Final night in Scotland (this time around, anyway)

We drove to Glasgow today along some lochs, stopping along the way to enjoy the views (and yes, 2 more new birds for me - Lesser Redpoll and Greenfinch).

Dropped the car off at the airport with 861 miles more on the odometer than when we picked it up in Inverness. And no damages (except for a few frayed nerves now and again on our part). But really, it was fine. After the 2nd and 3rd days on the road, it was second-nature to drive on the left. The roads here for the most part have no shoulders. What you have is a narrow travel lane to keep your four wheels in. There are lots of pull-offs built into the roads though, so you can pull over (left!) to let the speedy locals pass or check the map.

Once we dumped the car and got checked into the hotel here at the airport, we jumped on the downtown bus and 15 minutes later we were roaming the streets of Glasgow. We ended up doing a walking tour for an hour or so, then hit a restaurant for early dinner and a pint.

Now back at the hotel, just hanging out for tomorrow's journey home. Glasgow - Keflavik, Iceland - Boston. Then a drive to Saxtons River.

Awesome trip overall - really enjoyed Scotland and highly recommend it as a destination for those of you looking for a new place to visit.

Birding was great too - Looks like 41 new birds for me, total species seen around 90.

That's it from this side of the Atlantic...

Hope you enjoyed the trip with us!

Ron and Chuck

Spent the day with a nasty couple...

Gail Winds and Torrence Ofreyne.

We did a 5-6 hour drive loop around the countryside in the rain and wind, but we did see some of the local seashore, lochs (lakes), mountains, villages, castles and so forth. There were places where we couldn't even get out of the car it was so torrential.

But, no complaints. We did, after all, get to see more of Scotland.

So we are back at our hotel/castle relaxing a bit before we head down the hill (10-minute walk) to town center for dinner.

Tomorrow we head to Glasgow, just a couple hour's drive from here. We'll dump the car at the airport car rental return, check into our hotel (at the airport) and then probably take the bus or train into the city to explore for our last full day here.

Pictures are in and around Oban.

In a Castle (well, a "Country Home")

Took the ferry off Skye to the mainland today and drove down to the very cool town of Oban. It's a seaside community with a semi-circular waterfront. We are staying at one end of the semi-circle, high atop the hills overlooking the bay, inner islands, and in the distance, Isle of Mull. The place we're in for 2 nights is actually a converted country home (I say castle) of the Duke of Argyll (think socks), that was built in the mid 1800's. High ceilings, lots of fireplaces, big chunky stonework, a tower, and a killer view. There still is a Duke of Argyll but he lives in a castle a few miles from here. This building was sold and converted to an inn a while ago. Posh.

Tomorrow the weather is supposed to suck, so we are going to end up missing the islands of Mull & Iona -- it's just not the kind of thing to do on a rainy day. Instead, we will stay land-side and tour a couple castles and museums. No complaints. We've been so lucky with the weather so far.

And for those of you following the birds, I was surprised to get 3 more new ones today. Picked up Rock Pipits working the seaside rocks for bugs before we left Skye. Also got a Willow Warbler on Skye. It was working the thicket near the rock beach, along with scads of other birds in a nice mixed flock. Then during the crossing to the mainland, got a nice look at a small group of Manx Shearwater. So, the "new birds" tally bumped up to 38 today. (I'm smiling).

Cheers, one and all...

To the end of Skye

Today we traveled the twisty narrow roads to the westernmost point on Skye - Neist Point, where there is a lighthouse you cannot see unless you're willing to hike for 20 minutes or so down from the sea-cliffs and then up over an ocean-front mountain. We were (willing) and we did (hike it), and it provided us with arguably the best scenery we've had in all of Scotland.

The pictures do not do the place justice, believe me, but they give you a sense of it anyway. You should click on the pics (especially #2) to zoom in and see the scope of it compared to humans...

Fantastic!

En route we had a nice fly-over of a Golden Eagle, and then soon after we got a nice look at a White-tailed Eagle (called "Sea Eagle" informally, and my new bird 35 for the trip).

Enjoy...

