If you are following along, it may start to be difficult to follow the itinerary of our late-spring trip to the British Isles. We started in Scotland, spent time in Ireland, then headed to England for about three weeks. The first week in England was spent on a walk between villages in the Cotswolds. We had heard about people doing that, and it sounded fun — and we were able to meet up with relatives who live in Europe.
Continue reading Wheat Field and Building Clouds
Our big loop through northwest Scotland began at Inverness, went to Skye, then headed north with stops at Ullapool and Altnaharra. From there we crossed the northern coast to John O’Groats. Why John O’Groats? it feels like one of the more remote places in Scotland – it is on the North Sea and beyond there are only the Orkney Islands. I also recall running into a cyclist on our previous visit to Scotland who was riding from the furthest south point in England to John O’Groats, and that piqued my interest.
Continue reading Duncansby Stacks
While Scotland’s Isle of Skye is, for good reason, a very popular place to visit, you can also find great views of the Isle and its mountains from along Scotland’s less-populated western coast. After our visit to Skye we headed north to Ullapool, and from there drove a long loop out to the village of Applecross. Before turning south toward that spot the route hugged the coastline, offering continuous views across the water to islands including Skye.
Continue reading Looking Toward Skye
After six weeks of travel, almost two weeks of it in beautiful Scotland, some location memories begin to blur together. I cannot say precisely where I made this photograph. It was on the day we left Skye and made our way north to Ullapool. My recollection is that we had perhaps passed through some rain at a high point on the route, and we came to this peak and its foreground hill as the weather was beginning to clear, allowing a bit of sunlight into the scene. (It is hard to identify these Scottish peaks after returning back to the US, but this one may be Spidean Coire nan Clach.)
Continue reading Snow-dusted Highlands Peak