Scotland Day 5

9 September 2009

We departed from Isle of Skye back to Glasgow. Along the journey, we stopped by at Eileen Donan Castle. It was built in the early 13th century as a defence against the Vikings. In April 1719, the castle was occupied by Spanish troops. The Spanish troops were defeated a month later. The castle was restored in the years between 1919 and 1932. This restoration included the construction of an arched bridge to give easier access to the castle.

We left the castle in 10 minutes because of the strong wind and rain. We headed to Ben Nevis Distillery, which is a whisky factory. At here, we were able to view the complete process of making whisky. A true Scottish whisky should contain at least 40 % alcohol. We were given a voucher worth 10 pounds and free testing of whisky. It was my first time consuming such a strong drink in my life. I was so happy to see my favorite highland cow just right beside the entrance.




Next, we went to Glenfinnan for its Glenfinnan Viaduct. It was built between 1897 and 1901. Located at the top of Loch Shiel in the West Highlands of Scotland,the viaduct overlooks the Glenfinnan Monument and the waters of Loch Shiel. This viaduct has been used as a location in several films and television series, including Charlotte Gray, Monarch of the Glen, and most famously Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in which a substantial sequence revolves around the Hogwarts Express (the steam train) crossing the viaduct. This is the biggest attraction.

Pic: Behind me was Loch Shiel and Glenfinnan Monument

Pic: Due to heavy fog, the view

Scotland Day 4

8 September 2009

We departed to Isle of Skye from our hotel in Inverness. On the way to Isle of Skye, we stopped by at Loch Ness again to visit Urguhart Castle. It sits beside Loch Ness, between Fort William and Inverness. Though extensively ruined, it was in its day one of the largest strongholds of medieval Scotland, and remains an impressive structure, splendidly situated on a headland overlooking Loch Ness.

It is not known precisely when the castle was built, but records show the existence of a castle on this site from the early 1200s. The area had been granted to the Durward family in 1229, and they were probably the builders of the castle. This castle was then largely destroyed in 1692 by Williamite troops who had been holding the castle against Jacobite forces. The intention was to ensure that the castle could not become a Jacobite stronghold, an intention that was fully achieved as the castle was never repaired and remained as a ruin. It is now owned by the National Trust for Scotland.

Next, we headed to Isle of Skye. It is the largest and most northerly island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. At here, we visited The Storr, Lealt Fall, Kilt Rocks and Duntulm Castle.

The Storr is a rocky hill. It took us 45 minutes to walk up to The Sanctuary, the area in front of the cliffs. This has a number of weirdly shaped rock pinnacles, the remains of ancient volcanic plugs. One of the most famous of these is known as The Old Man of Storr.

Pic: The Storr

Pic: The giant rock behind me is The Old Man of Storr

The next stop was The Lealt. It is between the Old Man of Storr and Kilt Rock. The Lealt River rises in the foothills of Hartaval and flows north and east before plunging down two insurmountable drops into the Sound of Raasay. Each drop is about a hundred feet and only a hundred yards apart. From the foot of the lower it is only a few hundred paces to the sea, the last few dozen are a seductively deep channel, swelling with the spent waves from the shore. The water of the river is not clear and yellowish.

Pic: The Lealt River

Pic: Around The Lealt River, the steep cliff

You have to beware in this place. Do not fell because of a wrong step. Walking further towards the steep cliff, you will reach a place like below:



As mentioned, The Lealt is between the Old Man of Storr and Kilt Rock. We have visited The Storr and The Lealt, of course we did not want to miss the chance of visiting the Kilt Rock. Kilt Rock is black basalt columns that form what looks like Pleats in a Kilt on this cliff. This area was a viewing point that was fenced off. You know it's a DANGEROUS area when there is a fence; most cliff areas are not fenced or walled off in Scotland, Ireland or Northern Ireland! We also heard a strange noise that sounded like a boat but we didn't see any and it was almost Spooky.


Last but not least, we made our last stop at Duntulm Castle. Duntulm means "Fort on the green grassy headland" and is also "home of piping". It is supposedly severely Haunted with 3 ghost stories with a horrific history. One being of a a nursemaid that held a baby son out the window to see the ships & accidently dropped him to his death in the sea! As a punishment, the nursemaid was set adrift on the North Atlantic in a small boat. This castle was built in the 14th and 15th centuries and it was badly ruined.

Scotland Day 3

6 Sept 2009

We departed from Inverness to Duncansby Head. It is the most north-easterly part of the Scottish mainland. First, we visited the Stacks of Duncansby. They are some of the most impressive in the British Isles. The Great Stack is over 60 m high and rises above the summit of the adjacent cliff. The stacks rises above a narrow shore platform and its partially-submerged reefs along a stretch of shoreline where cliff retreat appears to have been significantly more marked than to the north at Duncansby Head and to the south beyond Fast Geo to Skirza Head (Crampton ad Carruthers, 1914).

Pic: at Duncansby Head

Pic: Stacks of Duncansby

Then we headed to John O' Groats. It is popular with tourists because it is usually regarded as the most northerly settlement of mainland Great Brittain, although the actual most northerly point is nearby Dunnet Head.

Pic: John O' Groats

We took cruise that brought us around John O' Groats to experience the beautiful scenery of cliff, dolphins and sea lions .

Pic: Sea Lion

Scotland Day 2

5th September 2009

We departed from Glasgow Hotel in the morning to Nevis Range. It is all seasons outdoor centre where you can ride the gondola, walk, shop, ski, snowboard, mountain bike or just simply relax…

Nevis Range is an all seasons attraction just north of Fort William, offering a scenic Gondola ride to 2150ft beside Ben Nevis. Enjoy the Snowgoose Mountain Restaurant and Bar, or stroll along the mountain footpaths to panoramic viewpoints. Excellent Mountain biking and a winter ski area with full facilities.

