SCOTLAND

It's now April 8, 2002, as we cross into Scotland.  A bagpiper meets us at the border marker which is in the Whitelee Moor National Nature Reserve.  Our next stop is Jedburgh to view the Abbey remains from the English invasion and a local church.  Our lunch stop is Melrose which also had remains of an Abbey from the same English invasion.  A surprise to see windmills for electric power (reminded us of the windmill farm by Palm Springs, California).  We are told that Scotland's official religion is Presbyterian, from the reformer John Calvin.  This area has lots of sheep and many Bed & Breakfast homes.  We arrive in Edinburgh to stay 2 nights.  The Capital Moat House, our hotel, is a few miles outside of the central part of the city.

Edinburgh is the same latitude as Moscow - about 500 miles north of New York City.  In the summer, sunset is at 10 p.m. and sunrise at 3-4 a.m.  Talk about a long day!

The next day our local guide shows up wearing a kilt and a long leather coat - what a combination!  In the morning we had a great tour of Edinbugh Castle then drove the Royal Mile, and stopped at the Old Calton Cemetery to get a view of Holyrood Palace.  At 1130 was the funeral for the Queen Mother and we were supposed to have a moment of silence (but our guide kept talking).  Holyrood Palace was the favorite of the Queen Mother.

The afternoon was free time.  We walked the Royal Mile (road from Edinburgh Castle to Holyrood Palace) and around the downtown area.  Since our hotel was outside of the old town, we purchased bus day-passes that got us around without problems.  We had the opportunity to get our laundry done at a local establishment where we just dropped it off and picked it up a few hours later.  John had some great fish and chips while waiting for the laundry.

We left Edinburgh crossing the River Forth on a suspension bridge, built in 1964, which was alongside a train bridge built in 1890.  Then on to St. Andrews, whose Royal and Ancient Golf Club has given us the rules of golf.  It's also where Prince Harry attends college.  We saw lots of the Scottish Moor with the Heather plant - brown now but with bright purple flowers in August.  There were also bright yellow Grose plants all over the Moor.

We crossed the River Dee many times traveling to the Highlands.  Our guide decided to stop at Balmoral Castle even though he was told it was closed to visitors.  Prince Charles, William and Harry came to the castle after the funeral of the Queen Mother the day before.  We were then off  to Braemar and the mountains.  This is the area where the Scottish Games are held the first Saturday in September.  We  stopped at the famous battle site of Culloden where the British and Jacobites fought.

Next was the  drive along Loch Ness, the largest lake in Great Britain - 24 miles long, up to 1 mile wide and 900 feet deep.  There is a live web cam on the Internet constantly looking for the Loch Ness Monster.  Then it was on to Strathpeffer and the Ben Wyvis Hotel built in 1877.  It's the only hotel in all our travels that did not have showers in any of the bathrooms - only bathtubs. 

The next morning (April 11) there was a slight drizzle when we journeyed to the Dornoch Firth, then the Falls of Shin where Atlantic salmon run in August and September.  Most roads were single lane in the highlands.  We drove by Loch Broom and then to a fishing village, Ullapool, to have lunch.  Ullapool is the herring and fishing capitol - had some great fish & chips by the dock.

In the afternoon we had a short hike to the Corrieshallock Gorge & Falls.  On the way back to our hotel we stopped for a tour of the Glen Ord distillery to learn about Scotch Whisky making.  The pure malt whisky is aged 12 or 23 years, the barrels are used only once and then sold to garden centers.

The next day we drove along Loch Carron that had a mirror-like stillness to the water.  Took some pictures from the bus window that were great.  Also saw the Eilean Donan Castle.  Then it was over the bridge to Isle of Skye.  The cost per passenger car was £21 ($30).  The bus was about twice that amount - expensive to cross the short bridge.  We took the ferry boat back from Ardvasar to Mallaig traveling south to the Ben Nevis Mountains.  Saw some interesting highland cows and sheep.  We stopped at Glen Coe to see the area where the Campbell clan massacred the McDonald clan.  Still lots of the same-named people in the area.

Stopped at Loch Lomond on our way to Glasgow.  Then a stop at Alloway to visit the birthplace of Robert Burns.  Walked over the Brig 'O Doon and through the nearby gardens.  As we approached Stranraer, there was Dome Island in the Irish Sea.  Nearby was "Electric Hill" where vehicles roll uphill - even the bus rolled uphill.(a great optical illusion).  At Stranraer we boarded the Stenaline HSS (High Speed Ship), the largest of the "foot" ferries, a catamaran that had a speed of 46 mph.  It took 100 minutes to reach Belfast.

on to Northern Ireland