High

This morning the sun was out again...mostly. We were all determined to take advantage of it to go hike up to the rock called the Old Man of Storr.

A few years ago, I read an article in a National Geographic Magazine, about the Hebrides. In true NatGeo style, the photos were stunning. There was one in particular, of the Old Man of Storr, that inspired me so much it has been the background on my computer ever since. I never get tired of it. So today, one way or another, I was going up that mountain. Happily, everyone else was up for the challenge as well.

When we got there, the evidence of yesterdays rain was on everyone's shoes. The first part of the trail was a convenient drainage route for the water off the mountain and we were wishing we had wellies with which to slog through the many inches of mud. "But it's just mud", we thought.

A forest restoration project was going on, which is nice, but it meant we had to share this part of the mountain with some heavy equipment. So while we thought we could slug through some mud, we we got to what could only be called a mud river, created by the tacks of the forestry vehicles, we had to take a few minutes to determine the best way of crossing. We WERE crossing. A few logs for crossing and a little mud later, we were over and the trail started to dry out.

The trail went up gradually sometimes, other times, not so much, but there were brilliant views at every turn. It was so nice to be breathing fresh air and getting some exercise after spending so much time driving and touring. I'm so proud of Candy who trooped up that mountain like a pro. We climbed until we got to the tree line and the rocky out crops the call the Old Man, were on display above us.

The trail from this point looked more like a stair way than a trail. Candy decided to enjoy the view from a nice rock near by, while Shawn and I made for the rocks above.

It was such a beautiful day and such a beautiful place. We couldn't resist climbing up all the way to the base of the Old Man, where I could use some of my new rock climbing skills. :)

Once there I looked out and saw the view I had been staring at on my computer for years. The rocks, the cliffs, the green grassy mountainside, leading to the forest...then the ocean. But we could see more. The neighboring Island of Rassay, and even mainland Scotland. There are not words to adequately describe the wonder of it all. But it is if all the beautiful things we have seen all along this trip were only previews of this place.

- Sara

Lazy day

We had a lazy morning at the cottage this morning, which was a nice time to just relax (catch up on blogging) and enjoy the house. After lunch, the wind seemed to let up some, so we ventured out. We stopped by a few shops, one being a yarn shop where I got some beautiful hand dyed mohair! Ok, that will only be exciting to my fellow knitters. :) There were many beautiful yarns there, it was hard to make up my mind.

After some wandering and exploring we headed back to a waterfall we had found yesterday. We had a feeling it would be even more spectacular today because of all the rain.

We were right!

We are now enjoying our evening with a fire in the wood stove...ummm I think hot chocolate may be called for.

~Sara


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Location:Couch

Paralympics

We had hoped to attend a Paralympic event while in Great Britain, but unfortunately the timing was off and we left London a couple of days before the opening ceremonies.  I'm not sure how it is being covered back home, but there are four channels here which are covering the Paralympics events.  I am a huge Olympic sports fan, so this has been a nice cure for my OWS (Olympics Withdrawal Syndrome).  These athletes have trained every bit as hard as their olympic counterparts and the events are just as interesting to watch.  In the Olympics coverage they always have these little vignettes about how some athlete has overcome adversity.  With the Paralympics, you know each and every athlete has overcome obstacles that most people can scarcely imagine.  I really hope that these games are getting the coverage and attention they deserve outside of Britain.

The British people are whole-heartedly supporting the games.  In fact in some events where Team GB is competing the crowd enthusiasm has been a problem.  One rowing event for visually impaired athletes was so loud, that team members said that they couldn't hear the coxswain's calls.  I can't even imagine how they managed to keep their rowing in sync and on course with no sight and no audible indications, but they won the event.  The support really seems to be inspiring the British athletes who are winning medals at an unprecedented pace (as I type they are in second in the medal count with 93). 

~Shawn

There she blows

We all woke up this morning to moaning creaking and whistling from the gale that came up overnight.

This whole trip we have had nice weather, so much so, all the locals we meet can't help but comment on it. I think "you're welcome" to myself, as we jokingly attribute it to my influence over the weather.

So this morning I'm getting a hard time for the blustery sideways rain outside. But really, with a cozy cottage by the sea, well stocked with snacks, wine and Wensleydale cheese...I love a good storm. :)

~Sara

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Tigh Roisin, Skye

Skye

This morning we woke to amazing views and a nice day.  We packed a lunch and set off to explore the island.  I can't begin to describe the beauty of this place and I know that the photos below don't do the scenery justice, but we will share them anyway.  :)

Sunbeams!