Pictures from Skye

but first, the big news over here from the USA is that Florida preacher who wants to light some fires. kind of sad that it's getting top news billings on UK radio and TV...

Second, Rose asks about biking: the roads are very narrow and twisty on Skye and it is mountainous, so biking might be challenging, though we have seen some folks pedaling around...

OK pictures. first one is a wider view (see yesterday's) from the Uig Hotel. Gives a better sense of the size of the peninsula...

The rest are from touring about the island...

If you visit Scotland, and order Black Pudding

...just be sure you realize that what you are about to get is NOT a sweet, dark chocolate dessert. It's a breakfast sausage made from pig's blood, suet, and various other things.

This morning was rainy and windy on Skye, but the afternoon was much improved, allowing us to take a 45-minute hike across a hilltop moor to a castle on the coast. Lucky to see a pair of Grey Wagtails (ca-CHING! new bird #34).

Driving was fine, the scenery is awesome and it's all good.

It's now after 10 pm here and I'm pooped, and since this blog site is for some reason taking 6-8 minutes each time I try to load a picture, I'm sticking just one in before I hit the sack -- this is the view from our hotel in the town of Uig looking right out across the bay to the peninsula opposite us -- GORGEOUS, yes? (click it to zoom in)

On the Isle of Skye

Driving today was SO much better than day one. It's still weird to try and center the car in the lane whilst sitting in what feels like the passenger side, but yesterday (first day) was nerve-wracking. Today was more familiar and less stressful.

We put about 150 miles on the car, driving from Inverness due west to Isle of Skye. We had nice weather for the most part, just an occasional fog patch and mist to deal with mid-journey, which was about 5 hours in all. Saw another castle along the way - this one newer than the ones we've toured already. And once on Skye, we stopped in the town of Portree, the largest town at 3000 people. Had a cappuccino break and walked around the town's pier which sits on a very picturesque harbor.

Then 15 more miles onto our town of Uig (pronounced OO-eeg), where we are staying for 3 nights. It's also on a beautiful harbor that serves as the setting off point for the majority of ferries bringing people to and from the Outer Hebrides islands. Steep hills rise directly behind our hotel, and we walked up about 1.5 miles this afternoon to an area known as Fairy Glen. An interesting hilltop full of strange geologic formations, with gorgeous long views in every direction: to waterfalls, across the valley to sheep farms, to the ocean.

Along the way today we stopped at a Loch and dam, and found a perfect little black and white bird popping in and out of the water (completely submerging itself) along the shoreline looking for a snack. A Dipper, new bird #32 . I've only ever seen one other Dipper (in Colorado 20+ years ago..a relative of the European one), so this was a great sighting.

Not to be outdone, Uig delivered up a pair of Golden Eagles for us on our after-dinner walk (new bird #33). So birding is still good. The weather, however, may not continue the nice string we've enjoyed. Rain is forecast for the next couple days, so we're not sure if we'll get to take the sea eagle boat tour out of Portree.

Still, it's all good!

Pictures probably tomorrow -- having trouble loading them...(sorry)

A packed day in and around Loch Ness

So we picked up our rental car this morning and I took a few spins around the parking lot to practice being on the passenger side whilst driving AND driving on the left side of the road. We then headed out for the Culloden Battlefield, about 10 miles away. By the time we got there, I'd driven through at least half a dozen roundabouts, and I was frazzled and ready to hurl. (It would get better as the day wore on...)

The battlefield is the site of one of the final confrontations between Scotland and England (the Scots led by Bonnie Prince Charlie), and Scotland lost quickly and dramatically. The fields contain mass graves of the hundreds of those who fought and died that day in 1746. It's a beautiful spot, but sobering. 2nd pic is of the battlefield (sorry it's slightly out of order).

From there, a quick 5 minute drive to the Clava Cairns, the site of some burial chamber cairns that date back between 3000 and 4000 years. They look like big piles of stones but there is some meaning to it all, as the entrance pathways were built to line up with the setting sun on the winter solstice. Each of the three cairns is also surrounded by a ring of stones that remind the visitor of Stonehenge. cool spot! 1st pic is Chuck in one of the cairn entrance paths.

