During our time in Scotland we were on the lookout for the Highland Cattle, affectionately called Hairy Coos. After a few days we were excited to spot several of them in a field.
A Hairy Coo
They are unique creatures, with shaggy coats and long horns, and they originated in the Scottish Highlands. They are friendly and cute. One of them ate grass from my hand.
Such a friendly face!
Harry Coos are very popular on goods in the Scottish Highlands…from tins and magnets to coasters and towels and shopping bags…they are fun!
Of course we saw sheep…they seemed to be everywhere! Thousands of them…but I didn’t grow tired of seeing them…
They usually were in settings that were pastoral and calming.
Sheep sharing the path along Hadrian’s wall.
And I always like to see horses in a field…
Horses enjoying the sunshine…
And cattle…
Silhouettes of cattle in a field along Hadrian’s Wall.
We missed the peak season for the bright purple heather on the hillsides. I saw photos of heather in their prime season and it looked stunning…just like when we see the fall color peak in Minnesota.
Heather grows all over the hills and rocks.
But we did see a lot of heather past peak, and it was still pretty. The picturesque Scottish Highlands are a perfect backdrop for the muted colors of the heather.
More than the average colorful hydrangea’s in many places…blues and pinks and deep purples.
Deep purple and pink hydrangeas
Flower pots and window boxes are a bright spot when the weather is overcast and dreary, which they say is a lot of the time.
Colorful hanging flower baskets.
A flower box with a crown on top.
Rosebay willowherb was another wildflower that was in bloom.
Rosebay Willowherb in the forefront, along Loch Ness.
We also saw many rainbows during our time in Scotland. This full rainbow was taken on our last day, before we boarded our flight home.
Scotland bids us farewell with a beautiful rainbow.
There is a lot of history in Great Britain. Hadrian’s wall dates back to AD122! That’s old. But the oldest formations we saw, and touched, dated back to 200-400BC!
Dun Telve Broch
We drove over a very narrow mountain pass one morning to see brochs. The drive was harrowing, but it was scenic.
Scenic drive.
Our destination was two brochs. A broch is an Iron Age drystone hollow-walled structure found in Scotland. The origin of brochs is still subject to ongoing research. There seems to be questions as to if they were living quarters and/or were used primarily for defensive or offensive purposes.
400-200BC structures.
As we touched one of the stones, we thought about the stranger to us, who had touched that same stone over 2200 years ago.
We also marveled at the architecture of Scottish castles.
Edinburgh Castle.
Wide “streets’ and other buildings within Edinburgh Castle.
The first castle we toured was the Edinburgh Castle, which had a little city within its walls with living quarters, roads, a prison, and so much more, including a small chapel, St. Margaret’s, noted as the oldest building in Edinburgh (AD1130).
St. Margaret’s Chapel, is the oldest surviving building in Edinburgh. It is within the castle walls.
The second castle we saw was the Eilean Donan Castle, built in the 13th century. This castle has been fully restored and is used for special events. It is very visible, right off the road situated at the confluence of three sea lochs (lakes); Loch Duich, Loch Long and Loch Alsh. We enjoyed photographing the iconic castle, but did not go inside.
In addition to many large castles throughout Scottland, there are many smaller castles too.
A photo of a postcard of the Barcaldine Castle (in the sunshine).
My favorite was The Barcaldine, or Black Castle, built between 1591 and 1609… set on the shores of Loch Creran. It belonged to the Campbell family until 2009 when David Whitehead bought it and turned it into a luxury B&B. We stayed in the castle for two enchanting nights.
The entrance to the Barcaldine Castle. Down steps to the office (and dungeon), or up the spiral steps to the great room and guest rooms.
The woodwork in the great room was gorgeous. I looked up the definition of great room and found; “The concept of a great room hearkens back to the romanticized ideal of great halls and great chambers in medieval castles and mansions, which contained one large central room where everything happened.”
Part of the great room in the Barcaldine Castle.
