Scotland's Countryside

There are so many wonderful site and places to visit in Scotland.  We wanted to see a lot so we decided to use a tour guide.  The guide, Bruce, would take us all around the countryside of Scotland; Highlands, Glencoe, Glen Nevis, Glenfinnan, Isle of Skye, Portree, Staffin, Loch Ness, Inverness and Culloden.  It sounded like a full, but fun itinerary with Bruce.

Bruce picked us up in Edinburgh and we were off.  We were heading towards the Highlands and our first stop was a quaint little village called Luss.  This picturesque village is on Loch Lomond (Loch means; Lake) and this village has existed since the 1300s.  The village has a church and many lovely cottages.  It is a well known tourist destination. 

The lovely cottages lining the streets

Loch Lomond

St Kessog Church 

It was a beautiful village where it was obvious that the owners work hard to maintain a historical natural look not only to the cottages but to the village.  We had fun walking through the small village to the pier and shore line of Loch Lomond.  We ventured into a mom and pop shop right next to the pier and met a wonderful couple, who were so friendly.  The kids loved trying out the free Scottish candy samples called fudge tablets.  YUM.  Of course we had to buy some-  good marketing strategy.  We then walked to the coffee shop where we shared a couple of big pieces of chocolate and carrot cake.  What a treat and a great break, but there was so much more to see.

The Highlands is nothing more than a historic region of Scotland, the Northern part.  The Highlands are sparsely populated and contain most of the mountain ranges.  All we knew about the highlands was that we were driving up a small winding road with very little room for error.  This road was similar to the roads that lead into the Colorado Mountains, but much more narrow.  When we got to the top we were pleased to see highway roads available.  Whew.



The sign letting us know we made it

First stop in the Highlands was Glencoe.  Glencoe (or also known as;  Glen Coe) is know for its beautiful mountain scenery and for a historical fight called; The Massacre of Glencoe 1692.  These mountains are enormous with jagged edges.  It was a beautiful site to view.  We did not hike this area, because it was only a pit stop.  It is common for people to venture off backpack style and hike way up into the mountains and by looking up at the mountain; we could see why people would hike in this area.

Amazing mountains

The Massacre of Glencoe 1692:  Apparently, the Glen Coe area has a historical known feud between the MacDonalds and the Campbells starting around the 1500s.  These two clans do not get along and have been constantly raiding each other with severe loss of life on both sides for centuries.

In 1691 King William offered to pardon all the Highland clans who had taken up arms against him in the Jacobite uprising if they took an allegiance of oath to him by January of 1692.  The Clan Chief of the MacDonalds went to the wrong location to take the oath.  When the Clan Chief arrived at the correct location, he was five days late.  Therefore, the MacDonald Clan did not appear on the list of clans who had taken the oath.  The Secretary of State of Scotland wanted to set an example for the failure to take the oath, so he chose the MacDonald clan as the clan to punish.  This punishment was a well laid out plan with the Campbells at the helm to deliver the sanction.  Apparently, prior to the massacre, Captain Campbell and his soldiers sought refuge at the MacDonald's home.  The MacDonalds knew nothing about the government's plan or about the deceit/ trickery to get into the clan's home only to kill them at a later time.  The MacDonalds humbly gave hospitality to the soldier men providing them with; food, drink and shelter.  When the signal was lit (giving the men the orders to follow through with the massacre) the Captain and his men started shooting.  Fortunately, the initial sound of gunfire warned many of the MacDonalds about the massacre.  They fled into the wintery mountains where some lost their lives to exposure, but many lived.  This massacre was an inept attempt to kill and destroy the MacDonald Clan.  Public outcry was huge, because of the government's use of hospitality to attempt a massacre punishment upon the clan for failure to register.  The Secretary of State resigned and was alienated for his brazen horrible attempt to wipe out the clan.  Note; To this day in that region the MacDonalds and the Campbells do not get along, as shown by signs in many shops and restaurants that say "No Campbells."

The Clachaig Inn

As you can see by the sign on the Clachaig door;

(hawkers = thief) they have not forgotten the massacre

Glen Nevis is in the Highlands of Scotland.  Several mountains ranges border it with the North Mountains being the highest mountains in the British Isles.  It is also home to the second highest waterfall, Steall Waterfall, with an impressive 120 meter drop.  We were stopping here because Harry Potter Goblet of Fire had several scenes filmed here AND it has lots of interesting hiking paths through some amazing views.

