Another Day of Sunshine August 15, 2011

We have been blessed with another day of sunshine and Ray decided he better climb while he had the chance. So he went off to do some hiking in the Cuillins and dropped me off in Portree on his way. I shopped around at the shops, some new and some old favorites. Skye Batiks is still one of those as is Tippeecanoe. I love this little village. Also visited the Portree Parish Church of Scotland.

Then I caught the bus up to Columba Centre and had lunch then walked home. You see so many more things when you’re on foot. Pretty rushing rivers, stone bridges, flowers. Stopped off ito see the village church and then onward to the cottage.

Funny things happened while I was in Tippeecanoe—first of all, there were MANY more people than usual here today as a Holland America ship is anchored offshore and tenders have brought the passengers onshore. The rude and loud and obnoxious visitors, I must say. A woman came into the shop and headed immediately to the cashier/shopowner and complained, “Is the weather always so terrible on this island? “ The shopkeeper smiled politely. The tourist went on, “I mean, is it always raining?”

The shopkeeper said, “Well, no madam, we’ve had quite a lovely summer here on Skye this year.”

“Oh, really.” the tourist answered haughtily. “Well, it’s pretty miserable right now.”

Then the shopkeeper said something with a forced smile that almost made me laugh out loud. “Well, madam, perhaps you should have chosen a WARM place for your holiday.”

When I got ready to check out, I congratulated the shopkeeper on her comment. She chuckled and said that she thought she might’ve been being a bit cheeky but that people seem to think they can just come in and say anything about her island. I told her I had enjoyed her comment immensely and we had a good laugh over it.

Pictures from top: Portree Harbour; Flora MacDonald window in Portree Parish Church; THIS is the kind of tree I was talking about—I hereby name it the “wicked” tree and find it incredible; two views of the Quiraing behind and to the side of our cottage.

Staffin Cottage

from top: Staffin Bay right in front of our cottage; our cottage.

Pictures from Ray’s Climb in the Cuillins

Sunshine!!! August 14, 2011

Amazing to wake up to a colorful island instead of the charcoal gray of the last week. My camera won’t know what to think of all this bright green. We drove through Portree, through Sligachan (with its stone 3-span bridge built by Telford in 1812. It is said that if you dip your face in the waters underneath the bridge, you will attain eternal beauty.), and on to Broadford to make the turn for the B8083 road to Elgol. One and ¼ mile along the Broadford to Elgol Road is a Fairy Knoll (An Sithean), a grassy mound west of the road with stones upon it. Next along the road is the pleasant graveyard and ruined parish church of Strath, Cill Chriosd (or Christ Church), that we have visited several times before. The MacKinnons were rectors of this church here since the 17th century. With its back against the old MacKinnon estate of Coire-Chatachan, the graveyard is filled with many a Mackinnon headstone, interred there up to recent times. A sign in the interior of the church has a recreation of how the church building likely appeared. The text reads:
The Church of Cill Chriosd
Originally, the parish church of Strath was at Ashaig, traditionally founded by St. Maol Ruadh in the 7th century, AD. Sometime during the later middle ages, a new parish church was built here at Cill Chriosd (Christ's Church). The earliest historical reference tells us that in 1505 one Kenneth Adamson succeeded John MacGillivray as chaplain, only to be replaced, firstly by Sir John Johnson, and then in 1508 by John Ranaldson. The small stone carving of a boar, found during restoration, probably dates from around this time.

In 1627, the church received its first Protestant minister, Neil Mackinnon. On his appointment on June the 19thm he, 'gave his grate and solemn oath that he shall truelie according to his knowledge, give up to the Clerk of Councell the names of all the Papists he knew within the Isles'. Neil's mean spirit and greed were proverbial. While allowing his workmen two meals a day when working, he only supplied one meal on the Sunday when they were resting. One Sunday, as two hungry workmen sat on a knoll outside the church where he was preaching, they waited until the minister was leaving with his friends then set-to working with the foot-plough. Thereafter Neil made sure they received two meals every day.
In 1840, Cill Chriosd was itself superseded as parish church by a new building in Broadford.
Burial place of the Mackinnons of Strath:
'An Srath Fhionnghain gheal,
'S an Grinne beus gun smal'
'The white strath of MacKinnon,
One of the most attractive qualities without blemish.'

