November 2018 – A Traveling Fool

November 28, 2018

Over the Sea to Skye

While Orkney is mysterious, the Isle of Skye is magical. The day after our visit to Orkney, we left Wick for Thurso and looped around the top and western portion of mainland Scotland. This is a very remote area with single-track roads and small pockets of population here and there. It is very mountainous and the scenery is gorgeous.

Our morning break was at Smoo Cave. The way to the cave itself was very slippery because of the rain that had been falling in that area earlier that morning. I went close enough to take a photo, then hiked my way back up to where I could get a hot chocolate. Tommie wanted to get closer. So, after I was already at the counter ordering the hot chocolate, Tommie slipped and fell on the wet rocks, grass and mud, cutting her arm and face, bruising her arm and shoulder, and breaking the lens she had on her camera. She was fortunate she didn’t get hurt worse. I had managed to wrench my shoulder the day before, so we were quite a pair.

I always have a first aid kit with me when I travel, so we patched her up before continuing on our way to the small fishing village of Ullapool for lunch. With a population of only 1,500, Ullapool is the largest town in that part of Scotland. Nestled in the mountains next to the Atlantic Ocean, it is also very picturesque.

Our afternoon break was at Loch Carron. The village of Plockton sits at the mouth of the sea loch. Its weather is affected by the Gulf Stream, so the winters are mild and the summers temperate. It also has palm trees. It was the setting for a Scottish television series called “Hamish Macbeth” which starred Robert Carlisle as the title character – the town police officer.

On the Isle of Skye, our hotel was in the village of Broadford on a bay to the Atlantic. The room Tommie and I shared was on the side overlooking the bay, so we had great views. We had some free time between when we arrived and dinner, so I went for a walk. Poor Tommie was in need of some ice from her earlier injuries. When I got back from my walk, we had a couple of tasty adult beverages before our delicious 3-course dinner at the hotel.

The next day, we headed up to Dunvegan Castle at the northern end of the island. On the way, we stopped off for photos at the Red Cuillins and the Black Cuillins. These are rocky mountain ranges not far from Broadford. They remain a wild area mainly because the ground is not good for either farming or grazing. The rocky crags make these mountains quite beautiful.

We also passed the Talisker distillery. We tried to get John to turn in, but he wasn’t having it. Talisker is a very peaty Scotch whiskey loved by those who appreciate its smoky flavor.

Built on a rocky promontory overlooking a sea loch, Dunvegan Castle has been the home of the MacLeod family for over 800 years. They too did not allow interior photography. But they did allow us to wander the castle on our own. We weren’t too terribly restricted as to where we could go either. I loved that as we could see parts of the castle that tourists don’t necessarily always see, such as the kitchens and servant areas.

One of the treasures at the castle is the Fairy Flag. Legend has it that this flag was given to the Clan MacLeod by fairies and is said to possess magical powers. When I was there, it was framed on the wall. It looks very, very old, tattered and fragile. It is said to be made of silk woven in the Middle East, possibly in Syria or on the island of Rhodes. Skye is known for fairies, with fairy pools, fairy bridges and fairy hills. But then, remember, Skye is also home to the Talisker Scotch whiskey distillery.

After exploring the interior of the castle, I went outside to see the castle’s sea gate and the gun court. Ships could sail directly to the castle on the sea loch from the Atlantic. The numerous cannons on the gun court were able to protect the castle in case the ships approaching it weren’t of a friendly nature. The grounds of the castle had gardens, streams, cottages, and even a loo (restroom) that was in the form of a miniature castle.

When we left Dunvegan, we stopped off at Portree for a lunch break. Portree is roughly in the center of Skye and is the largest town on the island. Portree was also the site of the last meeting of Flora MacDonald and Bonnie Prince Charlie before the prince left Skye, ultimately for France. Flora was arrested and imprisoned in the Tower of London for her part in his escape. She was set free after about a year and went on to live quite an interesting life.

Originally built by the MacKenzie clan in the 13^th century, Eilean Donan sits on a tiny island at the intersection of three lochs. The castle was destroyed in 1719 by cannon fire from several ships and lay abandoned for two hundred years until it was purchased and restored. We had a late afternoon tour of the tower keep of the castle, which isn’t terribly large, but is really cool. It is what a medieval castle should be with very thick, stone walls, a large, barrel-vaulted, low-ceilinged stone room on the lowest floor and lots of atmosphere.

