Scotland
This was the first time I'd planned a sightseeing holiday for more than one person since I left NZ and trying to ensure that Tansy and I were both going to be able to see the things we were each most interested in meant more work than I was used to but all the more rewarding to have someone to share the discoveries with.
The plan was to get the train to Scotland and then hire a car for a week then get the train back to London. So our first stop was Glasgow where we stayed with Tansy's cousin Maia and her husband David.
Maia showed us around Glasgow the next day. It was dull and gloomy but the city itself was actually rather nice. With a history of the Victorian ship building industry and the associated slums that came with that I must admit that I didn't have high hope for Glasgow but I was pleasantly surprised.
George III Square (shown above) is absolutely gorgeous (even on such a grey day) and there are many more elegant buildings throughout the city housing museums, art galleries, the University of Glasgow etc. But it's not all ancient and majestic buildings. There's also a lot of modern buildings mixed in. Whilst imperfect, I thought that Glasgow has done a good job of blending old buildings with new. Something that many cities do horribly badly.
From an engineer's point of view the highlights were the quaint underground railway, The Orange Beast, and a rather nice cable-stay bridge, The Clyde Arc (shown below). But of course, Glasgow would be nothing if it were not for its ship building and so an enjoyable visit to learn more at The Tall Ship (HMS Glenlee, pictured below) had to be on the cards!
The next day we picked up our hire car and headed off, over the Highlands, on our way to The Isle of Skye. For me, this was one of the highlights of the trip! First past the beautiful Loch Lomond (yes, I sung the song) and then up through the stunningly picturesque Highlands. Valleys and Lochs (lakes) carves by ice and water create a desolate setting that was somehow all the more impressive in the gloomy weather. The photos below barely do the area justice as the full austere majesty of the area must be experienced to be properly appreciated. No visit to Scotland is complete without the Highlands.
Loch Tulla
Valley leading to Ben Coe
Stronenaba
Loch Garry
We arrived on The Isle of Skye in the evening and after an enjoyable stop at the local Serpentorium (where I adopted one of those well know serpents, a frog) the first visit was to Dunvegan Castle (pictured below).
Dunvegan Castle was nice enough and, overall, an enjoyable visit as the grounds are very nice. But if it's real castles you're after this one hardly cuts the mustard. The views of the Loch Dunvegan (shown below) are rather nice and the gardens and grounds are pleasant.
Whilst not quite as memorable as The Highlands, The Isle of Skye has more beautiful scenery. Shown below are the Quiraing, an impressive cliff face formed by still moving massive landslides, and Kilt Rock Falls.
The following day we awoke to one of those 'one in a hundred' mornings where the sky was blue, the loch was perfectly calm and we visited what Tansy and I agreed was the highlight of the trip (other than, of course the Skye Bridge, shown below, which links the mainland to the Isle of Skye).
Seriously, I'm talking about Eilean Donan Castle (below) which looked absolutely magnificent that calm morning on the shores of Loch Alsh. It's initial foundations were constructed in the 13th century. However, it was destroyed during an attempted Jacobite Rising in the 1700s. Then in the early 1900s it was rebuilt by a retired Lt Colonel John Macrae Gilstrap over 20 years. It's not just the exterior that makes this one of Scotland's most popular castles. Inside the entire place remains as it was when first reconstructed with the magnificent banqueting hall being the highlight for myself. I highly recommend a visit to Eilean Donan Castle.
Loch Alsh (from Eilean Donan)
The rest of the day we drove back across the Highlands and along the shores of Loch Ness (no monsters sighted along the way). Once we'd reached Inverness at the northern end of the Loch we boarded a boat and motored back down Loch Ness down to the ruins of Urquhart Castle (shown below, no monsters sighted on the way). An enjoyable enough trip down the Loch to an interesting ruin although perhaps a bit of an anticlimax after Eilean Donan.
Whilst we didn't have time to visit Inverness itself, the views from our hostel room (below) were excellent!
