violetismycolor

Scotland recap...castles and St Andrews...

We drove back out to Duart Castle the next morning, and wandered around.  I got some lovely shots of the castle and the view from its shores.  It soon started to turn nasty, though. 

 

  

Then, we drove up to the northern part of Mull, to the village of Tobermory (where we met twin orange cats who loved to be petted) ...known for its colorful High Street...and then over to Calgary Bay (which I did not get a photo of, as it was unimpressive in the rain).  We picked up Andrew (the St Andrews student/hitchhiker of the day before) and his roommate on the side of the one-track road, in the middle of friggin' nowhere...and managed to lose Ross's glasses in the process.  Good thing he had another pair back at St. Andrews.

 

We spent that night on the mainland at Oban (in a fabu hotel called the Manor House Hotel, overlooking Oban Bay).  Then we headed across the country and stopped to photograph this castle ruin (called Kilchurn Castle), but didn't hike in.  It sat on the banks of Loch Awe, and was very impressive.

 

We headed back on the (very winding) road and stopped at the MONTY PYTHON castle...you know the one in the Holy Grail, where the French lob a cow over the walls at our heroes...

 

Next stop, Castle Campbell, formerly known as Castle Gloom.  Some of our dearest friends (at home) are Campbells, and we just had to see this castle.  It had such a beautiful description in the guide book.  We parked at the lower lot and hiked up the scenic path, along the Burn of Sorrow and the Burn of Care (burn=stream).  Lovely. 

 

The Castle itself was mostly intact and quite impressive.  It had a grand view of the sprawling valley below. 

 

Unfortunately for me, the cowgate, meant to stop animals from crossing, ensnared ME instead and I fell headlong forward...got some nasty scratches, was achy from head to toe, and did something really horrid to the middle finger of my left hand (still not fully recovered from THAT nearly 2 weeks later). 

We finally did end up at St Andrews, where we had a good dinner and went out to see Quantam of Solace, at the local theatre.  The highlight was sitting in the balcony and getting a very interesting view of the screen.

The next morning, we did the St. Andrew's Castle tour, then headed to Anstruthers (about a fifteen minute drive away) to have their famous fish and chips...supposedly the best in Scotland.  Ross and I did a self-portrait there.

   

Then, back to St Andrews to tour the grounds of the old cathedral church.  St. Andrews was the seat of the Catholic church in Scotland from Medieval times till the Reformation.  Oh, yes, then came the Reformation...not good for Catholic Churches in Scotland.

And here is my favorite picture of Ross and I.

 

We climbed to the top of St. Rule's tower, which gave me the heebie-jeebie's, but the view is wonderful.

And HERE is the view from Ross's room (which, remember is a former 'cleaning cupboard' [janitor's closet]), which is pretty spectacular.  This is the beach where they filmed Chariots of Fire.

scotland recap: mull and iona...

*Click on any of the photos to see them larger*

We headed out across Mull to see Iona.  The road we travelled was like most of those on Mull, a one-track road with places to pull over for oncoming traffic.  People were terrifically polite, pulling over as soon as they could and then waving as you passed, or as they passed you.  The trip over was about an hour's drive, and mostly you didn't see anyone.  But there were sheep and Highland cows that wandered in the middle of the road, so one had to be sensible about driving.

Also, it was raining, and so there were lots of puddles.  The hillsides were bare of trees but covered with bracken.  This place is very, very remote.  End of the Earth remote...

We got to the ferry station and waited inside till the ferry showed up and let us on.  The water was incredibly clear...we imagined it must be gorgeous in the sunshine.  Iona is only the distance of a mile from Mull's shore, so the ferry trip was short.  No cars, but islander's cars, were allowed on the ferry.

When we got there, we headed towards the monastery but got to the ruins of the nunnery, instead. My umbrella kept being turned inside-out by the wind.  It was impressive to think of St. Columbia here in the second half of the 6th Century...he really DID want to get away from it all!

The island is 1 mile x 3 miles in size, and has about 125 residents.  Really?  There are 125 people who WANT to live here?

Anyway, Columba eventually rid the island of all its' cows and all its' women, claiming something like, "where there are cows, there are women...and where there are women, there is trouble."  Yeah, whatever, Columba. 

We went on to the monastery, which had this gorgeous, old Celtic Cross in front.  It was good to get inside, because the cold and the wind were really annoying. 

Inside, we saw this:  Which was pretty cool.  There was a wonderful baptismal font.  The legs are granite that was quarried right on the isle of Iona; it has flecks of green. 

The Cloisters were lovely, though dreary with rain.  The capitols were mostly worn out and replaced with newer versions, but they were impressive. 

The courtyard had a modern sculpture that looked like an onion, to me.

We picked up another St. Andrew's student on the ferry and gave him a ride back across the island.  And then we saw THIS magnificent stag on the side of the road.  He stopped and stared at us, while I got the camera and grabbed this shot.  Then, he turned and ran away.   

