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British Isles

August - September 2015
We will spend about one month exploring England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. Perhaps we will discover our roots. Read more
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  • British Isles
    Day 7

    Evening Tattoo Edinburgh Castle

    August 25, 2015 in Scotland ⋅ 🌙 55 °F

    The military tattoo was an amazing feat of showmanship and organization. There were units from all over the world, including China. I would have been pleased to see a little less razzle-dazzle and a little more military precision. We were especially glad to see the band from the Citadel in Charleston, SC.Read more

  • British Isles
    Day 8

    St. Andrews

    August 26, 2015 in Scotland ⋅ 🌧 55 °F

    On the way to St. Andrews we took a one-hour break in the lovely little town of Pitlochry. A morning visit to St. Andrews took us by the Ancient and Royal Golf Course, where the game of golf was invented. Next we stopped at the place where George Wishart, a Protestant leader, was killed for his faith in the wars between Catholics and Protestants in Scotland. Our bus quickly passed by the University of St. Andrews, where Prince William, Duke of Cambridge met his wife Kate Middleton. Our guide mentioned that neither was an especially good student, and that this university is more noted as a party school than a serious institution for scholarship. We especially enjoyed seeing young students from the high school being let out for lunch. Almost all of them made their way to a pizza parlor, while we went just a bit farther to get some soup and scones. The ruins of the cathedral are remarkable. This must have been a huge complex when the abbey was active. Even now in its ruined state, the building is impressive.Read more

  • British Isles
    Day 8

    Birnham Wood and Pitlochry

    August 26, 2015 in Scotland ⋅ 🌧 57 °F

    Leaving St. Andrews at 1:15 PM, we passed through Birnham Wood, a location mentioned in Shakespeare's play Macbeth. We passed a replica of the ship Discovery docked at Dundee. It was the vessel used by Robert Scott in his Antarctic explorations. It is also the last three-masted sailing vessel ever made in Britain for regular use. When we came to the lovely little town of Pitlochry we took an hour-long rest stop. We explored the town. I tried to find the local Catholic church, guessing that it would be old and historic. We finally found it nestled between the golf course and the World War I memorial. It was a modern pre-fabricated construction that was locked when we arrived. I took a photo through the glass front door.Read more

  • British Isles
    Day 8

    Inverness

    August 26, 2015 in Scotland ⋅ 🌙 50 °F

    9:48 pm We arrived at the Glen Mhor Hotel right along the bank of the Ness River in Inverness. It is a bit unusual in that our rooms are strung out among six different cottages. Ours is very small, rather old and very modestly furnished. We all met in the dining room in the main building for supper. I started with a delicious lentil tomato soup that had much the same flavor as spaghetti sauce. Glenda says she wants to duplicate that recipe when we return home. She is starting to get a sore throat and her nose is running. The dining room has no curtains, and a late nineteenth century pressed tin ceiling so that our dinner conversation became extremely loud, and it was hard work to be required practically to shout to be heard over the din. After supper I went for a walk along the river. The sun had set about half an hour before and I got some great shots of some of the buildings with their reflections in the Ness. We got to bed in our very tiny room about 10:00 pm.Read more

  • British Isles
    Day 9

    Inverness to Loch Ness

    August 27, 2015 in Scotland ⋅ ⛅ 52 °F

    12:30 pm We drove from Inverness to Loch Ness in the morning, passing Urquardt Castle. The present ruins date from the 13th to the 16th centuries, though built on the site of an early medieval fortification. Founded in the 13th century, Urquhart played a role in the Wars of Scottish Independence in the 14th century. It was subsequently held as a royal castle, and was raided on several occasions by the MacDonald Earls of Ross. The castle was granted to the Clan Grant in 1509, though conflict with the MacDonalds continued. Despite a series of further raids the castle was strengthened, only to be largely abandoned by the middle of the 17th century. Urquhart was partially destroyed in 1692 to prevent its use by Jacobite forces, and subsequently decayed. In the 20th century it was placed in state care and opened to the public: it is now one of the most-visited castles in Scotland. We took a boat tour of Loch Ness. An RV knocked off the right mirror of the bus and shattered the driver's right-hand window. Stopped for lunch at Spean Bridge Mill. Will leave in a few minutes for Glencoe.Read more

