got its name from a time in Clan McLeod history when the 4th Chief married a fairy wife. They had a son, but on the son’s first birthday, the fairy mother was summoned back to her fairy homeland. The Chief refused to let her take their son and decided to walk with her to see where she was going. He pleaded with her not to leave but she had promised to go back to her land. They reached the humpbacked bridge where she rose into the air on colorful wings and dropped a silk flag to them, telling them if unfurled twice it would save the clan, but the third time it would destroy them. A year and a half later, while the Chief was away at battle, she returned and carried off her son. The fairy flag is still preserved at Dunvegan Castle and has only been unfurled twice—once to save the MacLeod cattle from disease (the flag cured them instantly) and once in the Battle of the Spoiling of the Dyke I mention below.

--In the winter of 1577, MacLeod of Dunvegan massacred 395 MacDonalds trapped in St. Francis Cave on Eigg by lighting a fire near the opening to the cave and suffocating them. The Chief of the MacDonalds of Uist plotted revenge. On the first Sunday of May 1578, they surrounded the church and barred the door then set fire to the thatched roof, killing all but one young girl who escaped through the small window of the church and ran to Dunvegan Castle to raise alarm. Waving the Fairy Flag, an army of MacLeods rushed down and slaughtered all of the MacDonalds there. They are buried in a dyke (small dry-stone and turf wall, covered only with stone), and this is now known as the Battle of the Spoiling of the Dyke.

Also in the churchyard is the Trial Stone. Accused of a crime, a blindfolded person who could put their finger straight through a hole in the stone was deemed to be innocent. If this was not successful the first time, the person was considered guilty.

--from a distance, I think I saw one of MacLeod’s Maidens at the southern tip of the Duirinish peninsula. These are three sea stacks, the tallest (the mother) rising over 200 ft. out of the sea. Her two daughters stand near her. It is a 5-mile walk out there to get a closer look, in a very isolated area, so I don’t think we’ll be going.

--I saw the Old Kilmuir Graveyard near Dunvegan. A stone wall encloses the gravestones surrounding the ruins of St Mary's Chapel. The roofless ruin has a date of 1694 over the north entrance, but the condition of some stones predates this period. There are also late medieval gravestones and some 18th century table stones. In the center is an obelisk from the early 18th century, in memory of Lord Thomas Frazer, father of Simon Fraser of Lovat, who died while visiting the Chief at Dunvegan Castle in 1699.

For many years the principal burial site for the MacLeod Chiefs was at Rodel, Isle of Harris, but later the Clan Chiefs were buried at Kilmuir. Within the walls of the ruin are buried the MacLeod Chiefs since the 24th Chief, John Norman who died in 1835. He and his wife Anne and his daughter Emily, the historian, had been very involved in life at Dunvegan and improvements to the Castle. The most recent burial was the 29th Chief, John MacLeod who was buried there 24th February 2007. Also many of the famous MacCrimmons, the hereditary pipers to the MacLeods were buried here. A tablet is placed on the wall of the church in memory of these great pipers.

The hereditary wardens of Dunvegan Castle, the McSweens of Roag, one of Skye's oldest tribes are on the west side of the churchyard, with carved grave slabs with claymore and foliage designs on them.

--While at Trumpan & Ardmore Point (with its double rock arch), we saw the Isle of Isay. In the early 19th century, the island had a population of around ninety and had its own general store and fishing station. However, like many other small islands, the island people were removed during the Highland clearances to make way for sheep. The island was briefly owned by the singer Donovan in the 1980s. The island’s Gaelic name is Eilean Isa ("Island of Jesus"). This had led some to speculate that Jesus himself visited this island. There are no religious sites on Eilean Isa or anything to suggest that it's name was conceived from a religious dedication, so some think it may have been named such because Jesus actually was here in person as this is how many places were named in the early centuries. Legends and folklore also associate Joseph of Arimathea, the uncle of Jesus, with the Isle of Skye. One of the main proponents of this theory is Barry Dunford who wrote “ Were Jesus & Mary Magdalene on the Holy Isle of Iona?”

--riding in the back seat of a car on the windy roads of Skye is very sleep-inducing.

