The highlands, Scotland by the kids

On the 18th we drove to Nairn, it is another place in Scotland. It wasn’t that long of a drive. When we got to the place we did some shopping and then went to the hotel and slept.
On the 19th we took a 15-minute drive to Fort George. It was a nice fort, very highly protected, there were huge ditches, there were also lots of cannon placements. But other than that, the fort was a pretty nice fort, the place was well taken care of, half the wall was facing the sea. There was a museum about the army, we looked around, it was mainly just history and stuff they had. After that we went to the edge of the wall and we read that you can see dolphins in the water if you’re lucky, and guess what, we did. There was a bunch that like every ten seconds, they would pop their fin up, it was awesome. After that we went to an archery thing. We were going to shoot fake dinosaurs, zombies and dragons, it was actually pretty fun. I did well, dad was the best though. After that we went to the hotel and then did some blog, and went to sleep.
On the 20th we went to the battle field of Culloden, the battle of Culloden is a famous fight between the Scottish and the British, over who should be the monarch. Many battles were fought before it, but this battle was the last and one of the most important, the British won, and the Scottish got defeated. Here is a better and longer explanation, the army of the Scottish was called the Jacobites, the Jacobites wanted prince Charles to be king, but the British wanted George 1 to be king. So what to do over it, have a peaceful discussion, nah, kill each other over it, that sounds more like it. The Jacobites captured lots of British strongholds but by the time they got to the battle of Culloden they were very tired, so they got defeated in less than an hour. When we got in it had a bunch of memorial stones to remember the soldiers, there were also some flags to mark where the Jacobite front line was and where the British front line was. They had a cairn, a cairn is a formation of rocks that is human made, it is often a burial place. The place where they put most of the dead British soldiers is still unknown, after that we went to Inverness. We went to a huge book shop that had lots of second-hand books, I got a book and so did Emma. After that we went to a cathedral and looked at it. We then went to a botanic garden, it was really cool, but then we figured out it closed at 4:00, it was 3:59, (or something close to that). After that we went to a pub that had some music, it was cool, than we went home and went to sleep.
On the 21st we went to a castle called Urquhart castle. It took a while to get there but the drive was worth it. It was on the banks of the loch ness, I looked for the loch ness monster, I didn’t see it, sad. Urquhart castle is actually a ruined castle, it has a long history, now I will tell you a short version of its history. Historians believe a wooden fortress was there as early as the 5th century, but in the 13th century the English built another wooden fort there. Then in the 14th century the clan of Urquhart captured it and built the one we can see today. Urquhart castle went through many sieges by the clan of MacDonald. When we got into the area we saw a ginormous trebuchet, it was like ten meters high, there were also some huge rock balls. When we got into the ruins, we looked around, there were lots of brick walls that had just crumbled and only bits still remained. There is a big tower that is still partly up, it was five floors up but now only the first three are safe to go on. There were really tight spirally staircases and I said, “if I was the owner of the tower I would get wider staircases”. They had a place where there was a circular base of a little tower, the tower was a place to keep pigeons, if the king wanted pigeon meat their butler could just pop down and bring him up a pigeon. After that we went to the car and drove to a big cairn. It is a big burial place, it looked really cool, l there were like a ton of rocks piled up. After that we went to see some highland cows, they were big and hairy plus they had huge horns, after that we went back home and went to sleep.
On the 22nd we went to see the Jacobite train. It is the train that they use in Harry Potter, here are some facts. The train started in 1984, it became famous in 2001, the reason why it is called the Jacobite train is because the Jacobites had a big impact on the country and they just named it that way. We saw the train on the viaduct, the train stopped in the middle of the bridge but then it started up but this time blowing lots of steam, it was really cool. After that we went on a hike to a waterfall, there was an area before the waterfall that there was a little bank made out of rocks. Me and Emma made half a bridge across, we would have finished it, but we didn’t have enough time. When we got to the waterfall I made mum nervous by jumping from rock to rock, it was really fun (it was fun jumping from rock to rock and annoying mum). After that I chucked some rocks into the water and then I found another path to another place closer to the falls, I played there and it was even funner. After that we went to the car and drove home.
