Culloden and Clava Cairns

 June 6

We have a relaxed start this morning with a late breakfast.  The owner of the apartment comes by and fixes the door and lock so we're able to get in and out.  Our destination today is Culloden.  Before today I really didn't know much about it other than Rick Steves recommended it and that a big battle had taken place here and lots of people were killed.  I now have much deeper knowledge and respect for the history that led up to the battle.  We had a great guide who brought the place to life and in perspective as we walked around the battle field.  

It was basically a civil war in Great Brittan that took place in 1746. (Not a war between Scotland and England as Outlander would have you believe.) One of the issues was a group that wanted to have a protestant king on the British throne and not a Catholic one.  The Jacobites were followers of the Stuart family that had been rulers of England and  forced out.  They were trying to regain the rule of England.  As it was presented today, they really had quite a legitimate claim to the throne.  As is the case in many wars, a series of unfortunate events changed the tides of history.  The Jacobites were soundly defeated at Culloden.  Not only defeated but the British Royal army hunted down and killed anyone who was remotely related to anyone fighting for or supporting the Jacobites.  Forbade the wearing of kilts, speaking Gaelic or congregating in churches.  This mostly wiped out a culture that was hundreds of years old.  It has survived through an agreement that the Highlanders could fight for the British Army in foreign wars where they carried on Gaelic traditions.  (Sidenote that this all happened about 30 years before our revolution and our declaration of independence was influenced by the experience of the battle at Culloden.)

The yellow flowering bushes that  dot the countryside are called gorse.  

Demonstrating how to pleat a kilt.  This is using 6 yards.  A more lavish one would use 9 years - hence the saying "The full 9 yards"

Once it is pleated, you run a belt under it, lie down on it, and belt it around.

Voila!

It is a rain coat, a sleeping bag, a tent....

Nearby Culloden is Clava Cairns which is an ancient burial and ceremonial site from the bronze age Two of the three have an opening entrance facing the sunrise at the Winter solstice. Then there are standing stones that ring the outside of each structure.  The birds were singing.  The sun was shining.  Life is so good!

We stopped by the Tomatin whisky distillery on the way back to our apartment.  We're a wee bit late for the tour and are actually also a wee bit late for the sampling bar.  But, the sweet young woman gave us a free sample of their 12 year old legendary.  We plan to be back tomorrow.

We stop by the little convenience store by our apartment and pick up a few things to supplement our leftovers from last night.  Add some pistachio cannoli and another bottle of wine to that and we've got a great little dinner. 

Folk History Museum and sheep herding

 June 5

We have to leave our nice Air B&B today.  We have another wonderful breakfast and chat with Richard who tells about the family pictures on the walls of the dining room.  Before we leave, Melodie wants to check out a liquor store that is supposed to have a wide selection of gins.  Melodie is hoping to find a special one that Ole has requested.  No luck, the store is closed.  

We have about a 2 hour drive ahead of us.  We stop for gas and a rest stop but end up going the opposite direction from the petro station.  It's a beautiful little detour.  A narrow little road along a stream.  After a few miles, we decide to turn around.  We pull into the driveway of a cute little stone house.  A well dressed elderly woman comes out and tells us where the  petro station is and signals to us when it is safe to back out onto the road.  What a sweetie!

We are pleasantly surprised at the petro station.  The car rental place had warned us about $100 bills to fill the tank.  We were at half a tank so were expecting a bill around $50 but no it's only $26!  I think the $100 is for the fuel only car that we ended up not getting.  Our hybrid must have a smaller tank.  

The Highland Folk Museum is an outdoor affair.  Unfortunately, the oldest part that depicted Scottish life in the 1700's has been destroyed by storms and is closed.  But we can see the 1800's and 1900s section.  A wonderful older gentleman greets us at the thatched house telling us stories about sons leaving to go fight in wars only to return to find their families have had to leave the area. Helps bring it all to life.  

Further on are houses from the early 20th century.  I see things that were in my grandmother's house.

Oh dear, I start seeing things that I remember from my childhood.  I guess I'm feeling ancient.  

They have farm equipment that I remember my father saying they used on his farm.  I can remember the uses of some of them.

It's lunch time (well past lunch time - 3:00) so we have sandwiches at the cafe on site.  I have a delicious humus sandwich on homemade wheat bread.  Delicious

From here, we head to the place for the demonstration of the sheep dogs herding the sheep.  We have some trouble finding the place but after a few phone calls, arrive at the correct location on time for the demonstration.  The shepherd comes up in an old pick-up and 6 dogs bound out ready for action.  There are 3 puppies that stay in the truck.  With whistles and vocal commands, each dog knows what to do, where to go.  They are really fast and the sheep respond quickly.  

Bringing the sheep up near to where we were.

Keeping them together.

This is the one he hooked to sheer. 

Marilyn volunteered to try her hand. 

So did Melodie.  The dogs are there to make sure she does it right.

It all comes out in one big sheet if you do it right.  You start on the tummy.

I think this one is going home with me.

Now it is time to find our next "home" for the next 3 nights.  GPS gets us close but that isn't good enough.  We ask a human for directions and we get closer.  Yes, this looks like the apartment complex but the numbers don't align at all with the numbers on our reservation.  There is a little store where we stop, show the young woman our reservation.  She is stymied as well and lets us use her phone to call the owner.  Yeah!  We get directions to the place and where to find the key.  We really don't want to go out at this late hour to find dinner.  I volunteer to make dinner using what I find in the convenient store.  I feel like it is a quick fire challenge on Top Chef.  The store closes in 5 minutes, see what you can make.  I find chicken breasts, broccoli, iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, oil and vinegar salad dressing, butter and I hit the jackpot - marinated feta cheese, olives, artichoke combo.  Let's go!  Fresh strawberries for dessert.  

