Scotland, Day 7
The drive from Skye to Inverness. We got a fairly early start, and stopped at Urquhart Castle on the shore of Loch Ness. It was a beautiful day, so I suppose Nessie must have been scared away by the bright sunlight. Gorgeous views of the loch, though. The visitor center had some neat information about castle life, as Urquhart was one of the castles that was essentially a self-contained village. I was really impressed with the amount of effort that had gone into making the ruin as accessible as possible without ruining the historical feel. There were some ramps, steps, and paved paths that were certainly not part of the original castle. The castle is also home to a bigass trebuchet. I don't remember the story. I bought a couple BabyFuzzyCow™ postcards, and the man at the register said, "Ah, the wee coo." They had wee whisky bottles with clan logos, but I did not get a Davidson whisky bottle. I actually didn't end up buying any Davidson stuff in Scotland, so I think I'll have to ask B if she can find something for me.
We got to Inverness, and eventually found the house where we were staying. It was on the corner of the end of the street, and we missed it at first, because the "For Sale" sign was a good bit more visible than the Millwood House Bed & Breakfast sign, which was half hidden by the overgrown hedge. The house was very nice, and we had both a private sitting room and bathroom.
We went looking for a place to have lunch, but it was 2:30 on a Sunday afternoon. Apparently, no one is allowed to eat on Sunday afternoon. We wandered a bit, and finally found an Italian place that was open. After lunch, Nik decided he just wanted to stop being a tourist for a while and go see a movie or something. We were told that the theater was at "the retail park," which seems to mean stripmall. There were at least three places on the mapa labelled "retail park." After some adventuring, and going to the wrong one first, we found the theater. There were a couple movies we were interested in seeing, but both had started half an hour ago. So we went to see Culloden Moor, which is quite possibly the only flat piece of land in the highlands, and quite possibly the worst place in Scotland for Highlander-style battle. It is, on the other hand, perfect for English battle tactics. We walked around the moor, saw the monuments and the graves. It's a desolate place. When we decided we weree ready to leave, and pondering our next move, Nik told me it was a quarter after five. I had misread my watch earlier, and the movies were both starting right about now. I felt like a doofus. So we went back to the house and spent the evening reading our books.
The house offered whisky and sherry in the lounge, and they had the cutest cordial glasses in the shape of a thistle: stem, pokey cross-hatch pattern on the ball, and a smooth angular bit for the tuft.
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7
Day 8
Day 9
Day 10
We got to Inverness, and eventually found the house where we were staying. It was on the corner of the end of the street, and we missed it at first, because the "For Sale" sign was a good bit more visible than the Millwood House Bed & Breakfast sign, which was half hidden by the overgrown hedge. The house was very nice, and we had both a private sitting room and bathroom.
We went looking for a place to have lunch, but it was 2:30 on a Sunday afternoon. Apparently, no one is allowed to eat on Sunday afternoon. We wandered a bit, and finally found an Italian place that was open. After lunch, Nik decided he just wanted to stop being a tourist for a while and go see a movie or something. We were told that the theater was at "the retail park," which seems to mean stripmall. There were at least three places on the mapa labelled "retail park." After some adventuring, and going to the wrong one first, we found the theater. There were a couple movies we were interested in seeing, but both had started half an hour ago. So we went to see Culloden Moor, which is quite possibly the only flat piece of land in the highlands, and quite possibly the worst place in Scotland for Highlander-style battle. It is, on the other hand, perfect for English battle tactics. We walked around the moor, saw the monuments and the graves. It's a desolate place. When we decided we weree ready to leave, and pondering our next move, Nik told me it was a quarter after five. I had misread my watch earlier, and the movies were both starting right about now. I felt like a doofus. So we went back to the house and spent the evening reading our books.
The house offered whisky and sherry in the lounge, and they had the cutest cordial glasses in the shape of a thistle: stem, pokey cross-hatch pattern on the ball, and a smooth angular bit for the tuft.
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7
Day 8
Day 9
Day 10