We returned to the cottage for naps then went to dinner at the Kyle Hotel Old Chapel Restaurant where I had salmon yet again. I just can’t seem to get enough of it. We also visited the Lifeboat Rescue Center in Kyle and watched them head out on a training exercise. Just across the water stood Castle Maol with its walls 11 feet thick. The castle is an ancient seat of the Mackinnon clan and was a fortress commanding Kyle Akin between Skye and the mainland. All ships had to pass through this passage or else attempt the stormy passage of the Minch. The present castle, in ruins, dates back to the 15th century but is reputed to be of much earlier origin.

According to tradition, the 4th Mackinnon chief, Findanus ( a great-grandson of Alpin), brought Dunakin into the clan around the year 900 by marrying a Norse princess named Saucy Mary. (The “saucy” part of her name came from the way in which she acknowledged payment: apparently she would lift her clothes to reveal her ample bosom to passing sailors!) She ran a heavy chain across the sound and levied a toll on all shipping vessels except those from her native homeland. She lies buried in a cairn on top of one of the Cuiliins, her face reputedly turned towards Norway.

There is good reason to believe the legend as King Haakon IV is believed to have assembled his fleet of longships here before the Battle of Largs in 1263—that is wher the name of the city where it is located is called Kyleakin=Haakon’s kyle). His defeat ended Norse domination of the islands. Medieval documents refer to the castle as Dunakin (Dun-Haakon). The last occupant of the castle was Neill MacKinnon. His father, Iain Og, was killed in the final conflict between the MacLeods and MacDonalds fought at Coire na Creiche in the Cuillin in 1601. He was raised at this castle by his aunt, Jane.

It is a simple rectangular keep of three stories. The unexplored basement level is filled with rubble and is believed to be where the ktichen was. You can enter the main level where the public dining space was. Stairs would’ve led up to the private bedrooms. In 1949 and 1989, parts of the ruin broke away in storms.

We returned to the cottage where we were lulled to sleep by the soft whoosh-whoosh of the waves and the glug-glug as they lazy hit the rocks just below us.
The Ferry Cottage sits about 6 feet above the water of Loch Alsh, and the front door is no more than feet from the edge of the loch. Sometimes when I look out the window, I truly get the sensation that I am on a boat. Days are long here in summer. The sun rises around 4 and doesn’t really go down til around 1 am, so I suppose there are brilliantly bright stars up there, but I have yet to stay up long enough to see them. Beautiful roses grown right under the windows making the cottage look like it’s idyllically right from a fairy tale. Crab fishermen tend to their crabpots in the waters between here and Skye and we watch them making their catches for the day and folding their nets. It is surprising how relaxing this is to watch. We’ve seen tiny little birds called swifts as they flit about from the nests they’ve built into the eaves of the cottage. A huge cormorant flies over occasionally—his name is Colin as we have been informed in the comment book here.

This cottage was probably built in the early 1800s and was used from about 1815 until 1897 when the railroad arrived and a newer ferry service had begun closer to Kyle. This cottage was the waiting room for passengers wanting to make the crossing from Balmacara to the Isle of Skye. I have searched in vain for a photo of the cottage being used then. Prior to 1897, steamers used to anchor off Glaick and passengers were ferried to the slipway at the end of the driveway to Craggan Cottage (originally the ferryman’s cottage). The main road in the area ran from Glaick to Balmacara Square. The trunk road between Balmacara and Kyle was only built in the 1960s. Before this the road to Kyle was by way of Erbusaig.

Pictures from top: This may look like a painting, but this is unretouched photo from our dining room window at the Ferry Cottage after rains finally stopped yesterday; two views of The Old Man of Storr; Trumpan Church; Ardmore Point.

Pictures of Skye on a Clear Day

from top: 2 views from Skye; Kilt Rock; two views of the Quiraing.

Scottish National Flower—the Thistle

I read somewhere that the Thistle became the national flower when an enemy was crossing a field and was met by a Thistle. He called out in pain and warned the clan. Saved by the Thistle. This picture taken by Colin while stopped inthe middle of a single track road on Skye. Thanks Colin!

Also, here is a picture of MacLeod's Maidens that are virtually impossible to get to.

Back to my Favorite Place…Skye June 25, 2011

Nowhere else in the world would you see the sign: Take Extra Care Whilst Towing. Whilst. I love that word. I also love the way some of the farms have these mounds on them on and around which they have planted a small grove of trees. Very pretty. I wonder if there is a significance to it—burial ground?