Our plan was to hike into the mountain range to Steall Waterfall.  We would have our first experience to explore the country of Scotland and we were excited.  We parked the vehicle and started out for our hiking adventure.  The boys could hardly wait....   UNTIL

This sign warns hikers of death possibility



Prior to hiking into the mountain, Scotland decided to warn hikers that there is a possibility of slipping down the mountain to their death.  BUT we were not scared and off we went.  The path was pretty easy to follow up into the mountain.  We loved hiking and the amazing views.

Our hiking path

An amazing view of where we were heading

From the hiking path looking down at Sam

who stopped for a drink from a small waterfall

During our hike we came across a marvelous valley with a gorge.  Harry Potter Goblet of Fire was filmed at this location, and we could see why.  It was fantastic.  In order to get to Steall Waterfall we had to cross a wire bridge.  Bruce showed us the technique to cross the bridge and then we all took our turn crossing it, except Sam.  He was too small to reach up to the wire stabilizers, so he rode piggy back on Reed. 

The valley

Steall Falls

Nate crossing the wire bridge....  

Note: Steall Falls in the background

Our guide holding the wires steady with Reed and Sam crossing

Connor crossing the bridge

What a view of the valley and our hiking path behind us

We made it across the bridge.  Everyone was safe and sound, but we still had a ways to go to the falls.  We continued on our hike seeing breathtaking scenes.  The hike was not hard, but in some areas we had to plan our route and step carefully. 

We finally made it to the Waterfall.  It is hard to describe the site of the 120 Meter high waterfall, the sound of the falling water, the taste of fresh cold water, the smell of the land, and the beauty of the land.  We loved it all!

Steall Falls

The boys

We made it

The boys posing on the hillside in the valley



As you can see from the photos, Glen Nevis and the Waterfall was a hit. The aesthetics and beauty of the landscape of the countryside in this hike was magnificent.   The intrinsic details and characteristics of nature's scenery; the mountains, hills, valleys, rocks, moss, water, and grass amazed us all.  After our hike we were all filled with a sense of euphoria from the wonderful sites, smells, and tastes (of the mountain spring waters) experienced on this adventure.

Stay tuned...   More of Scotland's countryside is in the next post.   

Edinburgh *Continued*

With so much to see and do in Edinburgh, I filled the prior blog without finishing our time in Edinburgh.  The sites left; Mary King's Close, The Calton Hill and the cemeteries.

Mary King's Close

Underneath the City Chambers on the Royal Mile lies a hidden world with streets (a Close) where people worked and lived.  Back in the 1600's, neighborhoods were built upwards with the bottom of the buildings used for trader/seller's carts, shops, and housing for the poor.  The more affluent people lived in the higher tiers of these high-rise buildings.  These buildings were usually seven stories high.  A Close was the name for a busy narrow street that was lined on both sides with tenant housing, carts, and shops.

At that time there wasn't a proper sewage system.  Tenants simply dumped their waste at specified times out into the streets.  I can only image the less than sanitary living conditions in the narrow winding streets that were packed with the high-rise buildings and shops.  Plus, I would not want to be the bottom tenant during the specified dumping time of one's waste products into the streets.  YUK!

Around 1644 the Bubonic Plague, also known as the Black Death, hit the residents of the Close.  With the small living quarters and unsanitary conditions, this plague was devastating for these people.  Most families had to move out of the Close.  Those who were not able to leave had to notify the neighborhood and the city when the plague infested their home by putting up a white flag in their window, quarantined.  Only the plague doctor could come into the house to give aid during the quarantine, all other needs or supplies were left at the doorstep of their home.

Around 1753, the government began to build over the Close to modernize the city.  They used the lower floors of the buildings in the Close for the foundation and built a new city above the old town.  The decision to close and cut off the old city has been the source of myths, mysteries and tales of even murder.  One such tale is about the plague; the local council decided to contain the plague by bricking in much of the Close with the plagued people inside, leaving them to die.  Therefore, the spirits of those who died haunt the Close.  BUT archaeological evidence has revealed that this is only a tale.

We toured the Mary King's Close.  This area was named after Mary King who was a woman who had several shops located in that area.  A tour guide controls the tour and photography is not allowed, because the Streets are directly under the Government's City Chambers.  The city wants to keep a tight leash on where people are allowed and what they can view.

This tour was great.  Our guide was dressed in appropriate 17th century clothing and had a lot of information to share with us about living in the Close; the shops, the housing, daily life, tragic stories, and the plague.  We even had a ghost story or two.  They have done a fantastic job in making sure the underground city represents what it once was back then; Clothes lines hanging up with clothes on them, furniture, fake animals, tools, sound effects, and so much more.  We loved it.

Photo of the Close (obtained from internet)

The Calton Hill

A volcanic rock base hill is located in central Edinburgh and is called; Calton Hill.  This hill has incredible panoramic views of the city.  But this hill is most noted for the historic monuments that have been built upon it.  The hill's landmarks are;  The National Monument, the Dugald Stewart Monument, Nelson's Monument, and the Robert Burns Monument.