Strath has been the home and heartland of the MacKinnons of Skye since the early 14th century, with the clan also holding estates in Mull, Arran, and Tiree. The family seat was within a refurbished prehistoric dun at Dun Ringill, by Strathaird, until the later 15th century when it removed to Caisteal Maol at Kyleakin. In the early years of the 17th century, the chief's family returned to live at Kilmarie, close by their original home. The clan placed itself under the banner of the MacDonalds of Sleat, and showed no hesitation in rallying to Prince Charles Edward Stuart's cause and aiding his escape from Hanoverian troops when a fugitive on Skye.

In 1765, the family estate was sold to the MacDonalds of Sleat, and thereafter the clan ceased to be a potent force in the island. At Cill Chriosd, there was once a pair of unusual stones—one dedicated to the Chief Lachlan Mor with obscure hieroglyphs and one pre-Christian. They are now gone. From the western gable of the church you can see the ruins of the earlier church. Just a ½ mile beyond Kilchriosd and on the other side of the road are the ruins of the tiny early church of Kilcro, Church of the Circle built on a site chosen by St. Columba. It has an ancient graveyard near it. You can also see the vent of an ancient volcano with a 3 mile diameter.

From here you can see the Cuillins and Coire Chatachan. Coire-Chatachan translates as "the corry of the cat lairs." Boswell and Johnson, during their famous journey through Isles in 1773, were hosted here by the MacKinnon of MacKinnon. The guests were warmly received and impressed by their host's command of English, Gaelic, and Latin. There were also impressed by MacKinnon's fine library even if it made the space more cramp for hosts and guests. Located a few miles outside of Broadford, the ruins are easily accessible and now play host to sheep.

The Cuillins are a range of rocky mountains located on the Skye. The true Cuillin are also known as the Black Cuillin to distinguish them from the Red Hills across Glen Sligachan. The Red Hills are lower and, being less rocky, have fewer scrambles or climbs. The highest point of the Cuillin, and of the Isle of Skye, is Sgurr Alasdair in the Black Cuillin at 3,255 ft. The Battle of Coire Na Creiche was fought on the slopes below Bruach na Frithe in 1601. It was the last Scottish clan battle fought on Skye, in which the Clan MacDonald of Sleat defeated the Clan MacLeod after a bitter feud. In 2000 the Cullins were put on sale for £10 million by the Laird in a scheme of land in exchange for repairs to Dunvegan castle. Following a dispute over ownership, a deal was cut for the property to be gifted in return for repairs to the clan castle.

At Loch Cill Chriosd, a monster used to take women and children until he was vanquished by St. Maelrhuba. It is now healing water. Strath Suardal was haunted by Ludag, a one-legged goblin in the 18th century, who hopped around in rags and hit travelers on the cheek.

Tigh nan Druinich used to be a place where jewelery and magical swords were produced in ancient times. And now it is that again. There was a sign for Duncan House, Master Gunsmith Garth Duncan. Near here also long ago was the Pictish House of the Craftsmen. Here lived people who were only 18-20 inches high. St. Patrick and St. Columba both hired them as embroiderers of vestements.

The old Kilmarie graveyard is signposted off the road near Kirkibost. Old Kilmarie Graveyard (adjacent to Dun Ringill, is a MacKinnon graveyard that lies near the shore behind a high stone wall. It is adjacent to Dun Ringill. An iron gate leads to a tiny bridge over a river. There is a cairn on a mound and the graveyard is almost on the shore behind a high wall. The church ruins & an even older church were washed away by a storm in 1920. It was planted with yew and cypress. One account of this graveyard says that outside of a family reunion, you won’t find more MacKinnons in any one area as you will in the beautiful little graveyard of Kilmarie. The Church of Kilmarie (or Kilmaree) was the parish church to the MacKinnons since ancient times. “Kil” in Gaelic means church or cell, so this is the Church of St. Mary.

We continued on to Elgol. According to tradition, Elgol’s name derives from a battle fought with five ships by Aella, a follower of Vortigern, against the Picts and Scots (“Aella-gol”). The Strathaird peninsula was historically a heartland of the Mackinnons, a robustly Jacobite clan. On 4 July 1746, the Young Pretender found sanctuary at Elgol in the course of his wanderings under the protection of Mackinnon of Mackinnon and Captain John Mackinnon of Elgol. The cave where he is said to have waited for a boat to the mainland (“Prince Charlie’s cave”, or “Uamh Phrionnsa”) can still be visited today, a short walk to the south of the village. The village had a considerably higher population prior to the Clearances. It now has a population of approximately 150, a significant proportion of whom are Gaelic speakers. Elgol's scenic attractions have drawn in many outsiders seeking holiday homes and a majority of the properties there are no longer occupied on a year-round basis. The village is also a terminal for two privately owned boat trips to Loch Coruisk. There is a café at the top of the hill and a shop that sells floats.