Pic: Gondola

It was sad that the weather was still bad with rain at whole day. Consequently, we were not able to see the true beautiful scenery up there.

The wind was so strong that can blow you away if you are really light. A friend of mine, who is very light was nearly blown by the wind. A few of us had to hold her so that she could stay there.

Pic: You can also bike there

The raindrops fell on our face were killing us. Thanks to the strength of the wind which blew them. To avoid from the raindrops, all we had to do was keeping our head down. We walked towards the end where we could see the cliff. At the end of this journey, we all got wet and our shoes were dirtied by mud because of the continuous rain.

Next, we headed to Loch Ness. Loch can be referred to as lake. Loch Ness is a large, deep, freshwater loch in the Scottish Highland extending for approximately 37 km (23 miles) southwest of Inverness. Its surface is 15.8 metres (52 ft) above sea level. Loch Ness is best known for the alleged sightings of the legendary Loch Ness Monster, also known as "Nessie".

Pic: Fake Nessie

That was all for our second day journey. We went back to our hotel in Inverness and had a really delicious dinner there.

Pic: Chicken breast baked with cheese and ham

Pic: Double beef burger, the best beef I have ever eaten

Scotland Day 1

4th September 2009

We departed from Liverpool in early morning 0:00. That was the time we had to say goodbye to our beloved hostel, Atlantic Point. We reached Newcastle at the middle of journey where a short stop was given. We had a great chance to see Angel of the north and The Sage Gateshead. It was very very windy and cold on that night. No one can bear it.

The Angel of the North is a contemporary sculpture designed by Antony Gormley, which is located in Gateshead, England. As the name suggests, it is a steel sculpture of an angel, standing 66 feel (20m) tall, with wings measuring 178 feet (54m) across- making it wider than the Statue of Liberty's height. The wings themselves are not planar, but are angled 3.5 degrees forward, which Gormley has said aims to create "a sense of embrace". It stands on a hill.

Pic: Angel of the North

The Gateshead Millennium Bridge is a pedestrian and cyclist tilt bridge spanning the River Tyne in England between Gateshead on the south bank, and the Quayside of Newcastle upon Tyne on the north bank. The award-winning structure was conceived and designed by architects Wilkinson Eyre and structural engineers Gifford. The bridge is often referred to as the "Winking Eye Bridge" due to its elliptical shape and its rotational movement.

Pic: Newcastle Millennium Bridge

We reach Edinburgh - the capital of Scotland at around 7.30 am in the morning. Still, it was cold with rain. We stopped at a railway station to clean ourselves up. I should not have just worn a short pant with a stocking beneath. That was not enough at all. I was shivering and forced to buy a cup of hot chocolate to keep myself warm. We were all trapped in the station by the rain. When the rain stopped, I was reluctant to leave the station as I knew I will get cold again. It was afternoon but I could hardly see the sun shine. We took a walk at this city which is famous for its arts, also a pre-eminence reflected in its hosting every year of Britain's largest arts extravaganza, the Endinburgh Festival. During the walk, we saw Edinburgh Castle.

Edinburgh Castle is a fortress which dominates the sky-line of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, from its position atop the volcanic Castle Rock. The castle is now in the care of Historic Scotland, and is Scotland's second-most-visited tourist attraction. Although the garrison left in the 1920s, there is still a military presence at the castle, largely ceremonial and administrative, and including a number of regimental museums. It is also the backdrop to the annual Edinburgh Military Tattoo, and has become a recognisable symbol of Edinburgh and of Scotland.

Pic: Edinburgh Castle

There are a lot of shops selling cashmeres. They are really expensive. They cost around 35 pounds.

Pic: Cashmeres

The kilt is a knee-length garment with pleats at the rear, originating in the traditional dress of men and boys in the Scottish Highlands of the 16th century. Since the 19th century it has been associated with the wider culture of Scotland in general, or with Celtic (and more specifically Gaelic) heritage elsewhere. It is most often made of woollen cloth in a tartan pattern.Though the Scottish kilt is most often worn mainly on formal occasions or at Highland Gamesand sports events, it has also been adapted as an item of fashionable informal, and formal, male clothing in recent years.

Pic: Scottish Kilt

Later, we stopped by to have a try on Haggis. Haggis is a dish containing sheep's 'pluck' (heart, liver and lungs), minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally boiled in the animal's stomach for approximately three hours. The haggis is a traditional Scottish dish memorialised as the national dish of Scotland by Robert Burns' poem Address to a Haggis in 1787. Haggis is traditionally served with "neeps and tatties" (Scots: swede, yellow turnip or rutabaga and potatoes, boiled and mashed separately) and a "dram" (i.e. a glass of Scotch whisky).

Pic: Haggis with neeps and tatties. Price: 10 pounds

Before going to the last stop, we entered Scottish Parliament.

Pic: Scottish Parliament

Last but not least, we went to Calton Hill. We had a chance to view Edinburgh from this up hill.

Pic: View from Calton Hill

We left Edinburgh and headed to Falkirk Wheel. It is a rotating boat lift connecting the Forth and Clyde Canal with the Union Canal. It is named after the nearby town of Falkirk in central Scotland. The two canals were previously connected by a series of 11 locks, but by the 1930s these had fallen into disuse, were filled in and the land built upon.

Pic: Falkirk Wheel

We spent our first night at a hotel in Glasgow. We did not miss any chance to experience the night view of Glasgow.

Pic: Glasgow Nite scenes

Pic: Bridge

Pic: Bridge