We arrived at the cottage very early so decided to drive up to our Staffin Cottage that we’ll be staying in in August. Then over to Uig to check on taking a ferry/bus tour to Lewis and Harris. Then to the Aros Centre for a delicious lunch. Then it was time to go back to the cottage. And to our delight, they have updated all the furnishings inside. How nice! The kitchen is especially nice now. Much more updated. What is still the same is the best view ever—mountains of Skye, the Loch, and boats coming and going. Aaahhh.

Pictures of some of the sights on Skye today. It was foggy and raining at first then the fog began to lift and the sun came out and made the lighting incredibly brilliant. The last picture is from our bedroom window—with the water just right there.

Skye in the fog, rain, and sunshine

Long Drive to Scone June 24, 2011

We decided to take a trip south today to see some of the sights on my list. We drove through what the weather report said would be sunshine & showers, which I thought meant alternately, but no, we had them at the same time. And there was fresh SNOW on the mountaintops, so Ray is taking credit for bringing the weird weather. New interesting city name: Tullybelton.

We went to the farthest point on my list first, Scone Palace. I mainly wanted to see the gardens and the chapel, so we just bought a garden ticket. Scone Palace is first mentioned in the year 906 AD but the city of Scone was here in the 9th century. Directly opposite the Palace is Moot Hill, sometimes called Boot Hill as this is an artificial hill created by earth brought to this place in the boots of the lords swearing loyalty to their king. On top of Moot Hill is a small Presbyterian chapel, which was restored in the Gothic style around 1804. Moot Hill is the traditional home of the Stone of Scone where Kings of Scotland were crowned and Medieval Parliaments were held. The coronation of Robert the Bruce took place here in 1306. A replica of the Stone of Scone sits upon the hill, marking the site of the original, and, of course, I had to have my picture made upon it. In 1296, Edward I stole the stone and took it to Westminster Abbey. Sometime in the 1990s, it was secretly reacquired by a group of students and brought to Edinburgh in a car.

Recently, it was offered to return the Stone of Destiny to its position in Scone Palace. It was refused, lending credence to a rumor/legend that the monks at the palace knew that Edward I was going to steal the stone so they placed a fake stone in its place and hid the real stone until the English soldiers left. So Scotland doesn't need the stone from Westminster since it is a fake and the original never left Scone. so who knows, maybe I was sitting on the REAL Stone of Scone!

We walked from the chapel through the Ancient Archway and Mercat Cross, which was built in the 16th century and was originally the grand entrance to the old city of Scone. We walked by the Butterfly and Bee Garden, which was created on the site of an ancient prison and the ancient burial ground of Scone and the site of the former abbey. During a period of more than 1000 years, Scone developed from an early medieval royal settlement and monastery into a great Augustinian abbey in the 12th century before the Palace was created around 1600. We found the giant Douglas Fir which was raised from the seed sent from North America by the famous explorer and plant hunter, David Douglas in 1826. Douglas was born in Scone in 1799 and worked as a gardener at Scone before going to the Botanical Gardens in Glasgow and on to North America as a plant collector. Then we tried the Murray Star Maze but quickly became lost and retraced our steps then climbed up the ladder platform to take a look over the top. It was designed in the shape of a star and has 2000 beech trees, half copper and half green, planted to created a tartan effect.

As we drove back through Perth, we saw a line of nannies in their uniforms pushing prams up the sidewalk. It was so cute. Next we visited Dunkeld, a beautiful city on the bank of the River Tay. Beatrix Potter visited this area every summer of her early life and wrote the letter that was to become “The Story of Peter Rabbit” here. The Ell shop is in Dunkeld with its ell, a metal piece measuring 37 inches, roughly the length from elbow to knuckles for measuring cloth. The weavers ell was hanging on the outside of the building. Also here was the Dunkeld Cathedral and ruins. As early as 570 AD, Celtic missionaries, known as Culdees, built a wattle monastery, which, in 848, was rebuilt in stone by Kenneth McAlpin, King of Scots. It is a mixture of Gothic and Norman styles and was built from 1260-1501. The cathedral is dedicated to St. Columba and tradition has it that his relics were brought from Iona by Kenneth MacAlpin for fear of desecration by marauding Norsemen and were buried under the chancel steps. Inside the cathedral is the 8th century Apostles Stone and the tomb of the Wolf of Badenoch, who died in 1405.