Now we just have to get into the apartment.  We end up having to ask a neighbor to help us find a key to the building.  Great.  We're into the building, bring in our luggage.  Oh dear, the key goes into the lock and turns but we still can't open the door.  We fiddle for about 20 minutes and then resort to going back to the neighbor.  They Try for about 5 minutes, and then with great finesse, manage to get the door open.  Yeah!  Now I can finish my Quick Fire challenge.  Everyone agreed that it was a winner with the bottle of chilled white wine.  

We got a load of laundry in and are ready for bed.  Another wonderful day!

Day around Stirling

 Today we experienced local Highland games.  I think we thought it was going to be a bigger deal than it actually was.  How much of it was because it was the first year back after COVID, we'll never know.  But we did have a good time and it was fun to do such a local thing.  We had a hard time finding the designated parking where we could catch a shuttle bus to the games.  We finally found the place where they were being held and just parked on the street a few blocks away.  Ends up that we have VIP tickets which allows us to sit in a tent with picnic tables, drinks, sandwiches, fruit, home made desserts. 

 

We decide to go over to the area with the dancing competition going on.  There are little girls who have already competed but continue to practice.  There is someone who plays the same tune on the bagpipes for each group of 5-6 girls.  I think they are going from youngest to oldest.  

We then wander over to the track and field section.  The start with the amateurs.  There are a few from the US, a 72-year-old man, a local favorite.  The commentator is quite amusing and supportive of people's efforts.  Later the big boys come on.  I think that most of it is a show of strength.  The pole throwing appeared to be the most challenging.  

We didn't stay to the bitter end and awards ceremony but continued on to see the Falkirk wheel The rotating boat lift  connects the Union Canal with the Forth & Clyde.  Falkirk wheel

It was a short drive to the sculptures of the huge Kelpies.  Kelpies are mythical horses that reside in all Scottish lochs and bodies of water. They really are quite impressive and beautiful.  After taking a series of pictures, we head back to our "home" in Stirling. 

 We're in search of vegetables for dinner and end up at a Greek place where we have souvlaki and Greek salad.  

We make one last stop at the Curly Coo Pub to visit Mandy and try out some beers.  Marilyn, Melodie and I sample several beers.  You can guess that I chose one of the dark stouts.  And Connie stuck with her favorite new whisky.  Back up the hill and to bed.  

Stirling

 We checked out of  Castle Rock Hostel this morning.  It was really a cramped room for the 4 of us but the location was so perfect and the common room was large and comfortable.  The 4 flights of steps up to the room kept us in shape too!

We took an Ubber to the rental place by the airport.  They talked us into upgrading to a hybrid to save on gas and it has GPS built in.  Seems like it's worth it.  A bit of a Tetris game to get the suitcases and back packs to all fit in but we did it and now we know where everything goes for the rest of the trip.  Marilyn is our fearless driver and has had some experience with driving on the left side of the road.  She just keeps repeating "keep left" whenever we get to an intersection or round about.  

The scenery is open, with the occasional farm house and field with sheep and oh so green!  It is about an hour drive to Stirling.  We decide to go into town first and get some lunch before going to the castle.  It's easy to find the center of town as Stirling is quite small.  We find a delightful breakfast/lunch spot run by a Turkish couple.  We all had the Scottish breakfast that came with a fried egg, bacon, sausage, tomato, mushrooms, a potato scone and baked beans.  A cup of tea with that and I'm one happy camper.  

Next stop the castle - We wind our way through the town and up the hill to the parking lot.  Oh, the view is magnificent.  Of course, the castle is always at the top of the hill, cliff, bluff precisely because of the view.  The castle had all the aspects to make it fit my notions of what a typical castle should be like.  Guarded entry with huge gates, round towers with jagged tops.  High paths around the top, statues, a keep, great hall, royal chambers with beautiful tapestries.  Oh my!  We had about an hour long guided tour of the castle with suggestions of other areas to see on our own.  We were all totally into it and wanted to see every little corner and garden.  

I was really interested in the stories of the tapestries.  They are duplicates made of original ones that were purchased and then sold to a museum in New York.  We went to an exhibition of the stories of the weavers who did the reproduction.  It took many years.  This particular set of tapestries are all about the unicorn, hunting it down, and killing it.  Then it resurrects.  The unicorn is symbolic of Christ and his death and resurrection.  Or others say it is symbolic of a love relationship.  I think I like that one better.  

We came back and checked into our AirBnB for the next 2 nights.  It's a charming old row house just 2 blocks from the center of town.  The view from our window is wonderful!  I do hope that the church doesn't have bells that ring early in the morning.  Our rooms feel palatial after the tiny room at the hostel.  It has a queen bed in one room and an adjoining room has bunk beds with the lower one being a double.  I have the top bunk.  I'm good with that.  

We venture out to look for a place for dinner.  We find a buffet with mostly Indian fare but also a salad bar.  We've been missing our greens.  All very tasty and reasonably priced.  After dinner we stop by the Curly Coo Pub which was recommended by Richard, who runs the AirB&B. Mandy owns and runs it.  She's a hoot and extremely knowledgeable about the Whiskies.  We ask her to make a flight for us so that we can try several different ones.  We're getting to be quite the connoisseurs! We decide one flight isn't enough so we get another.  We all liked the second flight better.  Maybe we were all just that much happier.  

Back at the AirB&B the conversation centered around strategies for the shower.  Connie reported that it would be scalding hot for about 30 seconds and then go directly to freezing for about 30 seconds and repeat.  Marilyn got it figured out.  It is a tankless system and it works great if you keep the water temperature right in the middle.  I was the last one to take a shower so we had it all figured out by my turn and I got a nice steady hot but not scalding shower.  

Good night.