Sunday, July 26, 2015

Visiting mainland Scotland and the Isle of Skye

For a small country, Scotland has alot to see. We spent time near the Trossachs National Forrest which includes a number of beautiful lochs (lakes). This is Loch Katrine, a classicly beautiful lake with a steam driven ferry boat. 

View down Loch Katrine from the Sir Walter Scott Ferry

Being July, Melanie rocked her Scottish Bikini on board the ferry


A blanket two-piece!


This gentleman owned a small, private steam launch and showed 
Justin how he fires and maintains the boiler. 












We had a lovely housesit nearby for three cats and a super cute Dachsund, named Aggie. she really likes to cuddle but also enjoyed seeing a sheep herding demonstration and hiking in the woods. 


The snuggly joy of a small dog....


During this sit we visited a wool museum and watched a great demonstration of how Border Collies herd livestock. In this case, The pen was too small to herd sheep, so the Collie directed a flock of ducks through an obstacle course.

We've seen a billion sheep but this ewe may be the cutest!

After a great week, we headed toward Edinburgh, passing the Eileen Donan Castle on the way. This maybe one of the prettiest location for a castle that we've seen to date. We happened to catch this in a clear morning,

Enroute we stopped to see two very compelling, and different attractions. Below are "The Kelpies" a 98 foot tall sculpture recently installed and officially opened about a month ago. They don't serve any practical function but startinglingly loom over the highway and Forth River. 
 The other sight was the Falkirk Wheel. It was built to lift canal boats, crossing Scotland's canal waterways up almost 100 feet to meet the higher lake. It works by perfectly balancing two containers of water and floating boats and rotating the lower boat up and the upper boat down. If there is only one boat the law of displacement ensures that the containers are still perfectly balanced. It's so well designed, it uses only $15 worth of electricity each day. The wheel is a beautiful melding of function and beauty.


Boat entering the wheel



Wheel at half turn

Boat exiting the top of the wheel and heading to the next lake.
Edinburgh was a delight to visit. New Town, is a carefully designed Gerogian masterpiece with wide squares and long curving building facades, with gardens and green spaces at regular intervals. This gives this section of town a great outdoor experience, while housing a large population, 
The city has a rich culture, with writers, artists and musicians as well as engineers and academics settling here. Justin, desperate for a haircut, nipped into a barbershop. Halfway through the cut, he learned that his stylist was none other than "Angie" who cuts author Alexander McCall-Smith's hair and is even mentioned in one of his 44 Scotland Street novels. He was due to stop in any day, so we kept a close watch but did not see him.  
The famous Angie and her not so famous customer
Some of the sights: The Sir Walter Scott monument, 
only 287 ever narrowing steps to the top...


Aboard HMS Britania, the private yacht of Queen Elizabeth,
retired from active duty


The Flower Clock. A workng clock made of flowers that chimes on the hour.

A statue comemorating one of Edinburgh's well known authors, featuring his famous charachter.  


After feeling like city-slickers we headed to the remote Isle of Skye. Some years ago, the isle was linked to the mainland by the constructtion of a bridge. Many locals claim that it's no longer an island and has lost all of its character. It may not still be an island, but it's still got lots of character and is a remote hiking wonderland.

Overview of lakes




 Visiting the Fairy Pools:


Hiking upstream toward the pools

One of the small waterfal and pools. Sadly, not warm enough to swin in...

Hiking to the rock enclosure where early Scots hid thier cattle from Viking invaders
These loom 80 feet over the trail. 

Fresh water falling into the sea below      

Our next update will be from the wee country of Wales! 




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