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.
(I’m still saddened by the news about the vandalism that felled Sycamore Gap’s 300-year-old iconic tree…but it’s time to take up the old British adage, “keep calm and carry on“.)
After traveling 24 hours on two planes, a bus, and a train, we finally reached our destination to Carlisle, England. The last leg of this long day was walking several blocks, pulling our suitcases, to the place where we had reservations for our first night in England.
The train station in Glasgow, Scotland. (We flew into Glasgow, Scotland and took a train to England for our hiking expedition.)
We were delighted to come upon our charming B&B, situated on a corner with vibrant and overflowing window boxes, and a welcoming front door. We could finally relax.
We were happy to finally arrive at Warwick Lodge B&B.
The innkeeper, Caron, showed us to our lovely rooms, decorated with antiques and all the luxuries to make our overnight stay comfortable. As I looked around the room I innocently, but seriously, asked her to tell me about the old confessional in our room. She looked at me quizzically and then burst out laughing – a genuine laugh! It was not a confessional, but a large armoire (a wardrobe…our thoughts turned to Narnia). And then we all had a good belly laugh. Unfortunately (and I can’t believe it), I did not take a picture of this armoire that looked very much like a confessional!
Beautiful, overflowing, vibrant flower pots and baskets at the Warwick Lodge B&B, Carlisle England.
I doubt she’ll forget us, and I’ll bet she will giggle every time she shows her future guests this room with the confessional!
A passing hiker (from Minnesota!) took a photo of the four of us on Hadrian’s Path.
Then there was Les…a colorful character…the innkeeper at the Old Repeater Station. He may forget us, but we will not forget him.
The Old Repeater Station B&B. A repeater station was involved with telecommunications of some sort.
It was late afternoon on our third day of hiking when we turned off the trail for the last mile of our day’s journey to an inn standing alone in the English countryside. When we arrived, we walked through the front door and called out hello. We were met with a hardy greeting by Les, the innkeeper, who was sipping scotch with a friend – and he continued sipping scotch into the evening.
Through the gate to the front door of the inn.
Les was gregarious, playful, humorous, and a bit tipsy. We affectionately called him…the drunken innkeeper. He made our stay interesting and did provide everything we needed. We knew we were going to be settled in this inn for the remainder of the evening, since there was nowhere else to go! We had pre-ordered dinner and Les dutifully cooked our dinners in his kitchen, by himself, and my salmon was delicious. There was another couple from England staying at the inn with us, and we all enjoyed each other’s company that evening.
Les was up early the next morning to make us our breakfasts that we had ordered the night before. After we checked out, he showed us a shortcut back to the Hadrian’s Wall path and bid us farewell. We enjoyed our stay at the Old Repeater Station.
These two innkeepers…Caron and Les… kept coming up in our conversations for the rest of our time in Scotland. What fun!
The Sycamore Gap tree along Hadrin’s Wall… September 8, 2023.
This 300-year-old majestic and gorgeous tree that I wrote about yesterday, was cut down by vandals overnight. Unbelievable. Who would do that? It is so incredibly sad.
I didn’t know much about Hadrian’s Wall when we chose to hike it. I loved the idea of hiking from inn to inn, and I’ve enjoyed seeing pictures of England’s countryside, so why not there? We hiked a thirty-four mile section of the Hadrian‘s Wall Path, which is an eighty-four mile coast-to-coast trail in northern England.
It was interesting to learn about this path that follows the course of an ancient Roman fortification wall. The construction of the Roman wall began in AD122 under the orders of Roman Emperor Hadrian. It was considered both a defensive barrier and a marker of the northern reaches of the Roman empire.
The original wall was 20 feet high and 10 feet wide. At each one-mile interval they had stone structures called milecastles which housed 32 soldiers.
Evenly spaced between the milecastles were two stone observation posts called turrets. Additionally, the Romans had built numerous forts in proximity to the wall.
Back in its day, there was a garrison of around 20,000 soldiers from across the empire at Hadrian’s Wall. After three centuries the Romans left, and many stones were pilfered to be used to build stone fences, and stone houses, by the local people.
John Clayton, in the 19th century, spent 50 years excavating Chesters Roman Fort and many other Hadrian’s Wall sites and is credited for saving Hadrian’s Wall. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There is a museum along the way, next to Chesters Roman Fort, with amazing artifacts that John Clayton excavated and collected. It was fascinating.