And this was true of the Barcaldine Castle’s great room. We ate our breakfasts there in the mornings, and sat by the enormous wood-burning fireplace in the evenings.
The huge wood-burning fireplace in the Barcaldine Castle.
The walls were thick, and it had hidden passageways through secret doors in some wall panels. There was a dungeon, and ghost stories too.
The turret on the left was part of our room…
The turrets in our rooms were special. I loved stepping down two steps into the round space, sitting at the writing desk, peeking out the small windows, and writing in my journal.
I’m sitting in the turret off our room on the top floor in the castle.
We took a couple of ferries to get to the small Isle of Iona (three miles long, one mile wide) and saw an old Abbey. St. Columba came over from Ireland, in the AD500’s, to bring Christianity to Scotland and built a Celtic church and established a monastic community.
One of several ancient Celtic crosses on the Isle of Iona.
The original St. Columba buildings are no longer standing but there is an active, beautiful abbey today that was rebuilt in the 1800’s.
Cardhu Country House
Also worth mentioning is the Cardhu Country House. It was built in 1868. A lovely country B&B where we stayed near Aberlour. It was charming and well-appointed, and another great experience with Scottish hospitality.
After completing our planned hike along Hadrian’s Wall, we left northern England and took a train to Scotland to start our driving adventure there…driving on the wrong…I mean opposite…side of the road. Gary and Dave took turns driving.
A picture of the very narrow roads…
The guys said it is much easier to drive in the countryside than in the city, although the very narrow roads in the country could be nerve-wracking. The busy streets and round-abouts in the cities were challenging.
Edinburgh Castle.
We spent the first day in one of two major cities in Scotland: Edinburgh. We toured Edinburgh Castle, the Royal Botanical Gardens, Water of Leith walkway, and ate dinner in The Old Bell Inn, a pub in Edinburgh.
St. Margaret’s Chapel. This holy place is the oldest surviving building in Edinburgh. Built in about AD1130, it is within the castle walls.
Beautiful flowers at The Old Bell Inn.
The remainder of our days we toured and explored the Scottish Highlands. They are stunning.
Loch Ness.
We drove through Cairngorm’s National Park, and alongside Loch Ness, looking for Nessie –we’re pretty sure we spotted her.
We saw Nessie…(upper right)
We stopped to walk along the North Sea, and went to the Culloden Battlefield. We hiked a “hill climb” up the Devil’s Staircase on the West Highland Way trail system in the stunning Glencoe Valley.
At the top of the Devil’s Staircase hill climb.
Glencoe Valley in the highlands.
Scottish Highlands
We toured the Isles of Skye, Mull and Iona, saw very old brochs, castles and abbey’s (a different post coming), and rode over the Glenfinnan Viaduct on a steam train.
The Jacobite Steam Train, aka Hogwart’s Express.
In Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets, the second movie in the Harry Potter movie series, there is a famous scene that involves the Jacobite steam engine train, aka Hogwart’s Express, going over the picturesque viaduct at Glenfinnan.
Gary took this photo of our train going over the Glenfinnan Viaduct….the scene in a Harry Potter movie.
The Glenfinnan Viaduct is a twenty-one-arched concrete bridge built in the 1890’s. (A viaduct, by definition, is a type of long bridge, usually supported by a series of arches.)
Ready to ride the Hogwart’s Express.
Sue and I enjoyed riding on the Jacobite steam train, while the guys drove to the small town of Mallaig, a northwestern coastal town on the North Sea, and met us there. On their way to Mallaig, they parked the car and walked through a field, along with many others, to take a photo of our train passing over the famous Glenfinnan Viaduct. It was a memorable ride.
Kilt Rock.
We spent our last night in the other major city in Scotland; Glasgow where we would fly out the next morning.
The Citizen, a restaurant in Glasgow.
In Glasgow, we saw a bit of the city, in the rain, on our walk to our “last evening celebration dinner” in a lovely restaurant called “The Citizen” where we revisited all aspects of our time together. And it was time to say good-bye.