In Portree Bay, I think I found the site of the Chalium Cille (Columba). Eveidently the drained loch had a little island at the center. Perhaps I found it, maybe not. Portree was the embarkation point for emigrants evicted from their crofts. When I came alone, I spent a lot of time getting a good picture of the colorful harbour. They used to be warehouses but they are now shops and pubs. The Royal Hotel in Portree is where Bonnie Prince Charlie said good-bye to Flora MacDonald in 1746. I also did the hike around the Scorrybreac Hill. I just read in Otta Swire’s book about the fairy cattle that live in the sea and come ashore everyday to graze at MacNicol’s rock on this hike. Bonnie Prince Charlie landed at MacNicol’s rock on his return from Raasay and hid in Prince Charlie’s cave—of course, not called that until after. Between MacNicol’s Rock and Prince Charlie’s Cave is MacCoitir’s Cave where gold coins were found.

Portree plays host to the Isle of Skye's shinty club, Skye Camanachd. Shinty is played on grass with what looks like hockey sticks. Around 939 (37.72%) of the population can speak Scottish Gaelic.

The current name, Port Rìgh translates as 'king's harbour', possibly from a visit by King James V of Scotland in 1540. However this etymology has been contested, since James did not arrive in peaceful times. The older name appears to have been Port Ruighe(adh), 'slope harbour'. Prior to the sixteenth century the settlement's name was Kiltaraglen ('the church of St. Talarican) from Gaelic Cill Targhlain. In fiction, Portree is the home of a fictional professional Quidditch team operating within the Harry Potter universe. The Pride of Portree is one of only 13 Quidditch teams that play in the professional Quidditch League of Britain and Ireland that was established in 1674. The team players wear deep-purple robes emblazoned with a gold star on the chest. The film “Made of Honor” partially takes place in Portree.
Oh, I almost forgot to say that I think I found out just what creature it was that I was served at the Harris Hotel a few years back. It was so large that it hung off my plate and it’s beady eyes stared up at me in a most disturbing way. And it had billions of legs! I described it to our bus driver yesterday and he said he thought it was a dressed lobster. A 5-pound dressed lobster. Now I know why the waitress was horrified that I didn’t eat mine. It was probably the most expensive thing they serve.

Now there is a new mystery. I do believe a UFO has landed in our bay. Ever since yesterday morning, there has been a Coast Guard utility vessel sitting out in the bay, glued to one spot. It appears to be designed to carry some other kind of watercraft, though we haven’t seen what that craft looks like. Our theory—well, MY theory is that an alien spacecraft landed in the bay and sank and they are in active recovery of said craft. Will update you when I have more. : )


Pictures from top: view from our front window; thatched cottage near Broadford; more colorful Old Man of Storr; house on loch near Lealt.

Trip to Elgol

from top: Fairy Knoll; wicked tree; Cill Chriosd Church and graveyard; Torrin; iron bridge over river near Kilmarie.

The Cuillins

Harris Tweed Weaver

Ferry Trip to Isles of Harris & Lewis August 13, 2011

So strange to be here in the middle of all the riots and the prosecuting of the ones involved. Just heard that over here, the sentences are supposed to reflect how upset the public is with what happened. That’s a very good idea!

We began our ferry trip in Uig as we sailed across the Little Minch to the village of Tarbert on Harris. Between Lewis and the Shiant Islands are the Blue Men, evil spirits and storm keppies who live in caves under the sea and taunt ships and try to wreck them. When they approach a ship, the captain has to answer rhymes to make them back off. No Blue Men for us today. Tarbert has a population of 450 and is the location of the Harris Hotel where I stayed on my solo trip. That’s where I was shown where J. M. Barrie had etched his name in the window glass. Prince Charles stayed there just last month.

Once we arrived in Tarbert, we boarded a bus for our trip to the Callanish or Calanais Standing Stones. The landscape in this part of Harris is very rocky. It is very bleak here, so much so that when they were filming 2001: A Space Odyssey, they came here to film the moon or Jupiter scenes, I can’t remember which. In the 9 & 10th centuries, the Vikings who lived here chopped down all the trees for grazing. Here as everywhere else in Scotland, the houses are right on the road, and I mean RIGHT on the road. You walk out your front door on some of them and you are stepping into the street. Sometimes I am afraid we are going to take off the edge of some of them who have their corners touching the edge of the road and we are going by in a bus!