Today, the stone wall is intact in several places, up to 20 feet high, but then only a remnant stone, or nothing visible, in other places. Foundations and remnants of forts, milecastles and civil settlements were enroute with spectacular English country landscapes as the backdrop.
We hiked mostly in open countryside, although there were trees in the periphery… in the farm pastures and beyond.
One lone sycamore tree at the bottom of a gap along the Wall is very picturesque, and been seen in several movies apparently – one being Robin Hood. If you hike along the Wall path, it takes you down the gap to the tree, and then you walk back up the other side. The tree is stately and magnificent (and 300 years old!) The area is known as “Sycamore Gap”.
There was a small portion of the trail that goes through a wooded area…a fairy forest we called it.
And there was a copse of trees with protruding roots that provided a perfect place for us to sit and eat lunch one day.
Beauty surrounded us on our hike, and we were grateful for the opportunity to walk this Walk through this amazing setting.
We saw thousands of sheep on our recent trip to Great Britain.
Sheep, sheep…I took lots of photos of sheep!
Thousands.
Pastoral setting…sheep, and trees, and green pasture, and blue sky, and Hadrian’s Wall…
I’m thankful they were sheep and not goats. I like sheep – goats, not so much.
Sheep are everywhere.
Not only were the sheep in fields along the highways and byways, but we walked right next to them in their pastures as we hiked along Hadrian’s Wall in northern England. The sheep didn’t seem to mind us hikers. They tolerated our presence and our antics towards them.
Docile sheep looking at my fellow travelers.
But the sheep also didn’t care about where they did their business as we had to carefully (and constantly) step around all the sheep droppings. They chewed their cuds as they watched us make our way through all their poo, maybe with smiles on their faces. I still think they’re cute.
The four of us at the beginning of our hiking adventure.
Our first steps on the first morning – walking on the road to get to the trail.
Sheep on one side, Wall on the other, expansive views of beautiful English landscapes surround us.
Only two times did we miscalculate our steps, and needed to stop and clean out poop from the cervices of our hiking boots.
We went through many gates…
And climbed over many stiles.
Climbing over a stile.
Through the gate.
There were also stone steps in a few places.
We were prepared for what is typical Scottish weather, cool and rainy, on our four-day trek along Hadrian’s Wall. Instead, we had unusually warm, humid and sunny weather. Although we were hot and sweaty as we hiked, it was preferred to the cold and rain.
The white acorn was the trail marker for Hadrian’s Wall.
The terrain was more rugged than we anticipated, but it also made for interesting scenery and amazing vistas. We walked a total of 34 miles in four days. We were hiking from inn to inn.
Hadrian’s Wall…following it up and down…
A section of Hadrian’s Wall.
At the end of the day, we hiked off road to an inn where there were rooms reserved for us, and our luggage was waiting for us.
The Battlesteads B&B…located in an International DarkSky Place.
As we hiked, we only had to carry our backpacks with water, our lunch and a rain jacket (which we didn’t need).
The Greenhead.
All the inns provided for our needs of a place to sleep, dinner options, breakfast the next morning, and packed lunches for the trail.
Twice Brewed Inn, in the town of Once Brewed! Love the names!
Pastoral scenes, beautiful and expansive vistas, Hadrian’s wall, sheep, various cattle, personal and lively conversations, and occasional fellow pilgrims on the trail provided our entertainment.
Walking along the trail…sometimes we could see Hadrian’s Wall, sometimes not. It’s old. It was built in 122 AD, by the Romans in Britain, as a former defensive fortification, during the reign of the Roman Emperor Hadrian.
And we had a marvelous time!
We sometimes had to watch out for cow pies too!
This cow watched as we walked off trail, by a farm, on our way to an inn for the night.
In 2004, 2005, and 2008 I was in the Ukraine on three separate mission trips. Each time we went to Cherkasy, a city south of the capital, Kiev. We conducted English Language Camps at the House of Gospel church.
Maria and Vladimir, 2004.
My host family was a lovely couple that opened their home to my friend, Kay, and I. More host families from their church took in the other members on our team. But each year, Kay and I stayed together with this same family. Our home stays were about 7-8 days…enough time to build relationships.
Valerie, Kay, Maria, 2004 in Ukraine.
Valerie, Maria, Kay, 2023, in Minnesota, USA.
