Kilts and Bagpipes

In England they have what is called "half term" which is halfway through the school year and everyone gets the week off from school. At the university level, they turn this week into a "development week" and have various seminars about different subjects throughout the week. To most, it's a time to go home, to travel, or to work so back in January a group of eight of us booked a trip to Scotland. So we spent the week developing not in the university, but in Edinburgh and in the Highlands!

On Feb. 12th we left Chester and arrived in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. After finding the hostel and checking in, we looked around the city and walked the "Royal Mile". Then for dinner we ate at The White Elephant which is where J.K. Rowling spent many hours writing Harry Potter. When it became dark outside, five of us went and climbed a big hill that looks out over the city before calling it a night and preparing for our five day tour of the Highlands.

Edinburgh Castle

On a hill overlooking Edinburgh

The next 5 days we were on a bus with our tour guide Neil and about 20 others. Neil was a great guide and very funny in the way he could tell stories of Scotland. Although he didn't really have a stopper on his cussing, his knowledge and ability to wear his kilt with class made him a very enjoyable guy. The next paragraphs will be a brief overview of what all I saw in that day and a couple of notes to go with them. 

Day 1: We started by going to the small town of Dunkeld before going to see the ruins of Ruthven barracks. We had a picnic on the beach of Loch Morlich then to the Culloden battlefield where the English defeated the Jacobites. Our last stop for the day was at Balnuaran of Clava to see a cemetery and standing rocks that are believed to have been used as a calendar. We finished the day in Inverness which is one of the biggest cities in the Highlands. We just walked around Inverness until dinner time when we went to a pub for a ceilidh, a social gathering for a dance. I was able to pick up a few Scottish dances and tried haggis for the first time. The dance was a lot of fun and the haggis wasn't too bad. Later in the week I tried canned haggis and haggis in a roll but this haggis from the first night was the best.

Ruthven barracks

The beach of Loch Morlich

The river in Inverness

Day 2: Our first stop on Valentine's Day was at Loch Ness where we did a little Nessie hunting and came up short. A man actually lives by the lake in a trailer and has lived there for 20 years Nessie hunting full-time. We took a short hike through a forrest in Farigaig before going to the Falls of Foyer. For lunch we ate in a small town then stopped in Drummadrochit where I got a picture on top of a Nessie statue. A little while later we saw Eilean Donan Castle where scenes from Highlander and Made of Honor were filmed. Our hostel for  night two and three was in Kyleakin. Fun fact: "Kyle" means a straight of water so Akin is a city on a straight of water. "Loch" means lake so Loch Ness is Lake Ness. There are hundreds of words like that used in front of places.

In the Farigaig forest  

Caledonian Canal

Eilean Donan Castle

Touching a bridge and turning into Harry Potter. You could call it magical. 

Day 3: We started the day by going to Sligachen which is by the Cullin Mountains and I put my face in a stream for seven seconds because it supposedly makes you more beautiful. Hope it worked! After drying off my refreshed face we went to Portree that has a line of colorful houses along the water. Next was probably our longest hike of the trip and we went to see the Old Man of Storr. Shortly after we saw Creag an Fheilidh which is a cliff that looks like a kilt so is nicknamed "Kilt Rock". We then walked around the ruins of Duntulum Castle before going to Uig where we walked around the hills and heard stories of ferries running the place. Brian and I tried to get close to some sheep but were unsuccessful. Then back to Kyleakin for the night!

Becoming beautiful

Colorful Portree

Old Man of Sorr

On top of a hill in Uig

Day 4: The day started with The Five Sisters of Kintail hills then we made a toilet stop in Spean Bridge Mill. At 11am we went to the Ben Nevis Distillery to learn the whiskey making process and sample some that they make. My favorite thing I learned was that the process starts with 42,000 liters of water then after four stages the water will become 4,000 liters of whiskey. We then went to the Glennfinnan Viaduct which would mean nothing to you until I add that it's the bridge that the Hogwarts Express goes over. I took some funny pictures and even transformed into Harry after touching the bridge. Carrying on, we saw the ruins of Inverlochy Castle then stopped to see the scenery of Glencoe. We drove by the castle that is used at the end of Monty Python and the Holy Grail then ended up in Oban for the night. Around 9pm I went to another ceilidh so I've mastered some Scottish dances or at least I like to think so. Watch out America! Scottish dancing is coming back with me!

Wizards doing what wizards do

I touched the bridge and turned into Harry Potter. You could call it magical. 

Oban

 Day 5: The first stop was at Carnasserie Caslte then to Dunado. Most of the day was spent driving back to Edinburgh with a few other stops on the way. In the afternoon we saw Loch Lomond which has a song featuring it. My favorite part of the day was seeing William Wallace country and the monument built in honor of him and his rebellion against the English. This is the man that Mel Gibson portrays in the movie Braveheart. I learned that in reality kilts were only worn in the Highlands and Wallace wasn't from the Highlands so he wouldn't have worn a kilt like the movie portrays. The painting of the faces in the movie was taken from another time period so that's not accurate either. We made it back to Edinburgh and ate dinner at a very authentic Chinese restaurant and called it a night.

Jumping in Dunado 

The Wallace Monument

The next day I visited the National Museum of Scotland which was great then went to the National Gallery and got to see work by Raphael, Titian, and Van Gogh. I hopped on a train around 5pm and got back to Chester around 9. I must conclude the post with saying that Scotland was absolutely amazing and I loved the Highlands. I feel so developed!