The Highlands

Our first stop in the Highlands was Inverness, 160ish miles NW of Edinburgh. On the way we stopped at Blair Castle, took a short hike at The Hermitage, dined at the Old Mill in Blair Athol and tasted whiskey at Robertsons of Pitlochry. We had had a lovely partially sunny day til then. When we left the Tasting Room however, it was pouring rain. 10 miles away we were back to the sun.

The Hermitage was originally designed as a pleasure ground in the 18C for the Dukes of Atholl It is still a tranquil and picturesque woodland walk through the Riverside national forest with towering Douglas firs. We were rewarded with views of the Black KInn Falls and a colorful Hairy Coo (local long-haired cow, pronounced with a Scottish accent.)

Blair Castle is an impressive castle dating from 1269 with lavish rooms housing antiques, art and armor.

Pitlochry is a Victorian resort town where we stopped for lunch (a burger for Bill and lamb steak for Pat) before sampling the local whiskey.

We are not big whiskey drinkers, in fact Pat has been a whiskey resister, but we decided we should check it out in one of it's noted homes. Good decision. 

We got settled into our apartment in Inverness and after a night's rest headed out for Eilean Donan Castle. Along the way we stopped for photos of Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness and a real Hairy Coo. Eilean Donan Castle sits on an Island in a key defensive position at the intersection of three Lochs. Note: Loch is a Scottish or Irish name for a freshwater lake or saltwater bay.

We stopped for lunch at a local spot, the Kishorn Seafood Bar, with a great selection of fish and shellfish.

We continued on our trek around the Applecross Peninsula (sunny weather would have made it more spectacular) and on our return to Inverness stopped for a short walk along a stream where Bill managed a shot of a Salmon in mid-flight on its way upstream.

The next day we explored Inverness on a walk along the river to the Botanic Gardens. We loved the very tall plants. Checkout the photos of Bill with buddleia (Butterfly Plant) and a thistle towering over him. (Note: While Scotland is around 55 degrees north latitude, it gets the benefits from the warmth of the Gulf Stream (with winter temperatures rarely hitting freezing) allowing plant-life to be more perennial than annual.

Later we enjoyed a fine dinner at a local restaurant, Rocpool.

We captured another Hairy Coo during a rainy morning on our way to the Isle of Skye. After lunch we found a little sun and some quite spectacular scenery including colorful houses in Portree.

We thought the deer crossing signs were worth a photo along with another Hairy Coo on our way to Oban. Would you do your laundry in parking lot? Maybe if you were backpacking. Canal traffic headed to the locks between Loch Ness and Caledonian Canal in Fort Augustus. We stopped at the Commando Memorial "In memory of the officers and men of the commandos who died in the Second World War 1939–1945". We appreciate the compass-like pointer to key landmarks including Ben Nevis, tallest mountain in Scotland (4406 feet, 1345 meters), 

Oban is a harbor town with lots of seafood restaurants and shops. We ventured out on a damp day to visit McCaig's Tower, a fortress masquerading as an amphitheater, overlooking the town. On our return we passed by a artist's studio with the "boots in garden" display. Note: the complementary whiskey in our room was very nice (quite palatable even for Pat). 

The Clipper Race, known as the toughest endurance challenge on the planet, was on a stop in Oban (first time in its 27-year history) while we were there. Challenging? The race comprises a series of legs, covering more than 40,000 nautical miles through some of the world's roughest seas.

The following day was dedicated to a trip to the Islands of Mull and Iona. We spent most of the time traveling to and from and exploring Iona. Iona is a holy place and basically the birthplace of Christianity in Scotland. St Columba and 12 companions arrived here from Ireland in 563AD. We visited the monastery they founded, one of the most important and influential in the British Isles.

That evening we dined at the Waterfront Fish House restaurant enjoying smoked salmon pate, lobster, halibut and Viognier. This was followed by sticky toffee pudding with Torreon de Paredes sweet Raquel (Gewurztraminer Dessert Wine from Chile) for Pat and a whiskey for Bill. Later, at 9:47pm we viewed the gorgeous sunset. Keep in mind this is July 21, a month after the summer solstice with the days getting shorter.

On our way to Glasgow we stopped in Inveraray for a quick look around the town and nearby Inveraray Castle. There was some interesting architecture in the town and Pat posed with a whiskey waiter. At the castle there was another Hairy Coo, this time in black. Continuing on toward Glasgow we found another derelict castle and a couple of sheep posing in a field.

We had another seafood lunch along Loch Lomond before our arrival at the Aparthotel Adagio, our "home" in Glasgow.