The Panoramas

June 20th, 2018

I took many panoramic photos on the recent Scotland trip, and was unable to blog any from my phone. Here’s a few of the better ones. Note that all of these are very large images; click on them to see them at full resolution.

Loch Lomond from a viewing tower on the southern shore. This was early in the trip during the drive to Oban, and early in the morning as well. Misty mountain views like these are common in Scotland, and always pretty.

The seaside town of Oban, which was our base for the day-long trip to the Hebrides islands of Mull and Iona.

A lake formed by a dam that we passed by on our way from Oban to Portree. The shore was just endless rocks with many cairns. The lake was mirror-still and it was eerily quiet.

View from the Quiraing peak at the north of Skye. This was like looking at a fantasy world, but not as much perhaps as…

The Fairy Glen, also on Skye. As far as natural beauty, this place was probably the highlight for me. Can you find Kristin in the photo?

This is Neist Point, also on Skye (the westernmost edge). The day was so clear and fine it felt like we could see forever, and I spent some time standing there looking for basking sharks in the water, since we had been told you could see them occasionally.

And lastly the mystical Ring of Brodgar on Orkney, which is so old no one knows who built it, or how, or exactly when, or for what purpose. This was old when the pyramids was built and yet still stands. One day it will be taken by the water, and I’m glad I got to stand between it’s stones before that day arrives.

Scotland was the most scenic place I’ve ever visited, and I hope in some small way these pictures give an idea as to what it was like to see sights this these in person.

Stirling

June 17th, 2018

It was raining heavily yesterday as we hiked up the hill in the middle of town to visit Stirling Castle.

It sits high on a hill in the middle of the city and has been an important location for many pivotal events in Scottish history. The wind and rain battered down up there yesterday.

The castle is an impressive structure with a rich history and beautiful views, but much of what is on display is reconstructed (much in the last few years) and these efforts continue today.

Our guidebook says the place lacks a soul and I agree. I’m more partial to well-presented ruins like Urquhart than approximations of what may have been like Stirling.

It got sunnier in the afternoon as you can see, and we were finally able to dry off. If I look tired above it’s because I am! As usual it’s been a very active vacation and it’s catching up to both of us πŸ™‚

But it’s been wonderful! And we’ll certainly remember some of what we’ve seen for ever. Right now we’re about to leave for the airport, but a few days after arriving back I’ll put up one more post to show off a few pics I couldn’t add via my phone and leave my final comments.

To Stirling

June 15th, 2018

No Blog yesterday; we spent ~8 hours traveling from Orkney all the way down to a town called Kingussie. The trip included the return ferry, which made me about 80% green, as well as cyclonic winds and rain as we traveled down the eastern highlands coast.

After all this our B&B room was insanely large and comfy – easily the biggest room we’ve ever stayed in. We slept well last night!

Today we headed to our final destination of this trip: Stirling. Today (after the drive) we just strolled around lazily; tomorrow we’ll visit the famous castle.

I bought perhaps too many stamps so I’ve been on a postcard bender! Watch your mailboxes πŸ™‚

Orkney

June 14th, 2018

Orkney is home to many Neolithic sites, and we visited several of them yesterday. These included two stone circles and three ancient ‘villages’ and almost all of them were older than the pyramids.

These two shots are of the Ring of Brodgar, built on a low hill between two lochs. It’s about 100 m in diameter and over 4000 years old. I’ve been to other stone circles in England and this one is right up there with the best of them in terms of majesty and mystery.

Only a short drive down the road are the older Stones of Stenness. The ring is much smaller but the stones are taller and feature graffiti that in one case was written by a Viking!

Skara Brae is a famous preserved Neolithic village that was occupied between 2500 and 3200 years ago. Partially sunken into the ground, the homes include stone furniture and many included personnel effects which suggests to some it was abandoned in haste (Pompeii comparisons have been made).

I particularly enjoyed the mysterious objects found in the ruins: intricately carved circular stones that are presumed to have had religious use. They look almost alien, and to me it’s curious such a relatively small ‘village’ contained so many.

Later in the day we visited another old village, the Broch Of Gurness:

Bigger but perhaps not as famous as Skara Brae, it’s an unusual experience to wander the streets of this place and imagine what life was like for the inhabitants thousands of years ago. These locations – and Orkney is riddled with them – fill my mind with questions that will never be answered…

Orkney has a whole second appeal to WW2 buffs that I’d be interested in exploring, alas today we return to the mainland. It’s slightly tricky to get here, but if you’re ever visiting Scotland I would suggest you include Orkney in your itinerary.

Over The Water

June 13th, 2018

After an insane home-cooked B&B breakfast, we started yesterday with a stop at Dunnet Head:

It was windy but not too cold, and from a high hill there are 360 degree views of the entire northern coastline. We also saw many seabirds (including Puffins) flying offshore to their nests on the cliffs.

A bit later on the drive to the ferry we stopped at Dunnet Beach:

It was long and rough and very windy but not as cold as you may think (about 13C) so shorts weren’t an issue.

Add the North Sea to the list of bodies of water I’ve now dipped my fingers into πŸ™‚

That’s on the ferry to Orkney, which was large and comfy and one of the more pleasant transport trips I’ve ever taken. Plus, I only got about 30% seasick! It took a bit under 2 hours total before spewing us out…

In the charming seaside berg of Stromness, on the Orkney Islands:

Orkney is quite different again from what we’ve seen on the mainland. No trees for starters! Also the island is covered with farms, and apparently beef is one of the major industries.

Orkney is also famous for a multitude of well preserved historical sites, some of which we will visit today. It may also (finally!) start raining this afternoon, so we’ll get to experience an authentic Scottish summer. πŸ™‚