Before I came over, I researched the old censuses and found a Susan Scott who lived in Dunkeld on High Street next to what is now the Royal Ban k of Scotland. It is in a white building with black and white tiles at the door. Here she had a china shop!!! Isn’t that just so appropriate---I love china and collect it myself! She died on March 3, 1890.

Then we went to Kenmore to try to get a picture of the arched bridge, but the picture I saw must’ve been taken from the water in a boat as I couldn’t get the angle right. Near the Kenmore Church, between the terrace and the bank of the River Tay, is a low lying field of 9 acres now under trees where mysteries were performed. This is the legendary Elysian Fields, the final resting places of the souls of the heroic and virtuous. There was an inn here, also, The Kenmore Hotel, the oldest in Scotland, from 1572. I mailed off some postcards from here then we were on our way to Fortingall.

Here at Fortingall is a church with a yew outside that is estimated to be 3000 years old. Some have even said that it is 8000 years old. It is certainly the oldest in Breat Britain. Across from the thatched cottages in the village is a Mound of the Dead with a stone that tells of the victims of the Great Plaque of the 14th century that were taken here on a sledge drawn by a white horse led by an old woman. The yew here is amazingly old—hard to say how old since its core is long gone so the growth rings can’t be measured. But it is estimated by some to be as old as 3000-5000 years old. The incredible thing about yews—whereas most trees die around 500 years, the yews begins to grow again at 500 years. They were considered to be otherworldly and sacred so they usually mark places of worship. Inside the church was a Celtic Church bell from the 7th century AD.

Also inside was a plaque that spoke of Fortingall being the reputed birthplace of Pontius Pilate. Holinshed’s Chronicles (pre-Shakespeare) sated: “Two Roman ambassadors on a peace mission in Augustus’ reign visited King Metallanus in his hunting lodge on the hear hill when a son was born to one of them. Tradition has it that this son became the famous governor of Judaea, Pontius Pilate. Supposedly Pilate’s mother was a Menzies from Balquidder and this father a Roman trade ambassador to nortern Britain. Some legends says that his question to Jesus (What is truth?) is a core piece of druidic wisdom so he may have trained with the druids in Britain. The oldest regiment in the British Army is the Royal Scots who claim to be descended from Pontius Pilate’s bodyguard, so maybe there’s something to this.

We returned to Inverness and had dinner at the Snow Goose—delicious beer-battered mushrooms for my appetizer. And dinner came with an assortment of sauces, one of which, Mango Chutney, was my favorite.

Back to the cottage and on the way, Ray whispers, “Don’t look now, but I think the weather is really nice.” It has been such a rainy week, but today, even though there were showers at times, was gorgeous. Everything looks so brilliantly colorful in the sunshine.

We walked up to the pond where the swans and their cygnets and all the ducks were very happy to receive our offerings of bread and croissants. In the cottage now watching Harry Potter 5 & maybe 6. Maybe Paul O’Grady at 9. Then packing for our move tomorrow morning. On to the Ferry Cottage in Kyle of Lochalsh where Margaret & Colin will spend 4 days with us.

Pictures from top: Chapel at Scone Palace; China Shop owned by Susan Scott in late 1800s, now a flower shop; on the River Tay by the Dunkeld Cathedral; houses in Kenmore; swans and their cygnets ready for dinner.

Beautiful Scotland

from top: two views of Kenmore Bridge; on our way to Perth.

Shoe Problems June 23, 2011

Started out today at Tesco, trying to find a solution to Ray’s ill-fitting boot problem. He already has a blister from hiking Merrick. When nothing worked out, we went to Tiso where he bought a new pair of hiking boots. Then to the hardware store to try to find a solution to my shoe problem. The little thingy that holds my laces has gone missing, so all I need is something to keep them from coming out of the other thingy. Nothing for my problem, but we are still working on it.

Visited Ft. George again, mainly to see if we could see any dolphins in the channel—no luck. Then we tried to visit 16th century Brodie Castle, but, unbelievably, they are closed on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays! So we missed our chance at Brodie. I wish the information on the National Trust properties would be consistent—in all the literature, it said the castle was open everyday, but we arrived to find that it is closed. Oh well.

We were able to see the Pictish stone of grey sandstone on the grounds which was found during excavations for a local church. It was moved to the grounds of Brodie around 1840 and features various knots and sea monsters. It’s known as the Rodney stone but no one can agree on why.

Harry Potter 3 & 4 down.