At the time that the castle was destroyed, it was occupied by Spanish troops, many of whom were killed during the bombardment. As a result, much of the castle is supposedly haunted. Where the ghosts are seen was pointed out to us as part of the tour. Once again, however, we could not take photos inside the castle, but we could take photos outside on the castle ramparts.

After our visit to the castle, we went to a pub in the nearby town of Dornie. I tried some Eilean Donan Ale while we listened to a piper who had been hired to play for our group. I know that bagpipes are something that people either love or hate with little in-between. They have some very fine pipers in Scotland who can coax some very sweet sounds out of their instruments. In case you haven’t guessed, I’m one of those people who love bagpipes. I even purchased a chanter (the actual pipe part, without the bag) several years ago to try to learn how to play them. My short little fingers didn’t work too well with it. Not much success.

Not sure what got into John, but he decided that our driver, Alistair, could take us and our full-sized tour coach up a nearby mountain on a very narrow, single-track road. Single-track roads can be an adventure on flat terrain, but on a mountain you could be taking your life in your hands. It seemed to me that Alistair was of a mind to boot John off of the mountain once we finally reached the viewpoint John wanted us to experience.

We did have to do quite a bit of maneuvering to get around one specific wall of rock. We were also very close to the edge of the road at a couple of points. But that particular tour company doesn’t take chances with their customers, so it was just a way to give us a bit of an adventure without putting us in any real danger. We did have some spectacular views from up there. We came down the mountain on the other side, encountering Shetland ponies and even some wild boar on the way. The photo I have included here of a wild boar looks like he is charging the tour coach. Back at the hotel, I tried some Drambuie, which originated in Broadford from a recipe given to one of the clan families by Bonnie Prince Charlie.

The following day, we visited Armadale before boarding the ferry to Mallaig. We took in the Clan Donald Museum of the Isles and explored the castle ruins and lush gardens of Armadale. On the way from Mallaig to Glenfinnan, we stopped to watch the train that is used in the Harry Potter films as the Hogwarts Express as it went by. It obligingly blew its whistle as it chugged on by with steam billowing from its smokestack. Since I was using my video camera to capture all of that, I didn’t get a photo of it. So I use here, someone else’s photo.

Soon we boarded another ferry to the Island of Mull. Our time on Skye was one of fairies and ferries.

View from hotel room in Broadford on the Isle of Skye

Looking down towards the Sea Gate at Dunvegan

Looking up to the entrance of the castle keep from inside the courtyard

Looking across the ramparts of Eilean Donan

View of Eilean Donan from midway up the mountain

The ruins of Amadale Castle as seen from the garden

The Jacobite Steam Train (Hogwart’s Express)

November 18, 2018

Ancient, Mysterious Orkney

While in Cornwall, Mom and I had visited Land’s End, the southernmost point on the British mainland. It was a very foggy day, so we didn’t see much. Twelve years later, my friend, Tommie, and I were at Dunnet Head, the northernmost point on the British mainland. As you will see in the photo, a storm was coming in with lots of wind and rain and very low visibility. So much for great scenic locations.

From Dunnet Head, we were driven to John O’Groats, from where we were taking a passenger-only ferry to Orkney. A different bus and driver were waiting for us there. But first, we needed to cross the Pentland Firth. The body of water that separates Orkney from mainland Scotland is where the North Sea meets the Atlantic. They don’t play well together. In fact, in the best of weather, they tend to fight. In poor weather, the ferries can sometimes be shut down due to the danger of what is called a “confusion of seas”. Our Tour Director, John, likened it to the film “The Perfect Storm”. Good thing I don’t get seasick. There were a few extremely pale faces and very wide eyes on the ferry. It was quite a ride.

When we arrived at Burwick, we were immediately taken to a cozy little café where we received a very tasty homestyle meal. With very satisfied stomachs, we drove around a body of water called Scappa Flow to the Italian Chapel built by prisoners of war in 1943.

Roughly 1,000 years ago, Vikings used to anchor their ships at Scapa Flow. During World Wars I & II, it was used as a naval base. The Germans chose to scuttle their fleet when it was captured and interned at Scapa Flow during WWI. The wrecks of the ships can still be seen jutting out of the water.