On the 23rd we went to Glenurquhart to see the high land games. It was really cool, and plus it was way bigger than the one at Stirling. This one was hosting the first world female heavy weights championship, there were some really strong female competitors. We mainly watched the heavy weights, it was cool, one of the people threw the hammer over 100 feet, that made it an unofficial world record, and they were only 16 years old. It was awesome. After that we listened to some bagpipes and then we went back to the car and went home.
On the 24th we drove to a place near Edinburgh and that's where we are going to stay for three nights (everything inside Edinburgh was booked or ridiculously expensive).
Andrew (10 years old)

On the 18th we drove to Nairn. Then we did some shopping.
On the 19th we visited fort George. We visited the museum inside fort George. We had to find Lego people on the way. In the end we found all of them and got rewarded by a sticker and a lollipop. The fort was well protected. It had big ditches that if you ran off you would break a bone. They also had a lot of canons. It is a strong fort. We saw were the army lived. We also saw the clothes they wear. It is all made of stone. Then we saw dolphins. They lifted their fin now and then. After that we went to an archery place where we shot targets. I did pretty well. Mum did ok, Andrew was good, but dad was the best. We had an hour there, but it went so quick. I really enjoyed it. Then we came back and did blog.
On the 20th we saw where the battle of Culloden war was fought. There was a lot of flowers on the field. One of the sides were called the Jacobite’s. The other side was a British government force. The British won. I did not like that many soldiers died there. Why do people have to fight? Why can’t we all live in peace? In memory of all the soldiers who died, please join me in a moment of silence. You can keep reading when you are done. Ok. Then we went to inverness. We went to a book shop. There were little rooms filled with books. I found a book I liked, and mum and dad bought it for me. It is called the boy in the dress. Then we visited a cathedral. There were little mice hidden in the cathedral and we had to find them all. After that we walked along a river. Then we went to the botanic gardens. There were lots of pretty plants. My favourite flower was a dark purple one. It had four or five petals. Then we spent the evening at the pub. There was nice music, and I read my new book.
On the 21st we went the Urquhart castle. There were facts we had to find and at the end we got a sticker. We saw old buildings. There was one thing that I really liked. There was a place where pigeons could nest in and after a bit, they would eat the pigeons and its eggs. There was also a place where you could just hop off a boat, walk up the hill and get in by a water gate. I also want to tell you about the Loch Ness because the castle was built on it. people say that there is a monster called Nessie that lives at the bottom of the Loch Ness. It is often described as large and has a long neck. Some one saw it and then they tried to find a name for it. They thought of calling it monster fish or sea serpent or dragon. They ended up calling it the Loch Ness monster. Then we saw a cairn. A cairn is a pile of rocks put there for a reason. It is usually a marker or a burial mound. When we were driving back, we saw highland cows. They are very hairy and big. They have pinkish grey tongues.
On the 22nd we saw the Jacobite train. It is the train in harry potter. It was a long hike to get to a good spot. On the bridge the train stopped then it started again and started letting smoke out. Then we hiked all the way up to a waterfall. We walked through hills that were green but had purple flowers. Me and Andrew jumped around on the rocks. Some were slippery but others were not. You had to cross a frizzing cold river if you wanted to get to the waterfall. I really enjoyed that day a lot.
On the 23rd we went to the highland games. I liked it but most of it was the same as the last highland game. The only things different was that woman were allowed to do heavy weights and there was bag pipping. One thing that really impressed me was that a sixteen-year-old competed. She won the hammer throw and shotput. She also won the heavy distance throw. We think she broke a world record, but it didn’t count. There was no official there. Her name was Juliet Ramsay. It was special because it was the first world female heavy events championship. I liked that women were allowed to compete in the heavy events.
Now we are to some place near Edinburgh. I hope to see you there.
Emma (very nearly 9 years old)Leia mais