I have written before that we (or at least I) don’t always know everything ahead of time about places we visit. While it isn’t good to be completely ignorant, I think that this allows for surprises and “discoveries” and sometimes takes you to places and experiences you might otherwise miss. Anyway, that is my excuse for arriving here, on the drive from Inverness to the Isle of Skye, unaware of the remarkable Eilean Donan Castle.
Continue reading Eilean Donan Castle, Inner Sea
I live in a place (San Francisco Bay Area of California) that isn’t exactly a desert, but it also is not particularly wet. Virtually all of our rainfall comes during a mostly-winter rainy season that lasts just a few months, and the rest of the years is generally dry. In fact, by this time of the year many of our hills and valleys have dried to a “California golden”color. So Scotland was quite a contrast for us! It rained at least a little on virtually every day we were there, and water — in rivers, streams, lochs, and the ocean — is everywhere.
Continue reading A Highlands Cascade
On our final morning on the Isle of Skye back in May, as we drove to leave the island and head north, we came to an overlook of the Cuillin Mountains — or “Cuillin Hills” or “The Cuillins,” as they are sometimes known. These are high (for Scotland) and rugged peaks famed for their climbing opportunities. The range is composed of the higher Black Cuillins, rising to the right side of this image, and the Red Cuillins, which include the large peak at the left.
Continue reading Morning Mountains, Skye
The impressive, fortress-like mountain is Slioch, one of the Scottish peaks that reaches above 3000′. We passed by after driving south from Ullapool, Scotland, then cutting west toward Torridon and later heading to Applecross, on the coast looking westward toward the Isle of Skye. The route passes all sorts of beautiful country — coastal bays, long valleys, lochs, tall peaks.
Continue reading Slioch and Loch Maree