Waterfalls!

Mountains!

Moors!

Highland Cow (fellow strawberry blond)

Old Man of Storr

More Storr

Kilt Rock

Sharing the road

Sheep at the beach

Pretty!

Amazing!

oooOOOooo!

 ~Sara

Visiting Nessie

Mom and Sara brave Loch Ness

What visit to the highlands would be complete without a visit to Loch Ness?  Visiting a lake from the shore is never quite satisfying, so we arranged for a cruise on the Loch.  It was a quite blustery morning and our outbound trip was straight into the wind.  We braved the open upper deck and were rewarded with great views of the loch and Great Glen, as well as a fair share of spray in our faces and knots in our hair.

Urquahart Castle

The first leg of the cruise ended at the ruins of Urquahart Castle.  The Castle was built in the 13th century, but this was reportedly preceded by a Pict settlement which was said to exist when St. Columba visited in the 6th century AD.  In 1692 the castle was destroyed by its inhabitants to keep the stronghold from falling into Jacobite hands.  Despite the hundreds of barrels of gunpowder they exploded and the centuries since, a fair amount of the structure is still standing and afforded great views of Loch Ness.

Notably this area of the Loch is also the location of most Nessie sightings.  We were lucky enough to catch her in and out of the water for a few moments.

Nessie sighting 1

Nessie sighting 2

Roadside cairn garden

Our return cruise was much calmer as we had the wind to our backs.  Upon our return to shore, we drove the remaining length of Loch Ness, and passed a few other lochs including Loch Lochy (yes that's Lake Lakey).  On a lesser used side road, we encountered a massive collection of rock cairns that have been erected by visitors on a ridge over looking a small loch.  We added our own stack to this collection and topped it with some of the sea glass we collected on the beach at the Firth of Forth.

As we approached the coast Sara spied Eilean Donan from a distance.  This castle has been the background on one of her monitors for months.  It is located on a bit of land that is separated from the shore at high tide.  We stopped and snapped a few [dozen] pictures and explored the grounds, before heading off for our destination.  A few minutes later the Isle of Skye bridge came in view and we crossed onto the largest of the Inner Hebrides.  We will now get to set down roots for four nights in our amazing rental house, Tigh Roisin, and make forays to explore Skye's beauty.  I'll leave that for future posts, but even from our rental we have amazing views of the water and the heather covered moors!

Eilean Donan Castle at low tide

~Shawn

To the Highlands

Collecting sea glass near the Firth of Forth.

We set out from Edinburgh this morning with our sights set on the Highlands, home of Whisky, Nessie, and the Polson family.  We started our drive by taking the coastal route toward St. Andrews.  On the way we stopped at a beach and decided to take a walk.  Within a few seconds of stepping on the beach we began to spot sea glass mixed among the rocks.  Within half an hour of beach combing we ended up with probably close to a pound of well aged sea glass, by far the greatest concentration I've ever seen.  We ended the morning in St. Andrews where we took in the views and grabbed a bite to eat (including Mom's first haggis), before setting out toward Inverness.

Barber "incentives" in St. Andrews.

We decided to take the slower, but more scenic route to Inverness through the Cairngorms National Park.  We haven't had to try hard to take the scenic routes as our Garmin seems to default to it.  It has a definite tendency to send us down narrow country lanes rather than more developed roads.  Since the British default speed limit is 60, it just assumes we'll be able to go as fast on these little roads as on the more developed highways.  We've definitely seen more of the countryside because if it.  It has also allowed me to compare the English and Scottish road systems.  I'd have to say I prefer the Scottish roads, where even the back roads are likely to have a shoulder.  In England many (most) two-track country lanes are about 11 feet wide with an ancient stone wall directly abutting either side, such that there is about 1.3 inches to spare when two vehicles pass.  Of course the English drivers think this is plenty of room and drive straight at each other at 60 mph.  Surprisingly a few of them have managed to keep side mirrors on their vehicles.  After driving this gauntlet, the Scottish roads seem tame and luxurious.

Heather covered hills.

We weaved our way through the beautiful country surrounding the Caringorms, passing straight through the Glenlivet estate, eventually arriving in Inverness.  We checked into our hotel, a 12-room inn, and discovered that our room has a beautiful view of Inverness Castle and the River Ness.  After a brief break, we grabbed dinner (excellent Thai food) at a local pub called Hootenany (which was recommended by a friend).  They have live "Traditional Scottish" music every night.  Tonight two young local musicians performed and put on an excellent show rotating through guitar, banjo, mandolin, and fiddle.

~Shawn