A view of Calton hill with all the monuments

The Parthenon in Athens inspired the National Monument.  It was to be a historic monument to commemorate the Scottish soldiers who died during the Napoleonic Wars.  William Playfair and Charles Cockerell designed it.  In 1826 they began building this monument, but in 1829 the funds ran out and building was stopped.  Subsequent attempts to complete the monument have failed.  It was known as; 'Edinburgh's Disgrace', but we disagree.  This monument with only twelve columns is seen throughout the city.  It sits perfectly perched at the top of the hill in the perfect position to be viewed from all angles and areas of the city.  Amazing!

Nate and his brute force

Our boys taking a rest on the monument

Connor and Sam showing us a different angle of the monument

The Dugald Stewart Monument was built as a memorial to the Scottish philosopher Dugald Stewart.  He was known to be one of the greatest Scottish Enlightenment Thinkers and was a professor of Moral Philosophy at Edinburgh University.  His work is said to have influenced a great number of philosophers who followed him.  That is why they built the memorial.

In viewing the memorial we were thinking it was cool, but really nothing special.  The National Monument was where the kids wanted to hang out, climb, and check out the city's view.  They just walked passed this one asking why a guy had his "tomb" dates written on it.  As a matter of fact one of the kids thought it might have been his burial site.  Sorry Dugald, but the kids were not impressed....  LOL

The monument (online photo)

Dugald's with his birth and death inscribed on it

The Nelson Monument was built in memory of Admiral Lord Nelson, who died in the victorious battle of Trafalgar.  Reed and I have attended several functions that commemorate and celebrate the life and death of Admiral Lord Nelson.  Therefore, we are very aware of Admiral Lord Nelson and his heroic efforts to lead his fleet of men fearlessly into battle.  Lord Nelson began his time in the Navy at the age of 12 and began commanding his own fleet at the age of 20.  He lost his eye and arm in different wars, but continued to command victorious battles.  He was known, as a man who loved his country, was a humane leader, and a fearless man.  Lord Nelson defeated Napoleon's attempt to invade England, but was killed by a French sniper during the great naval Battle of Trafalgar.  This monument is shaped like an up-turned telescope with a viewing area at the top.  Unfortunately, we had missed the hours to enter into the monument to climb to the top.  It was still an incredible monument to view.

Our view of the Monument while walking up the hill

Beautiful picture provided online

Edinburgh had cemeteries throughout the city.  These old cemeteries were rich with history, contained interesting headstones, and had some interesting folklore.  One interesting story is about Greyfriar's Bobby.  John Gray worked for the city of Edinburgh as a police night watchman.  When Gray died he was buried in the Old Town of Edinburgh.  The bobby (his dog) is said to have sat by his grave for fourteen years, until he died.  The town used the story to promote the true meaning of loyalty and devotion for all who visited the area.  Others say this tale is folklore.  During the 19th century visitors at graveyards fed stray dogs, because they believed that the dogs were loyally waiting by the grave of their loved ones.  But the feeding of the animals actually caused the dogs to make the graveyards their homes.  The Bobby of Greyfriar made the local paper, which increased the graveyard's visitation numbers.  Therefore, the city found this story lucrative and continued promoting the story.  Some say they even replaced the old dog with a younger one to increase the longevity of the dog and the town's fame.  Whether the story is true or not, it is a pretty cool tale.  We loved checking out the old cemeteries and made sure to visit Greyfriar's graveyard.

The Bobby's headstone

Typical view of a cemetery 

Headstones on the wall of a cemetery...   So where are the people buried?

Watch where you step

This was a pretty interesting headstone/ monument at a cemetery,

It's Abraham Lincoln

Edinburgh was great.  We had so much fun learning the history of the town, walking around seeing the sites, and buying souvenirs.  The history there is so rich and dates back farther than any of the kids could imagine.   Edinburgh was definitely a wonderful city to visit!

Edinburgh, Scotland

Living abroad allows our family the ability to vacation in some unique places and at unique times.  The second Bayram, a Turkish Holiday that Reed's company follows, it is a week long holiday in October.  The boys decided that this year's Bayram vacation was a holiday in Scotland.  As a matter of fact, we were trying to decide between Ireland or Scotland when Sam said that it was definitely Scotland.  I asked him why and he said, "Because I love their accent."  Sam is just too funny.   I think the animation movie; "Brave" had some influence with his decision.  So, Scotland was their final decision.