An early rise was needed in order to squeeze in a lot the next day. First stop was Culloden Battlefield where the last battle on British soil was fought between the French supported Scottish troops of the 1745 Jacobite Rising and the (predominately Scottish) Government army. The visitor centre (pictured below) was excellent with enthusiastic costumed staff and a lot of information about the lead up to and final battle. There was a lot of hype about a new visitor centre opening soon which seemed surprising as I thought that the existing one was really good!
Now, as you may well know, I'm partial to a wee drop of whisky (there's no 'e' if you spell it the Scottish way) and so it would have been criminal not to visit at least one distillery. Glenfiddich being a favourite of mine I couldn't resist. A very enjoyable (and free) tour eventuated and I came away with plenty of whisky for tasting later =)
Before the day was out we still had to get to Edinburgh via one of the more impressive pieces of engineering in recent times - the Falkirk Wheel. It's basically a huge ferris wheel for canal boats to take them from the upper to the lower canal or vica versa. Whilst awesome as a piece of engineering, I have to say that I saw more day trippers having a ride from the visitor centre than I did genuine canal boats which begs the question - why was it needed in the first place? But hey, it looks good, right?
We arrived in Edinburgh late afternoon and arrived to stay with Rob Edwards and family who'd generously put me up when I was here for the Fringe Festival last year. Unfortunately I was feeling distinctly under the weather the following day when we went around one of my favourite cities in Europe. I must confess that the image below has been filched from Wikipedia as none of my photos of the magnificent Edinburgh Castle were any good. But perched up on that cliff with only one access it's an amazing sight. Although, unfortunately, massively over priced and full of tourists.
So with me nearly collapsing from whatever virus I had we spent a quiet part of the afternoon in the excellent Chai Teahouse which I'd discovered during the Fringe Festival. I'm sad to say, however, that as I searched for a link to their website I've discovered that they appear to have closed.
Our final day was a long trip home on the much maligned British railway systems. Anyone who's ever criticised rail in the UK has clearly never been to New Zealand.
Scotland was a fantastic experience. There's so much to see and so much that we didn't have time to see. I never honestly thought that I'd get to see it all in a week anyway and the whole point was to get a taste of Scotland to take home. The austere majesty of the Highlands, the magnificent castles, the grand cities and the wealth of culture make Scotland perhaps one of my favourite countries.
The plan was to get the train to Scotland and then hire a car for a week then get the train back to London. So our first stop was Glasgow where we stayed with Tansy's cousin Maia and her husband David.
Maia showed us around Glasgow the next day. It was dull and gloomy but the city itself was actually rather nice. With a history of the Victorian ship building industry and the associated slums that came with that I must admit that I didn't have high hope for Glasgow but I was pleasantly surprised.
George III Square (shown above) is absolutely gorgeous (even on such a grey day) and there are many more elegant buildings throughout the city housing museums, art galleries, the University of Glasgow etc. But it's not all ancient and majestic buildings. There's also a lot of modern buildings mixed in. Whilst imperfect, I thought that Glasgow has done a good job of blending old buildings with new. Something that many cities do horribly badly.
From an engineer's point of view the highlights were the quaint underground railway, The Orange Beast, and a rather nice cable-stay bridge, The Clyde Arc (shown below). But of course, Glasgow would be nothing if it were not for its ship building and so an enjoyable visit to learn more at The Tall Ship (HMS Glenlee, pictured below) had to be on the cards!
The next day we picked up our hire car and headed off, over the Highlands, on our way to The Isle of Skye. For me, this was one of the highlights of the trip! First past the beautiful Loch Lomond (yes, I sung the song) and then up through the stunningly picturesque Highlands. Valleys and Lochs (lakes) carves by ice and water create a desolate setting that was somehow all the more impressive in the gloomy weather. The photos below barely do the area justice as the full austere majesty of the area must be experienced to be properly appreciated. No visit to Scotland is complete without the Highlands.
Loch Tulla
Valley leading to Ben Coe
Stronenaba
Loch GarryWe arrived on The Isle of Skye in the evening and after an enjoyable stop at the local Serpentorium (where I adopted one of those well know serpents, a frog) the first visit was to Dunvegan Castle (pictured below).