The prisoners of war who built the Italian Chapel were building the Churchill Barriers, which are causeways linking some of the southern islands of Orkney to the main island and blocking access to Scapa Flow. They joined together two Quonset huts and then decorated the church with materials at hand. They did a beautiful job.

Stonehenge dates to about 3000 BC. But the Neolithic Standing Stones of Stenness on Orkney is thought to possibly be the oldest henge site in all of the British Isles (3100 BC). A short distance away is the Ring of Brodgar, which was thought to have been erected roughly 2500 BC. By the time we reached the Ring of Brodgar (in which people can walk around and even touch the stones), it was raining horizontally. Orkney doesn’t have a lot of trees on a good share of its islands, so the wind can barrel its way across quite easily, bringing the rain with it. I hid behind one of the stones to photograph the others. I also wiped out my video camera to show that the rain was horizontal. Maeshowe, a burial mound built about 2800 BC, can be seen from the Ring of Brodgar.

When I was in Egypt, I encountered some very old structures, but Skara Brae, a Neolithic village on Orkney, is older than the pyramids or anything else I saw in Egypt. A cluster of stone and earth houses, Skara Brae was unearthed by a storm in 1850. It was occupied roughly from 3180 BC to about 2500 BC. A couple of the houses still have furnishings – beds, cupboards, dressers, seats and storage benches – all made of stone. It appears that the inhabitants were taken by surprise and fled, leaving some of their personal belongings behind.

Just steps from Skara Brae is Skaill House. The oldest parts of the house are thought to date back to the 15^th century, but the majority of the building dates to the 17^th century. Some of the house was inadvertently built over an ancient pre-Pictish burial ground. Several Pictish burial mounds are scattered around the area as well. Some of the house is rented out for people on holiday (vacation). There have been several stories about possible hauntings in parts of the house.

I had a very odd experience while there. It had begun to rain again while I was walking around Skara Brae, photographing and filming. By the time I was headed over to Skaill House to tour it, the rain was coming down quite hard. When looking at the house, there is an archway to the right of the building that actually predates the house itself. When I passed through the arch to go to the entrance, the rain stopped. I turned around and looked back through the arch to see that it was still raining on the other side. Ooooweeeooo! The place does have a very odd, mysterious, spooky vibe to it.

Once again, no photography was allowed inside. We could tour the main building and the kitchens, but not the wings. It is fairly large and spread out. In the library was a large, low, round window in a very thick wall. Sort of an unusual choice, I thought. I used Skaill House as a setting for a novel (that needs a rewrite) because it is so sprawling and foreboding on the outside, but quite pleasant and comfortable inside. Except for the ghosts.

Back in Orkney’s main city, Kirkwall (which is one of the few parts of Orkney with trees), is the 900 year old St Magnus Cathedral. It was built by Earl Rognvold of Orkney to commemorate his uncle, St Magnus. It even has its own dungeon.

Magnus was killed with an axe to the head and is always depicted with an axe. I don’t know that I’d like to be depicted for all eternity with a symbol of what killed me. But that seems to be the way they did things back then. When Rognvold had the cathedral constructed, he had Magnus’ bones interred in it. Nobody knew where they were until 1917 when they were found inside of a hidden cavity in a column. The skull clearly had what looked like an axe wound. There is now a statue of Magnus next to the column where he was discovered.

The ferry ride back to mainland Scotland was even rougher than on the way over. A very choppy ride. We headed back down to Wick for a second night and left for the Isle of Skye the following day.

The northernmost point on the British mainland — Dunnet Head, Scotland

Parts of the German WWI fleet sticking out of the water in Scapa Flow

What the houses would have looked like when they were completely intact

Skaill House — you can see the arch to the right

Statue of Magnus in front of the column in which he was found

November 11, 2018

Macbeth, Birds of Prey & the Castle of Mey

During the 2009 tour to the Highlands & Islands of Scotland, we made a visit to the Culloden Battlefield. Mom and I had been there several times on prior trips. On the most recent in 2005, I had contributed a small amount to the new visitor center that was being built back then and was completed in 2008. It is a really great visitor center. One of my favorite sections was a film where you stand in the center of a round room and the battle takes place all around you. There is no narration, just the battle itself. You feel as if you are in the middle of it and it is very moving.