Then we drove completely around Loch (Lake) Ness. Loch Ness is about 25 miles long, less than 1 mile wide, and is the largest lake in Great Britain, containing more water than all other freshwater lakes in Great Britain combined. Yes, we saw the monster (that's me pointing to the exact spot). We stopped to visit the Loch Ness Monster exhibit hall, which was refreshingly NOT tacky. It provided lots of scientific information that basically dispels the idea that a monster could actually be there, while respecting the views of the people who have claimed to see something there. We also visited the ruins of the Urquhart Castle, which rests on a bit of land that juts into the lake, giving amazing views both north and south. There's a pic of the castle ruins as well.

So we put about 100 miles on the car; overall it was fine. Just disorienting to be on the wrong side all the time... Hopefully this will improve over the next few days.

Tomorrow: Isle of Skye! Hopefully we will have internet service, but not sure...

In Inverness

After 9 pleasant days in the UK, rain arrived today for our journey to the north coast. It's OK, because we were in the train station and on the train for much of the day, and didn't get soaked. While it would have been nice to watch the Scottish highlands pass by with a blue sky background, we still enjoyed the journey. Arrived in Inverness just after 3 pm, the rain had stopped, and we found our hotel easily, just 3 blocks from the rail station.

We took a practice walk to the car rental spot so we know where to go tomorrow to pick up our wheels for the remainder of the trip. Wandered around Inverness late afternoon and then had a wonderful Scottish dinner at a local hotspot.

No pictures today, but here is one of some locals in kilts from yesterday in Edinburgh. We do see men in kilts wandering around, and occasional bag-pipers on street corners looking for a hand-out.

Whilst on the train we saw a nice flock of Stock Doves in a field (new bird #30) and then whilst walking in Inverness, saw 4 Hooded Crows (new bird #31). So that was nice - I wasn't expecting anything new until we get to Isle of Skye.

Tomorrow we circle Loch Ness in search of you know who....

A daytrip back in time...

...to Stirling.

About an hour's train ride northwest of Edinburgh, near the beginning of the River Forth, lies Stirling. It's ideally situated between Scotland's highlands and lowlands and so has important historical significance. Records of humanity go back to the 800's, though historians believe people were here long before written history.

It was in Stirling that William Wallace (Braveheart, as depicted by the now very troubled Mel Gibson) scored a rout against the invading English in 1297. The English invaders - 10,000 strong - arrived and were crossing the Stirling Bridge in their effort to take the city. When Wallace attacked, the heat of battle resulted in the collapse of the bridge and the loss of a number of the English invaders. The English army was split in two, and Wallace's men forced those who'd made it across the bridge into the river below. A complete victory for the Scots. Wallace was knighted and appointed "Guardian of Scotland." The English tracked him down, however, and in 1305 he was captured, castrated, dismembered and had his remains paraded around the country as a warning to malcontents.

Around this time (early 1300's), the castle - which had existed in some form for many years already - was rebuilt to serve as the royal residence for the Stuart (also known as Stewart) line of Kings and Queens, and would serve in this capacity for about 300 years. Most famous of these royals of course is Mary, Queen of Scots. She spent her childhood at the Stirling Castle in the 1540's and was crowned Queen within the castle at the age of 9 months in 1543.

The castle served as residence for the royals until Mary's son James VI of Scotland left for London to become King James I of England. Mary was not only Scottish Queen, but also next in line to the English throne after the children of Henry VIII. Through lots of twists and turns in her personal life journey, she ended up being forced to abdicate the throne (she was a devout Roman Catholic, and fell out of favor with the other, in power, royals). She escaped to England, but her half-sister, Queen Elizabeth, had her imprisoned for the remaining 19 years of her life. Though the issue of religion was the supposed reason for her incarceration by Elizabeth, historians believe that Mary may actually have had a more legitimate claim to the throne than Elizabeth, and so Elizabeth had her conveniently put away to remove her as a threat. Through the 19 years of imprisonment, Mary attempted escapes and plotted to have Elizabeth assassinated. Once the assassination plot was uncovered, Elizabeth had Mary beheaded in 1587 at the age of 45.