Reed has been to Scotland for work related travels and loves the country.  There is a BAE plant in Glasgow, but during those work trips he traveled to several different cities throughout Scotland.  Edinburgh was a must, according to Reed. and the rest of our travels would be planned from that location. But where should we go and what should we see?  When researching Scotland we saw that there were many wonderful places to explore and then we found a small tour guide that had the right itinerary for our family.  The guide, Bruce, would take us all around the countryside of Scotland; Highlands, Glencoe, Glen Nevis, Fort William, Glenfinnan, Skye, Portree, Staffin, Loch Ness, Inverness and Culloden.  It sounded like a full, but fun itinerary so we reserved the time to tour with Bruce.

Traveling to Scotland was rather easy.  A couple of planes and a taxi ride and we were in Edinburgh, Scotland-  WOW!  Here are some interesting facts about Edinburgh; It is the capital of Scotland, it has a population of about half a million people, it is one of the best places to live in the United Kingdom, and it is the second most popular tourist destination in the UK.

Another interesting fact;  In 1603 King James VI succeeded to the English throne uniting the crowns of Scotland and England.  Since then there has been a unification of the two countries.  In 1706 the Acts of Union was passed by the parliament of England and Scotland further uniting the two countries.  Thus, the Parliament of England became the Parliament of Great Britain and Scotland is a part of the United Kingdom.  Many Scots throughout the ages has opposed this unification. Wars to free Scotland from England's grasp transpired with casualties for centuries.  This separation and independence issue has surfaced, again.  Scotland is turning to the people to vote whether or not to separate from England.  Who knows if the people of Scotland will find it in their best interest to vote for a separation of union, but it will be interesting to watch.

Edinburgh has some amazing sites to visit;  The Castle, Royal Mile, St Gile's Cathedral,  Mary Kings Close, and Calton Hill.  We only had a couple of days, so off we went;

The Castle;

One thousand years of history sits on the top of a volcanic rock formation and is known as; The Edinburgh Castle.  This castle has seen its share of wars, mostly between England and Scotland.  England and Scotland started their battles over this precious castle in 1296.  In that war, England seized the Castle from Scotland and controlled most of Scotland.  Scotland took the castle back in 1314, by scaling an exterior wall and forced the Brits out of the area.  Thus, regaining control of Scotland.  This volleying control of the castle and country went on for years between England and Scotland.  England usually was the predominate controller of the castle and country.  In 1706 England joined with Scotland in a unification to bring peace to the United Kingdom.  Since then, peace has reigned at the castle.

What did we think?  We thought this castle was really cool.  This castle has been amazingly restored and turned into a museum with displays and information telling about the castle, the history, and what life was like living centuries ago.  AND we have boys.  What boys don't like castle and castle history?  It was as if you put a shield and sword in their hand and told them to go pretend.  We had a great time walking around seeing the cannons, the armory, the prisons, the jails cells, and so much more.  What a marvelous castle.

The Castle 

A knight-  Cool

Sam will protect us-  He is on duty

Let us out of the dungeon!

Thank goodness no one was thrown in the stockade

Inside the castle and the different buildings

The Edinburgh Castle was a fun full day event.  We all had a blast walking around and taking in this wonderfully restored and preserved large castle.

The Royal Mile

The oldest street in Edinburgh is the Royal Mile.  This street connects the Edinburgh Castle with the Palace of Holyrood House.  Scottish and English kings, queens, and royalty have travelled to and fro between the Palace and the Castle; therefore, the street became the Royal Mile.

We loved the cobblestones and old buildings that lined up and down this street.  We ventured all around the royal mile checking out shops, restaurants, and unique sites.  We enjoyed the simplicity this street allowed for tourist and site seeing.

Nate and Connor 

A view of Royal Mile's building

The Street view

St Gile's Cathedral

Back in 1120, a Scottish royal family founded the church.  Records show that the church was rather small at that time.  Now, the Cathedral is amazing and enormous, because throughout the years additions were made, chapels were added, unique architectural features and stain glass windows were also added to what was once a small church.  

The name of St Gile;  St Gile was a 7th century hermit who was the patron saint of cripples.  According to legend, St Gile lived as a hermit in the forest.  A huntsman for a king was attempting to kill a female deer with his bow and arrow.  St Gile took the arrow in defense of the doe and later died from his wound.  Thus, he is the Patron Saint of cripples, beggars and lepers.

St Giles Cathedral

Stained glass window

Amazing details throughout the inside and outside of the church

It was a beautiful church.  We loved seeing the architecture of the building, the details given to statues, and the amazing stained glass windows.  It was a magnificent site to view!

We're not finished with Edinburgh, Scotland so stay tuned for the next Chapter of this wonderful city in this amazing Country.