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  • Darren and JanetScotland, Faroes, Romania 2024
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    Day 16

    Orkney

    May 21 in Scotland ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    After sailing all night, we were woken at 7am to the sound of an Arctic Tern over the ships PA system. We were a few hours south of the Orkney Islands, so had time for a leisurely breakfast before docking.

    First event of the day was a briefing about the day's activities, followed by a presentation about Artic sea birds we are likely to see. The expedition staff consists of an historian, botanist, ornithologist, geologist, marine biologist and wildlife photographer, so we'll have lectures on a variety of subjects during our sailing days. The ship isn't quite full, with 87 passengers (capacity is 114) and 84 staff and crew, so almost a 1:1 ratio.

    Our arrival port is the capital Kirkwall, on the largest island, Mainland. The Orkney's are made up of 70 islands, with only 14 inhabited. Kirkwall has 10,000 residents and a cathedral, so is classed as a city.

    We were scheduled to leave on the last bus, so we had time for a walk around the city, and some caching, before our tour.

    We drove across to the west coast to Skara Brae, a stone built Neolithic settlement, older than Stonehenge and the Great Pryamids. It was only uncovered in 1850, so is very well preserved.

    On the way back to Kirkwall we stopped at the Ring of Brodgar, a large standing stone circle, like Stonehenge. It originally contained 60 stones, but only 27 are still standing.

    Dinner was back onboard the ship, due to set sail at 11pm tonight.    Read more

  • Darren and JanetScotland, Faroes, Romania 2024
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    Day 15

    Sunshine on Leith

    May 20 in Scotland ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    We have most of the day in Edinburgh, before boarding our ship late afternoon at Leith, the port area of Edinburgh.

    We began with a city tour of Edinburgh, first touring the new town (not particularly new, it was planned in 1776 to relieve overcrowding in the old town), and finishing up in the old town.

    The old town is best explored by foot, and having seen much of the area along the Royal Mile yesterday, we chose to visit the National Museum of Scotland, and had lunch in the cafe there.

    At 12.45pm we visited Edinburgh Castle, just in time for the 1 o'clock gun to go off. It's been fired 6 days a week since 1861, initially so ships in Leith harbour could set their clocks by it, but now mainly for the tourists. Edinburgh Castle has 360 degree views over the city and is the city's premier tourist attraction, with tickets often sold out far in advance.

    At 4pm we made our way to the ship, leaving port at 6.30pm, headed north...    Read more

  • Darren and JanetScotland, Faroes, Romania 2024
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    Day 14

    Lallybroch and Edinburgh

    May 19 in Scotland ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Final day of the car hire today, and we have a short drive into Edinburgh.

    On the way we visited Midhope Castle, better known to Outlander fans as Lallybroch. The interior of the house is derelict and can't be accessed, but they're raising plenty of funds for restoration by charging £7.50 view it from the outside.

    We drove into the city centre to drop our bags at our hotel, before heading back out to the suburbs to drop the hire car off.

    We caught the tram back into town and had a walk through Princes Street Gardens, then wandered back to our hotel to check in.

    We enjoyed another walk late afternoon, and the streets were even more crowded than earlier, mostly with tourists. Our route took us along the Royal Mile and past Edinburgh Castle, before returning to our hotel for a welcome dinner before starting our cruise tomorrow.    Read more

  • Darren and JanetScotland, Faroes, Romania 2024
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    Day 13

    Fife Coast Road

    May 18 in Scotland ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    We only had 80km to travel today, so took the scenic route via the Fife Coast Road.

    First stop was St Andrews, the home of golf. It's remarkably open and easy to access the famous Old Course, even allowing spectators to walk across the 18th fairway between groups. It's open to the public to play a round, but can't be booked - players must enter a lottery, and pay the green fee if they are successful - currently £320 ($600) 😮

    The rest of the coast road was unremarkable, passing through many villages, but with very few views of the coast, so we didn't make any stops until Aberdour, our destination for the night.

    We walked around town in bright sunshine, stopping for ice-cream in the main street. We visited St Fillans Church (built in the 1100's), who claim that Robert the Bruce, who was a leper, visited the church to give thanks after the Battle of Bannockburn. He did so through the leper squint, a vertical slot cut into the outside wall to allow lepers to see the service without mixing with the rest of the congregation.

    Next door is Aberdour Castle, thought to be the oldest standing castle in Scotland (also built in the 1100's). The west side of the castle is ruined, but the east side is remarkably intact.

    After checking into our hotel, our late afternoon drive took us to St Bridget's Church, a ruined medieval church with views across the bay to Edinburgh, then onto Silver Sands, the most popular swimming beach in town.    Read more

  • Darren and JanetScotland, Faroes, Romania 2024
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    Day 12

    Ell of a good time

    May 17 in Scotland ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    We farewelled Pitlochry at our usual time of 9am, meandering south for the next few days, back towards Edinburgh.

    First stop was Dunkeld, one of the most complete 18th-century towns in Scotland, having been almost entirely rebuilt after most of the original town was destroyed during the Battle of Dunkeld in 1689.

    We did a cache-guided walking tour of the town, visiting the cathedral, riverfront and market square. Close to the market square is the Ell Shop (1757), which has an ell-stick attached to one corner, once used to measure cloth and other commodities in the marketplace. An ell is a now obsolete unit of measure which was mainly used in the tailoring business, and was originally the distance from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger. To standardise it, Edward I of England required that every town have one official ell-stick, and Dunkeld's is still on display.
    (the word ell literally means "arm", and survives in the form of the word "elbow" (arm-bend)).

    Lunch was in a cafe in the village of Spittalfield, before continuing on to Dundee for the night.