  • British Isles
    Day 9

    Glencoe

    August 27, 2015 in Scotland ⋅ ☁️ 55 °F

    1:47 pm Photo stop at Glencoe. David showed us the site at Glencoe where the filming of the scenes of Hagrid's house took place in the Harry Potter films and explained the significance of Glencoe in Scottish history. The Campbell's murdered the McDonalds, who were guests at their estate, at the order of King William of Orange. This atrocious breech of hospitality has become legendary in Scotch history.Read more

  • British Isles
    Day 9

    Exploring Oban

    August 27, 2015 in Scotland ⋅ ⛅ 57 °F

    3:00 pm. We toured the distillery with our guide Stuart, and received two very small samples of Oban whiskey. Whiskey is still something for which I have not developed a taste. They gave us as a souvenir a little Oban Whiskey glass. I gave mine to Gil Dickson. We checked into the hotel around 5:00 pm and I went looking for the pipes and drums. A demonstration of bagpipes and drums is one of the events of the Highland games now being held in Oban. I was not able to find the pipes and drums, but did find John our bus driver repairing the window that broke when his rear view mirror got popped off by a passing RV. I took some photos of the town, then of St. Columba Catholic Church before returning to our hotel. Glenda is feeling a little better, but her nose is still running.Read more

  • British Isles
    Day 10

    Isle of Mull

    August 28, 2015 in Scotland ⋅ ☀️ 57 °F

    This morning we boarded the ferry for the 45 minute trip to the Isle of Mull. Rain on and off made clouds that gave the island and otherworldly air. We drove south to the village of Tobermory for lunch at one of the finest fish restaurants I have ever visited. I had a smoked fish plate and a glass of Sauvignon Blanc. Then we took a tour of Duart Castle, the home of Clan MacLean. It was not huge, and the chief of the MacLean clan still lives there. We drove back to the ferry and I was able to get some shots of the castle from the sea. As we came back to the ferry terminal at Oban we noticed several young men wearing kilts and formal wear. David our guide told us they were to attend the summer ball, part of the Highland games celebration in Oban. I was able to find some of these young men and women in their formal Scottish attire lined up to enter a hotel near ours, so I went to take some shots. I was still so full from lunch that I made a pretense of eating supper. Then we went back to the room for an early bedtime.Read more

  • British Isles
    Day 11

    Oban to Luss

    August 29, 2015 in Scotland ⋅ ⛅ 57 °F

    Rain again today. At breakfast we were attended again by the most delightful waitress, Eilia, who has a major in the Gallic language. At 8:15 am we are on the way to Loch Lomond, the Bridge of Doon (Brigadoon) and Robert Burns's birthplace in Alloway. Then we will take the ferry to Belfast. At 9:05 am got a quick photo of Inverary Castle, a nineteenth century reconstruction, the home of the Duke of Argyle. At 9:45 photo of Loch Lomond. At 10:45 am we had 45-minute stop at Luss, where we made a Limerick:

    There was a young lassie from Luss
    With hydrangeas as big as a bus
    She adored each begonia
    Growing in Caledonia
    And the prizes she won were a plus.    Read more

  • British Isles
    Day 11

    Robbie Burns and Brigadoon

    August 29, 2015 in Scotland ⋅ ⛅ 63 °F

    At 2:15 pm we ended our tour of Robbie Burns’s birthplace. At 2:30 photographed Cross Raguel Abbey just south of Maybole. I was very much aware of the fact that just east of us, behind some hills lay Galloway National Park. I yearned to know whether my ancestors had been in this place, why they left, and what kinds of lives they lived.Read more

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