Interesting facts I learned:
--The Battle of Culloden lasted one hour on the boggy ground of Drumossie Moor.

--Preston Tower at Fyvie Castle is haunted by a Green Lady—the husband locked his wife, Dame Lilias Drummond, in the Douglas Room until she died of starvation. She has been a ghost there for 3 centuries.

--At Brodie Castle, in a painting by Landseer, the head of a deerhound is all that is left. Violet, wife of the 24th Brodie of Brodie, cut out the part she liked. She also kept a reptile collection in her bedchamber, including snakes and a pet turtle, Volumnia.

--The only person in the UK who has a private army is the Duke of Atholl. Atholl Highlanders represent a tradition of the clan chief being able to call upon his clansmen in a time of need. The army is formed of estate workers and local residents.

--Battle scenes for Braveheart were filmed in Ireland because horses and soldiers were plentiful from Irish army.

--Clava Cairns are dated 4400-2500 BC.

--Killiecrankie is the site of the battle where a soldier, Donald MacBean, is said to have leapt more than 18 ft. over the gorge above the River Garry while fleeing the Jacobite forces of Bonnie Dundee.

Did we cross over into Brooklyn? June 22, 2011

Today is raining and yicky. Given that Ray got bored, he started looking around and found that the TV here DOES have a DVD player, it’s just hidden in the side of the TV itself. So instead of tromping to a movie, we tromped to Tesco and bought the whole set of Harry Potters—for less than 4 a piece—and 3 other movies for 3 each. Quite a bargain and now we can be entertained no matter the weather.

We tried to get a Wifi USB adapter to make my laptop work better, but the one we bought would require doing some adjusting to my laptop to make the internal wifi go away first, so that wasn’t a good option for me. So back to nothing on that score.

While we were wandering about, our GPS seemed to have taken a trip to Brooklyn. She began to speak with an accent right out of New York, saying “Puth” for Perth, “Suh Wah-tuh Scott” for Sir Walter Scott, and “Puh lease Head-quah-tuhs” for Police Headquarters. It was quite disconcerting for a moment there until she remembered where she was.

A new city for the list: Cloddymoss. Oh, two horses and riders just went clomping by my window!

I was reading a book left here in the cottage about a schoolmaster in South Uist in the late 1800s and he mentioned that on his way to his post, his boat passed by Skye where there was a waterfall: “…when the water reached the edge of the cliff, it didn’t fall into the sea but was lifted up and up by the wind into feathery veils which obscured the slopes of the mountain side. The Purser said to me, “You’re lucky. One doesn’t often see that. It is a sight rarely presented and only when the wind comes from a certain direction and there has been much rain.” That’s my waterfall that I saw from Neist Point Lighthouse! So I fell very lucky, too.

He also mentions the Polochar Inn that we stayed at, and it was here then in 1890! I didn’t realize it was THAT old. Amazing. He also gave the directions he was told how to make a whisky toddy. Will have to try this.
So we are in for the day and watching movies. If it clears we may go to Brodie Castle or to the beach at Findhorn. Update: still raining and have already re-watched The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Harry Potter 1 & 2.

Magical Places June 21, 2011

We decided to drive to Strathglass today. This is what I thought was a city but turned out to be the whole area. It was mentioned in a tour of the area that took passengers to Strathglass to show them what Scotland was like during the time period of mid 1700s—the time period in The Outlander book.

This turned out to be a valley that was sparcely occupied and had the most beautiful trees and the river running through it. So pretty. We saw a sign for eggs for sale that said they had Free and Happy Hens. After we made the circle of the valley, we came out at Urquhart Castle and decided to take a look. The castle is 17th century, but underneath it is a fortress visited by St. Columba in the 580s. The castle was reduced to ruins in 1692 to prevent its use by the Jacobites.

Then I went back for my 4th try at getting into Tomnahurich Cemetery—and it was open! Actually it may have been open all the time had I looked for the second entrance which we found today and were able to drive right in. Tomnahurich means hill of the yews. The hill here is a rounded tree covered hillock on the outskirts of Inverness. It has a wealth of tradition associated with it and is famed as an abode of the fairies. A modern cemetery from the 1850s now goes all the way up the steep sides of the hill. This is the cemetery from which I heard bagpipe music coming on our first trip over in 2011 when we stayed in a hotel right next door. This very hotel is now being renovated and the front façade was standing alone with nothing apparently holding it up as we passed.