The battlefield had been restored as well. It was easy to see the burial mounds and stone markers had been added to indicate which clans were buried in which mounds. There were GPS devices to carry with you that would tell you about whatever part of the battlefield you were on. We had a pretty good amount of time there to explore. What a difference from the first time I was there when there wasn’t much to see and it took a lot of imagination. This is one reason why it can be a good thing to return to someplace you have been before. It can be a very different experience.

At the end of our time there, I took a few moments to see if I could find my name on the ceiling. Although the amount I had contributed was not enormous, it was enough to get my name on the ceiling. The names weren’t in alphabetical order (probably in the order of the donation) and there were a lot of them, so I didn’t find it. But I know it’s there.

Our next visit for the day was Cawdor Castle, built in the 1300s around a thorn tree, which is still there in the center of the lower level of the original tower. Although Shakespeare refers to Macbeth in his play as “Thane of Cawdor”, the real Macbeth never had that title. The castle didn’t yet exist in his day either. The real Macbeth had a castle near Inverness, which no longer exists. He also didn’t murder King Duncan. Duncan was killed in battle against Macbeth. Later, Macbeth was killed in battle against Duncan’s son, Malcolm.

No photography was allowed inside of the castle (which is still privately owned and lived in). I loved this castle. Its rooms were not as vast as in royal castles – much more homey and cozy. It also has beautiful gardens and a very nice gift shop. The area behind the castle was quite woodsy and pretty, with a lovely stream running through it.

We went back into Inverness for lunch and a mostly free afternoon. Tommie and a couple others in our group and I had a good time wandering around the town’s narrow streets. Then we had a late afternoon boat ride on Loch Ness. I tend not to turn down boat rides. I love to be out on the water. Loch Ness can be a very interesting lake to venture out on. It is one of the deepest lakes in the world – certainly the deepest in the UK. When calm, it can be like glass. When choppy, it can get fairly rough. There is a lot of peat in the water, so it tends to look rather black with very poor visibility. The rolling waves in the wake of a boat can resemble the humps of a serpent.

We spent another night in Inverness and then headed up past the Black Isle to Sutherland where we stopped at Dunrobin Castle. The original castle was built in 1401, but was greatly enlarged (to 189 rooms) and remodeled between 1835 and 1850. The present building looks more like a French chateau than a Scottish baronial castle. Even though it is no longer privately owned or lived in, photos weren’t allowed inside there either. The size and grandeur of the castle made it less appealing to me than Cawdor had been. I could imagine myself living in Cawdor, but not Dunrobin. It was gorgeous and the gardens magnificent, however. We were able to wander through the rooms at our leisure and walk around in the gardens as much as we liked.

The castle overlooks the North Sea. Down by the Seagate is a Falconry. At various times during the day, they put on a show with hawks, falcons, eagles (one blue and one golden), and some owls. We were there with plenty of time to see a show. Since I had a video camera, the falconer had me point it at the eagle owl he had with him and then had the owl fly right by me, just skimming over my head (I felt the air as he went by). It was thrilling and looks fantastic on the video.

Throughout the trip, our Tour Director, John, had been saying, “Gird your loins for Wick.” When we arrived in Wick that evening, our hotel was small, without phones or TVs or fridges in the rooms or a restaurant (we were given a private dinner in a dining room area). I think he had been concerned that we might find it rather primitive after the more luxurious accommodations we had elsewhere on the trip. But it had good beds, electricity, and ensuite bathrooms. What more could you need for just one night?

After arrival, we immediately set off for the Castle of Mey. The Queen Mother had purchased the castle back in 1952, shortly after her husband, King George VI died. Built in the 1500s by the Sinclair family, it is a fairly small castle with 37 rooms. It was derelict when purchased, but was successfully turned into a lovely and cozy home. We were shown around the castle by one of the Queen Mother’s household staff. This was fantastic because they had actually known her and could tell endearing stories about her.

One story was that the Queen Mother kept a stuffed Nessie (Loch Ness Monster) on the top edge of one of the tapestries in the room where guests would be received. This was used as an ice-breaker to put first-time guests at ease when she would ask if they liked her Nessie. In one of the other rooms, she had a stuffed toy deer head instead of the usual trophy of a real deer. The room where Princess Margaret often stayed was supposedly haunted. The ghost didn’t seem to bother the Princess too often, but would make their presence known when she wasn’t there. Perhaps they missed her.

The castle also has a beautiful walled garden where both flowering plants and fruits and vegetables are grown. There is a bench in the garden where the Queen Mother liked to sit and contemplate life.

