June 19, 2017 - This morning we wake up in the Scottish Highlands and there is a slight drizzle with cooler temps and low clouds blanketing the mountains. After breakfast we drive through some of the most remarkable scenery you can imagine. The Highlands are mini mountains, not like the towering Rockies that we are used to back home in America. There are few trees and they are covered with green plants in every hue not naked rocks as in the Rockies. Beautiful waterfalls cascade down the mountains everywhere making for fast moving streams leading to small and then larger rivers. Centuries old rock walls and bridges, fishing boats on some of the lochs, many motorcyclists, many sheep, these are the things we see as we drive along the winding roads and I find myself wondering how did people get around here on foot and horseback? It had to have been very difficult.
The water is low right now and the loch edges are covered with kelp and dieing plant material. They appear to need rain here but I am glad that the weather has been so nice for us so far. But that changes as we pull up to Eilean Donan Castle. This is not a castle ruins and is in quite good repair, We don our rain gear and slosh along across the bridge built along the banks of a river. Quite a good place for the inhabitants to defend themselves those many years ago. After touring the castle we meet under a small stand of trees to plot our next move. As i people watch as we gather, I marvel at the many languages I hear being spoken. Scotland is certainly a land where all nations come to vacation,
As we drive along I spy a restaurant named, "The Jac-O-Bite." Pretty darn clever in my estimation as I love those plays on words. We drive on listening and singing to The Skye Boat song as we cross over to Skye. Many of the roads here are one lane with passing pullouts quite often. People watch carefully for another car coming their way and when one does, the car closest to a pull out moves over into it, Quite efficient if folks just do not drive too fast. Of course, they shouldn't on these hilly, twisty roads where sheep often sleep on the side of the road and cross at will. One other thing we are seeing more of and that is Highland cows, They are so darn cute and we are excited to see them!
Now that we are on Skye we head to the fairy pools. They are down a very narrow road and we are in a nine passenger can so we take up a fair amount of real estate. Once you go somewhere then there is nowhere to turn around because of the amount of cars lining one side of the road. What a challenge! But our driver Joan finds a spot at the top of a big hill and pulls in. By now the rain has stopped and we have sunny weather again. The young ladies from the group slip and slide their way down a huge hill to the pools of water known as Fairy Pools, and the rivulets that flow along the bottom. I wisely stay at the top and enjoy the fine sunshine watching the activity. I see one young couple wearing wetsuits coming back up the hill carrying a unicorn rubber tube having tubed a ways down that frigid water! Crazy! The mountains and green valley is beautiful to look at and the time passes quickly until we are all together again and the younger ones huff and puff their way back up the hill to me, Joan, and the van. Of course after all this everyone is starving so we head to a town for food! We find a restaurant called the "Well Plaid" and chow down! Jessica and I hoped to top it off with ice cream but the ice cream store was closed for the day and we had to go without.
Our final destination before our B & B was Kilt Rock. The rock cliff formation overlooking the sea resembles the pleats of a kilt. It is truly a wonder to see! There is a waterfall next to it that flows into the ocean over the cliff unless it is so windy that the stream is blown away before it hits the sea! Yes, It is truly windy here and we have what seems to be a permanent windblown look. The water is rough and looks so cold - I sure would hate to fall here as many have done over the years the last one as recently as March of this year.
No comments:
Post a Comment