Sctloand - Days 13 & 14

At the Ibis Amsterdam Airport about to catch the shuttle, but wanted to get up the last of the Scotland Pictures.  Great trip.  Can't believe we're flying home today.  At least tomorrow is Labor Day!

Thanks for following along - I really hope everybody enjoyed the pictures!

Scotland Days 13 & 14 Pictures

Kevin

Scotland - Days 9 - 12

Sorry it has been a few days.  We've been without wifi.  I apologize that these are not captioned yet so that you know where we were, but for the quick summary, Loch Ness, Uqurhart Castle, Isle of Skye, and finally Oban, Isles of Mull and Iona with Saint Columba's Abbey. 

Scotland Day 9 & 10

Scotland Day 11 & 12

I'll caption as soon as I can, but for now just enjoy the beauty of Scotland.  Today we are going to Glencoe, Stirling Castle and finally back to Edinburgh to start the journey home.  Hard to believe the trip is nearly over!

Thanks for reading,
Kevin

Scotland - Day 8 - More Great Glen Way

Did probably 16 miles of hiking with 2000 vertical gain today and we are both feeling it!  It was a beautiful hike, though the best view was shrouded in rain and fog.  Thank heavens for waterproofs.  We definitely had a well earned pint at the Loch Ness Inn at the conclusion of the hike.  Most of the photos are not captioned today as they just took place along the hike.  They are all from between Invermoriston and Drumnadrochit along Loch Ness.

Scotland - Day 8 - Great Glen Way Photos

Scotland - Day 7 - Loch Ness

Hiked along the Great Glen Way today from Fort Augustus to Invermoriston. The route followed Loch Ness, but as of yet, we've not spotted the monster. I hold out hope, though. Tomorrow is a 16 mile hike!

Day 7 Photos

Tonight's dinner is in a CAMRA Pub of the Year which means one thing: Real Ale!

Thanks for following along!
Kevin

Scotland Day 6 - Happy Birthday Kim!

Happy Birthday, Kim!  Today is Day 6 and we went to Culloden Battlefield.  The Highlanders and the Jacobite Rebellion were crushed in 1746.  The weather was perfect and the lighting really dramatic with the sun and clouds!

Day 6 Photos of Culloden

We also visited Clava Cairns, an ancient stone circle and cemetery from 2000-1000BC!

Dinner was tapas and now a bottle of wine and books.  Hope everybody has a great weekend!

Thanks for following along!
Kevin

Scotland 345

Well sorry for the delay!  We arrived in the Highlands this afternoon.  Did a 3 mile hike r/t to a small distillery, Edradour outside of Pitlochry.  Our B&B tonight faces out onto Inverness Castle with a beautiful view of the Highlands which is veritably relaxing.  Tomorrow we're going to the Colluden Battlefield which ended the Jabobite Revolution over 350 years ago.  Had fish & chips and real ale for dinner.  Getting spoiled having real ale everywhere for certain.  I haven't found the Scottish ales as memorable as the English ales, but we've still plenty of time. 

Botanic Gardens
National Museum of Scotland & Highlands

Thanks for following along!
Kevin

Scotland - Day 2

Well today was another packed day of adventure.  A lovely breakfast that included a Scottish pancake left us fueled to take on the day.  We first took the bus to the Brittania, Queen Elizabeth II's yacht for many years.  It was really spectacular in both its beauty and in how it was operated to provide her luxury at sea.  Holyrood Palace saw drama with Mary Queen of Scots and was a lovely palace to tour whilst it rained.  The attached abbey ruins were perfect on a gloomy day.  After stopping for a pint we toured the Museum of Edinburgh and St Gyles Cathedral.  We ended the evening with a literary pub tour that was quite entertaining.  Two of the girls on the tour were NWU theater grads acting in a show at the Fringe.  We spent awhile after chatting with them which was quite fun as they probably enjoyed hearing midwestern accents for a pleasant change.  A stop for a pepper steak meat pie ended a good day. 

Pictures Day 2

Thanks for reading,
Kevin