    We drove up to the highest point of the city, known as Dundee Law. (law is Scottish for hill). It has a large war memorial at it's peak and provides panoramic 360 degree views of the city and waterfront.    Read more

  • Darren and JanetScotland, Faroes, Romania 2024
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    Day 11

    To Pitlochry

    May 16 in Scotland ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    We departed Fort William after a visit to the supermarket and a couple of caches, on the road to Pitlochry for the night.

    Our first stop was Spean Bridge, and the Commando Memorial. It was a popular stop for the tour buses, and had the obligatory busking bagpiper setting the mood.

    Next stop was Cille Choirill, a 15th-century Roman Catholic church situated in Roy Bridge, a picturesque setting on the side of a hill overlooking Glen Spean.

    We stopped for lunch at the local pub and were the only patrons in the bar.

    We arrived in Pitlochry around 3pm, checked into our hotel and walked down the hill into town to visit the dam and fish ladder.

    The fish ladder is a series of 34 pools over 310 metres which allow the salmon to travel upstream during breeding season, bypassing the dam.

    Dinner was at a local cafe, before the walk back to our hotel.    Read more

  • Darren and JanetScotland, Faroes, Romania 2024
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    Day 10

    Walking Wednesday

    May 15 in Scotland ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    Back to sunny days with 24 degrees forecast, so it's shorts out again!

    We had a full day around Fort William, so we began with a walk along a section of the West Highland Way, a 96 mile walking trail from Glasgow to Fort William. The section we walked was along the Old Military Road and was the site of the Battle of Inverlochy (1645), one of the many battles between Highlanders and Royalist troops.

    We headed back into town for lunch in the High Street (soup and a Scotch pie, while watching a busking bagpiper). We visited the West Highland Museum and browsed the shops, before heading towards Glen Nevis for the afternoon.

    Glen Nevis is a valley near Ben Nevis (the highest mountain in the UK), and the most popular walking track is along the gorge to Steall Waterfall, the second tallest waterfall in the UK at 120 metres. It's a 3.5 km walk along uneven terrain, so took us an hour to walk in, and about 45 minutes out, with a steady stream of walkers going in both directions.    Read more

  • Darren and JanetScotland, Faroes, Romania 2024
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    Day 9

    Mull to Fort William

    May 14 in Scotland ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    Our final morning on Mull, after grabbing a couple of caches we caught the ferry from Fishnish to Lochaline. This ferry has no bookings, just turn up and wait in line. We got to the terminal 20 minutes before departure, so had no problem getting a spot.

    The weather today has turned very Scottish - overcast with drizzly rain all day. Fortunately most of the day was driving, taking the scenic route up the western shore of Loch Linnhe, to Glenfinnan.

    Lunch stop was at Corran, watching the ferry go back and forth across the loch.

    Our plan for the afternoon was to visit the Glenfinnan Viaduct, the tall, arched bridge made famous by the Harry Potter movies. But it seems everyone else had the same idea. We arrived a few minutes before the steam train was scheduled to travel through, and the carparks were already at capacity and had been closed, leaving many people to park along the main road and walk great distances. We were happy take a snap of the viaduct as we drove past!

    We arrived at Fort William and visited Neptune's Staircase, the longest staircase lock in Britain, rising boats up 20 metres through 8 locks.

    We walked back into town for dinner at a local hotel.    Read more

  • Darren and JanetScotland, Faroes, Romania 2024
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    Day 8

    Destination: Tobermory (not the Womble*)

    May 13 in Scotland ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    We had an easy day today, with only a few kilometres of driving planned. We began with a visit to Aros Castle, an abandoned 13th century castle just north of Salen, our base on Mull.

    Next stop was a walk in Cill An Ailean, a forested area with an ancient chapel and cemetery.

    We continued north to Tobermory, the colourful capital of Mull. The name is derived from the Gaelic Tobar Mhoire, meaning "Mary's well", which refers to a well dedicated in ancient times to the Virgin Mary.

    The city centre is concentrated along one street on the waterfront, running between the ferry terminal and the marina, with multiple souvenir shops, a bakery, pub and distillery most prominent.

    We snacked on local produce from the weekly produce market at the marina, topping it off with some fare from the award winning fish and chip van by the pier.

    On the way home we stopped for a walk in Aros Forest, with multiple waterfalls and views across to Tobermory harbour.

    *For those unfamiliar with the 1970's TV show, the main Wombles are Great Uncle Bulgaria, Tobermory, Madame Cholet, Orinoco, Wellington, Tomsk and Bungo)    Read more

  • Darren and JanetScotland, Faroes, Romania 2024
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    Day 7

    Mull northern loop

    May 12 in Scotland ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    Our day began with a visit to the mausoleum of Lachlan Macquarie, former Governor of New South Wales. He was born on Ulva, an island off the west coast of Mull.

    Our drive today took us north, with windier roads and more reversing into passing bays - we had good luck yesterday and could see the upcoming road, but with the windy roads and limited visibility, at one stage we had to reverse 3 times in 10 minutes after meeting oncoming cars.

    We visited the aptly named Eas Fors Waterfall, a 3 tiered waterfall that falls directly into the sea. Eas is Gaelic for waterfall, Fors is Norse for waterfall... so it is literally named Waterfall Waterfall Waterfall.

    Our lunch stop was Calgary, a hamlet on the west coast (and the origin of the name of Calgary in Canada). We were almost resigned to having snack lunch from our emergency rations, but were very pleased to find a cafe open for lunch on a Sunday! Calgary Bay is also one of the most popular beaches on Mull.

    Our route home took us along a series of hairpin turns, part of the course of the Rally of Mull, where the island's roads are closed for a round of the British Rally Championship each October.    Read more

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