On our way back to Wick, we visited the church the Queen Mother attended when at Mey — Canisbay Church. They had her chair roped off. It was fascinating walking around in the surrounding cemetery and looking at the old tombstones.

That night, Wick was celebrating a festival to honor Henry Sinclair, who was said to have sailed to North America nearly 100 years before Columbus. They had a big torchlight parade through the streets, culminating in the burning of a Viking ship in the bay. This part is due to the town’s Norse heritage.

Next time – we cross the Pentland Firth to the otherworldly Orkney.

The eagle owl who skimmed my forehead at Dunrobin Castle

The Queen Mother’s bench in the garden of the Castle of Mey

November 4, 2018November 4, 2018

Rosslyn Chapel

During our 2009 Highlands & Islands tour to Scotland, my friend Tommie and I decided to spend a free afternoon in Edinburgh taking a city bus to Rosslyn Chapel. We had both seen the movie “The Da Vinci Code”. I had also read about the Knights Templar and their possible connections to the place as well as about Henry Sinclair (St Clair) and his possible voyage to what is now America in 1398. It was the Sinclair (St Clair) family that built Rosslyn Chapel in 1456. The elaborate decorations within the chapel include the depiction of maize (corn), which would have been unknown to Europeans in 1456.

We had a city tour in the morning, and then went to lunch at the undercroft café of the Church of St Andrew and St George next door to the hotel. Mom and I had been there before and found that the food was delicious, homemade, and the proceeds went to charitable work of the church. Good food and good works all at once. Cash only, though. No credit cards.

We waited a while for the #15 bus, which we could get right across the street from our hotel. A few other people in our group decided to go too. There were about six of us total. It was another rainy day. It absolutely poured on the way out there. The rain came down so hard that we really couldn’t see much out of the windows of the double-decker. We assumed the driver knew where he was going.

When we got to the town of Roslin, the bus dropped us off next to the hotel there. We found that we needed to catch the bus on the opposite side of the road to return to Edinburgh as well as the time of the last bus back before walking the distance to the chapel. The very steep road from the chapel to the castle was running like a river. We figured we’d spend our time at the chapel and venture to the castle if the rain let up and we had time. It didn’t and we didn’t, so I finally saw the castle several years later.

The chapel was being restored and was nearly completely encased in scaffolding on the outside. There was also a very large, temporary corrugated roof over the entire structure. Since we were allowed to climb up on the scaffolding, we actually saw the exterior of the chapel better than we would have just standing on the ground. We were able to stay dry too.

Periodically throughout the day, talks are given inside of the chapel regarding the history of the place and “The Da Vinci Code” movie. It is a fascinating talk. Afterwards we explored the interior of the chapel, including the crypt. It takes some time to take it all in; it is so gorgeous and there is so much to look at. In addition to all of the other amazing features of the place, there is the legend of the Apprentice Pillar. The Master Mason was so jealous of the beauty of that pillar, that he supposedly killed the apprentice. There is an inscription next to it that says, in Latin, “Wine is strong, a king is stronger, women are stronger still, but truth conquers all”. Unfortunately, photography is not allowed inside of the chapel.

The rain was lighter by the time we needed to walk back into town to catch our bus. The others who had arrived with us from our tour left before we did. While waiting for the bus to Edinburgh city center, we chatted with a fella from Turkey. Tommie had already been to Turkey so they talked about Cappadocia and some of the other interesting places in that country. I hadn’t been yet, so I paid attention to what they were talking about for future reference.

The rain quit while we were waiting for the bus so we could actually see the scenery on the way back into Edinburgh. We sat on the upper level at the front.

We had been planning to have dinner at a pub on Rose Street near the hotel. But we decided to splurge and go to the Dome across the street from the hotel instead. We ate in the Grill. I had a soup plus some haggis in a phyllo pastry shell. Haggis reminds me of hash and I actually like it.

The following day, we went to St Andrews, Braemar, and the Glenlivet distillery (all of which I’ve described before from past trips) on our way to Inverness. Our hotel was on the other side of the river from where Mom and I stayed the last time. The main street of Inverness was just outside of the hotel, which was great for finding places to eat and shop, but not so great for the middle of the night when the bars closed – especially after a football (soccer in US) game; whether or not their team won.

Next time — the area around Inverness and parts north.