All the sheep we have seen in Scotland have been labeled with a blue colored paint, but here we also saw pink and even purple! Maybe they are royal sheep. We passed by the onion-shaped stone cairn where Bonnie Prince Charlie first landed 12 days after Culloden. As we moved to the west side of Lewis, the landscape went from rocky to rolling Machairs. We saw where peat had been cut and stacked to dry all along our way. In the Uig area of Lewis is where the Lewis Chessmen were found. In 1831, a stone built chamber hidden within the dune of Uig Sands was revealed through erosion. Inside were found 93 chessmen probably from the 9-10th century and Viking. I love the Queen, who sits on her throne with her hand to the side of her face and a very worried look in her eyes. All of them are fascinating in their details and personalities.

We arrived at Callanish and walked through the stones. The oldest rocks in Scotland are Lewisian gneisses. Calanais was built of monoliths of Lewisian gneisses some 5000 years ago. Stone circles are usually places of worship. Monoliths are connected with graves. Hazel groves are connected with sacred wells and woods.

At Callanish, there is one of the few stone circles on land that had previously been farmed. In 1000 BC, volcanic ash cut out the sunlight in Britain and killed the agriculture. Some of the people gave up the stones at that time because they didn’t provide the protection they thought they were there for.

The construction of the Callanish Standing Stones began around 4000 years ago, so they predate Stonehenge and even predate the Pyramids by 1000 years. Fifty-four large stones are arranged in the shape of a Celtic cross with a circle (of 13 megaliths and a taller one at the center) where the arms cross, on a promontory overlooking Loch Roag. Cremated bodies were buried in a beaker-like pot in the central circle in 2000-1700 BC. The central circle was emptied out and ploughed in 1500-1000 BC. By 1857, the peat had gorwn up around the area to a depth of 1.5 meters.

In 1957, excavators removed peat from around the stones—they had risen 5 ft.—and now some are 15 feet high. There is an avenue 83 yards long with 19 of the 39 original stones still standing. The stones are thin. An optical illusion is created as it narrows to the circle. The avenue leads to the setting of the southern moon. The Eastern row is to the Pleiades, western to the equinox sunset, and the southern in a North-South line with no focus on anything. The circle is from 2200 BC. There were also 2 other groups of stones nearby.

Our next stop was the Iron Age Dun Carloway Broch. It was built some 2000 years ago (100-300 BC) then abandoned and is extremely well-preserved. In the 16th century, one extended MacLeod family lived here. The broch provides insight into what island life was like. There were 4 or 5 levels in this broch (and I think I banged my head on all of them!) and 2 walls. The single low entrance and all the doorways were so low you really had to crouch to get in. There were good views to the sea from this location. The original broch was 10-13 meters high with walls 4 meters thick and served as a defensible residence for an extended family with accommodation for animals at ground level. The warmth from the animals provided warmth for the occupants on the upper floors. Brochs were built with two concentric walls of drystone with a stairway within the walls to get to the upper floors. It was still complete in the 1500s and was used as a watchtower by the Vikings in the latter part of the 1700s. In the 16th century, Donald cam MacAulay of Uig climbed the broch to smoke out a party of Morrison cattle raiders who had taken refuge in the ruin. He threw burning heather down into the conical thatched roof to smoke them out.

Our next stop was the Gearrannan Blackhouse Village. The blackhouses have been here since the 1850s. In 1952, electricity replaced oil lamps andin the 1960s, piped water made its first appearance. Today there were live demonstrations of traditional island activities including peat cutting, butter making, and weaving. This was the last group of blackhouses occupied on the island, and the last occupants (4 older people who had lived here all their lives) were removed to newer living spaces in 1974. Nine of the houses have been restored. One is set up as if it is 1955. This is the museum. Our guide told us about life here and the history of the village. Then we moved into the second room where Roddy gave us a demonstration of hand-weaving on a loom. This was fascinating and just what I had been hoping to see. He explained that only tweed made in an individuals’ home on Harris can be called Harris Tweed. There are about 140 weavers on the island. He explained that it would take him about 2 ½ days to weave 85 meters of cloth. There are 672 threads involved in the weaving. There was also a DVD explaining how peat is cut and stacked.

