The spectacular views of Edinburgh Castle. We even saw the original crown jewels that Mary Queen of Scots wore! (they don't let you take photos of those)
Day one saw us travelling up the east side of the island, learning a bit about the history of the Highlanders and stopping in at Loch Ness (no sign of our amphibious friend) before arriving in Inverness, the capital of the Highlands, for the evening.
Loch Ness
In Inverness we trundled down to the pub for some drinks where a group of locals were playing piano accordions and fiddles two tables away from us, a nice welcome for us weary travellers. We crawled back to our hostel with sleepy heads (probably a little to early, but I am still on jetlag induced 4:30am wakeups at the moment – its driving me nuts!), put our heads on the pillow, then were rudely awakened by the fire alarm – a real one – which meant that we were evacuated and out on the cold, wet Inverness street in our pyjamas at midnight. Awesome.
Today we got a bit outdoorsy, visiting the Balnuaran of Clava (a prehistoric cemetery), the Culloden Battlefield (where the Highlanders fought the British in 1746 and were devastatingly beaten), and a forest walk that included a visit to a Clootie Well and some amazing falls which we viewed from a suspension bridge. The Clootie Well is an interesting place, the superstition behind it is that the water in the well is magical, and if you have a friend or family member who is in need of a blessing you take something fabric from their house (e.g. a sock, an old shirt), wash it in the well, wring it out and tie it to the tree. This will send that person good luck.
Balnuaran of Clava
Culloden Battlefield
Sam at the falls
Tonight we are at the Isle of Skye and I am will be having fresh fish and chips for dinner at the pub two doors down. Sweet.
Sweet cannon. Speaking of Haggis, have you tried any yet?
ReplyDeleteYeah, haggis is awesome. Tastes just like a pepper steak pie. Yum!
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