Fall Scottish Trip, Part 3

Misty Mountains

We still hunt for fall or autumn colours, but in the far north and on the Isle of Skye in the Inner Hebrides fall most often shows up in rain puddles and brown heather and bracken. Still we search. 

Before we headed north we got a chance to play one of our favorite golf courses, Crail Balcomie about seven miles from St Andrews.

Anne is dressed for a cool windy day on Crail Balcomie GC.

The 14th green at Crail.

The day was lovely, but the course was well defended by the Scottish sea breezes. Weather service reports forecast winds of 30 mph with higher gusts and,

It was so windy I had to lay up on the relatively short par 3 16th. 

Good friend and Crail Head Pro, Graham Lennie, wished us luck as we headed out into the wind.

as they are more times than we like to admit, they were correct. It was a fun, strategic round of golf in a lovely location.

Crail Harbour

The roofs of Crail.

After getting blown around on the course for three and a half hours, we still had enough energy to wander one of the prettiest little harbours in Scotland, Crail.  

Our first stop on our trip to the north was a special two night stay—self-catering in a lighthouse keeper’s cottage at Buchan Ness Lighthouse. 

Our car sits in front of our cottage at the lighthouse.

As the Northern Lighthouse Board has automated the lighthouses, the staff cottages and outbuildings have become redundant (a good British term). Many are now being converted to apartments for long or short-term hire. 

Anne steps out of the kitchen onto the deck of our cottage.

Skerry Cottage was the Head Lighthouse Keeper's cottage.

The Buchan Ness light was completed in 1827 under the direction of Robert Stevenson (author Robert Louis Stevenson’s grandfather) and then converted to electric in 1978. The light was automated ten years later. 

A peat fire doesn't add a lot of warmth, but it is cheery on a stormy night.

Now, two cottages are available for rent. We stayed in the Skerry Cottage for two nights. 

From there it was a four and a half hour drive to the Cluanie Inn among the Five Sisters of Kintail (see last post). We took the north route along the Aberdeenshire and Morayshire coast with a stop in the small village of Portsoy. 

Portsoy was established in 1550 when the first harbour there was developed. A stone harbour was built in 1692 and a new harbour was completed further out in 1825 and had to be rebuilt in 1839 because of storm damage. 

Many of the buildings surrounding this complex date back to the early 1700s.  After a night in the Cluanie Inn, we ventured on to the Isle of Skye.

Between the Cluanie Inn and Skye we found plenty to grab our attention—mountains,

Small waterfalls were all around on a rainy day.

waterfalls, 

An unnamed burn near the Five Sisters.

castles, 

Eilean Donan Castle

and dramatic scenery, 

Houses built along a Highland loch.

A memorial to local lads lost in World War I.

The Isle of Skye is made up of four peninsulas (Sleat, Duirinish, Waternish, and Trotternish). Before checking in to our B&B in Portree (Trotternish), we wanted to explore Sleat in the south. 

On the recommendation of the owner of a leather shop in Armadale we drove a narrow and tortuous single-track loop road

Took its time getting out of the road and then stared us down.

from the east coast of the peninsula to the west and back. With no real villages (or services) on the route filled with blind hairpin turns and road summits where you can’t see what’s beneath your wheels until they land, this is not a road for the inexperienced UK driver.

Just an everyday hazard on most single-track roads in Scotland.

The loop, though, was absolutely filled with fall colours and grand views. Worth the effort, if you’re brave enough.

From the Sleat Peninsula it was a forty minute drive to our home base in Portree for four days, Duirinish B&B.

NEXT: Isle of Skye, Auto Adventures, and the Highlands, but that will have to wait until we are back home and recovered from jetlag. 

Scotland Spring 2016: The Best of the Rest

     This post contains what I believe to be the Best of the Rest of the spring trip to Scotland.   Either they represent the Best Photos from the rest of the trip, or they relate to the Best of the Stories from the rest of the trip.  I hope you enjoy.
     The two photos below represent the best and the worst culinary experience of the trip.  First, the best, a wonderful lamb shank dinner at Anderson's in Boat of Garten (Highlands).  Next there is an absolutely awful cider at a seaside bar in Nairn--tasted like watered-down dishwater.