Dunvegan Castle was nice enough and, overall, an enjoyable visit as the grounds are very nice. But if it's real castles you're after this one hardly cuts the mustard. The views of the Loch Dunvegan (shown below) are rather nice and the gardens and grounds are pleasant.
Whilst not quite as memorable as The Highlands, The Isle of Skye has more beautiful scenery. Shown below are the Quiraing, an impressive cliff face formed by still moving massive landslides, and Kilt Rock Falls.
The following day we awoke to one of those 'one in a hundred' mornings where the sky was blue, the loch was perfectly calm and we visited what Tansy and I agreed was the highlight of the trip (other than, of course the Skye Bridge, shown below, which links the mainland to the Isle of Skye).
Seriously, I'm talking about Eilean Donan Castle (below) which looked absolutely magnificent that calm morning on the shores of Loch Alsh. It's initial foundations were constructed in the 13th century. However, it was destroyed during an attempted Jacobite Rising in the 1700s. Then in the early 1900s it was rebuilt by a retired Lt Colonel John Macrae Gilstrap over 20 years. It's not just the exterior that makes this one of Scotland's most popular castles. Inside the entire place remains as it was when first reconstructed with the magnificent banqueting hall being the highlight for myself. I highly recommend a visit to Eilean Donan Castle.
Loch Alsh (from Eilean Donan)
The rest of the day we drove back across the Highlands and along the shores of Loch Ness (no monsters sighted along the way). Once we'd reached Inverness at the northern end of the Loch we boarded a boat and motored back down Loch Ness down to the ruins of Urquhart Castle (shown below, no monsters sighted on the way). An enjoyable enough trip down the Loch to an interesting ruin although perhaps a bit of an anticlimax after Eilean Donan.
Whilst we didn't have time to visit Inverness itself, the views from our hostel room (below) were excellent!
An early rise was needed in order to squeeze in a lot the next day. First stop was Culloden Battlefield where the last battle on British soil was fought between the French supported Scottish troops of the 1745 Jacobite Rising and the (predominately Scottish) Government army. The visitor centre (pictured below) was excellent with enthusiastic costumed staff and a lot of information about the lead up to and final battle. There was a lot of hype about a new visitor centre opening soon which seemed surprising as I thought that the existing one was really good!
Now, as you may well know, I'm partial to a wee drop of whisky (there's no 'e' if you spell it the Scottish way) and so it would have been criminal not to visit at least one distillery. Glenfiddich being a favourite of mine I couldn't resist. A very enjoyable (and free) tour eventuated and I came away with plenty of whisky for tasting later =)
Before the day was out we still had to get to Edinburgh via one of the more impressive pieces of engineering in recent times - the Falkirk Wheel. It's basically a huge ferris wheel for canal boats to take them from the upper to the lower canal or vica versa. Whilst awesome as a piece of engineering, I have to say that I saw more day trippers having a ride from the visitor centre than I did genuine canal boats which begs the question - why was it needed in the first place? But hey, it looks good, right?
We arrived in Edinburgh late afternoon and arrived to stay with Rob Edwards and family who'd generously put me up when I was here for the Fringe Festival last year. Unfortunately I was feeling distinctly under the weather the following day when we went around one of my favourite cities in Europe. I must confess that the image below has been filched from Wikipedia as none of my photos of the magnificent Edinburgh Castle were any good. But perched up on that cliff with only one access it's an amazing sight. Although, unfortunately, massively over priced and full of tourists.
So with me nearly collapsing from whatever virus I had we spent a quiet part of the afternoon in the excellent Chai Teahouse which I'd discovered during the Fringe Festival. I'm sad to say, however, that as I searched for a link to their website I've discovered that they appear to have closed.
Our final day was a long trip home on the much maligned British railway systems. Anyone who's ever criticised rail in the UK has clearly never been to New Zealand.Scotland was a fantastic experience. There's so much to see and so much that we didn't have time to see. I never honestly thought that I'd get to see it all in a week anyway and the whole point was to get a taste of Scotland to take home. The austere majesty of the Highlands, the magnificent castles, the grand cities and the wealth of culture make Scotland perhaps one of my favourite countries.
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