While waiting for the others to come back to the bus, we were conversing with the driver and he told me that there were also Scotts on Harris. As a matter of fact, Sir Samuel Scott was the Earl of Dunmore’s banker. This was the Earl of Dunmore who owned the North Harris Estates comprising 55,000 acres. Golden Eagles and Red Deer are common here. When Dunmore went bankrupt, some blamed Sir Scott. At any rate, Sir Scott bought the North Harris Estate from Dunmore! There is also a school in Tarbert named for Sir Edward Scott, who was a nephew or son of Samuel. I also just found out that 10 minutes from Tarbert is a Sgeotasaigh Island, pronounced “Scotsay.”

We drove by the Whalebone Arch which now forms a gateway in BragarErected by the former village postmaster, it is created from the lower jawbone of a Blue Whale that came ashore nearby in 1920. They measure 15 feet each and stand at a height of nearly 20 feet. The arch weighs about 4 tons. The enormous 82 foot long whale was discovered by a group of boys out fishing. After lying for some time decomposing—the stench of which almost choked nearby villagers—the whale’s carcass was disposed of in true “waste not want not” style. The blubber was made into disinfectant when mixed with tar, as fuel oil, as an ointment for burns and even, in extreme cases, an internal medicine. Some boys thought it was a boat when they uncovered it. The harpoon that killed the blue whale is still lodged in the jawbone that is displayed beside the road.

We weren’t able to go to the Ness area, but this is where the Butt of Lewis Lighthouse built by Sir David Stevenson (Robert Louis Stevenson’s father) is located on the most north-westerly point of Europe. It’s other claim to fame is being in the windiest spot in the UK. The winds in winter reach over 100 mph regularly. Our driver also explained that all war memorials on Harris and Lewis commemorate one more year than others elsewhere do. That is because on New Years Day in 1919, over 300 surviving soldiers of World War I were returning home on the ship Iolaire when a storm came up just off Stornoway and drowned 2/3 of them, leaving fiancés, widows, and orphans. Many of these women were later offered servant jobs in America to give them a new start.

After the village, we had a two hour stop in Stornoway. Stornoway has been a settlement since at least Viking times. Lews Castle is a Tudor-style castle overlooking the town. It has been used as a hospital in World War II and as a college and school, but it is now standing in ruins but there are plans to turn it into a hotel and museum. Stornoway’s Town Hall is one of the prettiest I have ever seen. While in Tarbert we saw this super rowboat that someone is planning to row from New York to Syndey in 2012. We also had one of the most wonderful meals of this whole trip at the County Hotel. I had Beef Lasagne with salad and chips and the lasagne was made with the green lasagna noodles. Also had ginger beer. For dessert, we had sundaes—mine was strawberry and vanilla ice cream with real strawberries and whipped cream. Ray’s was “Firenze” which was vanilla and chocolate ice cream with chocolate chips, chocolate syrup and a shot of espresso coffee to pour on top. Oh my—was it ever good. We also saw the Hebridean Guest House where we stayed last time & the Crown Bar where Prince Charles was served his first beer—while he was underage.

On our way back to the ferry terminal, we saw the island of Taransay where the BBC placed 36 people for a year for a TV show. The island was recently sold for 2 ½ million pounds. I also saw a tree kid of like the one I mentioned the other day—this one at Achmore.

Because the ferry was an hour late, we didn’t get back to Uig until after 11. That meant a scary dark trip across the shortcut Uig road. Ya know, it’s all fun and games talking about witches and ghosts and evil spirits when you get home every day by 6, but when you have to drive on a dark-with-no-street-lamps-of-any-kind road that is single track and on the edge of huge cliffs the whole way and it is as dark as you’ve ever seen it and if the car breaks down or a rock falls down the mountainside & is blocking the way (as it was this morning!) and you may have to walk home over this creepy rutted road with the sheeps’ eyes all glowing orange in the blackness—well, it’s not so funny anymore. I have never been so glad to get off a road. I think I would’ve rather gone on a roller coaster than do what we just did. Whew! Now the full moon has appeared out from behind the black clouds and is moving spookily over the black sky.

Pictures from top: Callanish Stones; Ray hitching a ride; central circle of Callanish Stones.

Stornoway and the Drive Home

from top: flowers in Stornoway; Town Hall clock tower and other businesses in Stornoway; what it looked like on our scary drive home—see the sheep and rocks on the road? And the void on either side of the narrow single-track road? That’s clear air out there—a high cliff.

Broch, Blackhouse, and Bone

from top: Ray at the broch; Harris tweed weaver at the blackhouses; blackhouses; doggie coats in Harris Tweed—for £ 90!!! That’s about $ 135; Whalebone Arch.