We did go in search of Duart Castle, which we had seen on our way to Mull.  A real sentinel, it seemed.  We wandered down another one-track road till we found it.  But we decided to come back in the morning, as it was too dark to see much.  The photo is a bit dark, but I love that the sheep are all around it, doing what sheep do...eating and pooping.

scotland recap: kilmartin glen, oban...

(click on any of the pictures to see them larger)

The pictures above are all of the Kilmartin Glen (except the last three), where there are over 3000 pre-historic sites.  We saw standing stones, a cairn (burial chamber), an Iron Age fort, and rocks with spirographs carved onto them. 

The last three are:  Ross, contemplating lunch.  Ross, in front of a copy of an iron age rock-hut.  And our ferry to the Isle of Mull, in Oban...note the recreation of the Coliseum on the hilltop, this is Oban's 'Folly', which is beautifully lit up at night.

scotland recap: day two: Ayrshire, Loch Lomond, and Loch Awe...

(click on any of the photos to see them, enlarged)

We started the day by driving south to see a couple of interesting things.  A pair of pheasants, apparently with a death wish, darted out in front of us and then sauntered across the road...  They were incredibly beautiful birds, though.

First on the list of sights-to-see was Dunure Castle, only about 10 miles south of Alloway.  This was on a dramatic part of the coast...really rough and rocky.  One of the photos shows the view of the water, through an arrow-slit, that the castle's defenders would have had. 

   

The weather was rough and we decided to head north, to Loch Lomond.  The Calhouns (original Clan name:  Colquhoun, pronounced co-hoon) are from the Bonny, Bonny banks of Loch Lomond.  I've never been there in November before, and it was incredible.  The fall colors and the soft light made it look like a painting.  The roads were outrageously narrow and windy but gorgeous.

   

We ended up spending the night on Loch Awe, at a place called Taycreggan Lodge, an old 18th century cattle drover's inn.  Ross is pictured below, hanging out in front of the fireplace.

scotland recap: day one: Alloway

     

We got to the Glasgow Prestwick Airport and Ross was there, waiting for us.  We drove a few miles south to Alloway, scene of the Robert Burns National Scenic Area...his most famous poem, Tam O'Shanter, is set there. 

We stayed at the Brig O Doon House Hotel, which is gorgeous.  The rooms were huge!  The picture above is the room John and I had.  The food was fab, too.

We toured the town.  Above is the Burns Monument (what it has to do with Burns is anyone's guess...) but we could see it from our window.  And the last photo is Ross on the 13th Century Brigodoon (Bridge over the river Doon) itself. 

Then, exhausted.  We fell into bed.

More, tomorrow.

on vacation, again...

I am on vacation, and have not posted before today because my laptop...which I brought...is totally screwed up! I added a portable Western Digital hard drive, with which to store all my lovely new photos, and instead its' software is causing my hard drive to become corrupt. Yikes!

So, I can only do a brief post on this hotel computer...We have been to Ayrshire, the Kinmartin Valley, the Isle of Iona and Mull (where we are now), and tomorrow are going to Oban and eventually St. Andrews...all in Scotland...while we wander around with Ross, who is on his 'reading week' break. 

I note that Ross has done absolutely NO reading on this reading week break.

I will write a complete travelogue, complete with wonderful photos, when we return. 

I was just driving by Gabriel Park, when I saw...

 And I just had to stop and take a picture!  Stunning!

(click on the photo to see it even larger!)

congratulations, you have a new president...

John and I spent last evening at the Oregon Convention Center (with most of the Democrats in Portland) watching the election returns come in.  We had a great time celebrating and came home with a BIG 'President Obama' sign, which is now sitting in my front window.  Yay for democracy!

We called Adam from the Convention Center, but it was so loud there that we couldn't have a real conversation.  We called Bonnie in Japan as soon as we got home.  She was thrilled to have someone, anyone with whom to discuss the election!

We are still on pins and needles about our Senate race...Jeff Merkley is ahead right now, but the counting goes on.  (Hang in there, Jeff...you're going to win, I just know it!)

I thought John McCain's concession speech was very gracious.  And Barack Obama's acceptance speech was incredibly stirring.  If you watched the news today AND today's Oprah Winfrey show, you would certainly feel that we are witnessing a historic change in our country...a great change. 

One of the things that touches me so much is Barack's so-very-evident love for his wife, Michelle, and for his daughters.  What a fine example he is for families everywhere.

I am so very happy right now.  Maybe it's the pain pills I'm taking for my new root canal, but I doubt it.

just do it...vote!!!

teeth???...

Try combining the time change last Saturday with an abcessed root-canal-gone-bad, and you have my week.  It's got to get better than this, soon. After all, I am going to Scotland soon.