The legendary story of the hill here is the one where the two traveling fiddlers who are invited by an old man in strange clothes to perform for him. They follow him to the hill of Tomnahurich as the sun went down and into an opening on the side of the hill. Inside was a huge hall with a feast going on. They sat down and ate and played their fiddlers for dancing. They were later thanked and the old man paid them with a bag of silver and gold coins. They left and went back towards the center of Inverness in a fine mood. But when they arrived there, they saw that everything had changed—where once there were woods now there were buildings as if they had appeared overnight. People were dressed in strange clothing and poked fun at their clothes. When they get to their own town, they run into the church and the fiddlers crumbled to dust in front of the congregation. In another version , it is a single fiddler who falls asleep and wakes in a fairy world where he is made to play all night for the fairy queen. He finally awakes on the shores of the River Ness and discovers that a hundred years have passed.

Thomas the Rhymer is said to be buried beneath the hill, ready to lead an army of men and white steeds to rally Scotland in its hour of need. He predicted that the cemetery would exist, saying that Tomnahurich Hill would be “under lock and key, and the fairies secured within.” Guess to me that was correct as I surely thought it was under lock and key until today. In Celtic myth Fion trained his dog to lead two of every species of animal around the hill in pairs to unravel enchantment by an Irish enemy.

We stopped by the local Travelodge to sit in the parking lot and use their internet. It’s not like we are “stealing” because we actually paid for a month’s use at the last Travelodge in Edinburgh. The first one didn’t work so we tried the second and were successful. Then we followed the signs to find Kilravock Castle. The last time we tried, the castle was closed and the gate was locked. This time we drove right up to it and got our pictures.

Then it was on to Nairn—after a stop to cue in the long line because of road works—to see how Toad Hall, I mean Newton Hotel, is doing. Very nice and the bulls were sitting on the lawn beyond the haha as usual. Stopped by Tesco in Forres for supplies then went out to the beach at Findhorn. A very nice beach it is, so IF the sun comes out again, we may be spending sunsets here. Of course, that would require us to stay up until 11pm, so we’ll see.

Back at our cozy cottage for the evening.

Pictures from top: What we dubbed the “octopus” tree at Kilravock Castle; Urquhart Castle; Loch Ness; Strathglass Valley.

I Vahn to Drrrink your Blood…. June 20, 2011

Started off batting zero again but the day quickly turned around. First of all, the castle that I thought we never found last trip? We did find it last time, only I didn’t remember it until we got there THIS time. Oh well. Then as we are driving to Fyvie Catle at 9:00am, I recheck my notes to find that Fyvie doesn’t open until noon. So we crossed it off for today.

Our next stop was more successful. We toured Tolquhon Castle, a ruin now but started in 1420 when the Preston Tower was built for Sir John Forbes and his wife. William Forbes, the 7th laird, built a large quadrangular mansion in 1584-9. It was very impressive & we were able to climb to the top of the towers and even find the secret hiding place. This castle was built to impress through elegance not through strength, so it featured many more conveniences and seems like it would have been much more comfortable than older castles. The walls were decorated and were thinner than other castles we’ve seen and there were flagstone floors. In 1716-18, the estate was sold but William Forbes, the 11th Laird refused to leave and had to be dislodged by troops. From 1718-1850, the castle was used as a farmhouse. There were elaborate gunloops but these were only for display. There were beehives built into the outer wall and a bakehouse and brewhouse and a pit prison for lawbreakers.

And now for my favorite place of the day…maybe week…maybe month: I was finally able to get out to Slains Castle!!! No rain today, no super muddy path, just overcast skies to greet us as we arrived in Cruden Bay. We tried to see if there was a way to get to the castle from the village, but it turned out to be easier to go to the car park off the A975 and walk from there down the path that can get very mucky at times. But before we did, we drove through the village and found Kilmarnock Arms Hotel where, in 1895, Bram Stoker stayed and was inspired by Slains Castle to write his novel, Dracula. And I can see why. This is one spooooky castle. The imposing ruins of Slains Castle sit right on the edge of the high ocean cliff looking out to sea. Bram wrote that this was where Dracula landed when he sailed from Transylvania, and this is what was in early drafts, but it was changed to Whitby in Yorkshire for the final published work. But THIS is where Bram had in mind. His “The Mystery of the Sea” and some short stories also have Cruden Bay as their setting.