This couple and their son, who was living at home at the time, were gracious and loving and took good care of us. The English Language Camps were held at their church. The camps were promoted for kids ages 15-20. We used Bible stories as our resource. There were eight group leaders. We each had interpreters with our small groups of 8-10 kids. The kids were excited to practice their English language skills on native speakers. Many kids attended (~90) and many kids had never been to church. It was rewarding.
The table decorations for the pot luck reception at Emmaus Church: Sunflowers, Ukraine’s national flower.
After our first trip in 2004, our church started supporting our host family’s daughter and her husband, who are missionaries in Odesa, a city in the southern part of the Ukraine. Every few years the missionaries, Caleb and Christina, come to our church to give an update and thank Emmaus for our support. This year they brought along Christina’s parents, our hosts from those trips many years ago.
It was such a privilege and joy to have them stay in our home. I never thought I’d see them in Minnesota! It was great to visit with them and get an update on the current situation in Ukraine, and to just bond with them and strengthen our relationship. We had a delightful time together.
Maria and Valerie, 2023.
Sometimes I’m amazed when I think about having friends and family that I know and love in other places in this world. For me, those places include Norway, Ukraine, Mozambique and Japan. What an honor and blessing.
This year’s summer solstice officially began on Wednesday, June 21, 2023 – it’s the shortest night of the year. The night before, Tuesday, June 20th, the sun set at 9:14 pm in Crosslake Minnesota, with lingering twilight until 10 pm.
Near Crosslake Minnesota – 10 pm on 6/20/23.
I decided I would drive up my friend’s cabin near Crosslake Minnesota after a fun visit with our son and his family Tuesday night. I left the south metro about 8 pm.
Driving by myself, up north, at night, I reasoned; 1- I was excited to get up there so I could sleep on the porch and wake up by the lake on Wednesday, 2- I have a reliable vehicle, 3- my friend was expecting me so if anything happened, she’d be concerned (she was sound asleep when I got there!!!), and 4- the sun set late so there was more light than usual that evening.
Looking out on Lake Mille Lacs – 9:30 pm on 6/20/23.
Since the shortest night of the year was the next evening, I expected it to stay light late but, little did I know I’d have twilight for almost 45 minutes after sunset. Only the last half hour did I drive in the dark. Of course, that was when I was making many turns on back roads to get to her cabin, but I made it, and I felt good!
A large family of Canadian Geese.
Nature abounds up north. Of course, there is always deer, and I saw several including a mama and young doe. We heard many loons the first night – we thought there was a convention right off her dock. We laid in our beds listening to their distinctive calls. We saw 20+ goslings swimming in a row between Mr. & Mrs. Canadian Geese – that is one large family. We saw the resident eagle fly by several times, and we heard (!) 4 racoons under the porch where we slept. They woke us up each night. The first two nights we didn’t know what kind of animal was under there…it’s not a good place for animals to be. Finally, my friend saw the culprits outside the cabin at 4:30 in the morning of the third night…a mama raccoon and her three babies. That’s a problem that needs to be solved…
Me on a jet ski, on Daggett Lake in 2014.
We enjoyed sunny, warm and comfortable weather, by the lake. We did take out the jet skis one afternoon. We sometimes forget we are in our 70’s! But, we did well (after calling her 10-year-old-granddaughter to remind us how to start them!) We trolled along the shore to look at the cabins, then took a couple speed rides across Daggett Lake.
It’s amazing to see all the cabins, all the docks, all the boat lifts with boats in them, on this one not-so-large lake, and then multiple it by 15,000 lakes in Minnesota. Whew! That’s a lot of recreation.
My drive home was not as exciting as my drive up, but I am grateful for the time we had up north, and for a different way of experiencing the summer solstice.
I received a gift in the mail the other day. A 2024 Collector’s calendar: Norway, Visions and Verse of Vikingland…41st edition.
Rosemaling is a significant feature on these calendars.
And the reason I was given this calendar is because one of the photos I took while visiting Norway last summer was chosen to be in the calendar.
My photo was used for the month of Juli.
This is the photo I submitted.
It was fun looking through each month to see all the lovely pictures of this amazingly beautiful country, and finding one of my own, taken on the Island of Stord.
It was fun to see my name in the credits too.
The back of the calendar has a snapshot of all 12 photos in the calendar.