Pictures today are of our tour of Stirling castle. Note the last pic, which gives a long view from the castle across the valley to the William Wallace memorial tower.

Tomorrow, we leave Edinburgh :-(
We have a 3.5 hour scenic train ride through the Scottish highlands, and will be in Inverness mid-afternoon. We hope to see the Loch Ness monster (or some new birds!)

Hike up the hill called Arthur's Seat

We hiked the 822 feet up to the top of Arthur's Seat this morning. It's the largest hill just on the edge of the city, and it provides a 360-degree view of the city of Edinburgh and the city's port on the Firth of Forth. Chuck's pointing to the peak in the first pic. Took us about 45 minutes or so to get to the top. Other pics are the view on the way up and from the top. You can see the ocean in the background (it's actually the estuary bay).

We (well, me) picked up 2 new birds along the way - a Kestrel (related to our own American Kestrel) being harassed by a mob of carrion crows, and a Buzzard (the most common hawk in the UK, not vultures which we Americans sometimes refer to as buzzards).

Hit a pub for lunch before taking a city bus across town to wander around in the Royal Botanic Garden. Beautiful spot, and we had a nice stroll. Back to the hotel to nurse our feet blisters, then dinner.

Tonight the city celebrated the end of its International Festival with a concert and fireworks display. The Edinburgh Castle - high atop the oldest city hill - served as the launch site for the fireworks display, so the admiring throngs could watch the display from practically anywhere in the city. Last year, a quarter of a million people attended. It's Europe's largest fireworks display. So it is a big deal that shuts down all the nearby roads and brings lots of people out into the streets. Not us! We had a perfect view from our hotel window, and the concert was broadcast on a local FM station so we experienced it without needing to head back outside!

Tomorrow is a day trip to Stirling Castle...

A Bird Walk, a Castle Tour, and Samosas

Today was just another in our string of A+ days. And more good news is that the weather report has changed, keeping the fair weather with us for the next 3 days instead of 1. So the umbrellas remain packed for now, which is just fine with us!

This morning, the very nice local birder James Ryder picked me up at the hotel and drove us about 5 miles east along the coast to Musselburgh (say: Mussel-burra) Lagoons. This is part of the estuary (or "firth") where the Forth River meets the ocean. The entire water area is known as the Firth of Forth. Anyway, this particular site is semi-man-made. There is a power station nearby, and the lagoons area is partially landfill from the ash remaining from the plant. It's a huge area, mostly now grassed over, but trucks keep the newer deposits watered down to prevent wind-driven ash clouds. The concession made to the city was that the power company created lagoons for wildlife, constructing pathways and blinds for nature viewing. The wading birds, shorebirds and waterfowl love it, and it is now one of the best birding spots in Scotland. We had a very successful morning - saw 40 species in all, 10 of which were new for me. (sha-ZAM!) List at the end..

Then back at the hotel at noon, Chuck and I headed up the Royal Mile towards Edinburgh Castle. Stopped along the way for lunch, then spent the afternoon exploring the castle. The site is a perfect, top-of-the-hill location, so the views are commanding. The architecture is what you'd expect for a castle - old, big, strong, imposing - and so interesting. The oldest structure still standing in all of Edinburgh, St. Margaret's Chapel from the 1100's, is within the castle walls, as is a dungeon, the Scottish Crown Jewels, museums and so forth. Great way to kill a few hours on a nice day!

From there, we jumped on one of those double-decker tour buses that rushes us tourist-types around the city for too much money... but it was entirely worth it cuz our dawgs were tired and getting off our feet for the hour it took to tour the city was just what we needed.

Then, dinner tonight. We decided on Indian, because there are as many Indian restaurants here as we have Mexican restaurants in the states. We went to one that's off the beaten tourist-path recommended by an Indian guy at our hotel, and it was great - packed with locals and we had a very good meal (starting with vegetable samosas, those potato/pea mini-turnover type things.

OK, pictures are from the birding adventure and the castle tour.

The 10 new life birds today were: Chiffchaff, Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Ruff, Greenshank, Bar-tailed Godwit, Lapwing, Curlew, Black Swan, and Pied Wagtail. The trip stats are as follows: 63 species for the trip, an impressive 27 new life birds!

