On the way to Dunkeld with passed by the town of Birnam, which may not mean much to you, but perhaps the name Beatrix Potter does. It was from this area that she got the inspiration for many of her characters and books, most notably, The Tale of Peter the Rabbit. Apparently, in Dunkeld, she became friends with a known naturalist, Charles McIntosh, and would go on excursions with him in the forest around Birnam which helped inspire many of her stories. |
| Statue in Dunkeld |
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| Main Street in Dunkeld |
Not much longer later we arrived in Dunkeld. To our glee there was a bank. To our dismay, it was closed due to technical difficulties.
As we continued on, we learned that most of the Highland clans had private armies, and we passed through the Cairngorms National Park. In Gaelic it means Blue Hills. Honestly, I wasn't paying too much attention because I was more worried about paying for the hotel for two nights at this point, but we had some beautiful scenery, so here are some of the views we had out of our little, bumpy van window.
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| Just another bus driver in a kilt. I was creeping out the window. |
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| You can see some of the Heather that covered the hills. |
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| Cairngorms National Park. You can see how it got its Blue Hills name. |
The next place we passed was the Dalwhinnie Distillery. I'm not really interested in distilleries, but maybe you are. It's still active today and are most known for producing a single malt whisky.
As we drove along, we passed by a series of lochs. I learned that there is a slight difference in how the word loch is defined. In English we just translate loch as lake. But technically, we define a lake as a large body of water in a basin surrounded by land except for perhaps a river or stream. A loch is a large body of water that feeds into a sea. At least that is what I was told. Don't argue. We also passed by a series of lochs, one of which is Loch Lomond.
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| Loch Lomond (24mi long, up to 5mi wide, up to 121ft deep) |
We slowly made it to our lunch stop in Pitlochry. It was a cute little Victorian town, but it was also very cold and rainy, so I didn't get a good look around. I did however want some of their carrot and parsnip soup, however, the person two people in front of me in line got the last bowl. Like the money situation, I was not surprised. Not today, Kathleen. Not today.
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| This is Irn Bru (Iron-Brew).Apparently the Coca Cola of Scotland. Basically, sugar water dyed orange. |
After our brief lunch break, we hopped back in our white van and our driver Brian drove us on up farther into the Highlands.
After the beginning of the stories of Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Jacobite Rebellion, we had a pit stop at Loch Laggan, which is probably best know for being the background for the popular TV series in the early 2000s, 'Monarch of the Glen'. Since I'm a devoted watcher of BBC series, I will probably start watching it now.
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| Loch Laggan |
There was a dam on the loch and and important reservoir, but we were bumping along and I wasn't able to get a good picture of it through the window. But I suppose that's what Google is for if you are truly interested.
As we continued north, we also passed by Loch Garry and the Great Glen. And several other lochs, Loch Lochy, Loch Oich and Loch Ness. The Great Glen is the main travel route through the Highlands. It's basically a series of glens along a fault line from Fort William in the west, to Inverness in the east.
I couldn't tell you which loch is which because they all look the same to me and by this point lunch was settling and the rhythmic bumpiness of being in the back of the van was putting me to sleep. But here are some photos of the various lochs.
This is also when Brian out tour guide started getting into the history of the Jacobite Rebellion and Bonnie Prince Charlie. I'm sorry to say I was falling asleep, but I did start to take notes after our next stop. So, I will get to that story shortly.
Again, most of these were taken through a window that I was desperately wiping down with my sleeve because the warm air of the van and of people sleeping were beginning to fog them up.
*Wipe wipe wipe, steady the camera, snap the photo. And repeat.
Our next stop was the Eilean Donan castle. Probably one of the most famous castles in Scotland. Best known for being the castle in Highlander. I have to admit...I tried to watch Highlander...but I got about 20 minutes into it and had to stop. I know that it's an awesome movie, but Hollywood has ruined me. I couldn't handle the 80s cheese of it. The castle though, is not cheesy.
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| Eilean Donan means 'island of Donnan' .It was named after Donnan of Eigg, a Celtic Saint, who was martyred in 617. Apparently he established a church on the island. |
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| Loch Duich |
I'm probably lucky I didn't slip and fall.
Kerri looking fabulously matchy matchy. Too bad that with the wind in Scotland her umbrella didn't even last 24 hrs.
We weren't allowed to take photos inside. So you get a lot of outside. The place is still occupied by a family.
I am sorry to say we disappointed our tour guide Brian. As we were pulling away he asked the group of us, about 15 people, who the castle was destroyed by. Silence... We had just spent an hour there and nobody could answer. He goes, "well, you didn't really spend your time wisely then." I was ashamed, hence, I started taking notes. Can't let Brian down!
With a disappointed tour guide, we bounced along the terribly paved Highland roads. I realized how lucky the Germans were with their smooth roads. And finally crossed the bridge to the Isle of Skye.
Here's where the story of Bonnie Prince Charlie gets started for me. My notes are a little sketchy and have some holes in the, so if some info is wrong, then well, it's wrong. Basically in 1746 was the last battle between the two regular British and Highland armies on British soil near Inverness. Bonnie Prince Charlie (to the left) was leading the battle and lost. So he had to flee back to the Highlands. Luckily he found a savior in a woman named Flora MacDonald (to the right). She helped him flee to the Isle of Skye by disguising him as a maid. There's now a bridge linking the Isle of Skye to the mainland, but back when Bonnie Prince Charlie was escaping, they would of had to go by ferry, and in the distance of the photo above, you can where the ferry crossed.
As we came onto the Isle of Skye, one of our first sites was the Cuillin Mountains. I'll put some pictures up here but I'll show you more on my post in Day 3. Essentially there are the Red Cuillin and the Black Cuillin, or in Kerri's words, Morder. The Black Cuillin really are quite ominous. Their names naturally come from their color. The Red Cuillin and red and the Black are black. What's interesting is that they are two totally different ranges right next tot each other. Whatever is in the Black Cuillin is magnetic, so if you wanted to go hiking, don't bring a compass. Bring a guide who knows the way around.
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| Red Cuillin |
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| Black Cuillin |
We bumped along until we finally reached Portree, the capital of the Isle of Skye. It has about 2,000 inhabitants.
There is a pub on the Isle of Skye called Macnabs, which is the last place where Bonnie Prince Charlie and Flora Macdonald did business before he made his escape to France and then onto Italy. |
| This is an Isle of Skye beer. It tasted like warm melted bread. I would not recommend it. Perhaps Bonnie Prince Charlie was fleeing Scotland for more than escaping the British... |
At our hotel in Portree, they had these creepy children-like dolls in the stairwell. Occasionally, they would move.
And that concludes day one. I'll give you a little more background on Flora MacDonald in my Day 2 adventures. She actually has quite a place of honor in Scottish history. And the bank was closed by the time we got to Portree. No money today.
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