There are no signposts anywhere and someone wrote that they think this is because no one wants to be held responsible if anyone falls over the cliffs that lie IMMEDIATELY in front of the castle. Or if something falls in on someone. The history of this place is fascinating. There was another Slains Castle down the road a bit in the 1200s, but in 1594, the owner, the Earl of Erroll, backed a plot by the Earl of Huntly against King James VI, who responding by blowing yup the Old Slains Castle. When the Earl of Erroll returned from exile in 1597, he instead used the tower house at Bowness as the basis for a new Slains Castle on this site. The tower was extended and buildings were added around a courtyard. More additions and renovations were made in 1664 and in 1836 (when it was refaced with granite). In 1916, the 20th Earl of Erroll was forced to sell the castle because of finances. The new owner allowed it to fall into disrepair and in 1925, the roof was removed (this meant he didn’t have to pay taxes on it anymore).

Bram Stoker stayed here in 1895 as did Boswell and Johnson in 1773.

The front of the castle is literally right on the edge of the cliff but in the rear there would have been gardens and to protect against unwanted guests, there was a deep cleft that cuts into the cliffs as far as the main access road, a sudden cliff drop from the garden. This area had grassed tennis courts and a croquet lawn before erosion by the sea.. Inside is now a jumble of brick walls and overgrown nettles. There was a Great Hall, courtyard, billiard room, kitchens, larders, staff accommodation and a library at one time. Outer buildings included the stables, the outhouses, and the towers. One room, which I didn’t go in because it just felt too creepy, had large stone storage bins all around the walls. Maybe it was for storage of kitchen items, but it looked too much like a crypt and had been obviously used by some people who had recently been staying here overnight—maybe a homeless person. I don’t know how desperate I would have to be to stay here overnight though. This isn’t being taken care of by Historic Scotland or anyone else. No history written on boards for you to read. Just the seagulls calling and the waves crashing and your imagination allowed to run free. Nature has taken over this place and it makes me wonder if something else takes it over at night.

In 2007, it was announced that the ruins of Slains Castle would be closed to the public as they are to be converted into holiday homes by Slains Partnership. Their insurance company advised that it would be unsafe to allow general access to the area.

On the way home, we stopped by the village of Crovie (pronounced Crivie) on the north coast. This is a picturesque village set below cliffs looking out onto the North Sea. It has the narrowest space between the shore and the cliff of any Scottish village. It was established by families removed from the Highlands in the years following the Jacobite uprisings of 1715 and 1745. There is only a footpath to get to the houses as there is no room for a road between the houses and the sea. There is a small car park at the west end of the village. The original buildings sit with their gables to the sea so they are the least resistant to gales that pop up in the winter months.

This was a fishing village for a long time, but after World War II, the fishing families here began to dwindle. On the night of January 30-31, 1953, a gale was blowing and by noon on the 31st, it was a full-blown hurricane. The footpath linking Crovie to the city to the west, Gardenstown, washed away as were sheds, garages, and the sea wall at the west end of the village. Several houses were destroyed and many were badly damaged. Many of the residents ceased to be permanent residents after that. Now it is a holiday village. I would LOVE to stay here one night, but Ray says he would definitely not be staying here with me. It was beautiful.

We also passed through MacDuff and Banff. Interesting story from the past, In Dufftown (south of Elgin) there was a tower built in 1839 with a clock from Banff. At this time, there was a man named James MacPherson who was robbing from the rich to give to the poor. He was arrested but the locals loved him so much, they got a petition for a pardon. The pardon was on its way, but the local sheriff put the clock on the tower forward one hour so he could do away with James before the pardon arrived. The people felt this was a horrible miscarriage of justice. In MacDuff, the Doune Church built a clock tower that has only 3 faces. The blank side faces the town of Banff because they wanted to be sure that the people of Banff never knew the correct time (because they had built the original clock). Well, I think this is a bit off. The person they should’ve really gone after was the local sheriff. Maybe they did and we just haven’t heard about it.