Edinburgh - LOVE IT!

Connections from the Lake District went fine and we hit Edinburgh (say: "Edin-burra" to sound like a native) around 2 pm. Great hotel right on the Royal Mile (see the pic - it's Radisson Blu Hotel) which is the main drag through this terrific city. Edinburgh appears to be 3 long parallel (and quite tall) hills, so it's a lot of up and down to get around. The center of town where the train station is today, used to be a lake that was drained many years ago. In addition to the train station there are gardens to tour in this ancient lakebed. Even though the city is hilly, the architecture is so interesting, the skyline so beautiful, and the hustle-bustle so ever-present, you don't even notice that you're climbing big hills. It's a very busy spot, and lots of young people bring great vibrancy to the place. We love it here!

The Royal Mile, where the action is, is basically the middle of the 3 parallel hills. Our afternoon walk took us to one of the surrounding hilltops, where parliament buildings, the observatory and a Greek-inspired structure tower far over the city. Great views all around, including in one direction the huge inlet called the Firth of Forth (an estuary to the open ocean just a mile from the city center). The opposite hill is undeveloped, and we will be climbing it probably Sunday (picture shows the steep cliff-side and if you zoom in you may see some hikers at or near the top of the mountain).

Pictures today are from our walk around town this afternoon. Tomorrow I go birding at nearby Musselburgh Lagoons with a local twitcher. Then i think we will tour the castle...

what fun!

oh yeah, picked up another new birdie today -- Long-tailed Tit.

A hike around the lake...

Today we hiked 2/3 of the way around the lake here at Keswick, then jumped on the ferry for a ride back to our B&B. We walked probably 5 miles, all relatively flat, but since we are old now we get tired more quickly than we used to. Perfect weather has been holding, making T-shirts and bluejeans the best option for walking. The weather reporter on TV this morning was showing how good weather is supposed to be holding throughout England for the next few days, but he pointed out that some clouds could come in during the day and that there would be a chance of "the odd spot of rain on the breeze." (love the way they express things over here...)

Clouds did appear in the afternoon, but dry weather persevered, so we enjoyed a beer outside in the front garden before dinner. Now once again relaxing, working on train schedules for tomorrow's trip to Edinburgh.

Pictures today are of the walk around the lake. Lot of people doing the same walk, and everyone greets one another with a smile and a "good morning."

Twitcher update: another good day! Picked up 6 new birds today, including Great Tit -- a 3rd species in this group (these are cousins of our own chickadees), Great Spotted Woodpecker, Treecreeper, Dunnock, Grey Partridge, and Blackbird. Tally stands at 35 species for the trip, 16 new to me.

Beautiful Lake District of England

We made great connections from York this morning. 2 trains and 1 bus to our current spot, Keswick (pronounced Kezzick) for the next 2 nights. The Lake District is special because of its rolling green hills crisscrossed by old stone walls to keep the flocks of sheep in their territories. No such thing as a high-rise building in these parts - all structures are stone cottages or similar old-style buildings. There are so many hiking trails all over the place you can't not take a hike while visiting here. The lake that serves as home to Keswick is Derwent Water, said to be the most photographed lake in the region. The village is bustling with tourists, who shop and sit in the cafes, and pass their days in relative peace. Very nice, indeed.

We're staying in a B and B that looks out onto Derwent Water, and we of course snagged the top floor room with the view (as seen in the picture #4). Once we got settled in, we took a walk for an hour or so partway around the lake. There is a well-cared-for trail that circles the lake, about 9 miles long. Tomorrow we will hike halfway around and then take the ferry boat back to Keswick.

Pictures today are those of the lake as we took our afternoon walk plus the town center just after most of the tourists beat-feet it out of there for the day. A good birding day too, for you "twitchers." (Twitcher is a slang word here in the UK for birdwatchers...) Picked up 8 new species today. Trip total is 25 species, 10 of which are new. Among today's finds: Grey Heron, Chaffinch, Rook, and Blue Tit (surprise, Dad! Bet you never thought I'd be so happy to report I'd seen some tits!). Saw more Coal Tits today too - woohoo!