     We also had some pleasant visits to castles and abbeys.  At Arbroath Abbey in Arbroath (where the Declaration of Arbroath was signed by Robert the Bruce declaring Scotland an independent nation, www.bbc.co.uk/history/scottishhistory/.../features_independence_arbroath.shtml) we watched bunches of bunnies playing amounts the graves.

On a rainy day we discovered that Duone Castle near Sterling was one of the main sites used for the filming of the Outlander TV series, as well as Falkland Palace, Aberlour Castle, and Blackness Castle.

Blair Castle in the foothills of the Highlands has Europe's only private standing army.  A piper plays in front of the castle every couple of hours.  The castle also has a lovely walled garden, and although the flowers weren't plentiful when we were there, the birdlife was.

Oyster catcher and chick.

Swan and cygnets.

Another garden which was very much in bloom was the two acre Branklin Garden in the middle of Perth.  It's a place we often visit and it has never disappointed us.

Himalayan Blue Poppy

     The small villages of Scotland are a main draws for me.  It's like stepping back 50 years to a much more simple lifestyle.

Comrie is about seven miles from our home in Crieff.

Crail's harbour is one of several along the edge of the Kingdom of Fife, the county of St Andrews.

Most of the villages host Highland Games--traditional sporting events with a county fair type atmosphere.  The Blackford Games (about 15 miles from our home base in Crieff) are held on the last weekend of May, usually just before we come home from our spring trip.

Girls and boys of all ages compete in traditional Highland dances.

One of the main "heavy" events is the caber toss where the competitor attempts to throw a 140 pound pole end over end.   Distance isn't a factor, but the toss is judged on how close to straight the toss is--a straight up 12:00 toss is perfect.

The people in the villages are a big reason for our travels.  They are now family and friends.  The Scots are genuinely friendly and we find very few remain strangers long.

Jacky Clifford (our Scottish sister) opening a birthday present from America.

Our friend, confidant, and whisky guru, Andrew Cuthbert at J.L. Gill Whisky Shop in Crieff.

Yannick Grospellier, chef and owner of Yann's, the best restaurant in Crieff.

Met this gentleman on the streets of Nairn on the Moray coast.  He started a conversation as I was photographing village scenes.  We chatted about village life, and of course, he asked if Donald Trump were for real.

     One of the biggest draws to Scotland is the land itself--it has some of the most beautiful and dramatic geography of any place on earth.  Moors and mountains grab our attention every trip.

Lone tree growing out of a rock on the edge of Rannoch Moor.

Two views of Rannoch Moor and Black Mount.

Glen Etive.

The mountains of Glencoe. Glancoe is know as the Glen of Weeping because of tragedy which befell the McDonalds of Glencoe at the hands of the Campbells and British.  For more information about the Glencoe Massacre see  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massacre_of_Glencoe

     Ancient sites as well as modern sculpture are intriguing and provide great photo opportunities.

The Dupplin Cross in St Serf's Church in Dunning is a Pictish carved cross from about the 9th century.

The Croft Moraig stone circle between Kenmore and Aberfeldy is an example of the type of stone circle found throughout Scotland.

The Loch Earn Mirror Man is a sculpture by Rob Mulholland set in the loch. The sculpture represent one of the seasons of the loch.

     While we spend most of our time in the villages and small towns, we enjoy some time in Edinburgh at the end of every trip.

Stairs going up to the Royal Mile.

Anne at the end of a close (pedestrian alley).

The park, Princess Street Gardens, between Princes Street and the Royal Mile, is always full if the weather is nice. 

A tradition for us to have our last meal in Scotland at the Mussel Inn on Rose Street in Edinburgh--a fish stew that is outstanding.

       A final adventure for me on this trip was celebrating newly found Scottish ancestory by getting fitted for my McAllister Clan kilt at McNaughton's in Pitlochry.  The kilt is being shipped this week.  It will have an honored place with my Welsh National and Jones of Wales kilts.

The tartan on the right is my Ancient McAllister tartan.

      We are already well into our planning for our fall trip.  Hopefully there will be many more adventures and many more photos.

Got a good view of the mountains of Greenland on the flight home.