New interesting notes:
--we say “med-eh-sin” here they say “med-sin”
--I finally got to see a bale of hay being wrapped in those black wrappings. It is done by a cool machine that spins the hay in a circle while it wraps it.
--McDonald’s has a sign here that says: “Please dispose of your packaging thoughtfully.” Isn’t that nice?
--Another nice thing—when you sit in traffic because of road works (construction), it is very nice to have a sign at the side of the road that says: “Sorry for your delay.”
--Interesting place names for today: Moss of Barmuckity, Fogwatt, and Meikle Wartle

Pictures from top: Slains Castle from a distance on walk up to it; Slains sits right on the edge of the ocean cliff; Slains Castle; Crovie.

Accosted by Nature June 19, 2011

In a land where the sun comes up at 4:30, it is difficult to get sleep, but I tell you last night we must’ve been exhausted for we went to bed at 8:30 and didn’t wake up until 6:30 this morning! Ten hours sleep! That’s incredible for us. It must be related to just how restful the Cormack Lodge is. We are out here all by ourselves. It’s only like ¼ mile off the main road, but it is down a country road all by itself, just us and the ducks on the large pond next door. Brodie Castle has this system of woodland walks through this amazing collection of trees on the estate, and we are tucked off into a little corner of that estate. We have a private drive, off course, being out here alone, but it’s behind a gate you lock and we also have a little garden in back. Such a pretty place.

The first of our assaults today happened as we were driving through Nairn. All of a sudden, what seemed like tons of bird poop was dumped on our windshield! Was there a huge flock of birds going over just at that moment? Did someone fling a bucket of bird poop at us? We don’t know, but it was a mess. We drove north to Dornoch to see the beautiful stained glass in the cathedral, but unfortunately, the 11am service already had people arriving at 10, so we didn’t get to go inside. The old jail here has been turned into shopping and the castle is now a hotel.

Then we tried to find the stones on a hill near Evanton, but none were to be found. Then we drove through Strathpeffer—where a child accidentally threw a huge ball that hit our windshield and gave us both a start--and further north to try to find a sign for Castle Leod, home of the MacKenzies, but no signs, so it was back to Inverness and the Tesco where Ray bought a new backpack and we purchased a few grocery items.
After a quick stop at home, we visited Clava Cairns once more. I think this is my 4th or 5th time? Love this place. Found the two close-together stones used by Diana Gabaldon in her story. Looked for the crystal in the large stone near the NE cairn but didn’t find it. While looking, we met up with a mother and her 3 daughters from Minnesota. They recognized our common accents and asked where we were from. They started asking about tips on places to visit and good pubs and she asked why I am to this place, the cairns. I asked her if she knew about Diana Gabaldon’s stories and she nearly went crazy. That started a conversation that lasted over half an hour, talking about the books and sights related to them in Inverness and Edinburgh. So much fun. When I told her that the stones were right over there, I thought one of the daughters would have a heart attack. We took picture after picture for them of them standing in the stones.

I am happy to report that we have finally seen a pig farm. Ray was wondering why, if in a country that serves so much bacon, we never see the pigs. Now we have—near Inverness. They were the brightest pink color and very large.
Interesting that here they call passing lanes overtaking lanes and the slow lane is the crawler lane. Cool.

We next visited the new visitor’s center at Culloden Moor, the site of the horrible battle on Drummossie Moor between the Jacobites and the government forces under Cumberland. I always feel so sad here. They had a really good display and collection of artifacts. Many swords and guns and sporrans found at the battle site. The Scotts Clan fought here with the Glen Garry Forces, the John Roy Stewart’s, and Lord Ogilvy’s Reserves. Bonnie Prince Charlie’s hopes of restoring the Stuart monarchy were dashed at this battle after the slaughter of ¼ of his 5000 man Highland army. The Duke of Cumberland outnumbered him 2 to 1. Sadly, 1200 Scotsmen and 210 Englishmen died. One of the Jacobites, a John Fraser, was held prisoner at Culloden House then shot before a firing squad but was rescued by a government soldier who helped him escape. Sounds very much like the character in the Outlander story. There was a Roderick Mackenzie who was captured because he looked strikingly similar to Bonnie Prince Charlie. He went along with it and pretended to be the Prince so that the real Prince could escape. Unfortunately, Roderick was later beheaded. The MacLeod’s also helped the Prince in his escape. Sadly, all this was for nothing and the Prince died adisiilusioned alcoholic in Rome years later.

Ray went running and I am blogging, then dinner and the rain has just begun, so should be another cozy night in our little cabin.

Pictures from top: strange picture hanging in our dining room; view towards Inverness; two pictures of my stones at Clava Cairns.